“The Last Judgment”: what is depicted on the icon. Doomsday prophecy. Icon "Last Judgment"
The icon of the Last Judgment is an image of the coming end of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ will come again “with glory to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end.” The icon depicts pictures of the end of the world, the final judgment of all humanity, the resurrection of the dead, the hellish torment of unrepentant sinners and the bliss of the righteous in paradise.
At the moment of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, all people - living and dead (who will be resurrected in new bodies) - will be called to Judgment and each person will be assigned a place in eternal existence in accordance with his earthly deeds - either eternal bliss in heaven or eternal torment in hell (Matt. 25:1-13, 25:31-33).
The iconography of the Last Judgment is based on the texts of the Gospel, the Apocalypse, and patristic works; exists in icon painting and temple murals from the 11th-12th centuries, dating back to the 4th century - painting of Christian catacombs.
In the "Tale of Bygone Years" there is a mention of the use by the Greek "philosopher" in preaching Christianity to Prince Vladimir of zapons (veils) with the image of the Last Judgment, which influenced the future baptism of the prince himself and Rus'.
Quote: See year 6494 (986) ff ".... And so it was. This was also a prototype that all other countries were previously without dew, and the Jews were without fleece, but after that dew fell on other countries, which is holy baptism, and the Jews were left without dew. And the prophets predicted that renewal would come through water. When the apostles taught the universe to believe in God, we, the Greeks, accepted their teaching, and the universe believes their teaching. God also established one day, on which, having descended from heaven, He will judge the living and the dead and will reward everyone according to their deeds: to the righteous - the kingdom of heaven, indescribable beauty, endless joy and eternal immortality; for sinners - fiery torment, a never-ending worm and torment without end. Such will be the torment of those who do not believe our God Jesus Christ: those who are not baptized will be tormented by fire.”
And, having said this, the philosopher showed Vladimir the curtain on which the judgment seat of the Lord was depicted, pointed out to him the righteous on the right, going to heaven in joy, and the sinners on the left, going to torment. Vladimir, sighing, said: “It’s good for those on the right, woe to those on the left.” The philosopher said: “If you want to stand on the right side of the righteous, then be baptized.” This sank into Vladimir’s heart, and he said: “I’ll wait a little longer,” wanting to find out about all the faiths. And Vladimir gave him many gifts and released him with great honor". http://old-russian.chat.ru/02povest.htm
In Rus', compositions of the Last Judgment appear in churches very early, shortly after Epiphany.
The earliest Russian frescoes of the Last Judgment are found in the Cyril Monastery in Kyiv (12th century), St. Nicholas Cathedral in Novgorod (beginning of the 12th century), St. George's Cathedral in Staraya Ladoga (1180s), and the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa (1199). .), Dmitrovsky Cathedral of Vladimir (late 12th century). Fragments of paintings by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir have been preserved.
The earliest known Russian icon painting dates back to the 15th century (the icon in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin).
Icon composition
The icon of the Last Judgment is multi-figured and includes images that can be grouped into three themes:
1. The second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of the righteous and sinners
2. Renewal of the world.
3. Triumph of the righteous in heavenly Jerusalem.
As a symbol of the end of the world, the sky is always depicted in the form of a scroll rolled up by angels.
In the center of the composition of the icon is Christ, the “Judge of the World.”
Standing before him are the Mother of God and John the Baptist - intercessors for the human race at this Last Judgment.
On the sides of the central group sit the apostles (6 on each side), to whom the Lord promised participation in the Last Judgment, often with open books in their hands.
Behind the backs of the apostles stand angels - the guardians of Heaven.
At their feet are Adam and Eve - the first people on earth, the ancestors of the human race - as the image of all bowed righteous, redeemed humanity.
Below the apostles are depicted the nations going to the Judgment.
To the right of Christ are the righteous, to the left are sinners. In the center is the “prepared throne” (altar). On it is the Cross, the instruments of the Passion and the open “Book of Genesis”, in which, according to legend, all the words and deeds of people are recorded: “The books will be unfurled, the deeds of man will be revealed” (Stichera on “Lord, I cried” of the Meat Week); “When the thrones are set up and the books are opened, and God sits in judgment, oh, what fear then will the angel stand in fear and the fiery speech attracting!” (Ibid.).
Pictured below large brush hands holding babies, which means “righteous souls in the hand of God,” and here, nearby, are scales - that is, “the measure of human deeds.” Near the scales, angels fight with demons for the soul of a person, which is often present right there in the form of a naked young man.
Even lower, the Angel points to the prophet Daniel the “perishable kingdoms” - Babylonian, Macedonian, Persian and Roman, or the Antichrist. The first is represented in the form of a bear, the second in the form of a griffin, the third in the form of a lion, and the fourth in the form of a horned beast. In another circle, usually of an irregular shape, is "The Earth that gives away its dead." In the center sits a half-naked woman - her personification. The woman is surrounded by figures of people rising from the ground and from the water - “resurrected from the dead.”
Four archangels - Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel must call the dead to the Last Judgment with a trumpet voice, they also protect the Church and every believer from the forces of darkness.
Hell is depicted in the form of “fiery Gehenna” - full of flames, in which a terrible beast, a sea monster, swims, in whose mouth sits Satan with the soul of Judas in his hands. The fiery stream (river) is known from the so-called “Walk of the Virgin Mary through torment.” In the lists of the “Walk”, starting from the 12th century, it is indicated that “in this river there are many husbands and wives; some are immersed to the waist, others to the chest, and only others to the neck,” depending on the degree of their guilt.
In the lower part on the left are the scenes of paradise - “Abraham’s Bosom” (the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the souls of the righteous, sitting among the trees of paradise), the Virgin Mary on the throne with two angels and a prudent thief on either side.
In addition to the “Bosom of Abraham”, the gates of paradise (guarded by the seraphim) are depicted, to which the righteous, led by the Apostle Peter, approach.
Exactly in the middle, a merciful fornicator is depicted chained to a pillar, who “for the sake of alms was delivered from eternal torment, and for the sake of fornication was deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Instead of a river of fire, a snake can be depicted, with 20 rings-circles in which the names of ordeals are written, as well as figures personifying mortal sins with inscriptions indicating the type of punishment (“Pitch Darkness”, “Film”, “Worm that never sleeps”, “ Resin", "Rime").
The icon of the Last Judgment depicts a future event - the end of time and the renewal of the earth. But it is directly related to the present time.
Therefore, looking at the icon when leaving the temple, one should pray, remembering the vows that a Christian makes during the announcement before the Sacrament of Baptism. This is how you should pray.
Christianity is a holistic worldview, which includes not only the lifetime, but also the posthumous existence of a person. This is a complex system of beliefs that only looks familiar and simple. The Holy Scriptures tell not only about the first days of the world, but also about what the last days will be like. The icon of the Last Judgment, full of colors and characters, tells about this.
“Reading” figurative language is not always easy, especially when it talks about future events. Everything that concerns apocalyptic predictions, causes heated debate, but the Orthodox Church has its own interpretation. And even trained Christians may need clarification. Therefore, a detailed consideration of the main theological points will be of spiritual benefit.
Formation of the plot
In the New Testament, an entire book is devoted to future events - the Apocalypse. Vivid images describe the details of the upcoming second coming: the stars are falling from the sky, the sun and moon no longer give light, even the powers of heaven have been shaken, angels are trumpeting, Christ is coming on a cloud. Therefore, since ancient times, icons of the Last Judgment have tried to convey all the power and scale of the last days of the earth.
The expectation of the general resurrection from the dead and the last - Last Judgment - is reflected in the Apostolic Creed (a summary of the main tenets of Christianity). Most icons show this in the context of the Second Coming. Many events must take place before the judgment - it is described only in the 20th chapter of Revelation. Before that, the devil will be defeated.
