Saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) brought the mystical language of the dark night of the soul into the West in a poetically beautiful and theologically developed way. St. John says that the fundamental principle of theology is to understand that God is everything and man is nothing. Therefore, in order to achieve perfect union with God, which is holiness, one must undergo intense and deep purification of all the faculties of the body and soul. His symbol is the Cross he holds dearly in his hands showing his absolute love for Christ

St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) is pictured with the arrow and a book. In her “inner castle “she writes about her experience of communicating with our Lord and the ecstasy she was granted during a prayer. The arrow symbolizes the love for Christ that has pierced her heart. The most memorable visualization of this moment was created by a famous sculpture Lorenzo Bernini. In iconography, as I have noted about it earlier, the saints are emotionless for they dwell in peace and now at this moment of our communication they are no longer shown as an allegory nor in a certain period of their lifetime, but are listening to us as we call for their intercession.