Category Archives: Icons

Resurrecting Easter

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“Christ is risen! Indeed, he is risen!”

In the iconography of the Eastern Church, the risen Jesus grasps the hands of other figures around him. Unlike the Western image of a solitary Jesus rising from an empty tomb, the authors of Resurrecting Easter saw images of the Resurrection depicting Jesus grasping the hands of Eve and Adam, lifting them to heaven from Hades or hell. They discovered that the standard image for the Resurrection in Eastern Christianity is communal and collective, something unique and distinct from the solitary depiction of the resurrection in Western Christianity.

A popular 7th-century homily on the Resurrection tells us

“The Lord rose, then, after three days… and all the descendants of the nations were saved in Christ. For one was judged and multitudes were saved. The Lord died on behalf of all…. [and] He raised up all humanity to the height of heaven, bearing a gift to the Father, not of gold nor silver nor precious stone, but rather that human race which he made according to his own image and likeness.”

In the Eastern images of the Resurrection, Adam and Eve–often with Kings David and Solomon, St. John the Baptist, and other prophets from the Old Testament–represent all humanity exiting an empty Hades. The whole human race shares in the triumph of the Resurrection of Christ and the earth itself is saved from the desecration of Abel’s blood shed by Cain. This is reflected in the hymnography of the Holy Saturday services as well:

TODAY, HELL CRIES OUT GROANING:
MY DOMINION HAS BEEN SHATTERED.
I RECEIVED A DEAD MAN AS ONE OF THE DEAD,
BUT AGAINST HIM I COULD NOT PREVAIL.
FROM ETERNITY I HAD RULED THE DEAD,
BUT BEHOLD, HE RAISES ALL.
BECAUSE OF HIM DO I PERISH.
GLORY TO THY CROSS AND RESURRECTION, O LORD!

Resurrecting Easter reflects on this divide in how the Western and Eastern churches depict the Resurrection and its implications. The authors argue that the West has gutted the heart of Christianity’s understanding of the Resurrection by rejecting that once-common communal iconography in favor of an individualistic vision. As they examine the ubiquitous Eastern imagery of Jesus freeing Eve from Hades while ascending to heaven, they suggest that this iconography raises profound questions about Christian morality and forgiveness.

A fundamentally different way of understand the story of Jesus’ Resurrection, Resurrecting Easter is illustrated with 130 images and introduces an inclusive, traditional community-based ideal that offers renewed hope and possibility.

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.