Christ Source of life with a quotation from a psalm

Description Christ Source of life with a quotation from a psalm

For the left panel of this religious diptych, an icon of Christ the Savior and Source of Life has been chosen. This icon comes from the Transfiguration monastery of Zrze in Macedonia. Currently this monastery only has a copy of this religious icon, because the original is in the Macedonian museum in Kopje which mainly includes works of art from the Middle Ages and among other things a magnificent collection of religious icons. This icon dates from 1393 - 1394 as evidenced by an inscription on the icon.
The large dimension of this religious icon gives Christ an imposing and even majestic allure: with a height of 88.5 cm Christ is practically life-size.

For more information on this icon of Christ the Savior and Source of Life you can refer to the descriptions of the following religious objects:
- Religious triptych TRT7
religious icon IC_110

The chosen text is an extract from psalm 102. This psalm lists the blessings of God and recalls that they are the fruit of divine Mercy in favor of those who fear him. Faced with the greatness and the profusion of divine gifts, the psalmist feels incapable of giving God a just thanksgiving; he therefore invites all creatures, angels and men, to join him in thanking God for all his blessings.
The extract chosen for the left panel is found at the beginning of the psalm; he enumerates the many benefits of God: he forgives our sins, covers us with his infinite love and his mercy, he never abandons us and our whole life is filled with his immense benefits.
This reminder of the gifts of God illustrates well the title of this religious icon: Christ the Savior and Source of Life. The greatest benefit is undoubtedly life, first the natural one but above all things the supernatural one by which we are called to live in the happiness of God for all eternity. This eternal life, that we had lost by the sin of our first parents, God restore it by mere mercy. He gave us a Savior in the person of his Son, second person of the Holy Trinity, who assumed a human nature similar to ours except the sin. In this way Christ was able to free us from sin and death, to satisfy in abundance for all the sins of all humanity and to open to us the doors of Heaven. There, we are invited to praise God eternally for his infinite mercy and his love for us.

Quotation :

Bénis le Seigneur ô mon âme, n'oublie aucun de ses bienfaits, lui qui te pardonne toutes tes offenses, qui te couronne d'amour et de tendresse, qui rassasie de biens tes années, et ta jeunesse comme l'aigle se renouvelle. Bénis le Seigneur, ô mon âme. (Ps. 102)