An Exploration of Forgiveness through the lens of Byzantine Iconography

I was led to producing this work by a series of questions:
What doors close and what doors open in our internal world in order to enable someone to commit an act of violence against another?
When is it justifiable to use violence?
How many people have been murdered in the name of God?
Does it not seem hypocritical that those who lead the victorious are not “brought to justice” for war crimes?
What does it mean to be “equal in the eyes of God”?
What is the role of forgiveness in breaking the cycle of violence?
And, what is the role of grace in the process of being able to forgive?