OCU "bishops" discern Ukrainian flag colors in St. Sophia Cathedral's mural

Eustratiy Zoria discerned the right colors in the image of Oranta. Photo: facebook.com/cg.gov.ua

“Archbishop” of the OCU Eustratiy Zoria made a discovery for himself that the colors of the Ukrainian flag – blue and yellow – dominate on the icon of the Virgin Oranta in the altar of St. Sophia of Kyiv. He hastened to share this with subscribers on his Facebook page.

“During a service in Hagia Sophia on February 3, I spotted that the dominant colors of Oranta are yellow-gold and blue. Photographs often convey the Virgin’s blue clothing as greyish. But with a lively look, the two colors of our flag in the main icon of Ukraine are perfectly visible,” he wrote.

The “bishop” of the OCU Alexander Drabinko was also quick to share Zoria’s enthusiasm in the comments, noting that “the Savior in Hagia Sophia of Constantinople generally has a Ukrainian banner behind the throne.” Drabinko published a photo of the icon as proof.

The patriotic mood of the discussion was a little upset by one of the comments on the post:

“Basically, this is the ‘gold standard’ of Byzantine mosaics from the Late Macedonian to the Paleologian periods.”

We add that the main features of Byzantine mosaics in temples are the use of colored smalt (usually blue) and a golden background. One may read about it in the History of Ukrainian Culture.

Earlier, the UOJ told that the representatives of the OCU hoisted the banner of the European Union as an alternative to the national flag in Lutsk.

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