Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (John 20: 27-28, KJV)
We have the Apostle known as Doubting Thomas to thank for the key proof text in the Gospels of the bodily Resurrection of Jesus. A latecomer to Christ's post-Easter meetings with his followers, Thomas says he will not believe Jesus has risen from the dead without seeing the physical evidence of his death on the Cross. The Risen Lord obliges his sceptical disciple by telling him to feel the wounds in his hands and side, leading to the confession of faith recorded in the Gospel of John. Ukrainian Greek Catholic Artist Ulyana Tomkevych captures this dramatic moment in an icon traditional in form, contemporary in styling. The faces of the disciples beside Thomas display the full gamut of emotions from confusion to joy. The red drape at Christ's side suggests his wounds continue to bleed for the sake of the World in this post-Resurrection image now on view in the gallery of the New Iconography of Lviv page in the Schools of Sacred Art section. (John Kohan)