The first images of the Last Judgment appeared on frescoes. At first, artists depicted only the parable of wise and foolish virgins or the separation of sheep from goats. By the 8th century. Byzantine masters were already building a complete picture. Then the subject moved to wall paintings - both in the West and in Russia.
What events are depicted?
Christ, sitting on the white throne, will judge the dead according to the books where all their deeds are recorded - this is what the Apocalypse says. Another basis for composing the composition of an icon showing the Last Judgment of God is the life of Basil the New. The center of the composition is Christ, acting as the Judge. In front of him are the Mother of God and John the Baptist - they are interceding for people. Nearby, the first inhabitants of paradise are Adam and Eve.
On the sides are the apostles, in their hands open books. The Archangels, a large angelic army, are also present. The characters are located on different tiers: on the top are the inhabitants of Heaven, on the bottom is the defeated Antichrist. The Lord of Hosts is often depicted at the top - the only case where the Orthodox canon allows God the Father to be depicted as an old man.
Next to him are angels; the scroll they are holding signifies the end of earth's history. The interpretation of individual elements of the Last Judgment icon should be based on the Bible. Some elements may be borrowed from apocryphal works, but usually this is also correlated with canonical texts:
- half-naked woman - personifies the earth;
- the rising figures are resurrected people;
- beasts spitting out their victims - the fulfillment of biblical prophecies;
- bear, griffin, lion, horned beast - the personification of earthly kingdoms that will be destroyed;
- the white hare is a symbol of truth, found only in Russian icons;
- gray hare - personifies lies.
Gracious judge
Icons Andrei Rublev is known to everyone; the image of the Last Judgment, painted by the famous master, has reached us. This is a painting in the Assumption Cathedral in the city. Vladimir. Before this work, Russian artists depicted this scene as frightening, like Western masters. In Andrei Rublev's fresco there are no images of hellish torment, evil devils, or crying sinners. In this composition, everyone is equal: poor and rich, sinners and righteous.
Even the world of internecine wars that surrounded the monk did not affect the saint’s desire to unite all people - at least there, beyond the border from where there is no return. Unfortunately, most of the composition is lost forever. Every year the frescoes are being destroyed more and more. But the part that is still visible shows the artist’s desire - he wants everyone to find the way to Christ, the most merciful Judge.
Pictures of hell
Usually located in the lower third of the composition, they stand out both with recognizable images and certain colors. Devils are often written in monochromatic, dark or even black colors. Satan sits on a beast, holding the soul of Judas in his paws. The torment of sinners can be depicted in separate marks. To the upper tier, where the first people are, a serpent rises from the mouth of the beast - this is a symbolic image of sin. A river of fire may be drawn instead.
Sinners who are in the fiery stream can represent different social groups (kings, monks, nobility). Byzantine masters depicted the prince of darkness as an old man with an unpleasant face, half dressed. Its body may be ashen in color. The beast on which he sits has either one or two heads, devouring sinners.
Call to repentance
Although the icon of the Last Judgment describes the process of passing judgment on the human soul, which Christ will pronounce, it is not at all intended to intimidate a person. The presented pictures should make you think: what awaits the eternal soul after death, what will people see after the general resurrection and judgment? Will a person be able to spend eternity with God, or is he too attached to the delights of earthly existence?
The main difficulty in understanding the topic is that are being considered events that have not yet happened. The lives of saints, gospel narratives related to the Mother of God, the birth, preaching and even the Resurrection of the Lord are in the past. Therefore, there are witnesses, historical data, documents, archaeological finds that at least partially prove the veracity of a particular story. The human mind is so structured that it requires certainty in everything.
But regarding life after death, people have to rely completely on faith, the Holy Scriptures. There is also apocryphal and patristic literature that sheds light on this mysterious area. But this is the essence of faith - to comprehend that which defies reason.
The meaning of the icon of the Last Judgment is to figuratively show the events of the coming coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as to remind of the finitude of earthly existence. At the same time, the soul is immortal, and its fate in eternity depends on the person himself.
Prayer before the Last Judgment icon
Kontakion of the Week of the Last Judgment, tone 1
When you come, O God, to the earth with glory, and all things tremble, and the river of fire draws you before the judgment, the books are unbent, and the secret appears: then deliver me from the unquenchable fire and make me worthy to sit at your right hand, O Most Righteous Judge.
Prayer
For at Thy Terrible One, and without respect for persons, I stand before the Judgment Seat, O Christ God, and lift up condemnation, and create a word about the evil things I have done: this day, before the day of my condemnation even came, I stand before You at Your holy Altar, and before the terrible and holy Angels By yours, bowed by my conscience, I offer my wicked and lawless deeds, reveal this and expose it. See, Lord, my humility, and forgive all my sins, see how my iniquity has multiplied more than the hair of my head. Why haven't you done evil? What sin have I not committed? What evil have I not imagined in my soul? I have created every feeling and every evil that is defiled, corrupted, and indecent, having become a work of the devil in every way. And I know, Lord, that my iniquities have exceeded my head. But the multitude of Thy bounties is immeasurable, and the mercy of Thy kindness is inexpressible, and there is no sin, conquering Thy love for mankind. Moreover, Wonderful King, kindly Lord, surprise me, a sinner, with Thy mercy, show Thy goodness the power and show the strength of Thy gracious mercy, and when you turn, accept me, a sinner. Receive me as you received the prodigal, the robber, the harlot.
Receive me, having sinned beyond measure in word and in deed, in placeless lust, and in wordless thought against You. And just as at the one and tenth hour you accepted those who came, having done nothing worthy, so also accept me, a sinner: for many have sinned, and have become defiled, and have grieved Thy Holy Spirit, and grieved Thy humane womb, in deed, and in word, and in thought, in the night and in days, manifested and unmanifested, willingly and unwillingly. And we know that you have presented my sins before me as such, as I have committed, and have spoken with me about them who have sinned unforgivenly in their minds. But, Lord, Lord, do not reprove me with Thy righteous judgment, nor with Thy wrath, nor punish me with Thy wrath.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am not only weak, but also Your creation. For Thou, O Lord, hast Thou established Thy fear upon me, and I have done evil before Thee, for Thy alone have sinned. But I pray to You, do not enter into judgment with Your servant. If you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, who will stand? Because I am the abyss of sin and am not worthy, below I am content to look and see the heights of heaven from the multitude of my sins, of which there is no number. Why haven't my sins been corrupted? Are Kiimi not kept evil? I have committed every sin, I have brought every uncleanness into my soul: it would be undesirable for You, my God, and for man. Who will raise me up, in the face of evil and a fraction of fallen sin?
Lord my God, I trust in You: if I have hope for salvation, if Your love for mankind overcomes the multitude of my iniquities, be my Savior, and according to Your generosity and Your mercy, weaken, forgive, forgive me all, even if You have sinned, for I have been filled with many evils my soul, and there is within me the salvation of hope. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and do not reward me according to my deeds, and do not judge me according to my deeds, but convert, intercede, and deliver my soul from the evils and cruel perceptions that co-increase with it. Save me for the sake of Thy mercy: that where sin abounds, Thy grace abounds. Grant me tears of contrition and tenderness of heart, leading the fallen to their inheritance, with them I will be cleansed from all sin, for it is a terrible and threatening place for the imam to pass through, bodies separated: then a multitude of dark and inhuman demons will overwhelm me, and no one will accompany or deliver me to help, but my works will condemn me. For this reason, before the end, receive me in repentance and never leave me, Thy servant, but always rest in me, do not betray me to the sedition of the serpent and do not leave me to the desires of Satan, for there is a seed of aphids in me.
