ZENIT: ICON OF UNITY BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
Kiko Argüello Completes Great Pictorial Work in Piacenza Church

ROME, JUNE 27 (ZENIT.org).- On June 24, during a Mass presided over by Bishop Luciano Monari, a great pictorial representation, measuring 500 square meters, executed by a group of painters led by Kiko Argüello, was inaugurated in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Piacenza, northern Italy. Together with Carmen Hernandez, Arguello is co-founder of the Neo-Catechumenal Way. 
The work, one of the largest in the world of religious character, is inspired in the canon of Orthodox sacred painting (following the line of saint and painter Andrej Rublev), although at times it reflects the Western influence of Matisse, Braque, Picasso, and others. 
"This painting is an attempt to express a prophetic announcement, in this Great Jubilee and in the ecumenical road desired by John Paul II, of the unity possible between the East and West in their Christian roots," Arguello explained on the day of the inauguration. 
"This icon is an event, a testimony of the events and historic factors of the first millennium, at a time when the Church was not divided," Fr. Vladimir Kuchumov said, who was representing Alexy II, Patriarch of all Russias. During the inaugural ceremony, Fr. Kuchumov said that the contemplation of this work of art enables one "to remember the times when the Church was united, and to see, seek, and perhaps find unity." 
His Beatitude Nerses Bedros Taza, Patriarch of Armenian Catholics, also attended 
the inauguration. 
The painting crowns the construction of the Church, which was begun in 1950, at the express wish of Padre Pio. When presenting the work to 600 itinerant catechists, Arguello recalled the way 
God showed him, through experience, to leave everything, including art, to follow the crucified Christ in the shantytowns of Madrid; and how everything, including painting, can be a service of love of the poorest man, so that he "can find in the religious picture a real esthetic emotion that will help him in his road of faith." 
"The Church in the West, must rethink the esthetics of evangelization in the third millennium." In other words, the language spoken must be understood by the man of today. "In this connection, the contribution from the East can be of great help, because it has preserved the canon of the early tradition." Therefore, the challenge lies in "expressing our faith in an esthetic that is neither anachronistic nor archeological, but is based on tradition." 
This work of art is like a great altarpiece that forms a "hymn to the great mysteries of our salvation" -- the Annunciation, Nativity, Baptism of Christ, Transfiguration, Entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, Crucifixion, Descent into Hell, Resurrection, Ascension, Pentecost, and Mary's Dormition. The center depicts the second coming of Christ. On either side of Christ, Pantocrator, are the Virgin and St. John the Baptist, accompanied by the Archangels Gabriel and Michael, and St.Peter and St. Paul, who intercede for us. 
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