ON THE DERIVATION OF THE ANCHA ICON OF THE SAVIOR

Abstract

Till the thirties of the 20th century, the Ancha Icon of the Savior resided in Tbilisi Anchiskhati church. In 1930, it was transferred to the possession of the state and at the time is kept in the Georgian National Museum.
The opinions about the icon’s origins are diverse in the community of researchers and society. Some consider the Ancha Icon of the Savior: a) to be that very fabric, which Jesus Christ put against his face and which got mysteriously imprinted by the image of the face of the Saviour (so-called “Mandilioni”); b) not to be a “Mandilioni”, although to be imprinted with the image of Christ’s face by the mystery; c) was painted in VII-VIII centuries and originally bearing only the face of the Saviour; d) belongs to the type of icons called “Christ Pantocrator”, usually featuring the bust of Christ, the blessing right hand and the book of New Testament holding in the left hand.
This article emphasizes the information transferred by John of Ancha (XIII c.), the initiator of the renewal of the icon cover and the bishop of the ancient diocese of Ancha (currently situated in Turkey), about how the Ancha Icon was brought to Klarjeti, hence to Georgia. Based on this information, taking into account some findings of precedent scholars and a few shreds of evidence related to the icon, the new version of its derivation is presented.