Thou, O Lord God worshiped, the Holy King, Jesus Christ, preserve me with Thy Holy Spirit, with whom Thou hast sanctified Thy disciples. Grant, O Lord, to me, Thy unworthy servant, too, Thy salvation: enlighten my mind with the light of understanding of Thy Holy Gospel, illuminate my soul with the love of Thy Cross, whiten my heart with the purity of Thy word, heal my body with Thy passionless passion, preserve my thought with Thy humility, and uplift me to do Thy commandments, and grant that with a cheerful heart and sober thought I may pass through the night of this present life, awaiting the coming of Thy bright and revealed day. You are, Lord, Light, more than any light, Joy, more than any joy, Hope, more than any hope, True Life and Salvation, which endures forever and ever. Amen!
Last Judgment
Doomsday prophecy. Icon "Last Judgment".
The Doomsday prophecy and the theme of the Last Judgment were not relevant at all for ancient Rus'. This theme came from Byzantium only in the 14th-15th centuries, receiving its own special interpretation here.
The doomsday prophecy and the icon on this topic, any - Greek, Byzantine, Catholic, are very rich in various figures, animals, plants, which are difficult for contemporaries to understand. It is difficult, not only because not everyone knows and understands the Gospel and the Apocalypse, but also because modern ideas have moved far from medieval people.
Today, the Apocalypse and the end of the world are no longer associated with the personal state of the soul of each person, but with the collapse of the world in general. The icon appeals more to the person, encouraging him to comprehend his own life, to understand that he did the wrong thing.
The Last Judgment, as a personal tragedy and catastrophe, worried many: this is the theme of Kafka’s novel “The Trial”, the films “Andrei Rublev” by Tarkovsky and “Apocalypse Now” by Francis Coppola... Not to mention the endless speculation on this topic of various sects and teachings, the latter of which the world experienced in December 2012. And they all lie here - in the theme of the “small” and “big” end of the world.
The Doomsday prophecy and the Russian icon dedicated to this topic are based on the Gospel parable of the Last Judgment, although it includes some elements of the Apocalypse, but there are also icons that include the Last Judgment in the image of the Apocalypse. But the first one still occurs more often.
The main difference between the Russian version of the icon and others is that it not only reflects the parable of the Last Judgment, the essence of which is the division of people and nations into righteous and sinners, but is also an image of a single liturgical cycle of the Lenten Triodion, including Holy Week. Movement first man is walking up - through repentance and the Day of Judgment to the Passion of the Lord (through Lent), then descends down (in Holy Week), reaching its highest point - in the Resurrection of Christ. The upward movement is a person’s path to God through personal cleansing and repentance. Downward movement is God's way to meet man. The meeting point between man and God is Easter, the day of the Resurrection of Christ.
The Doomsday prophecy with an icon on this topic is not isolated and not defined only by a parable, but turns into an assembly into a single whole of symbols, words and images, in which each element occupies a certain place, and the whole of the icon is given by the entire liturgical cycle of Great Lent, being Lenten Triode in colors.
What is contained in a huge, almost thousand-page tome called “Lenten Triodion” is contained in just one icon, often of small size. This is the difficulty of reading and understanding the icon. In addition, it refers to some elements of the Christmas cycle, which will be discussed below.
Therefore, the icon needs a specific route and indication of key points along which one can move and navigate, both in the icon and in the space of Great Lent. First of all, let's outline a coordinate system that will allow you to navigate the icon, both spatially and morally. In this case, we will start from the external viewer.
The lower right corner of the icon is hell, the place of concentration of evil. The upper left is the place of the Upper Jerusalem, in which there are the righteous, dressed in white robes with halos over their heads. This is a place of goodness. By connecting these two angles with a diagonal, we get the first line of orientation: good - evil.
If you look from the inside of the icon, the right and left sides change places and then their names correspond to the Gospels: the left side is “oshuya” and the right side is “gum” (left and right).
There is another moral opposition - the Closed Paradise (Eden), from which Adam and Eve were expelled, and new world created by the Savior.
The lower left corner (opposite to hell) is the place of the Closed Paradise. The righteous go to it, led by the supreme apostles Peter and Paul. The first one holds the keys to heaven. They go to meet those righteous people who are already in paradise. But such an image is not always present. The righteous schema-monks are often shown flying along the “Corridor of Eden” to the righteous sitting in the Jerusalem above.
Thus, the lower part of the icon has a clear opposition: heaven and hell. Exactly in the middle is the merciful fornicator, who for his mercy was not rewarded with hell, and for his lustful passion was not rewarded with heaven. So he is between them, neither here nor there.
In addition to such opposition, one can also read the opposition of the Last Judgment (paradise, prophets, the Virgin Mary, the righteous) on the left and the Apocalypse (on the right) with its images of earth, water, hell, serpent and river of fire.
The upper right corner (from the viewer) is the place of the creation of the new heaven and the new world, which in time refers to Holy Week and the descent of Jesus Christ into Hell, from which he leads all the righteous. This brings together the icon of the Last Judgment and the icon of the Resurrection of Christ (“The Descent into Hell”), placing them in the same space of the Lenten Triodion. Here two angels roll the sky into a scroll (an element of an apocalyptic image), Jesus Christ is depicted here as the head of the new world, and in the same place Calvary with the Cross is depicted, on which the Savior was crucified and buried. Here the angels of light throw the angels of darkness into hell.
So, heaven (or Vertograd the Prisoner) is contrasted with hell, and in the upper part - with the new light being created instead of the old world. In paradise are the Old Testament forefathers (Jacob, Isaac and Abraham), the Mother of God with two angels and the wise thief, crucified with Jesus, but who confessed Him, in response to which the Savior said that now he will be in paradise. This contrasts not only heaven and hell, but old and new, first and last times.
Below, near paradise, we see the prophet Daniel, who prophesied about four kingdoms and the coming of a new kingdom - the kingdom of Christ. Four kingdoms, in the form of four animals (a bear - the Babylonian kingdom, a griffin - the Macedonian kingdom, a lion - the Persian kingdom and a miracle beast with horns - the Antichrist or the Roman kingdom) are in a circle, which the Angel shows Daniel. Here the earth and water are depicted giving up their dead to stand trial.
Generally speaking, the lower part of the icon is the most rich and takes us not only to the first and Old Testament times, but also to the Christmas cycle of worship, in which the forefathers and prophets are remembered. This is the space of the earth, not the sky.
The sky is higher. It begins with the deisus series. In him is the Savior in Glory, who judges the people and nations who come to him. Next to Him on the left is the Mother of God, Intercessor for the human race, and on the right is John the Baptist. They graciously beg Jesus to have mercy on those coming to the Last Judgment.
Just below the deisus with Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and John the Baptist are Adam and Eve, as an image of saved humanity. The serpent's head rests on Adam's heel, as if stinging him. This is the serpent of ordeals, emerging from hell with twenty rings of passions. Sometimes, instead of a serpent, a river of fire is depicted, emanating from the mouth of a beast, on which Satan sits with the soul of Judas in his hand.
Below the deisus rank there is a throne on which lies the unfolded Gospel - the book of Life, the Cross and the instruments of the Lord's passion. This place is central to the icon. It is before the throne that a person stands on the day of judgment and all his deeds written in the book become clear. Under the throne is depicted with hands, in which are the white souls of the righteous, including infants.
Above the deisus rank is the God of Hosts, the Upper Jerusalem and the New Heaven.
