The resurrection of Christ has key value in the Christian faith, giving believers hope for salvation and eternal life. Without faith in Holy Sunday, Christianity loses all meaning. When I talk to atheists about my faith, they cannot accept the fact of the resurrection of the body. However, you need to believe with your heart, not your mind. Faith is given to us as the grace of God, as a miracle. In the article I will tell you about the meaning of this important event in the life of every person, about the Easter holiday and prayer for this solemn occasion.
The Resurrection of the Savior brought the good news of the salvation of mankind. After his death, Jesus went down to hell, defeated the devil and was resurrected. He was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, and this became irrefutable proof of his divine nature. The news of the miraculous resurrection spread across many cities, and the Savior repeatedly appeared to his disciples and faithful followers. One of the people of little faith named Thomas doubted the reality of the resurrection, but changed his mind when he put his own fingers into the wounds of the Savior.
Interpretation of the prayer
Since that time, Christians have celebrated the bright holiday of Easter, during which they remember this important event for every person. At the end of the all-night Easter service, a special prayer is sung: “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ.” The text of this prayer is not complicated; anyone can learn it. This prayer is also sung on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Christmas, and Lazarus Saturday.
The purpose of Christ's sacrifice is the redemption of humanity from spiritual death and the acquisition of the kingdom of God.
Many Christians consider Christmas to be the main holiday, but in fact important It is Easter - the bright resurrection of Christ. With Easter, a new liturgical cycle begins in the church. Jesus gave everyone powerful weapon against the devil - the holy cross. Now every believer has power over the devil and his own sin, the cross of the Lord helps in this.
Having seen the Resurrection of Christ - text of the prayer:
1. Having seen the Resurrection of Christ
Why does the prayer mention that someone saw the resurrection of Christ? Not a single person was present at this event. The Church Fathers teach that this refers to the personal resurrection of every Christian: he was reborn to spiritual life with the rite of baptism. We have been resurrected in a new spiritual body, free from temptation and sin. The newly baptized begin a new life in Christ, and old life buried and forgotten. When we leave the baptismal font, the world is born new soul and a new body.
2. To the only sinless one
Jesus was the only person on earth, possessing a divine nature. All other people are born in sin, and remain sinners. Salvation is given to us as a gift from God, an ineffable mercy. Christ became the willing sacrifice for our sins so that we could be saved. Every Christian must remember at what price he was redeemed from the clutches of death - by the holy blood of the Savior.
3. Worship your cross, O Christ
Death on the cross was considered the most shameful and terrible thing in those days. The crucified man did not die immediately, but suffered for some time. Christ turned the instrument of shame and torture into a symbol of victory over the devil. He consecrated the cross with his suffering and blood. Therefore, Christians worship the Cross as a symbol of victory over sin and punishment.
The symbol of the cross did not arise by chance, and it is not by chance that we cross ourselves. When the first Christians were subjected to terrible torture and had their tongues cut out so that they would not preach salvation, they crossed themselves before execution. This showed people that martyrs accepted death for Christ. Thanks to the sign of the cross and the fearlessness of the martyrs before death, many pagans accepted the Christian faith.
4. If You are our God, don’t we know otherwise to You?
Here Jesus is declared to be God, the only begotten Son. These words mean that the Christian has realized the mercy of God's gift of salvation. There is nothing we can do to repay priceless gift, only with your sincere faith.
5. Your name we call
In the Old Testament it was forbidden to say holy name god, and only once a year did the high priest have the right to name him. But with the teachings of Christ, now everyone can pronounce the name of God without fear of punishment. You just need to say it with worship in your heart, and not for every trifle.
6. Come, all the faithful, let us worship the holy resurrection of Christ
In the Christian faith, it is very important to be like-minded followers of Christ and glorify his resurrection with one soul. The Savior commanded us this when he said: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, and I am among them.”
Icon of the Resurrection
The icon depicts the resurrection of Jesus, holding the hands of the first man, Adam. Thanks to its death on the cross Christ was able to save all people who were in the vale of sorrow. The Savior's feet stand on the broken gates of hell, which very symbolically expresses his victory over the devil.
On other icons you can see the Savior emerging from the tomb, with angels at his feet. Often, icon painters depict horrified guards and pious myrrh-bearers in order to show the full picture of what is happening.
The icon in which Magdalene meets the risen Savior is also revered. The icon painters emphasized the characteristic gesture of Christ, who forbids touching himself.
What should we pray to this icon for? The believer must remember that his goal is to imitate Christ in everything. When we look at the icon of the Resurrection, we must understand that we need to change and become like the Savior every day. He left the only commandment to humanity: “Love one another.” This is all that every Christian needs to do daily.
Prayer before the icon:
- cleanses the mind of bad thoughts;
- strengthens in faith;
- gives peace of mind;
- helps you find meaning in life.
