His Holiness Pope John Paul II received a gift of a bas-relief icon of “The Seven Saints” from the Bulgarian Head of State
24-05-2002 00:00 |
Today, 24 May, during his meeting with President Parvanov His Holiness Pope John Paul II received a gift of a bas-relief icon of “The Seven Saints” from the Bulgarian Head of State.
The sculpltured composition portrays the brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius and their five disciples – St. Climent, St. Naum, St. Sava, St. Angelarii and St. Gorazd. The seven saints are depicted in full size, in the vault of the apse of a circular Christian basilica with a square belfry. The dome of the belfry is crowned by a Christian cross. St. Cyril and St. Methodius are in the centre of the group.
The church is the likeness of the Rotunda or the “Gold Basilica” in Veliki Preslav, commissioned by Tzar Simeon the Great (893-927).
The images of the seven saints, their haloes, mantles, the columns and arches of the apse, the basilica and the belfry with the cross have all been rendered in the early Christian canons of icon engraving on ivory - diptychs or triptychs of the 9th – 10th century.
The authors of The Seven Saints sculpture group are Mr. Assen Hadjikostov and Mr. Toshko Marinov from Stara Zagora.
The round pedestal is made of fine walnut wood.
A bronze plaque on the obverse of the pedestal features an inscribed dedication in the Bulgarian language.
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