Icons of the Last Judgment, especially icons of earlier centuries, have folk roots, this is an art that has a folk core at its very core, preserved for a long time and reaching us in the images of nativity plays. Such icons are painted vividly, brightly, simply and edifyingly, so that they are understandable to a simple peasant.
The origins of folk tales and folklore are found in the poetry of the Lenten Triodion, which is full of vivid pictures and images that were easy to stage plays on.
The Old Believers also adhered to the same tradition, who tried to maintain maximum closeness to the texts of the Holy Scriptures.
Over time, the “Corridor of Eden” with the Garden of Eden and the schema-monks ascending to Heavenly Jerusalem began to be more clearly separated from the “Gehenna” with its serpent of ordeals and angels of darkness flying to hell.
Heavenly Jerusalem began to turn into a place of feasting for the righteous, with a clear division of ranks sitting behind festive table with dishes. Parallels with other icons began to appear: “The Sign”, “The Descent into Hell”, “The Only Begotten Son”, etc. Greater emphasis began to be placed on the Cross, as a symbol of the Crucifixion, playing important role on Lenten days.
But in general, the lower part of the icon undergoes major changes, while the upper part (deisus, altar, and with the image of the Lord of Hosts) remains practically unchanged. Other elements of the icon also underwent changes, but in the main the iconography was preserved, presenting the general image of Great Lent with the preparatory cycle and the final Passion cycle framing it.
Tina Guy
Iconography of the Last Judgment
Archpriest Nikolai Pogrebnyak
There is a certain universality in the readings and songs of the week about the Last Judgment; they are addressed to every person, as the Apostle Paul wrote: it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27).
I fear Thy judgment, O Lord, and torment.
endless, but I never stop doing evil...
St. John of Damascus
In the series of days preparatory to the Holy Pentecost, the meat week - about the Last Judgment - is perhaps the most expressive, both hymnographically and iconographically. Of course, on other preparatory days, the Gospel readings - about Zacchaeus (even before the start of the singing of the Triodion), about the tax collector and the Pharisee, about the prodigal son, and the week of raw meat - are of paramount importance for a Christian preparing to enter the saving field of Great Lent.
The rites of these days are deep and important, but in the readings and chants of the week about the Last Judgment there is a certain universality; they are addressed to every person, as the Apostle Paul wrote: it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27). In its concern for the salvation of everyone, the Church offers remembrance of this judgment in order to save at least some (1 Cor. 9:22).
Recalling the Last Judgment, the Holy Church calls everyone to repentance, while pointing out the true meaning of hope in God’s mercy: the Lord is merciful, but at the same time He is a righteous Judge, who has to reward everyone according to his deeds (Rev. 22:12). Therefore, one should not be mistaken about responsibility for one’s moral state and abuse God’s long-suffering.
Turning our mental gaze to “eternal fire, pitch darkness and tartarus, the fierce worm, the gnashing of teeth and incessant, the disease of having sinned without measure,” “unspeakable trembling and fear,” “unwashed torture” and “suffocating hell,” St. The Church instills in us the idea of the need for repentance and correction, and early tearful prayer to the Lord, while there is still time and opportunity, and on behalf of all of us exclaims: “Having renounced today, with sweat and sins it is worthy to repent.”
The author of the canon of the Meat Week, the Venerable Theodore the Studite, shows the trembling of the human soul before the terrible judgment of God. Recalling the day of the terrible Second Coming of Christ, he prays that the Judge will not declare the secret deeds of the sinful soul, but will mercifully spare it.
“Woe is me, gloomy soul, how long do you not renounce the evil? How long will you cry with despondency? Why don’t you think about the terrible hour of death? Why don’t you all tremble at Spasov’s terrible judgment? Why do you answer, or what do you deny? Your deeds are about to be exposed; your deeds are slanderous. Other things about the soul, the time has come; Fathers, beforehand, cry out in faith: those who have sinned, O Lord, those who have sinned against You! But to us, O Lover of Mankind, Thy compassion, O good Shepherd, do not separate me from Thy right hand, great for the sake of Thy mercy” (Stichera on the poem, tone 8).
The hymns of the week about the Last Judgment of St. Roman the Sweet Singer are also known. In a Greek handwritten kontakara of the 12th century. (from the collection of the Synodal Library, State Historical Museum) contains 21 hymns for the meat-free week with an acrostic poem: “the creation of the humble Roman.”
The chants of the Week of the Meat Empty present a detailed and expressive picture of how the Last Judgment of God will take place. The main source for the works of hymnographers is, of course, the Holy Scripture: The Father ... gave Him the power to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who did good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who did evil into the resurrection of condemnation. I cannot create anything on my own. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is righteous; For I do not seek My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me (John 5:26-30).
In depicting the picture of the coming Last Judgment of God, Tradition could not limit itself only to liturgical texts. Since ancient Christian times, they have tried to convey the picture of the Last Judgment and visual means, after all, the Lord Himself describes His Second Coming in vivid visual images: the sun will darken, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken; then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and He will send His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matthew 24:29-31).
The origins of the image of the Last Judgment go back to the 4th century, to the fresco painting of the catacombs. Initially, the Judgment of God was presented in the stories of the separation of the sheep from the goats and the parable of the ten virgins. In the V-VI centuries. separate parts of the picture of the Last Judgment itself appear, and by the 8th century. in Byzantium a completed composition appears.
Later, the Last Judgment became established in the system of wall paintings in both Byzantine and Russian churches, and was also widespread in the West. In Rus', the earliest known fresco depiction of the Last Judgment is in the Cyril Monastery in Kyiv, made in the 12th century, in the St. George Cathedral of Staraya Ladoga (80s of the 12th century), in the Church of the Savior Nereditsa in Novgorod (1199), in Dmitrovsky Cathedral in Vladimir (late 12th century). Fragments of the Last Judgment, written by the Monk Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny on the walls in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir, have also reached us. The earliest known image in icon painting dates back to the 15th century. (icon in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin).
Last Judgment. Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin
In its developed form, the iconography of the Last Judgment is based on the texts of the Gospel, the Apocalypse, as well as patristic works: the Words of Ephraim the Syrian, the Words of Palladius Mnich, the Life of Basil the New and other works of Byzantine and Old Russian literature; Later, the texts of folk spiritual poems can be seen in the iconographic details. The Last Judgment depicts pictures of the end of the world, the final judgment of all humanity, the resurrection of the dead, scenes of the hellish torment of unrepentant sinners and the heavenly bliss of the righteous.
Second coming. Church of Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki
Of the most famous monuments of the Byzantine world, the image of the Last Judgment can be found in the narthex of the Church of Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki (beginning of the 11th century); in Georgia - in the David-Gareji monastery of Udabno, on the western wall there is a badly damaged fresco of the 11th century; Poorly preserved frescoes of the Last Judgment in Ateni date back to the same time. Fragments of the Last Judgment mid-XII V. preserved in a small church in Ikwi. Several monuments have been preserved from the era of the blessed Queen Tamara, including the grandiose composition of the Last Judgment of the temple in Timotesubani (first quarter of the 13th century).
In Rus', compositions of the Last Judgment appear very early, shortly after its Epiphany. This can be explained by the fact that images of the Last Judgment were an effective means of persuading pagans to convert to the faith of Christ. It is no coincidence that the Greek preacher, in the famous episode of the choice of faith from the life of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, unfolds before the prince an impressive picture of the Last Judgment.