Prayer fills our hearts with the joy of salvation, strengthens the spirit and calms the heart. The glorification of God should become the meaning of our earthly life, because after death we find ourselves in his abode - the kingdom of God.
Kopirovsky A.M., prof.
1. in " Orthodox Encyclopedia. It is about the Resurrection of Christ in general; you need to get acquainted with it in order to navigate the theological understanding of the Resurrection. See especially the section “Iconography”.
2. . . M., Progress-Tradition, 2001. About the iconography of “The Descent into Hell”: pp. 482 – 519.
3. Bobrov Yu.G. . St. Petersburg, AXIOM, 1995. About the Resurrection – Descent into Hell: pp. 158 – 167.
4. Pripachkin I.A. . M., 2008. (brochure). The concept in it is of little interest: the author is trying to prove that calling the iconography “The Descent into Hell” is wrong, it should only be “Resurrection,” but this is speculating from scratch. But he has many references to fathers and other literature.
5. Catalogs (in them look for information about the iconography of the “Resurrection – Descent into Hell”):
1) Icons of Tver, Novgorod, Pskov: XV–XVI centuries. Collection catalog Center. Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art named after. Andrey Rublev. Issue I / Ed.-comp. L.M. Evseeva, V.M. Forty. M., 2000.
2) Icons of Moscow XIV–XVI centuries. Collection catalog Center. Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art named after. Andrey Rublev. Issue II / Ed.-stat. L.M. Evseeva, V.M. Forty. M., 2007.
3) Popov G.V., Ryndina A.V. Painting and applied art of Tver of the 14th–16th centuries. M., 1979 (icon painting: pp. 7 – 476)
4) Smirnova E.S. Painting of Veliky Novgorod: Mid-XIII – early XV centuries. M., 1976.
5) Smirnova E.S., Laurina V.K., Gordienko E.A. Painting Vel. Novgorod: XV century. M., 1982.
Iconography options
1. Option 1. Resurrection as the leading of Adam and Eve from hell (Christ swiftly moves from bottom to top, holding their hands). Icon of the 15th century. from Pskov. Located in State. Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
2. Option 2. Resurrection as a descent for people (Christ leans towards Adam and Eve, moving from top to bottom). Daniil Cherny and Andrey Rublev. Icon 1425-27 from the iconostasis of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
3. Option 3. Resurrection as the appearance to “those in hell” of Christ in glory (Christ in the center, depicted frontally between Adam and Eve, whom He holds by the hands). Dionysius. Icon of 1502 from the iconostasis of the Ferapontov Monastery. Located in State. Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
There are many more options for combining 1, 2 and 3, but these are the main, most typical ones.
4. Option 4, connecting options 2 and 3 (Christ in the center, between Adam and Eve, but leaning towards Adam). Icon from the 1540s. from Karelsky Selts, Novgorod. Located in the Central Museum. Andrey Rublev, Moscow.
"The Descent of Christ into Hell"
Let's try to take a virtual tour of this wonderful icon from the collection of the Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art named after Andrei Rublev, 1540s, Karelskoe Seltso, Novgorod.
Icons of this kind of iconography are usually called “Descent into Hell”, because it is precisely the image of Christ descending into hell that we see on them. But its name, written in red paint at the top of it, is different: “The Resurrection of Christ.” Why?
There is well-known Western iconography where Christ is depicted rising from the tomb. He holds in his hand a bright banner with the image of a cross - a sign of His victory over death, and next to Him the guards fall to the ground in horror. Such an image seems more understandable, more accessible to perception - but this is an illusion. After all, the Resurrection takes place in secret, it is by no means a spectacular, almost theatrical event. The icon of the Resurrection, like any other, shows not the external side of the event, but its meaning, content: the secret as obvious, the invisible as visible. Therefore, in the icon Christ does not rise from the grave. He, on the contrary, moves down into the hellish abyss (this can be seen from His pose and fluttering cloak). Hell here is not frying pans, not fire and not ice, as in Dante's Divine Comedy, but absolute darkness. This word itself (from the Greek Ἅδης) literally means “invisible place” or “place where nothing is visible.”
But, nevertheless, we see in the lower part of the icon, under the feet of Christ, some boards, nails, pliers, hammers, locks placed crosswise on each other. What it is?
These are the doors of hell, ripped off their hinges, and what they were closed and boarded up with. Now all the constipations are broken by Christ entering hell. (Note for yourself: the written source of the image is not the Gospel, where (the illustration) there is no such plot, but a later text revered in the church - “The Gospel of Nicodemus”).
Christ is depicted in the radiance of heavenly glory. It is so great that nothing remains of the hellish darkness. Around the head of Christ is a shining golden halo, a symbol of holiness, the fullness of heavenly light. Gold is applied here to the icon in the form of very thin leaves (it is called “leaf”). Christ's clothing is covered with shiny stripes - this is also gold (only “created”, that is, dissolved in a binder, liquid like ordinary paint).
