Seen also are the symbols of the burden of sin and its imprisonment on souls … locks, nails, chains, and keys. The darkness of those tombs is symbolized in the icon with the depiction of crypts and with a colorless human form bound up (devoid of life). When we celebrate Pascha in Eastern churches, we sing repeatedly: “Christ is risen from the dead, by death he trampled (conquered) death, and to those in the tombs (graves) he granted life!” Christ is victorious over death, death that is both physical and spiritual. It is the story central to all Christian belief. This is the “story” written into this icon. God offers us hope and never fails to love us, no matter how long we may remain estranged from Him or fail in our weaknesses, even when we have fallen in as much as Adam and Eve. The source of our strength is always with God. We have no strength to “free” ourselves by our own means, but rather we need God’s helping hand. Christ pulling up Adam is symbolic of our own dependence upon God, of our reliance on Him for everything, especially our salvation. Adam and Eve, our first parents are the sources of our human condition and frailties for which Christ’s act of redemption for all humanity is necessary.Ĭhrist freeing Adam and Eve out of Hades depicted in this icon can be seen as a visual metaphor for the mercy that God offers to all people, to all sinners who in genuine repentance and humility are lifted up out of darkness. The main figure being “freed” is Adam, and next to him is Eve. This abyss is called Hades (Greek) or Sheol (Hebrew) which is the place of the deceased, not solely the place of the condemned, but the place also where the prophets and saints of the Old Testament awaited their just reward. Upon looking again at this icon, we see Christ holds a small scroll in his left hand, representing the good news of salvation, and with his right hand, Christ is pulling a figure out of an abyss. No one can ever represent in any art form the intensity of Divine Light that is God. This brilliance is also expressed in the almond-shaped mandorla that symbolizes the incomprehensible qualities of Christ’s Divine nature. The magnificent radiance of Christ’s Divinity and Glory is represented by the rays of light emanating from his figure. The Greek abbreviation of “IC XC” identifies this figure as Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is depicted in His Glorified Body, resplendently clothed in gold garments (in contrast to the red/blue garments normally seen in icons of Christ). Since the Descent into Hades icon is so closely associated with Pascha (Easter), it is equally referred to as the Icon of the Resurrection.Īs you look at the icon, it is easy to see why.

One icon is the “Descent into Hades” (pictured here) and the other (not shown) is the “Icon of the Myrrh Bearing Women”. The two icons venerated during the Paschal season illuminate events that occurred in conjuntion with the Resurrection. Neither icon represents the actual Resurrection event, which truly cannot be represented. There are two icons in Byzantine and Orthodox churches associated with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Michael Church created by the Byzantine Iconographic Studio of Toronto, Canada – Rev.

Theodore koufos iconographer