WHAT DOES A NAVAJO SILVERSMITH AND A LOCAL BYZANTINE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVE TO DO WITH ONE ANOTHER?
An Artisan and a Crown
You might think that the Navajo Tribe and Byzantine Catholics are spiritually worlds apart, but not so in Father Francis Vivona’s mind. While living in Phoenix, AZ some 30 years ago, he first became familiar with native silversmith’s art in the area. So, when the parish he now pastors in Las Vegas, Our Lady of Wisdom Byzantine Catholic Church, went looking to adorn their Virgin Mary icon with a silver and jeweled crown, he called upon a local (Boulder City, NV) Navajo silversmith, Erick Begay, website: www.ebegay.com. He felt that the traditional Navajo silversmith techniques could be implemented to create a perfect adornment to his cherished icon of the Blessed Virgin.
Icons, significant holy images of various saints, can be found displayed throughout the church. On the church’s website:http://www.ourladyofwisdom.net, it is noted that, “Icons are there to remind us of holy people; much as we keep photographs of our loved ones with us - and it’s the person we love, not the photo we carry.” The Blessed Virgin receives significant veneration within Our Lady of Wisdom Church, as “Mary is the supreme example of co-operation between God’s will and human freedom”. During the month of July the Marian “Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel” takes place. For this very special icon at Our Lady of Wisdom representing the Blessed Virgin also known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a crown was commissioned. On the day of the feast, July 16th 2010, the day on which the crown was installed onto the icon, Most Reverend Gerald N. Dino, Bishop of the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix, came to the church to bless the crown.
Now, why do Byzantine Catholics cover their icons in silver and gems you might ask? Throughout history in the Eastern Churches memorials for the deceased or offerings of thanksgiving for prayers answered were traditionally given to the church in the form of jewelry or precious stones which would often be left by the faithful next to a particular icon. When these offerings accumulated they would oftentimes be melted down and reworked with the stones to create a particular adornment – a crown, for instance – that would then be affixed to the icon as a collective memorial.
For the crown that was created for Our Lady of Wisdom’s icon it took many offerings to come to this point, including a memorial donation of the many emeralds that are bezeled onto the crown. When asking Erick about the process he noted that, “It was an honor to make such a meaningful piece, but the actual form was so unusual it challenged my creative limits”. The crown is made of sterling silver, cubic zirconium, turquoise and emerald. Appliqué and repoussè techniques were used to make the crown. Appliqué is an overlay technique of soldering cutout designs to a metal base, where repoussè is a process of hammering metal from one side to create a raised design on the other side. In the end, a unique vision, several donations, some hammering and soldering made one custom crown for the Virgin Mary that both Navajo silversmiths and Byzantine Catholic priests are very proud to showcase.
For personal viewing of the Virgin Mary and her crown, visit Our Lady of Wisdom’s website for information about the weekly schedule for Divine Liturgy: http://www.ourladyofwisdom.net