Hellish darkness is defeated by this light. People who were in it after death see Christ and rush to Him. This means that the content of the image of the Resurrection is revealed not so much through a description of how it happened, but more through the manifestation of its meaning - the victory of the Risen Savior over death.
However, here you can see details that are surprising in their specificity. For example, Christ takes the hand of the person standing on the right to lead him out of hell. This man is the first of the people created by God, Adam. Take a look: it doesn’t seem to matter exactly how their hands are connected. But that's not true. Christ in the icon takes Adam not by the fingers, but by the wrist - very firmly, with authority. At the same time, Adam himself stretches out his hand to Christ somehow hesitantly, as if he was trembling internally (the state of “fear of God”). This is no coincidence: after all, it was his fall that led to the fact that all people (“children of Adam and Eve”) die and find themselves in darkness...
Here we are faced with the need to supplement the general idea of the icon. It is known that an icon, unlike a painting, is conventional, symbolic, and mysterious. And when earlier researchers found some living details in it, it was customary to attribute them to elements of realism, which, as they thought, opposed the conventions of the icon and destroyed its figurative structure. But the peculiarity of icon painting is that in it the conventional and the concrete do not normally conflict, but only enhance the impression of the unusualness of the image.
Let's see how this happens. The arrangement of the figures in the foreground is perfectly balanced, symmetrical: Christ is in the center, Adam is to his left, Eve is to his right. She also stretches out her hands to Christ in a gesture of humble request, covering them with the hem of her robe (this technique in icon painting is called “covered hands”, this is a sign of reverence). She looks a bit like the Virgin Mary, doesn't she? The similarity is not accidental. The Mother of God is often called “the new Eve” in liturgical texts.
Adam is in dark green clothes, Eve is in bright red. And to the right of them is a man whose clothes combine both of these colors: on his head is a red hat with a green trim, on his shoulders is a green robe that looks like animal skin. Who is this?
Probably their son?
Yes, right. His name is Abel, he is a shepherd, so he has a curved shepherd's staff in his hand. Abel looks at a man standing next to him with a high, domed forehead, who is holding what appears to be a book in his hand. But a book almost always has a red edge, and here it is not visible. What is this?
Tablet?
Certainly. A stone tablet, that is, a slab with the Ten Commandments of the Law written on it. So this is the prophet Moses.
And the old man in the crown and the young man standing next to him, also in the crown?
David and his son Solomon.
Right! There are many famous saints here Old Testament. But pay attention - they all have halos, although they are still in hell, in darkness. This means that the coming of Christ not only brings them back to life, but moreover: it introduces them to the divine light. Even Adam and Eve have halos! With this technique, the icon painter shows that they, the first sinners, are not only forgiven, but are elevated by Christ higher than they were in the paradise state before the Fall.
And therefore the entire icon is painted in extremely bright, festive colors, saturated with light.
However, the face of Christ is endowed with tragic rather than triumphal features. His gaze is full of attention and compassion for Adam, for whom He descended to hell. In other icons of similar iconography, even with the same arrangement of figures, the pose of Christ may be vertical, more solemn. Or much more dynamic: He quickly descends into hell or, conversely, just as quickly brings up the people in it from hell.
On the left, behind the figure of Adam, is a man with an ascetic, stern face, sunken cheeks and disheveled hair. He raises his hand, incredibly thin (also a sign of asceticism, “refinement of the flesh”), and turns it to Christ. But the fingers of the hand are turned towards himself: this means that he receives grace from Christ. This is John the Baptist (in Slavic - “Forerunner”, i.e. predecessor). You remembered, of course, Alexander Ivanov’s painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People.” The arrangement of the figures of John and Christ on our icon and in this picture is the same. But in the icon, Christ is in the foreground, John the Baptist is on the side, even behind. But in Ivanov’s film it’s the other way around. The reason is that in the picture the “appearance” of Christ is only expected, but in the icon it has already happened...
The icon “Resurrection - Descent into Hell,” which we have been looking at all this time, gives a feeling of joy, light, and spiritual triumph. But it should be noted that the victory of Christ over death and hell depicted on it, at the same time, is full of harmony and inner silence. One cannot help but pay attention to the amazingly meek, deep, inwardly profound faces of the saints.
All the people depicted in the icon are not extras, reacting to the phenomenon of divine light only externally. On the contrary, they are immersed in it with their whole being, comprehend it as a revelation, themselves become its bearers and therefore are transformed.
