Editor: Rasim Terzi (Fri, Jun 28, 2024 6:37 PM) Life of the Virgin Mary in Comic Book Style in Chora Free Quote

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Mosaics Depicting the Life of the Virgin Mary in Comic Book Style

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Life of the Virgin Mary in Comic Book Style in Chora

**Joachim and Anna**

An elderly couple named Joachim and Anna wished to make an offering at the temple. However, the head priest, who had white hair and a white beard, named Ruben or Reuben, did not accept their offering because they were childless. This greatly upset Joachim, who, according to the Gospel of John, withdrew to the desert to fast for forty days and nights. The apocryphal Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew suggests this period lasted five months. The mosaic in Kariye depicting this story shows Joachim encountering shepherds in the desert who mock him for being childless. Joachim is depicted looking down, embarrassed by their ridicule. This story is corroborated by the Gospel of James, which reflects the Jewish disdain for childlessness.

Meanwhile, Anna becomes deeply saddened by her husband's absence and her childlessness. Observing that all other creatures have both children and mates, she laments her situation. At that moment, the Archangel Gabriel appears to Anna, announcing that she will have a child when she reunites with her husband.

**Nativity of the Virgin Mary**

The mosaics depict Anna and Joachim discussing dedicating Mary to the temple. Joachim wishes to dedicate her at the age of two, but Anna requests a one-year delay. They decide to dedicate Mary at the age of three. Peacocks are included in this scene, symbolizing the joyful news.

**Blessing of the Virgin Mary by Priests**

Joachim is shown bringing Mary to the temple, where the temple priests bless her with their right hands and recite a prayer of consecration.

**Mary's Seven Steps**

Another mosaic shows the six-month-old Mary taking seven steps, which is considered a sign of her holiness. This act of taking seven steps is likened to the creation of the world in seven days, symbolizing that with Jesus, a new world will be created.

**Presentation of Mary at the Temple**

Joachim and Anna bring three-year-old Mary to the temple, where she is received by the priest Zechariah. The mosaic shows Mary walking towards the temple without looking back at her parents. In the same scene, Mary is depicted eating bread brought by an angel under an arbor.

**Mary in the Holy of Holies**

In the temple, there is a place called the Holy of Holies (Kodesh), which only the high priest can enter on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This day involves 24 or 25 hours of fasting and praying for the forgiveness of sins, which culminates in the ritual of the scapegoat, where sins are symbolically placed on a goat that is then released. The mosaic shows Mary in the Holy of Holies, being fed by an angel. This scene is linked to the tradition of inscribing verse 37 from Surah Al-Imran in mosque mihrabs, which recounts:

_"So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, 'O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?' She said, 'It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account.'"_ (Quran 3:37)

This passage underscores Mary's sanctity and is depicted in another mosaic at Kariye where an angel feeds Mary.

Fri, Jun 28, 2024 6:37 PM

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