Altar of the Holy Spirit


About the Altar: My Altar of the Holy Spirit is like a story about the invisible Presence of God in our human life. The digital design includes the form of the letter ’Ж’ (J) from the Cyrillic alphabet, which is the first letter of the Bulgarian and also Old Church Slavonic word ’животъ’ (life); and, coincidentally, the overall form resembles some of the patterns seen in ... (continued below)


The video is based on the painting “The Rose of the World”, which is the centre of the Altar of the Holy Spirit. The music is the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Op. 31 by Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 – 1943).

About the Altar

My Altar of the Holy Spirit is like a story about the invisible Presence of God in our human life. The digital design includes the form of the letter ’Ж’ (J) from the Cyrillic alphabet, which is the first letter of the Bulgarian and also Old Church Slavonic word ’животъ’ (life); and, coincidentally, the overall form resembles some of the patterns seen in Bulgarian embroideries.

In the center stands the image of Sophia, the Divine Wisdom, with a book in Her hands and the symbol of the Holy Spirit, presented always as a white dove. Around Sophia sing Angels, praising this Divine Appearance. The four Gospel writers also participate in the Altar, as the ones who narrated the Passion of Christ and the participation of the Holy Spirit.

As the Holy Spirit appeared to Mary in both the Gospel of St. Matthew and St. Luke, these scenes are included in the Altar in two Annunciations, surrounding the central set of paintings, along with depictions of the Baptism and the mysterious event of Pentecost. Depicted also are the four Elements – earth, water, air and fire – in the four cardinal directions of the world – north, south, east, west – along the Altar’s outermost part.