The icon was painted in the 1540s Novgorod lands. More than half a century earlier, Novgorod had lost its former strength and glory, having been forcibly annexed to Moscow by Ivan III. However, judging by the integrity and depth of the figurative structure of the icon, the icon-painting traditions of both cities were organically combined in it. Novgorod masters here followed the Moscow masters, but not contemporary ones, but earlier ones: Andrei Rublev and Dionysius. There were no “iconists” who could be compared with these great artists in Rus' at that time. But the spiritual ideal of the time of Rublev and Dionysius - the “golden age of the Russian icon” - as we see, spread far beyond Moscow and remained relevant even many years after their death.
See: Alexander Kopirovsky. Introduction to the temple. Essays on church art. – M.: Cultural and educational foundation “Preobrazhenie”, 2015. P. 193 – 198.
On the icons of the Resurrection of Christ, the ancient canonical Orthodox iconography depicts, oddly enough, not the sacrament of the Resurrection itself, but “The Descent of Our Lord Jesus Christ into hell.” Until the end of the 16th century. in Russian icon painting this was the only iconographic solution for depicting the Resurrection of Christ. The beginning was made in the Byzantine icon painting tradition. The corresponding iconography has been developing since the 7th century. It was based on the Second Council Epistle of the Apostle Peter (2 Pet.3, 9-13), the Psalter and some other church books.
There are other iconographic images that are familiar to us, dedicated to the Resurrection of the Savior. For example, “Myrrh-Bearing Women at the Holy Sepulcher.” Here we see the scene of the myrrh-bearing women coming to the tomb in the morning to be anointed with incense (aromas), but they see only an open empty tomb, the body of the Savior is no longer in it.
Only burial shrouds lay there, and then the Angel of the Lord (or two Angels) appeared and informed them that the One they were looking for - Jesus Crucified, He was not among the dead, He had risen! The wives' gaze is turned to the coffin and burial shrouds, to which the Angel points. Sometimes the risen Lord himself is depicted in the background.
Probably the most common iconographic type is the actual image of the “Resurrection of Christ,” where Christ is depicted ascending from an open tomb (sarcophagus) or emerging from a burial cave, or standing on a rolled-off grave stone, with the high priest’s guards sleeping or running in horror nearby. Sometimes in the hands of the Savior there is a white banner with a red cross, next to him are two Angels as witnesses of the Resurrection. This tradition was borrowed in the second half of the 17th century. from Western Catholic realistic painting, however, over time “dressed” in a more canonical form and technique. So, it is completely Orthodox, although it does not have ancient roots and symbols, but only illustrates the Gospel words iconographically.
However, the most theologically correct is the icon we mentioned above, “The Descent of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Hell.” It is more theologically rich and more accurately conveys the meaning of the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ. In Rus', similar iconography of the Resurrection of Christ has been known since the 11th century. In the center of this composition, Christ, in an aura of glory, stands on the destroyed doors of the gates of hell above the black abyss. In addition to destroyed gates, broken locks, keys, and chains are sometimes depicted. His prince is placed in hell - the figure of Satan, bound by Angels. On both sides of Christ are the righteous being delivered from hell: kneeling Adam and Eve, led by Christ by the hands from the tombs, behind are kings David and Solomon, as well as John the Baptist, the prophet Daniel and Abel...
Christ in this icon seems to be absolutely static. He holds the hands of Adam and Eve. He is just preparing to lead them out of the place of sorrow. The ascent has not yet begun. But the descent has just ended: Christ’s clothes are still fluttering (as after a rapid descent). He has already stopped, and his clothes are still falling off after Him. Before us is the point of the ultimate descent of Christ, from it the path will go upward, from the underworld - to Heaven. Christ burst into hell, and the gates of hell, broken by Him, lie in pieces under His feet.
“The Descent into Hell” shows us how Christ’s victory is accomplished: not by force or by magical-authoritarian influence, but through maximum self-exhaustion, self-deprecation of the Lord. The Old Testament tells how God searched for man. New Testament, right up to Easter, tells us how far God had to go to find His Son.
The whole complexity of the iconography of the Resurrection is connected with the need to show that Christ is not only the Risen One, but also the Resurrector. She talks about why God came to earth and accepted death. This icon shows the moment of a turning point, the moment of the meeting of two differently directed, but united in purpose, actions: the limiting point of the Divine descent turns out to be the initial support of human ascent. “God became man so that man could become god”—this is the golden formula of the Orthodox patristic understanding of man. These (previously closed) possibilities of transformation open up for a person rapidly - “in a single hour.” “Easter” means, translated from the Old Testament Hebrew, “transition”, rapid deliverance. In Old Testament times, the Passover bread was unleavened bread - unleavened bread, hastily made from dough that had no time to even be leavened. The liberation of humanity (now all humanity, and not just the Jewish people) from slavery (no longer to the Egyptian Pharaoh, but to death and sin itself) is being accomplished just as rapidly.
