The Icon of the Resurrection of Christ
By Metropolitan Chrysostomos III of Mani
By Metropolitan Chrysostomos III of Mani
As is known, the Resurrection of Christ is the supreme historical event of Christianity. The Resurrection of Christ is the victory over death and dominion over it. And of course His Resurrection is a natural consequence of His divinity, “because it was not possible for Him to be held by it (death)” (Acts 2:24). Thus, the Resurrection is the foundation of faith in Christ, and the Church is truly the Church of the Resurrection. Day and night the Resurrection is hymned in the life of the Church, and every Sunday in particular is a feast of the Resurrection, a feast of Pascha, “feast of feasts and festival of festivals.” This fact is expressed not only through all hymnography and hymnology, but also through the art of iconography.
Iconographers, because the Resurrection itself is not described by the Evangelists, depicted the Resurrection through various types of images. In particular, in Orthodox iconography we have images that express the event of the Resurrection. One image depicts the moment of Christ’s descent into Hades, and another depicts Peter and John at the empty tomb. We also have the depiction of the Angel who sits on the rolled-away stone of the tomb and speaks to the Myrrhbearing women. Furthermore, concerning the event of the Resurrection, we have the appearance of the Risen Lord to Mary Magdalene with His words: “Do not touch Me” (John 20:17). Finally, there is also the depiction of Christ appearing to another group of Myrrhbearers who worship Him. The image of the Resurrection in which Christ is shown holding a banner, or other such depictions, are purely of Western style.
More specifically, the Resurrection as a significant depiction under the title “The Descent into Hades” presents two rocks and between them a dark abyss. In the center of the abyss is a marble sarcophagus, that is, the gate of hades, which Christ broke, and the keys and nails lie fallen and scattered here and there. Exactly beneath the now-broken gate is depicted an aged figure, bound with chains and with shame on his face, representing the devil or even death itself. The devil is the cause of death, and Christ is the life and the Resurrection.
Into Hades, therefore, Christ descended and proclaimed the resurrection of the dead, according also to the words of John of Damascus: “You descended into the lowest parts of the earth and shattered the eternal bars” (Resurrection Canon, Ode 6).
The central figure is the Risen Lord, the Conqueror of death, the One who has granted eternal life. In the depiction we discern the marks of the Crucifixion both in the hands and in the feet. Christ is depicted in radiant garments, all-bright, luminous, because He Himself declared: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12) and “I am the Resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). And His garments are white, as in the Transfiguration.
The oval-shaped glory with which He is surrounded signifies His divinity, while His gaze is at once strict and loving toward mankind. And this is because the Lord is strict toward sin, yet loving toward the repentance of man. Christ, by His death and His Resurrection, restores man from his fall into eternity. As one troparion says, the Lord by His Cross abolished the curse of the tree; by His burial He put to death the dominion of death; by His rising He enlightened the race of men.
Also in the icon, Christ holds Adam and Eve by the wrists and draws them out of Hades. This scene is depicted with particular movement and vividness. The first-formed appear aged and weary and are rising from marble sarcophagi, which are shown to the right and left of Christ. And indeed their bodies and hands are in a posture of supplication and thanksgiving for their deliverance from the captivity of Hades and their salvation. The forefathers are the representatives of the entire human race and constitute the symbol of dead humanity, which is now raised up by the Risen One and Redeemer of the world, Christ.
Then, behind Adam is depicted Saint John the Forerunner, who preached in Hades the Gospel of Christ, as well as the kings of Israel, David and Solomon. Behind Eve are depicted the prophets of the Old Testament, Isaiah, Enoch, and others, and there also is Abel, who holds a shepherd’s staff as a shepherd of sheep.
With this brief description of the icon of the Resurrection, we have the central meaning of the Paschal troparion: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
In this regard, the most splendid icon of the Resurrection is that of the 17th century in the Monastery of Varlaam at Meteora. Of course, such depictions of the Resurrection are found elsewhere as well.
With this brief description of the Orthodox icon of the Resurrection, the mind bows down and faith receives the greatest of the sacred Mysteries. The Risen Lord conquers sin and death and hands over victory and the triumph of life to man. The Kingdom of God within the space of the Church becomes an invitation to eternal life. Christ became man, Christ was crucified, Christ rose from the tomb. He became the “Firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18). Therefore we can exclaim: “I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come.” Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
