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Apocalypse Epilogue: The Tree of Life

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One of the best-known representations of the Cross as the ‘Tree of Life’ is the 12th century mosaic in the Basilica of San Clemente, Rome. 
The cross is decorated with white doves, taken to represent the Apostles who will soon fly to all corners of the world carrying the message of Christ’s victory (Psalm 19:4; Acts 1:8).
At the foot of the Cross four rivers flow out  (Genesis 2:10) and two deer drink deeply of the river of the water of life (Ezekiel 47:1-12; Revelation 22:1-2); the deer that yearns for running streams (Psalm 42:1-3) quenches its thirst  at the fountain of living water that is Christ (Zechariah 12:10; 13:1; John 4:10; 7:37-39; 19:33-37).

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so as to have the right of the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs, sorcerers, and fornicators, the murderers and idolators, and all who love and practice deceit. (Apocalypse 22:14-15)

This epilogue of the Apocalypse summarizes the message of the book: Christ is coming soon to judge the world and vindicate his saints. The text concludes with the usual threats against anyone who would tamper with the book as the seer has written or dictated it.

Those who wash their robes (in the blood of the lamb) and have access to the tree of life are the faithful members of the Church. They remain faithful despite the persecution described throughout the Apocalypse. The “tree of life” is both a reference to the Cross and Christ himself who transformed the Cross into the antidote for the Tree of Knowledge by which Adam and Eve sinned in Eden. Blood, which typically stains clothing, here washes clothing clean; in the Old Testament, blood both purifies (the sacrifices in the Temple, especially the Day of Atonement) and makes those who touch it unclean.

The list of those “outside the gates” of the New Jerusalem are an interesting summary of all those who personify opposition to God. “Dogs” were a common nickname for the priests of the Cybele, the “great mother” goddess; these “dogs” would castrate themselves in a fit of ecstasy and then wander the streets in groups, singing and praying and asking for alms. In many ways, they sound like the first century equivalent of the Hare Krishna groups that were so common in the 1970s (except the self-castration, of course).

Sorcerers practiced “magic,” which was the usual way to describe illicit religious practices. “Fornicators” practiced porneia (lit. “dirty living”), which included fornication but also could mean a wide variety of other behavior or activities, not all of which we would consider sexual. But it was a quick and easy way to refer to those who misbehaved sexually. Murderers and idolators clearly misapprehended the image of God inherent in each human person. All those who love or practice deceit? That sums up all evil-doing nicely, doesn’t it?

The world is neatly divided into those who have washed their robes vs. those who love and practice deceit. If only life situations and predicaments pre-apocalypse could be so clearly and easily identified!

Dog Days, Part 2–with St. Roch

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A statue of St Roch made in Normandy in the early 16th century. His pilgrim’s hat is adorned with the keys of St Peter, indicating Rome as his destination. The dog which brought him food is traditionally shown at his side.

Where is St. Roch when we need him?! The summer has been especially sweltering this week in New York. The combination of heat and humidity has made it officially feel like 100+ on several days. Whew!

St. Roch, the patron of dogs, is celebrated on August 16 during the last period of the sultry Dog Days of summer. (Disease–such as plague–was thought to be especially likely to spread during the hot Dog Days so his association with both dogs and illness contributes to his association with the Dog Days of summer.) He lived from AD 1295-1327 and is invoked against the plague as well as being considered the patron saint of dogs, falsely accused people, and bachelors.

When he was 20 years old, Roch’s parents died. He distributed all his worldly goods among the poor (like Francis of Assisi) and set out as a pilgrim for Rome. Coming into Italy during an epidemic of plague, he was very diligent in tending the sick in the public hospitals and is said to have effected many miraculous cures by prayer and the sign of the cross and the touch of his hand. He himself finally fell ill. He withdrew into the forest, where he made himself a hut of boughs and leaves, which was miraculously supplied with water by a spring that arose in the place; he would have perished had not a dog supplied him with bread and licked his wounds, healing them.

St. Roch is usually portrayed with the dog licking his plague-wounds. Plague-related images of St. Roch often include the most popular symbols of plague: swords, darts, and arrows. There was also a prevalence of memento mori images, such as dark clouds and comets, which were often referenced by physicians and writers of plague tracts as causes of plague. The physical symptoms of plague–a raised arm, a tilted head, or a collapsed body–began to symbolize plague in post-Black Death painting as well.

Plague saints offered hope and healing before, during, and after times of plague. A specific style of painting, the plague votive, was considered a talisman for warding off plague. It portrayed St. Roch or another saint as an intercessor between God and the person or persons who commissioned the painting–usually a town, government, lay confraternity, or religious order to atone for the “collective guilt” of the community. Rather than a society depressed and resigned to repeated epidemics, these votives represent people taking positive steps to regain control over their environment. Paintings of St. Roch represent the confidence in which renaissance worshipers sought to access supernatural aid in overcoming the ravages of plague.