The main meaning of the iconography of the Resurrection is soteriological, that is, testifying to the salvation of man. “This is a sure saying: if we died with Him, we will also live with Him” (2 Tim. 2:11). “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too should walk in newness of life. For if we are united with Him in the likeness of His death<в крещении>, then we must be united in the likeness of the resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him... so that we would no longer be slaves to sin” (Rom. 6:4-6). This is what the Apostle Paul says.
The resurrection of Christ is the victory given to us. Or - the victory of Christ over us. After all, we did everything so that Life would not “dwell in us”: we took Christ outside the city of our soul, nailed Him to the cross with our sins, placed a guard at the tomb and sealed it with the seal of unbelief and lovelessness. And - despite us, but for our sake - He nevertheless rose again. Therefore, the icon painter, whose task is to convey the Easter experience of the Church, cannot simply imagine only the descent of the Savior from the tomb. The icon painter needs to connect the Resurrection of Christ with the salvation of people. Therefore, the Easter theme finds its expression precisely in the depiction of the descent into hell. Crucified on Friday and Risen on Sunday, Christ descends into hell on Saturday (Eph. 4:8 -9; Acts 2:31) to lead people out of there and free captives.
The first thing that catches your eye in the icon of the Descent is that in hell there are... saints. People in halos surround Christ, who has descended into the underworld, and look at Him with hope. Before the coming of Christ, before He united God and man in Himself, the path to the Kingdom of Heaven was closed for us. Since the fall of the first people, a shift occurred in the structure of the universe that broke the life-giving connection between people and God. Even in death, the righteous did not unite with God. The state in which the soul of the dead resided is denoted in Hebrew by the word “sheol” - a sightless place, a twilight and ugly place in which nothing is visible (Job 10:21-22). This is more of a state of heavy and aimless sleep (Job 14:12) than a place of any specific torment. This “kingdom of shadows”, this imaginary in its haze hid people from God. The most ancient Old Testament books do not know the idea of posthumous reward, they do not expect heaven. In this regard, in atheistic literature there is a statement that there is an impassable gap between the Old and New Testaments: the New Testament orientation towards the immortality of the soul does not find confirmation in the Old Testament and contradicts it. Thus, at a very significant point, the unity of the Bible is called into question. Yes, Ecclesiastes without any hope peers into the limits human life. The psalmist David weepingly reflects on the fleeting nature of human life: “Man is like grass, his days are like a field flower, so they bloom, as if the spirit passes through him and is not.” And Job asks, obviously without expecting an answer: “When a man dies, then will he live again? (Job.14.14). Yes, the existence of life after death was not clearly revealed to the people of the Old Testament. They could sense it, long for it, but obviously nothing was said to them. After all, to say that after death life in God, the Kingdom of Heaven, awaits them means to console them and reassure them, but at the cost of deception. For before Christ it could not yet absorb the world into itself, and no one from the world could contain it into itself. But telling the people of the Old Testament the truth about Sheol meant provoking in them attacks of hopeless despair or hysterical epicureanism: “Let us begin to eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die!”
And then the time came when hopes, seemingly deceived, were nevertheless justified, when the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled: “On those who live in the land of the shadow of death the light will shine” (Is. 9:2). Hell was deceived: he thought to accept his rightful tribute - a man, the mortal son of a mortal father, he prepared to meet the Nazareth carpenter Jesus, Who promised people the New Kingdom, and now He Himself will be in power ancient kingdom darkness - but hell suddenly discovers that not just a man, but God has entered it. Life entered the abode of death, the Father of Light entered the center of darkness.
However, we will not be able to convey both the meaning and the eventful mood of Easter better than St. John Chrysostom did: “Let no one weep over his misery, for it has appeared common kingdom. Let no one mourn for sins, for forgiveness has shined from the Tomb. Let no one be afraid of death, for Savior’s death freed us. Christ is risen and Life abides. Christ is risen and not one dead man is in the tomb!”
“The light of Christ enlightens everyone.” Perhaps this is exactly what the ancient icon painter wanted to say when he placed on the icon of the Resurrection among those meeting the Savior not only with halos, but also without them. In the foreground of the icon we see Adam and Eve. These are the first people who deprived themselves of communion with God, but they waited the longest for its resumption. Adam’s hand, by which Christ holds him, sagged helplessly: man does not have the strength to escape from the abyss of alienation from God and death on his own, without the help of God. “Poor man I am! who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:24). But his other hand is decisively extended to Christ: God cannot save a person without the person himself. Grace does not force. On the other side of Christ is Eve. Her hands are stretched out to the Deliverer. But - a significant detail - they are hidden under clothes. Her hands once committed a sin. With them she plucked fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the day of her fall, Eve thought to receive communion with the Highest Truth, without loving the Truth itself, without loving God. She chose the magical path: “taste and become,” replacing with it the difficult commandment of “cultivation”... And now before her is the incarnate Truth again - Christ. Communion to Her again can save a person. But now Eve knows that one cannot approach communion with self-confidence... Now she understands: a person’s entire being must be pierced by “reasoning” - to whom he is allowed to take communion... And Eve does not dare to touch Christ on her own. But praying, she waits for Him to turn to her.
