Tag Archives: Gregory Nanzianzus

“…like the sun in all its brilliance”

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Christ in glory as described in the Apocalypse, surrounded by the four heavenly beasts which are emblematic of the four evangelists. The 8-pointed stars in the concentric heavenly spheres are iconographic shorthand for the Saints gathered around Christ.

“In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Apoc. 1:16)

St. John describes his initial vision of Christ in the Apocalypse in terms very similar to the description of Christ at the Transfiguration in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Christ is shining more brilliant than the sun, in clothes more brilliantly white than possible on earth. The transfiguration itself is commonly associated with the End, the final Judgement and the revelation of the saints and righteous who will also shine more brilliantly than the sun. This “theosis” or “divinization” is also the common term for Greek-speaking Christians to describe salvation itself: by cooperation with God, the human person becomes like God and comes to share certain divine attributes–primarily love-charity. This assimilation of human to divinity is described in 2 Peter 1:4: “… that you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

The seven stars in Christ’s hand are commonly seen painted–many times over!–on the ceilings of churches. These stars are not meant to be stars in the sky, as if the roof were invisible, but are artistic shorthand for painting the saints in the Kingdom of Heaven. Rather than painting a multitude of faces, the church is adorned with a multitude of stars just as the righteous are commonly described as stars in visionary literature.

The sword which is the word of God (Isaiah 49, Wisdom 18, Hebrews 4) is both text and person. The “word of God” in English is commonly understood to be text, the word(s) spoken by God while the “Word” of God is understood to be the Divine Person who was incarnate. These distinctions of upper-case and lower-case are all editorial choices based on the theological opinions of the editors or typesetters. But in the Greek manuscripts there were few–if any–distinctions between upper-case and lower-case letters so that each time the phrase “word of God” appears it would have been understood to be BOTH the text spoken and the Divine Person who was made flesh.

“I hold the keys of Death and Hades …”

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St. John, in the cave on Patmos, experiences his vision of Christ who holds 7 stars and the keys of Death and Hades-Hell as he is enthroned among the 7 candlesticks. The angels of the 7 churches offer the parishes they protect to Christ.

“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and–behold!–I am alive for ever and ever! Amen. And I hold the keys of Death and Hades.” (Apocalypse 1:17-18)

In the opening chapter of the Apocalypse, the phrase “I am the First and the Last” is a refrain that occurs several times. First and Last, beginning and the end, alpha and omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). The original phrase seems to have been “the first and the last, the alpha and the omega;” the words “beginning and the end” seem to have been added in the Latin manuscripts to explain what “alpha” and “omega” were to readers who didn’t know Greek. The phrase is also similar to the famous Ego emi… (“I Am….”) phrases in the Gospel According to St. John: I am the true bread… I am the good shepherd… I am the true vine… etc.

“I am the Living One” is also reminiscent of the Old Testament identification of “the Living God” (Deut. 5:26, Joshua 3:10, Isaiah 37:4, 17). The one who appears to St. John in Patmos is the same Divine Person who revealed himself to Moses at the Burning Bush and repeatedly to the kings and prophets of Israel.

Death and Hades-Hell (Sheol, in some versions) can be understood as two names for the same thing (the experience of separation from God). Hebrew poetry is built on this repetition of ideas and experiences. Many of the psalms repeat themselves in this way.

But Death and Hades are also personified in Apoc. 6:8 as one of the famous Four Horsemen: the fourth rider, who rides a pale horse, is named “Death and Hades.” Early Christian preaching–reflected in the Gospel of Nicodemus–identified Death and Hades as two distinct personages who oversee the land of the dead; they argue as Christ approaches and are overthrown as Christ leads their prisoners to freedom through the gates he has smashed during his Descent into Hell. Some early Christian poetry identify “Death” as a person whiles “Hades” is the place where Death reigns.

Gregory Nanzianzus, commonly known as Gregory the Theologian, thought that the two names Death and Hades referred to the physical and spiritual aspects of death–the result of separation from God. A person can die spiritually many years before they experience death physically–Adam and Eve are examples of people who die spiritually long before their bodies die. Likewise, in baptism people can experience spiritual resurrection before they experience physical resurrection.