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DOI Artikel:Dobrzeniecki, Tadeusz; Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie [Mitarb.]: Maiestas Domini from the Faras Cathedral in the National Museum in Warsaw: (prolegomena to the iconography)
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18864#0093
The brightly shining cloth is a substantiation and a visualization of the glory of God". In
Psalm CIII/CIV light is identified with a cloth: "O Lord my God... thou are very great, thou
art clothed with honor and majesty, who coverest thyself with light as with a garment." When
God reveals Himself (= theophania), the "brightness of Him is similar to the light, the rays
sprout from His hands"58. During the Transfiguration of Christ, His garments were shining as
light. The resurrected Christ reveals Himself to St Paul "in the stupefying light."
The pre-Christian Logos embraces the whole cosmos with its radiation and reaches man.
Logos is light or fire and, therefore, acts as does the sun, revealing Himself in the foim of rays.
From the content of the Hellenistic concept of Logos proceed His numerous titles, which, in
mythological and philosophical writings, are given a pantheistic and a theistic context.
In the Chiistianism this notion of Logos not ordy signifies reason or the words of Revelation,
but also embraces the fullness of the personality of Christ as teacher, Saviour and raler. The Autiąue
Sol-Helios became Christian, sińce he was replaced by Christ, who took over the function ascribed
in the solar cult to the Sun god.
This transition was accomplished in the soteriological sphere only, and not in the cosmic one59.
In the valuable publication of A. Grillmeier00 we find new sources for the interpretation of
the lepresentation of Christ at Faras. Theologians in Antiochia interested in the union of two
hatures in Christ held —• with reference to the idea of the Epiphany —■ that the humanity of
Christ is wholly interpenetrated with the divinity61. It is the face (7tpoao7iov) of the deity, while
the deity is the face of humanity. The prosopon is an important notion in the whole history of
Christology. The term signifies the face, the countenanee, and also, the person. The prosopon
is the most visible aspect in a man, what may be seen and what expresses the properties of his
being; his whole external appearance, in which the carnal root interpenetrates the spiritual
one6'2. According to the Antiochenians, the prosopon was the aspect of humanity through which
the divinity shone. The bases for such a visual comprehension were the Biblical texts telling
about the brightness, lightening, glory of the divine Being in the person of Christ63. In Christ
the perfect man, the divine Logos dwells with all of His essence and properties. The divinity
penetrates humanity, which shines with internal light. Already Gregory of Nazianzus stated that
the body of Christ shines with brightness64. Theodoret of Cyre (f ca 496) represents Christ
in the most figurative way: Logos shines in His body and sends forth rays of invisible divine
naturę, which glory did not weaken Christ when living among the people65. Similarly, the
humanity of the divine Logos is shining, fuli of light and excellent, eternal and immortal because
of the dfvine naturę dwelling in Him66.
VIII. Antiochian and Cappadocian writers, thus, formulated their interpretation of Christ
on the basis of texts describing the glory of the Transfiguration on Mount Thabor6'. With this
57. H. Kittel, Die Herrlichkcit Gotles. Studicn zur Geschichte und Wesen eines Neutestamentlichen Begriffs, Giessen, 1934.
58. The same motif in the XXIst Ode of Salomon, v. 3: "Und ich zog die Fiusternis aus und tat das Licht an".
59. F. Sijhling,Uie Taube ais religioses Symbol im chrisllichen Altertum, Freiburgi.Br. 1930, p. 178 cites the sepuleralinscriptions
telling about the saving role of Christ-Helios (e.g. the inscription of the tomb of Petronius Probus of 383): Nunc proprior
Christo sanclorurn sede politus luce nova frucris, lux tibi Chrislus adest).
60. A. Grillmeier, Mitihm und in ihm. Christologische Forschungen und Perspektivcn, Freiburg—Basel—Wien, 1975, pp. 63—75:
' 'Die Christusvorstellung der gelehrten Theologie und ihre Niihe zum Bild."
61. A. Grillmeier, Le Christ dans la tradilion chrćlienne. De l'age apostoliąue a Chalcćdoinc (451), Paris, 1973, pp. 483—520 :
La reaction des Antiochiens.
62. Apocal. I, 16: his countenanee was as the Sun shineth in his strengtb in Jesus the face was shown, which was never scen
by anyone; John I, 18; XIV, 9; Hebr. I, 3.
63. II Cor. IV, 6: John I, 9; I John I, 5.
64. Oration XLV in S. Pascha: Patr. Gr. XXXVI, col 657 C.
65. The evidence of the Evangelical truth with the help of the Hellenie philosophy: Patr. Gr., LXXXIII, col 321 AB ; Grill-
meier, Le Christ, op.cit.,p. 484—392: Theodoret de Cyr.