One of the earliest examples of depictions of the Last Judgment among the monuments of art that have survived to our time. Ancient Rus' are the paintings of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Novgorod at the beginning of the 12th century. The compositions “The Last Judgment” and “Job on the Festering Ground” are preserved in the southwestern part of the temple basement. The programmatic theme in the paintings of St. Nicholas Cathedral is the theme of repentance. Perhaps the reason for this was specific cases of “visitation of God”, i.e. those natural disasters that befell Novgorod: the death of livestock in 1115, which deprived the prince and his squad of horses; the storm of 1125, from which the prince’s mansion and “herds of cattle died in Volkhov” suffered; famine of 1128. Perhaps this was prompted by the prince’s serious illness, from which he was miraculously healed by the image of Nikola Lipnoy, who sailed from Kyiv (found on the island of Lipno on Ilmen).
It should be noted important feature images of the Last Judgment: they are not created to intimidate a person, but are designed to make him think about his sins; do not despair, do not lose hope, but begin to repent.
Last Judgment. Novgorod, XV century.
The Savior's sermon about salvation began with the words: repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). Repentance as an indispensable condition achieving the Kingdom of God is one of the fundamental tenets of Christian doctrine. The Monk Simeon the New Theologian speaks of repentance this way: “Run in repentance along the path of the commandments... run, run, seek, knock, so that the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven will open to you and you will be inside it.”
For Orthodox Church at the turn of the 11th–12th centuries, including in Rus', the question of repentance is not an abstract theological problem, but a living practice of spiritual life. The words of St. Hilarion of Kyiv, St. Theodosius of Pechersk, and finally, the repentant canon of St. Cyril of Turov are undoubted confirmation of this. The compilers of The Tale of Bygone Years see repentance as the basis of life: “If we repent, God commands us to live in it. For the prophet says to us: turn to Me with all your heart, by fasting and weeping. Yes, if we commit this sin, we will forgive all sins.”
To induce a sinner to repentance, to confirm a repentant person in the hope of God's mercy, for the forgiveness of sins - this was the task set by the authors of the Nikolo-Dvorishchenskaya composition. Righteous Job and his wife are depicted surrounded by scenes of torment, under the image of the prince of darkness - Satan. Next to Job, on a dunghill, a figure of a naked man is depicted on a dark red background. This is a rich man sitting in a flame and turning to the forefather Abraham with a request to send poor Lazarus to ease his suffering and moisten his tongue (see: Luke 16:24). The images of torment are located to the left of the image of the Judge Christ in the eastern part of the vault.
The image of the rich man and other scenes of torment next to Job are intended to emphasize not only the extent of the suffering and sorrow that Job suffered, but also the idea of hope and faith in the unchanging mercy of the Lord, which does not leave the righteous even in hell. On foreground What emerges is not a theme of intimidation, but of salvation and personal appeal to the Lord, which is best expressed in the words of the Psalmist David: Lord my God! I cried out to You and You healed me. God! You brought my soul out of hell and revived me so that I would not go to the grave. You turned my mourning into rejoicing, took off my sackcloth and girded me with joy (Ps. 29:3, 4, 12).
The iconographic solution of the St. Nicholas Cathedral suggests the answer to the questions: why did the righteous man end up in hell; how can he get out of there and stand before the Lord again? In the “Selection of Svyatoslav” of 1076 we read: “And in the pit of the underworld, as it is written in Job, in the dark earth and the grave... where there is no light, no vision of human life, into which Christ came, with a divine and most pure soul, visited those sitting in the darkness." The theme of the repentant cry of a sinner awaiting the judgment of the Lord not only reveals the main idea of the scene, but also indicates a direct connection between the image of the Last Judgment and the cycle of services of Great Lent. A person who undergoes fasting and commits true repentance is restored by God to his rights, like Adam and Job, and he, like a ladder, can rise from the abyss of sin to heaven; on the Sinai icon “The Ladder of John of Sinai” the monks’ path upward to Christ begins from the black abyss of hell.
St. Andrew of Crete in his Great Canon speaks of the “ladder of the active ascent of the soul.” In the same canon, the righteous Job is remembered as an example of justification at the Judgment of God: “Having heard Job in the dungeon, about my soul being justified, you were not jealous of his courage.” As a result, the one who was previously on the throne - “who was first on the throne” - “is naked and festering in a dungeon”, and the one who had many household members and was glorified - “childless and homeless”, his chambers turned into rot, and treasures – “beads” – into “scabs”. Let us remember in this regard that Job is depicted sitting under the throne of Satan, and not far from him is an image of a rich man.
At the turn of the millennium, the iconographic canon of the Last Judgment was taking shape, which was destined to exist for at least another seven centuries. One of the most important sources that influenced the composition and character of the compositions of the Last Judgment was the Life of Basil the New (10th century). In the XI–XII centuries. at the same time, over the vast territory of the Christian world, was created a whole series the most significant images of the Last Judgment. The most famous of them are the paintings of the Church of Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki, 1028, the frescoes of Sant'Angelo in Formis, two icons depicting the Last Judgment from the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai in the 11th–12th centuries, two miniatures of the Paris Gospel (National Library in Paris, gr. 74), an ivory plate from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the grandiose mosaic of the Basilica of Torcello in Venice, the frescoes of the Church of Mavriotissa in Kastoria, the paintings of the Bachkovo Ossuary in Bulgaria and the giant mosaics of the floor of the cathedral in Otranto, 1163, and close in time. Trani.
Last Judgment. Sinai, monastery of St. VMC. Catherine
In the center of the composition is Christ, the Judge of the world. Before him are the Mother of God and St. John the Baptist is an intercessor for the human race. At their feet are Adam and Eve - the first people on earth. On the sides of this central group sit the apostles (six on each side) with open books in their hands. Behind the apostles are angels, Heavenly guardians. The four great archangels, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, who were first mentioned together in the apocryphal Book of Enoch, are often associated with eschatological themes. They must call all the dead to the Last Judgment with a trumpet voice, and they protect the Church and every believer from the forces of darkness. Below the apostles are depicted the nations going to the Judgment. To the right of Christ are the righteous, to the left are sinners. Among the latter, in later compositions are depicted with appropriate captions: Germans, Rus', Poles, Hellenes, Ethiopians (note that the number of sinners is by no means based on nationality). Sometimes groups of people are depicted turning to the Judge with the words, according to the Gospel, “when we saw You hungry” and so on.
At the top, the God of Hosts is often depicted, angels of light casting down angels of darkness (demons) from Heaven, and as a symbol of the end of the world, the sky is always depicted in the form of a scroll rolled up by angels. Below Christ, the Judge of the world, is written the prepared throne. On it are the clothes of Christ, the Cross, the instruments of the passions, and the open “Book of Genesis”, in which, according to legend, all the words and deeds of people are recorded: “The books will be unfurled, the deeds of man will be revealed” (Stichera on “Lord, I cried” of the Meat Week ); “When the thrones are set up and the books are opened, and God sits in judgment, what fear will there be then of the angel standing in fear and the fiery speech that attracts!” (Ibid., Slava).
Upper fragment of the icon
Even lower are presented: a large hand holding babies, which means “righteous souls in the hand of God,” and here, nearby, “the measure of human deeds.” Near the scales there is a struggle between angels and demons for the soul of a person, which is often present right there in the form of a figure of a naked young man.
A naked human figure as the personification of the soul of a dying person is found in the illustrations of Psalm 118 (“Blessed are the blameless on the journey”) and “The Canon for the Exodus of the Soul” (paintings of St. Gregory’s Church of Sophia of Ohrid, mid-14th century; the mark of the Vasilievsky Gate “The soul is afraid”, 1335–1336). Similar early attempts to illustrate the “Canon on the Exodus of the Soul” by St. Cyril of Alexandria are known, in particular, for the painting of the refectory of the monastery of St. John the Evangelist on Patmos at the beginning of the 13th century, where “The Death of the Righteous” and “The Death of the Sinner” are presented. Composition “Canon for the Exodus of the Soul” in the monuments of art of the 12th century. known only from book miniatures (12th century miniature in the Psalter from the Dionysiatus Monastery). Probably, from illustrations of manuscripts this scene penetrated into monumental painting late Byzantine period. Thus, in the painting of the Gregory Church of Sophia Ohrid, XIV century, an extensive cycle of the canon is located directly under the composition of the Last Judgment.
