Category Archives: Days and Seasons

Holy Week: The Death of Death

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This 13th century crucifixion from Pisa also depicts scenes from Holy Week: Christ’s arrest, his scourging, carrying the Cross, as well as his death, burial, and resurrection. (Cleveland Museum of Art)

Holy Week is the opportunity to celebrate and contemplate the last week of Christ’s ministry, from his entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to his Resurrection. The heart of Holy Week–the heart of the Christian year–is the nexus of Good Friday-Holy Saturday when Christ’s death and resurrection are celebrated and proclaimed.

Christ’s death was more than a tragic event for a particular person. His death was the encounter between God and Death itself. Once Death had entered the world, following the sin of Adam and Eve, it consumed everything. But when God allowed himself to be consumed by Death, then Death consumed itself. Christ’s resurrection is the pledge that Death has been rendered powerless although it can still be frightening–like a serpent or a chicken with its head cut off, squirming around and spewing blood but harmless apart from whatever fear or disgust we give it.

“Christ concealed the hook under the bait by hiding his strength under weakness. Therefore that murderer who from the beginning thirsted for human blood, rushing blindly upon weakness, encountered strength; he was bitten in the act of biting, transfixed [with nails] as he grasped at the Crucified…. I behold the jaws of the serpent pierced through, so that those who had been swallowed may pass through them…. Well may he be angry, roar, and waste away, for the prey has been snatched from his teeth.” (St. Guerric of Igny, Sermon 30)

In the Middle Ages, many images of Christ on the Cross–especially those based on Byzantine models–contain images of the other events in Holy Week as well.

Passiontide

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The statues and cross on this altar are veiled for the two weeks of Passiontide.

In western Christian liturgical practice, the last two weeks before Easter were commonly known as “Passiontide.” The statues and crosses would be veiled. Some think this dates from a time when Lent was itself only two weeks long and that the images were therefore veiled for all of Lent. Some think that as Lent became longer–finally becoming the 40-day fast it is now–that the statues and crosses were veiled for all of Lent. Practices varied a great deal across western Europe. In some places the crosses were covered on Ash Wednesday; in others on the first Sunday of Lent. In England it was customary on the first Monday of Lent to cover up all the crucifixes, images of every kind, the reliquaries, and even the cup with the Blessed Sacrament. In other places, veils were still only used during the two weeks of Passiontide itself.

Why cover the cross and other images? Scholars suggest that at the time when veiling was introduced, the image of Christ on the Cross was still that of Christ Triumphant: his eyes are open, he is calm, and he is robed as a king or priest. He is ruling the world from the throne of the Cross, as many iturgical hymns say. The image of Christ on the Cross as the Man of Sorrows (his body twisted in agony, his eyes often closed in death, the pain and agony of Crucifixion on full display) did not become popular until much later. The veils were thus used to hide the triumphant images of Christ as the faithful were preparing to celebrate that triumph. (The saints are likewise images of Christ triumphant in the lives of believers and would therefore be covered as well during the time of preparing to celebrate Christ’s triumph over Death.) By the time the image of the Man of Sorrows on the Cross–which would be appropriate for veneration during the preparation for Easter–became popular, the veils had become too entrenched in popular custom and so the images of Christ on the Cross continue to be covered.

Even in the Orthodox world, the two weeks before Easter are distinct liturgical periods: the Week of Palms which leads up to Palm Sunday and the Passion Week which culminates in Good Friday-Holy Saturday-Pascha (Easter). But the images are not veiled in Orthodox churches.

A beautiful example of Christ Triumphant on the Cross from 13th century Pisa–currently in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art–can be seen here.

St. Mary of Egypt

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St Jerome and St Mary of Egypt (first half of 16th century)

St. Mary of Egypt was among the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. She is still extremely well-known in the Orthodox Church although she is not as well known anymore among Western Christians. She is considered a model of repentance and commemorated on April 1 (the anniversary of her death) and the 5th Sunday of Lent (in the Orthodox liturgical tradition).

According to her life (written by Sophronius, 7th century patriarch of Jerusalem and available in the Golden Legend), Mary was a sexually active young girl who ran away from home in Egypt when she was 12. Her parents never heard from her again and never knew what befell their daughter. She made her way to Jerusalem, seducing men along the way. She had a conversion experience in Jerusalem and fled into the desert, where she lived as a hermit for several decades. A lone monk discovered her one spring and learned the story of her life. He brought her Holy Communion the next year. When he attempted to meet her a third time, he discovered her body and realized that she had died only hours after he had given her Holy Communion.

She was clearly a headstrong young woman. She used the resources available to her to make her way in the world. Coming from a poor, rural family, that meant her only resource was her body. But her conversion experience made her realize that relying on her sexuality to survive was a dead-end; she wanted more than a collection of sensual experiences and memories to give meaning to her life. So she embraced an extreme form of desert asceticism as a hermit. Just as her sexual behavior was extreme, her asceticism was as well. She was not given to half-measures.

There were many versions of her life available in medieval Europe, a testimony to her popularity. Many of them are still available, in translation. Her image was painted many times as well.