This church presented a unique opportunity to design an apse that fits into a more Western aesthetic- given it is in an building originally built by anglicans. Inspired by Romanesque wall paintings, the apse of this church depicts the visions of Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and John the Theologian (Revelation 10). In this design the priest becomes the third “seer” or the eucharistic vision and invites the people to join him at the table.

A Seraph flies forward to touch Isaiah’s lips with a blazing coal, while another flies forward to feed John the Book. Both hold eucharistic imagery, and thus their appearances are paired with that of the officiating priest. The entire dual vision brings both Old and New Testament together into the scene of Paradise (hence the four rivers of Paradise), implying that the sanctuary, the church itself, as paradise, and the Eucharist is the tree of life from which we consume the Body and Blood of God.

There is no altar painted in the icon either, and in situ the rivers spring from where the Body and Blood rest on the altar. The priest stands as a third participant in the vision, bringing his people in with Him to “behold the Lamb of God.”