Previously, in paradise, people's clothing was Divine Glory. Having been stripped of it after the Fall, after an attempt to acquire the fullness of this Glory through an inglorious technical means, the need for material clothing actually arose. The light began to expose the nakedness of people from good deeds - and protection was required from it, for in this light, which had now become external to them and convicting from the outside, “they knew that they were naked” (Gen. 3:7). Clothing served the same thing that cities would later serve - self-isolation, which, alas, became necessary (city - from “to fence, to fence”). The fact that now (at the moment depicted in the icon) Eve is covered with clothes from head to toe is also a sign of her repentance, an understanding of her complete separation from God (clothes were given to people after the Fall). But that is precisely why Eve was saved. Saved - because she repented. The icon painter, whenever it is necessary to show the meeting of man and God - the Eternal and the Temporary - strives to reveal not only the fact of the meeting, but also the meaning of the person in it: his personal, choosing, believing attitude towards the Met. In this case, this is indicated not only by the face or gestures, but also by clothes. And since this introduces the theme of repentance, the icon in the soul of the worshiper combines Holy Saturday (when the Descent into Hell took place) and Easter Sunday. Combines the repentant feelings of the final days of Great Lent and the all-dissolving joy of Easter.
The Resurrection of Christ is not “mythology” or “theoretical theology.” After all, what is more consistent with human nature: the Christian testimony of the Easter miracle or the ponderous rationality of the human mind is easy to establish experimentally in the coming Easter days. Just come in Easter night into the temple and to the priestly exclamation from the open gates: “Christ is risen!” - will your heart stir with the response: “Truly he is risen!” - or will you order him to remain silent?.. Better - believe your heart!
The most important event in Orthodox world is the Resurrection of the Lord. In honor of this, an icon of the same name was painted, to which people turn for help in various life situations.
The Holy Resurrection of Christ is a symbol of faith, truth and the victory of good over evil. This is a central event in the history of Christianity, without which there would be no faith itself. The Easter holiday is celebrated by every believer, and prayers offered in front of the icon will certainly be heard.
History of the icon
In Orthodoxy, there is no icon depicting the Resurrection of the Lord. But there are many images, mosaics and painted paintings that tell about the stories recorded in Scripture. Icons may depict the Lord descending into hell in order to take with him the souls of the Old Testament righteous and transfer them to the Kingdom of Heaven. However, the grandiose holiday of the Resurrection of Christ does not become less significant without a specific icon.
Description of the image
In Orthodox iconography there is no icon of the Resurrection of Christ, but there is a familiar image of Christ in a snow-white robe, who comes out of his tomb with a banner in his hand. This is one of the many versions of the iconographic image of the great event.
In art dating back to the ancient Christian era, the Resurrection of Christ was traditionally depicted in symbolic form. Icon painters used images from the Old Testament, from which everyone could draw an analogy to one or another event depicted on the icon. The absence in the Gospel of a story about the Resurrection itself was the reason that the story itself was not depicted on icons at first.
In early Byzantine art, the tomb of the Lord began to be depicted on icons, and much later, icons began to depict the Savior’s descent into hell after burial.
What does an icon help with?
In front of the icon of the Lord himself, you can pray for anything. The clergy recommend starting your prayer with words of gratitude to the Savior, who sacrificed himself for the salvation of everyone living on earth. Prayer words can be offered in any situation if you need help or support, a blessing for some matter, or healing from an illness. Every word coming from the heart will definitely be heard.
Where is the divine image located?
In Russia there are about 500 churches named in honor of the greatest event of the Resurrection of Christ. They contain icons and other works of art iconography depicting a solemn event:
- the city of Moscow, churches in Kadashi and Sokolniki;
- St. Petersburg, Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Smolny Novodevichy Convent;
- city of Pskov;
- city of Uglich, Resurrection Monastery;
- Tomsk city;
- city of Tula, Cathedral of All Saints.
Many temples, churches, cathedrals and monasteries contain not only icons, but also paintings and mosaic paintings depicting the Resurrection of Christ. Parishioners come to the holy face not only on holidays, but also at any time when they need Divine help.
Prayer before the icon
“Let us worship the Resurrection of the Lord, and give glory to the One Lord Jesus. You, who have trampled the heretics, who have brought repentance to all living people, who have washed away the sins of people with your blood, do not abandon your faithful servants in the hour of sorrow and difficulty. Heal our souls and bodies, so that we may proclaim the Word of God and glorify throughout the centuries the faith in the Triune Lord. Amen".