At the bottom of the composition there are usually scenes: “Earth and sea give up the dead”, “Vision of the youth Daniel” and compositions of heaven and hell. “Daniel the prophet, being a man of desires, having seen the power of God, cried out: The judge is seated, and the books are despised” (Ibid., stichera on praise). The earth appears as a dark circle, usually of irregular shape. In the center of the earth they depict a half-naked woman - the personification of the earth; she is surrounded by figures of people rising from the ground - resurrected from the dead. Beasts, birds and reptiles, spitting out those they have devoured.
Fish swim in the sea surrounding the earth. They, just like the animals on earth, hand over the resurrected to the Judgment of God. In the scene “The Vision of the Prophet Daniel,” an angel shows the prophet Daniel four beasts. These animals symbolize the “perishing kingdoms” (kingdoms that are about to perish) - Babylonian, Macedonian, Persian and Roman, or the Antichrist. The first is represented in the form of a bear, the second in the form of a griffin, the third in the form of a lion, and the fourth in the form of a horned beast. Sometimes other animals were also written that had an allegorical meaning. Among the latter, hares are especially interesting, which, according to a widespread idea in Rus', embodied in poems about the “Pigeon Book,” were allegorical images of truth (white hare) and “falsehood” (gray hare).
Particular attention is paid to images of hell in the scenes of the Last Judgment. Hell is depicted in the form of “fiery Gehenna,” with a terrible beast on which Satan, the lord of hell, sits, with the soul of Judas in his hands. Sinners are burning in fire, tormented by devils. Special marks show sinners subjected to various torments. From the fiery mouth of the hellish beast, a long, writhing serpent rises up to the feet of Adam, personifying sin. Sometimes, instead of a serpent, a river of fire is depicted (on the icon of the Last Judgment of the first half of the 15th century in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin).
The fiery stream (river) is known from the so-called “Walking of the Mother of God through torment,” one of the most popular apocrypha in ancient Russian writing. In the lists of the “Walk”, starting from the 12th century, it is indicated that “in this river there are many husbands and wives; some are immersed to the waist, others to the chest, and only others to the neck,” depending on the degree of their guilt. Starting from the 13th century, and in some cases earlier (Torcello’s mosaic), the characters of the world of sinners, carried away by a fiery stream, are concretized: these are representatives of various social groups(nobility, persons in imperial crowns, barbarians, monks and even bishops, etc.)
In Byzantine art by the 11th–12th centuries. a stable iconography of the prince of darkness has developed - Satan, as one of the main characters of the "Last Judgment", personifying hell: a frontal image of the terrible appearance of a half-naked old man with disheveled gray hair and beard, seated on a sea monster, presented either in the background depths of the sea, or, more often, in the lake of fire (Gehenna). In this case, as a rule, the elder holds a small figurine of Judas on his knees. The variations are minor: for example, a sea monster (dragon) can be single-headed, resembling a Triton with the head of a beast (icons from the monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai), or double-headed, devouring sinners with both heads, as, for example, in the mosaic of Torcello, the fresco of the Savior-Nereditsa and the Nativity Cathedral of the Snetogorsk Monastery in Pskov. In addition, Satan’s body often has an ashen-bluish color, which echoes the deep Hellenistic tradition (this is how the prince of darkness is depicted in Torcello’s mosaic).
Last Judgment, Torcello
A characteristic iconographic feature of the image of Satan: his figure is often depicted in the darkest corner of the temple, where a ray of daylight never penetrates; sometimes Satan is located on the brink of a wall: the artist strives to cut through, stop the evil force, to show that the prince of darkness is devoid of face, image, that he is literally “imageless.”
Paradise can be represented in several scenes. This includes the “Bosom of Abraham” - the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the souls of the righteous, sitting among the trees of paradise; an image of the Mother of God on a throne with two angels and a prudent robber on either side against a background of trees; an image of the gates of heaven, to which the righteous, led by the Apostle Peter, approach with the keys to heaven in their hands. Paradise in the form of the holy city - the Mountainous Jerusalem with the righteous blessed in it, is almost always written at the top. An image of schema-monks flying to heaven is often found near the Mountainous Jerusalem.
At the top, between the scenes of heaven and hell, a “merciful fornicator” is depicted chained to a pillar, who “for the sake of alms was spared eternal torment, and for the sake of fornication was deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
In Sophia of Novgorod (1109), the composition includes an image of the prophet Daniel. On the scroll is an inscription conveying the words of the prophet Daniel: “Az Daniel videh? until the throne was erected and the Old One began to sit; His throne is a flame of fire, His wheels are fire” (Dan. 7:2, 9). A similar text appears on the mosaic of Martorana in Palermo (c. 1146), in the monastery of St. Neophyte in Cyprus (c. 1183). Another text: “The likeness of the son of man will I touch my lips” (Dan. 10:16) – in a mosaic in Monreale, Sicily (after 1183). The text from the prophetic vision given in the scroll is not used as a proverb reading. In his study, Gravgaard, referring to the Erminia texts of 1701–1745, indicates that such texts were introduced into images of the Last Judgment. In this text, a special place, along with the picture of the Judgment Seat, belongs to the image of the Ancient of Days, with which the image of Christ Pantocrator is correlated in the painting of the St. Sophia Cathedral. Images of the “Vision of the Prophet Daniel” are known in the paintings of the Church of the Apostles in Pec in the mid-13th century. and the cathedral of the Pskov Svyatogorsk Monastery.
Scenes of punishment of sinners in the early iconography of the Last Judgment do not contain images of individual punishments (for belonging to a Gentile, for heretical teachings, for a profession displeasing to God, or for each specific type of crime). Later, for example, in the frescoes of the Pskov Snetogorsk monastery of 1313, all sinners and types of sins are named. In the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa there are inscriptions of types of punishments: “Pitch darkness”, “Mraz”, “Worm that never sleeps”, “Resin”, “Hoarfrost”. Types of torment are presented on the sides of the prince of darkness, in the form of naked sinners entwined with snakes; this dates back to the earliest known depictions of the torments of hell. Female figures entwined with snakes are found, for example, in the paintings of Cappadocia of the 10th century, in particular in Iilanli kilis, Ihlara. The Life of Basil the New abounds in descriptions of this type of torment (monk Gregory sees adulterers, fornicators, and perjurers entwined and eaten by fiery snakes). The same motif is found in the apocryphal “Walk of the Virgin Mary through Torment” and “Vision of the Apostle Paul” - snakes come out of the wife’s mouth and eat her body. Moreover, women on fire, eaten by snakes, mean nuns who sold their bodies for fornication, or gossips (“Walking of the Virgin Mary”). Sinners are represented in a similar way in the paintings of the Church of Mauriotissa in Kastoria (early 12th century), in the Temple of Asinu in Cyprus, on the floor mosaic in the northern nave of the Cathedral in Otranto (1163); seven sinners in Sopočany (circa 1272).
Here are a few examples of the most famous monuments depicting the Last Judgment.