66. In Ezechielem I, 27, 28; Patr. Gr. LXXXI, col. 836 B.
67. Matth. XVII, 1—8; Mc IX, 2—8; Luc. IX, 28—36.
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Psalm CIII/CIV light is identified with a cloth: "O Lord my God... thou are very great, thou
art clothed with honor and majesty, who coverest thyself with light as with a garment." When
God reveals Himself (= theophania), the "brightness of Him is similar to the light, the rays
sprout from His hands"58. During the Transfiguration of Christ, His garments were shining as
light. The resurrected Christ reveals Himself to St Paul "in the stupefying light."
The pre-Christian Logos embraces the whole cosmos with its radiation and reaches man.
Logos is light or fire and, therefore, acts as does the sun, revealing Himself in the foim of rays.
From the content of the Hellenistic concept of Logos proceed His numerous titles, which, in
mythological and philosophical writings, are given a pantheistic and a theistic context.
In the Chiistianism this notion of Logos not ordy signifies reason or the words of Revelation,
but also embraces the fullness of the personality of Christ as teacher, Saviour and raler. The Autiąue
Sol-Helios became Christian, sińce he was replaced by Christ, who took over the function ascribed
in the solar cult to the Sun god.
This transition was accomplished in the soteriological sphere only, and not in the cosmic one59.
In the valuable publication of A. Grillmeier00 we find new sources for the interpretation of
the lepresentation of Christ at Faras. Theologians in Antiochia interested in the union of two
hatures in Christ held —• with reference to the idea of the Epiphany —■ that the humanity of
Christ is wholly interpenetrated with the divinity61. It is the face (7tpoao7iov) of the deity, while
the deity is the face of humanity. The prosopon is an important notion in the whole history of
Christology. The term signifies the face, the countenanee, and also, the person. The prosopon
is the most visible aspect in a man, what may be seen and what expresses the properties of his
being; his whole external appearance, in which the carnal root interpenetrates the spiritual
one6'2. According to the Antiochenians, the prosopon was the aspect of humanity through which
the divinity shone. The bases for such a visual comprehension were the Biblical texts telling
about the brightness, lightening, glory of the divine Being in the person of Christ63. In Christ
the perfect man, the divine Logos dwells with all of His essence and properties. The divinity
penetrates humanity, which shines with internal light. Already Gregory of Nazianzus stated that
the body of Christ shines with brightness64. Theodoret of Cyre (f ca 496) represents Christ
in the most figurative way: Logos shines in His body and sends forth rays of invisible divine
naturę, which glory did not weaken Christ when living among the people65. Similarly, the
humanity of the divine Logos is shining, fuli of light and excellent, eternal and immortal because
of the dfvine naturę dwelling in Him66.
VIII. Antiochian and Cappadocian writers, thus, formulated their interpretation of Christ
on the basis of texts describing the glory of the Transfiguration on Mount Thabor6'. With this
57. H. Kittel, Die Herrlichkcit Gotles. Studicn zur Geschichte und Wesen eines Neutestamentlichen Begriffs, Giessen, 1934.
58. The same motif in the XXIst Ode of Salomon, v. 3: "Und ich zog die Fiusternis aus und tat das Licht an".
59. F. Sijhling,Uie Taube ais religioses Symbol im chrisllichen Altertum, Freiburgi.Br. 1930, p. 178 cites the sepuleralinscriptions
telling about the saving role of Christ-Helios (e.g. the inscription of the tomb of Petronius Probus of 383): Nunc proprior
Christo sanclorurn sede politus luce nova frucris, lux tibi Chrislus adest).
60. A. Grillmeier, Mitihm und in ihm. Christologische Forschungen und Perspektivcn, Freiburg—Basel—Wien, 1975, pp. 63—75:
' 'Die Christusvorstellung der gelehrten Theologie und ihre Niihe zum Bild."
61. A. Grillmeier, Le Christ dans la tradilion chrćlienne. De l'age apostoliąue a Chalcćdoinc (451), Paris, 1973, pp. 483—520 :
La reaction des Antiochiens.
62. Apocal. I, 16: his countenanee was as the Sun shineth in his strengtb in Jesus the face was shown, which was never scen
by anyone; John I, 18; XIV, 9; Hebr. I, 3.
63. II Cor. IV, 6: John I, 9; I John I, 5.
64. Oration XLV in S. Pascha: Patr. Gr. XXXVI, col 657 C.
65. The evidence of the Evangelical truth with the help of the Hellenie philosophy: Patr. Gr., LXXXIII, col 321 AB ; Grill-
meier, Le Christ, op.cit.,p. 484—392: Theodoret de Cyr.
66. In Ezechielem I, 27, 28; Patr. Gr. LXXXI, col. 836 B.
67. Matth. XVII, 1—8; Mc IX, 2—8; Luc. IX, 28—36.
83