You can tell without hiding what worries you, ask for advice from Higher Powers, pray for your family and for everyone living on earth.
Date of celebration of the icon
The icon refers to the oldest Christian holiday, which was established in honor of the Resurrection of Christ - Easter. In Orthodoxy it is called the Feast of Holidays and the Celebration of Celebrations. On this day, festive services are held, and the date is moving.
In Orthodoxy, the day of the Resurrection of Christ is key event Therefore, every believer celebrates this holiday with his family. Believers attend solemn services to offer words of praise to the Lord, pray for protection, patronage and forgiveness of sins. We wish you happiness and peace, and don't forget to press the buttons and
08.04.2018 05:35
The icon of the Lord Pantocrator is one of the most important symbols among Orthodox believers. The famous image of Jesus Christ...
The main tenet of the Christian faith is the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ the Savior on the third day after death on the cross. Easter is considered the central celebration of the annual liturgical circle. An invariable attribute of any event glorified by the church is its picturesque image. Thanks to the capabilities of printing production, the icon " Christ's Resurrection"is one of the most common these days. However, the emergence of the now popular image was associated with centuries-old history hymnography and dogmatic creativity of the Church Fathers. The difficulty of forming a pictorial plot lies not only in the saturation of the composition with numerous figures, but also in the fact that the evangelists do not have descriptions of this event. It cannot be otherwise: the disciples-apostles were not present at this, and the miracle itself is incomprehensible to the human mind. The image of the Resurrection is considered indescribable, so paintings depict events directly related to it. In the rite of the Liturgy of John Chrysostom there are these words: “in the grave with the flesh, in hell with the soul like God, in paradise with the thief.” The text describes to some extent the events leading up to the resurrection. Apocryphal writings also left their mark.
The pictorial images of the first three centuries were allegorical and symbolic. The emerging church art was marked by severe persecution by the pagans. Under these conditions, shrines had to be carefully protected from desecration. Major Event christian church depicted in the form of Old Testament prototypes. The most common image was of the prophet Jonah in the belly of Leviathan. Just as Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days, and then was thrown out into the world, and Christ was in the tomb for three days, and then resurrected. This event is glorified in Easter hymns.
Iconographic types
The very moment of the resurrection of the flesh is impossible to depict because human consciousness is not even able to conceptually imagine this process, much less express it graphically. In Christian iconography, there are a limited number of storylines that embody the grandeur of the event for believers. The image of classical orthodox origin is not called the icon of the “Resurrection of Christ,” but the “Descent of Christ the Savior into Hell.” Western tradition has introduced into liturgical use two now widespread pictorial images that are more understandable to the consciousness of the average person: “The Risen Christ at the Tomb” and “The Appearance of the Risen Savior to the Myrrh-Bearing Women.” There are variations on these basic themes, for example, the icon “The Resurrection of Christ with the Feasts”.
Unique fact
Every action in the church must be consistent with the rules and justified dogmatically. Modern theologians compare church teaching to a turtle that has a strong shell for protection. This armor was developed in the fight against many heresies and false teachings over many centuries. Activities in the field of art are also strictly regulated. On an icon, every brush stroke must be justified. But the icon of the “Resurrection of Christ” is based on not entirely canonical sources of information. Namely, on the texts of a 5th century source, the so-called Gospel of Nicodemus, rejected by the canonical thought of the church.
Icon "Resurrection of Christ". Meaning
The picturesque image tells about great and incomprehensible events. It is the Gospel of Nicodemus that is, perhaps, the only ancient handwritten source that tells about what happened to Christ from the moment of burial to his rise from the grave. This apocrypha describes in some detail the dialogue between the devil and the underworld and the subsequent events. Hell, anticipating its collapse, orders the unclean spirits to tightly “lock the copper gates and the iron bars.” But Heavenly King crushes the gates, binds Satan and delivers him into the power of hell, commanding him to be kept in chains until the second coming. After this, Christ calls all the righteous to follow Him. As centuries passed, dogmatists transformed non-canonical texts into orthodox teaching. The Creator has no measurement of time; every person who lived before the preaching of Christ, His contemporaries and us living today is valuable to Him. The Savior, descending into the underworld, brought everyone who wanted it out of hell. But those living today must make their choice themselves. The icon shows the omnipotence of the Creator, who freed the captives of the underworld. And over time, He will appear in order to carry out judgment and finally determine the measure of punishment for evil and the eternal reward for the righteous.