Miniature in the Greek Gospel of the 11th century. National Library in Paris (No. 74): Christ the Judge in a blue almond-shaped halo with rays sits on a throne; His hands are stretched out, and the marks of the nails are visible on His hands. Under His feet are the chariot of Ezekiel and the cherubim; on the sides of the halo are the Mother of God and the Forerunner in a prayerful position; then the apostles on thrones with books in their hands; above are angels bearing doria. Below the halo is the etimasia, which is approached from the left side by groups of righteous people; behind the righteous is an angel with an unrolled scroll; below them the sea gives up the bodies of the dead and two groups of people going to judgment; to the right an angel trumpets, the dead rise from their graves, animals give up the bodies of the dead. An angel weighs the actions of people on scales, the cup of which is pulled by two demons. Below on the left side is paradise - a vertograd: in it the Mother of God and Abraham sit on thrones and next to him are righteous souls in the form of little children in shirts. The Apostle Peter leads a group of righteous people to the gates of heaven. The picture of hell is vast: a fiery river emanates from the throne of the Judge and spills into a whole lake, in which Satan sits on a beast swallowing a sinner, with Judas in the depths; The merciless rich man stands and points his hand to his tongue; angels cast sinners into flames, and demons catch them. Under the lake of fire, six separate cells represent the types of torment of sinners.
Image in the Gospel of the National Library of Paris
This Greek Gospel, in terms of completeness of iconographic material, preservation and beauty, is the best of all the Byzantine facial Gospels that have come down to us.
On Athos, in the meal of the Lavra of St. Athanasius on the entrance wall, at the very entrance above the doors and on both sides - complex image The Last Judgment, presented in the form of a series of separate scenes, provided with long Greek inscriptions of the statutory letter. At the top is Christ Pantocrator, in a circle, on cherubim and seraphim; on His sides standing the Forerunner and the Mother of God, 12 apostles on their solemn seats. There are four angels along the arch above the door, on both sides of the arch there are groups of people addressing the Judge with words of recognition, according to the Gospel, on the topic: “when we saw you hungry and so on.” On both sides of the entrance are clearly presented scenes of the righteous resurrected for eternal life, and sinners resurrected for eternal torment. The first kingdom is depicted to the right of the entrance. Here is the prepared throne (h¢ e¢toimasi¢a tou~ qro¢nou) - a carved chair, with a cross, a copy, a cane, a Gospel on a covered pillow; On the sides, Adam and Eve fell to their knees as an image of all bowed righteous, redeemed humanity. Below, the angel points out this vision to the lying and awakened Daniel. The resurrected ones rise in the grave with a prayer to God. On the left side are two groups of resurrected people, a group of angels and several demons arguing over sacrifices in front of scales (o¢ zugo¢V th~V dikaiosu¢nhV - scales of justice). The fiery river flows, expanding, and the angel plunges the emerging sinner into it. The side walls represent heaven and hell and additional scenes of the Last Judgment; to the right of the entrance is a large group of righteous people: the apostles with Paul at their head, the prophets (with Daniel and Solomon), the saints (John Chrysostom and others), and the martyrs. They enter, led by Peter, who opens the locked door to heaven, above the entrance is a cherub with two spears and the inscription: jlogi¢nh r¢mjai¢a. Behind this entrance is an image of heaven in two paintings: the Mother of God on a throne with two angels and a prudent thief entering from the door, and below Isaac, Abraham and Jacob, sitting on a bench, holding in their covers the tiny heads of the souls of the righteous. Above, surrounded by cloudy glory, as if by thick foliage, groups of hermits, holy women, nuns, martyrs, saints and prophets are moving towards the Judge.
A similar painting in the Vatopedi monastery is three times smaller than the Lavra one. Here are depicted: an angel trumpeting over the earth; the allegorical Earth riding on a lion, and the lion vomiting out a child’s figure, and nearby wild animals, birds, reptiles, a fantastic griffin and others return the pieces of bodies they swallowed. Four kings sit on their thrones: Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander with drawn sword and Augustus with a spear; in the middle of them are fighting a falling ram (according to the inscription - Darius) and a goat - Alexander (this is not in Vatopedi). Both paintings feature four apocalyptic beasts. Below is the gaping mouth of the hellish serpent, the worm (cf. Mark 9:48: where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched). The hellish serpent swallows a fiery river with victims and a demon on a two-headed sea monster, and to the side in 10 sections hellish torment is depicted. The Lavra painter, apparently familiar with the naturalism of European painting, tries to achieve precisely in conveying the hellish torments of reality both in forms and in color. Thus, the master performs the figure of a smoky demon with eyes popping out of his sockets in different tones of sepia and indigo; the external darkness (pitch darkness) is conveyed with green shadows and reddish reflections on people’s bodies. Tartarus is represented by two kings. The apostate Julian is entwined with a snake; presented in typical patterns: sensualists, thieves, adulterers, drunkards; the gnashing of teeth is represented by people suffering in the flames. The Antichrist is depicted in rich clothes, surrounded by people and demons.
We present here excerpts from the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian, without which the description of the features of the iconography of the Last Judgment will be incomplete:
“Behold, the day will befall us, brothers, on which the light of the sun will be darkened, and the stars will fall, on which the sky will curl up like a scroll, a great trumpet will sound and with a terrible sound will awaken everyone from the age of the dead; on that day on which, according to the voice of the Judge, the secret places of hell will be empty, on which Christ will appear on the clouds with the holy angels to judge the living and the dead and reward each according to his deeds.
Indeed, Christ’s coming in glory is terrifying! It is a wonderful thing to see that the sky is suddenly torn apart, the earth changes its appearance, the dead rise. The earth will present all human bodies as it received them, even if they were torn to pieces by animals, devoured by birds, crushed by fish; There will not be a lack of even a hair of man before the Judge, because God will transform everyone into incorruption. Everyone will take on a body according to their own deeds. The body of the righteous will shine seven times more than the light of the sun, but the bodies of sinners will be dark and full of stench; Everyone’s body will show his deeds, because each of us carries his deeds in his own body.
When Christ comes from heaven, immediately unquenchable fire will flow everywhere before the face of Christ and cover everything. For the flood that happened under Noah served as an image of that unquenchable fire. Just as the flood covered all the tops of the mountains, so the fire will cover everything. Then angels will flow everywhere, and all the saints and faithful will be caught up in glory on the clouds to meet Christ...”
“The sky is twisted in terror, the heavenly bodies will fall like unripe figs from a fig tree and like leaves from the trees. The sun will darken with fear, the moon will turn pale, trembling, the bright stars will darken in fear of the Judge. The sea, horrified, will tremble, dry up, disappear, and it will no longer exist. The dust of the earth will be engulfed in flames, and everything will turn into smoke. The mountains will melt from fear, like lead in a crucible, and all the hills, like burnt lime, will smoke and collapse.
The Judge sits on a fiery Throne, surrounded by a sea of flames, and a river of fire flows from Him to test all the worlds... Whoever is swallowed up by the sea, who is devoured by wild animals, who is pecked by birds, who is burned in fire - in the shortest moment of time, everyone will awaken , will arise and appear. Whoever died in his mother’s womb and did not enter into life will be brought to adulthood in the same instant, which will return life to the dead. The baby, whose mother died with him during pregnancy, at the resurrection will appear as a perfect husband and will recognize his mother, and she will recognize her child. Those who have not seen each other here will see each other there...
There the good, by order of the Judge, will be separated from the evil, and the former will be ascended to heaven, and the latter will be cast into the abyss; some will enter the Kingdom, while others will go to hell.
Woe to the wicked and wicked! They, as punishment for their deeds, will be tormented by Satan.
Whoever sinned and offended God on earth will be cast into utter darkness, where there is not a ray of light. Whoever harbors envy in his heart will be hidden by a terrible depth, full of fire and bogeymen. He who indulged in anger and did not allow love into his heart, even to the point of hatred for his neighbor, will be handed over to cruel torment by the angels.
