A Special Source of Light

Today has been one of the most uneventful New Year’s Eves I can recall - and that’s just how I wanted it. I’ve been reading more of the book I blipped yesterday, and am still turning those pages. It’s quite a tale.

Thanks to carolinav for this week’s Tiny Tuesday challenge to use special lighting, or combine different sources of light, to illuminate a tiny object. My blip is of a miniature golden triptych of Christ the Pantokrator. In Eastern Christianity the figure of Christ Pantokrator - meaning ’almighty’, ‘all-powerful’, or ‘the ruler of all’ - is commonly depicted in Orthodox churches. This traditional icon shows Christ holding a book clasped shut against his chest which might be a Gospel book, but might equally be the Book of Judgment. His right hand is raised to make the sign of a blessing. I bought this little wooden triptych from the Russian Orthodox Church in Nice as a gift for my parents, and have now inherited it from them. Not only is its gold paint shimmering in the light of a work-lamp which once belonged to Mum, but of course Christ himself is a special source of light.