Forty days after Easter
Hand-painted icon of the Ascension
«Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus will come in the same way» (Acts 1:11). The Ascension icon is divided in two: above, heaven, where Christ ascends in glory; below, earth, where the Church remains waiting.
How to read the icon
- Above, Christ blessing, seated in a mandorla of light carried by flying angels.
- Below, at the centre, the Mother of God in prayer, hands raised, between two angels in white: she is an image of the Church.
- Around her the apostles, with gestures of wonder; among them Saint Paul, who was not historically present: the presence of the apostle of the nations shows that the scene concerns the Church of every age.
- The trees of the Mount of Olives, where the Ascension takes place.
The meaning
Christ does not abandon his own: he carries our human nature into the glory of the Father and blesses the Church that remains on earth. The Ascension icon is given to someone leaving, to someone beginning a mission, to a community seeing its pastor depart. Like every icon by Concetta Basile, it is fully gilded with 23¾ karat gold, with inscriptions in Greek or Latin, and is commissioned with an offering proportionate to the time and materials of the work.
Frequently asked questions
How do I commission a feast icon?
In the configurator choose «Liturgical feast» and enter the name of the feast; the number of figures can be changed. In the conversation with Concetta Basile you agree together on composition, size and inscriptions.