In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it....And the angel... said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead....And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. (Matthew 28: 1-2,3-10, KJV)
For the next three weeks, we will be looking at icons from Cypriot Artist Charalamos Epaminonda depicting appearances Jesus made to his followers following his resurrection. This week's featured image shows Jesus meeting Mary Magdalene (with long, flowing hair) and the "other Mary," presented, here, as his mother, on their way to tell his disciples of their encounter with the angel at the empty tomb, recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, a narrative at variance with John the Evangelist's account of Post-Resurrection events, where Mary Magdalene first sees the Riscen Christ alone at the burial site and is forbidden to touch him. Tree branches sway in the background of the icon, showing how all of creation has been caught up in the Resurrection. (John Kohan)