Serbian fresco
In the men's monastery of Milesheva (Serbia) there is an ancient Church of the Ascension from the 13th century. One of the images of the medieval wall painting ensemble is the icon of the Resurrection of Christ. The fresco depicts an angel in shining robes, which corresponds to the description of these events by the Evangelist Matthew. The heavenly messenger sits on a stone rolled away from the cave door. Near the coffin lie the burial shrouds of the Savior. Next to the angel are women who brought vessels of peace to the coffin. This version was not particularly widespread among Orthodox icon painters, but Western realistic painting readily uses it. It is interesting that in this case the event is depicted without its main participant - Christ.
The oldest canonical image
In 1081, a church was built on the outskirts of Constantinople. Based on its location, it received the name Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the Fields. In Greek, “in the fields” is ?ν τ? Χ?ρ? (en ti hora). Thus, the temple and the monastery built later are called “Chora” to this day. At the beginning of the 16th century, a new mosaic covering of the interior was installed in the temple. Among those that have survived to this day is the icon “The Resurrection of Christ, the Descent into Hell.” The composition depicts the Savior standing on the ripped-off gates of hell. Christ is surrounded by an almond-shaped halo. He holds the hands of Adam and Eve rising from their graves. Behind the ancestors of the human race are the righteous people of the Old Testament. This version is most widespread in iconography.
What is depicted on the icon?
The image represents the dogma of the church, expressed in pictorial form. According to church teaching, heaven was closed to the righteous until the moment of the Savior’s death on the cross and His glorious resurrection. The composition of the icon includes images of the most famous saints of the pre-Christ era of mankind. The Savior stands on the cross-shaped gates of hell. tools and extracted nails are sometimes depicted next to them. Adam and Eve, as a rule, are located on opposite sides of Christ. Behind the foremother stand Abel, Moses and Aaron. On the left behind Adam are John the Baptist, kings David and Solomon. The figures of Adam and Eve can be located on one side of Christ. The lower part of the composition may depict the underworld with angels oppressing unclean spirits.
Icon "Resurrection of Christ". Description
The image, which is of Western origin, is not a symbolic composition, but a pictorial representation of gospel events. As a rule, an open cave-coffin is depicted, an angel sits on a stone or is located next to a sarcophagus, in the lower part of the composition there are defeated Roman soldiers and, of course, Christ in shining robes with a sign of victory over death in his hands. A red cross is placed on the banner. The arms and legs depict wounds from nails driven into the flesh during crucifixion. Although the icon of the “Resurrection of Christ” was borrowed in the 17th century from the Catholic realistic tradition, clothed in orthodox canonical forms, it is quite popular among believers. It does not require any theological interpretation.
Holidays holiday
The Holy Resurrection of Christ is considered by the church charter not just a holiday, but a special celebration, the glorification of which continues for forty days. Moreover, the celebration of Easter itself lasts seven days as one day. Such an exalted attitude of believers towards the Savior’s rise from the tomb was reflected in church art. The original line of development of the pictorial tradition is the icon “The Resurrection of Christ, the Descent into Hell with the Twelve Feasts.” This image contains in the center an image of the main event in the life of the church, and along the perimeter in stamps there are plots of the twelve most important holidays related to earthly life Christ and the Virgin Mary. Among such shrines there are also very unique specimens. Events are also depicted Holy Week. In practice, the icon “The Resurrection of Christ with the Twelve Feasts” is a brief summary of the Gospel events and the annual cycle of services. In event images, the descent into hell is depicted in many details. The composition includes figures of the righteous, a whole string of whom Christ leads from the underworld.
Icon on the lectern
In the center of the temple there is a cabinet with an inclined board, called a lectern. It is believed to be an image of a saint or a holiday to which the service on that day is dedicated. The icon of the “Resurrection of Christ” is placed on the analogue most often: during the forty days of Easter celebrations and at the end of each week. After all, the name of the weekend is of Christian origin; the last day of the week is dedicated to the glorification of Christ’s victory over death.
The most outstanding churches in honor of the Resurrection
One of the grandest churches in Russia is the Resurrection Cathedral of the New Jerusalem Monastery, built in 1694. With this building, Patriarch Nikon wanted to reproduce the Church of the Resurrection in the Holy City and emphasize the dominant position of the Russian Church in the Orthodox world. For this purpose, drawings and a model of the Jerusalem shrine were delivered to Moscow. Another, although smaller in scale, but not inferior in monumentality, is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg.
Construction began in 1883 in memory of the assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II. The uniqueness of this cathedral is that the interior decor is made of mosaics. The mosaic collection is one of the largest in Europe. It is unique in its quality of execution. In the clear sunny days iridescent multi-colored tiles create a unique feeling of celebration and involvement in the spiritual world. In the temple itself there is amazing beauty image. Outside, above one of the entrance portals, there is also an icon of the Resurrection of Christ. The photo, of course, cannot convey the fullness of the sensations, but it creates a complete idea of the splendor of the decoration.
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