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. The Easter holiday is considered the central celebration of the annual liturgical cycle. An invariable attribute of any event glorified by the church is its picturesque image. Thanks to the possibilities of printing production, the icon "Christ's Resurrection" is one of the most common today. However, the appearance of the now popular image was associated with a centuries-old history of hymnography and dogmatic creativity of the Church Fathers. The complexity of the formation of a picturesque plot lies not only in the saturation of the composition with numerous figures, but also in the fact that the evangelists have no descriptions of this event. It cannot be otherwise: the apostle disciples were not present at the same time, and the miracle itself is incomprehensible to the human mind. The image of the Resurrection is considered indescribable, therefore, events directly related to it are displayed in painting. In the order of the Liturgy of John Chrysostom there are such words: “in the tomb of the flesh, in hell with a soul like God, in paradise with a thief.” The text describes events to some extent.before the resurrection. Apocryphal writings also left their mark.
First Looks
Picturesque images of the first three centuries were allegorical and symbolic. The nascent church art was marked by cruel persecution by the pagans. Under these conditions, the shrines had to be carefully protected from desecration. The most important event of the Christian church was depicted in the form of Old Testament types. The most common was the image of the prophet Jonah in the womb of a leviathan. Just as Jonah spent three days in the womb of a whale, and then was cast out into the world, and Christ was in the tomb for three days, and then resurrected. This event is sung in Easter hymns.
Iconographic types
It is impossible to depict the very moment of the resurrection of the flesh, because the human consciousness is unable to even speculatively imagine this process, let alone express it graphically. In Christian iconography, there is a limited number of storylines that embody the greatness of the event for believers. The image of classical orthodox origin is not called the icon "Christ's Resurrection", but "The Descent of Christ the Savior into Hell". The Western tradition has introduced into liturgical use two picturesque images that are more understandable to the consciousness of the layman and are now widespread: “The Resurrected Christ at the Tomb” and “The Appearance of the Resurrected Savior to the Myrrh-Bearing Women”. There are variations on these main themes, for example, the icon "The Resurrection of Christ with the holidays".
Unique fact
Every action in the church should beagreed with the charter and justified dogmatically. Modern theologians compare church teaching with a turtle that has a strong shell for protection. This armor has been developed in the fight against many heresies and false teachings over the course of many centuries. Activities in the field of art are also strictly regulated. On an icon, each brushstroke must be justified. But the icon "Christ's Resurrection" is based on not quite canonical sources of information. Namely, on the texts of the source of the 5th century, the so-called gospel of Nicodemus, rejected by the canonical thought of the church.
Icon “The Resurrection of Christ”. Meaning
The picturesque image tells of 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 the rising from the tomb. This apocrypha describes in some detail the dialogue between the devil and the underworld and the events that followed. Hell, anticipating its collapse, orders the unclean spirits to tightly “lock up the gates of brass and locks of iron.” But the Heavenly King crushes the gates, binds Satan and betrays him into the power of hell, commanding him to be kept in bondage until the second coming. After that, Christ calls all the righteous to follow Him. As the centuries passed, dogmatists clothed non-canonical texts in orthodox teaching. The Creator has no measurement of time, for Him every person who lived before the preaching of Christ, His contemporaries and us living today is valuable. The Savior, having descended into the underworld, brought out of hell all who desired it. But now living shouldmake your own choice. The icon shows the omnipotence of the Creator, who freed the captives of the underworld. And in time He will appear in order to carry out judgment and finally determine the punishment for evil and the eternal reward of the righteous.
Serbian fresco
In the male monastery of Mileshev (Serbia) there is an ancient temple of the Ascension of the XIII century. One of the images of the medieval ensemble of wall paintings is the icon "Christ's Resurrection". The fresco depicts an angel in shining clothes, which corresponds to the description of these events by the Evangelist Matthew. The heavenly messenger sits on a stone that has been rolled away from the door of the cave. Near the tomb lie the burial sheets of the Savior. Next to the angel are placed women who brought vessels with the world to the coffin. This version has not received much distribution among Orthodox icon painters, but Western realistic painting willingly uses it. It is interesting that in this case the event is depicted without its main participant - Christ.
Oldest canonical image
In 1081 a church was built on the outskirts of Constantinople. According to its location, it received the name of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the Fields. In Greek "in the fields" - ἐν τῃ Χώρᾳ (en ti chora). So, the temple and the monastery built later are still called “Chora”. At the beginning of the 16th century, a new mosaic covering of the interior was arranged 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 broken gates of hell. Christ is surrounded by an almond-shaped halo. PerHe holds hands of Adam and Eve rising from the tombs. Behind the progenitors of the human race are the righteous of the Old Testament. This recension is most widely used in iconography.
What is depicted on the icon?
The image is the dogma of the church, expressed in a pictorial form. According to church teaching, paradise for the righteous was closed until the Savior's death on the cross and His glorious resurrection. The composition of the icon includes images of the most famous saints before the era of Christ. The Savior stands on the cross-folded gates of hell. tools and extracted nails are sometimes depicted near them. Adam and Eve, as a rule, are located on opposite sides of Christ. Behind the foremother are Abel, Moses and Aaron. To the left of Adam are John the Baptist, Kings David and Solomon. The figures of Adam and Eve can be located on one side of Christ. At the bottom of the composition, the underworld with angels oppressing unclean spirits can be depicted.
Icon “The Resurrection of Christ”. Description
The image, which is of Western origin, is not a symbolic composition, but a picturesque display of gospel events. As a rule, an open cave-coffin is depicted, an angel sits on a stone or is 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. on the hands andthe legs are depicted with 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, but, dressed in orthodox canonical forms, is quite popular with 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 ex alted attitude of believers to the rise of the Savior from the tomb was also reflected in church art. An original line in the 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 the image of the main event in the life of the church, and around the perimeter in the hallmarks are plots of the twelve most important holidays associated with the earthly life of Christ and the Virgin. Among these shrines, there are also very unique specimens. The events of Passion Week are also depicted. In practice, the icon “The Resurrection of Christ with the Twelfth Feasts” is a summary of the gospel events and the annual cycle of worship. On event images, the descent into hell is depicted with many details. The composition includes the figures of the righteous, a whole line of which Christ brings out of the underworld.
Icon on the lectern
In the centertemple there is a pedestal with an inclined board, called the lectern. It is believed to be the image of a saint or a holiday to which the service on this day is dedicated. The icon of the Resurrection of Christ is found on the lectern most often: during the forty days of the celebration of Easter and at the end of each week. After all, the name of the day off 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, drawings and a model of the Jerusalem shrine were delivered to Moscow. Another, although less ambitious, but not inferior in monumentality, is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg.
Construction was started 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. On 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 an image of amazing beauty. Outside, above one of the entrance portals, there is also an icon of the Resurrection of Christ. Photo, of course, can not convey the fullnesssensations, but gives a complete picture of the splendor of decoration.
