The Cave in The Nativity Icon

Just as the Ass and the Ox, the cave portrayed in the nativity icon is not specifically mentioned in Scripture as being the birthplace of Christ.  In fact, St-Luke’s account does not say exactly where Christ was born, only that The Holy Virgin lay him in a manger.  So why a cave? Why not a little…

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The Ass and The Ox in The Nativity Icon

There is no ass or ox in the Biblical narratives of the birth of Christ.  Yet, besides the Christ Child himself, the ass and the ox are the most ancient and stable elements in the iconography of the nativity.  In fact the earliest example of a nativity known to us contains only the swaddled Christ in the manger flanked by the ox…

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