He who did not break his bread with the hungry, who did not comfort the one in need, will cry out in torment, and no one will hear or give him rest. He who, with his wealth, lived voluptuously and luxuriously, and did not open his doors to those in need, will ask for a drop of water in the fire, and no one will give it to him. He who has defiled his mouth with slander and his tongue with blasphemy will be mired in fetid mire and will be unable to open his mouth. He who robbed and oppressed others, and enriched his house with unrighteous wealth, will be drawn to himself by merciless demons, and his lot will be groaning and gnashing of teeth.
Whoever was inflamed here by the shameful lust of voluptuousness and adultery, he, along with Satan, will forever burn in Gehenna. Whoever transgressed the prohibition of the priests and trampled upon the commandment of God Himself will be subjected to the most severe and terrible of all torments...”
The iconography of the Last Judgment is one of the remarkable pages in the history of church art, not only and not so much for the complexity of the plot, but for the deep impact on the soul of a Christian preparing to enter the field of the Holy Pentecost: “Come, hear, kings and princes, slaves and freemen, sinners and righteous women, rich and poor; for the Judge is coming, even to judge the whole universe. And who will endure before His face when the angels appear convicting deeds, thoughts and thoughts, even in the night and in the days? Oh what an hour then! But before that, even the end of the soul, struggling to call, will not come; God, turn to save me, for I am the only one who is blessed with grace” (Stichera on the praise of the Meat Week).
- Last Judgment. Assumption Cathedral. Moscow Kremlin
- Last Judgment. Great Lavra. Athos
- Last Judgment
- Posledny Sud (The Last Judgment)
- Last Judgment
- Last Judgment
- Last Judgment
- Last Judgment. Russian North
At the Last Judgment, everyone who has ever existed, living and dead, will be resurrected in the flesh. They will be judged by Jesus, and each will deserve a sentence in accordance with their earthly deeds - either eternal bliss in heaven or eternal torment in hell (Matt. 25: 1-13, 25: 31-33).
The iconography of the Last Judgment is based on the texts of the Gospel, the Apocalypse, as well as patristic works: the “Words” of Ephraim the Syrian, the Words of Palladius Mnich, “The Life of Basil the New” and other works of Byzantine and Old Russian literature; in the next period, texts of folk spiritual poems can also be seen in iconographic details.
- One of the most important sources that influenced the composition and character of the compositions of the Last Judgment was the Life of Vasily the New (10th century).
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Vision of the Prophet Daniel (Dan.10-12) - in the scene “Vision of the Prophet Daniel” the angel shows the Prophet Daniel four animals. These animals symbolize the “perishing kingdoms” (kingdoms that are about to perish) - Babylonian, Macedonian, Persian and Roman, or the Antichrist. The first appears in the form of a bear, the second in the form of a griffin, the third in the form of a lion, and the fourth in the form of a horned beast. Sometimes other animals were also written that had an allegorical meaning. Among the latter, hares are especially interesting, which, according to a widespread idea in Rus', embodied in poems about the “Pigeon Book,” were allegorical images of truth (white hare) and “falsehood” (gray hare).
- The fiery stream (river) is known from the so-called “Walk of the Virgin Mary through the torments”, one of the most popular apocrypha in ancient Russian writing. In the lists of the “Walk”, starting from the 12th century, it is indicated that “in this river there are many husbands and wives; some are immersed to the waist, others to the chest, and only others to the neck,” depending on the degree of their guilt.
The images of the Last Judgment had an important feature: they were created not to intimidate a person, but to make him think about his sins; “not to despair, not to lose hope, but to begin repentance.” Repentance as an indispensable condition for achieving the Kingdom of God is one of the fundamental provisions of Christian doctrine, and this problem was especially relevant at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries, the time of the penetration of the plot into Rus'.
Orthodox iconography of the Last Judgment has existed in Byzantine art since the 11th-12th centuries.
The origins of the depiction of this subject go back to the 4th century - painting of Christian catacombs. The Judgment was originally portrayed in two forms: the story of the separation of the sheep from the goats and the parable of the ten virgins. Then, in V-VI, separate parts of the narrative image are formed, which then by the 8th century in Byzantium will form a complete composition.
The depiction of this plot includes not only iconography, but also the painting system of an Orthodox church (both in Byzantium and Rus'), where it is usually located on the western wall. Western Europe also used this plot (for example, Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel). The most famous monuments of the Byzantine cultural area on this subject are in the narthex of the Church of Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki (beginning of the 11th century); in Georgia - a heavily damaged fresco in the David-Gareji monastery of Udabno on the western wall (11th century); poorly preserved frescoes of the Last Judgment in Aten Zion (XI century), in the church in Ikvi (XII century), a grandiose composition of the Last Judgment of the temple in Timotesubani (1st quarter of the 13th century)
The Tale of Bygone Years mentions an episode about the use by a Christian “philosopher” (Orthodox preacher) of cuffs depicting the Last Judgment to preach Christianity to Prince Vladimir, which influenced the future baptism of Vladimir himself and Rus'. Images of the Last Judgment were an effective means of helping to convert the pagans. In Rus', compositions of the Last Judgment appear very early, shortly after Epiphany.
The earliest known Russian fresco on this subject is the Kirillov Monastery in Kyiv (12th century), paintings of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Novgorod (beginning of the 12th century), St. George's Cathedral in Staraya Ladoga (1180s), Church of the Savior on Nereditsa ( 1199), Dmitrovsky Cathedral of Vladimir (late 12th century), followed by fragments of paintings by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir.
The iconographic canon of the Last Judgment, which was destined to exist for at least another seven centuries, took shape at the end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries. In the 11th-12th centuries, a number of important images of the Last Judgment were created. The most famous: paintings of the Church of Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki (1028), frescoes of Sant'Angelo in Formis, two icons depicting the Last Judgment from the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai (XI-XII centuries), two miniatures of the Paris Gospel, an ivory plate from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the mosaics of the Torcello Basilica in Venice, the frescoes of the Church of Mavriotissa in Kastoria, the paintings of the Bachkovo Ossuary in Bulgaria and the giant mosaics of the floor of the cathedral in Otranto (1163), and the cathedral close in time in Trani.
The earliest known Russian icon painting dates back to the 15th century (the icon in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin). N.V. Pokrovsky, a researcher of the 19th century, points out that until the 15th century, Russian “Last Judgments” repeated Byzantine forms, the 16th-17th centuries saw the peak development of this plot in painting, and at the end of the 17th century, according to Pokrovsky, eschatological images began write with less skill - especially in southwestern Russia (under the influence of Western European influences).
No matter how people strive to delay the Day of Judgment, everything is inevitable. The religion of Christianity not only recognizes human life on earth, in a bodily shell, but also does not deny existence after death. The creation of the world and its last days, The Bible tells people about this too. She prophesies soon the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which will divide people into two: the righteous who will go to heaven and the sinners who will face appropriate punishment.
The coming phenomenon is described not only in the Holy Scriptures. The subjects of icons are often dedicated to him. The depicted images demonstrate pictures of what is happening on the Day of Judgment and such icons are found in most churches in Russia. Each icon of the Last Judgment has various designs, however, they are always united by one thing - composition and scenes, subject to generally accepted canons.
The plot of the Doomsday icon
The story depicted on the icons, first of all, seems to be a pictorial quotation of the Apocalypse, which serves as the basis for the plot. The description of the icon of the Last Judgment is also a canon of ancient Russian and Byzantine texts, in fact it is considered to be written based on the revelations of the revered holy prophet Daniel.
The first icons that came out from the hands of masters have very ancient origin. They date back to the years of the existence of the great state - Byzantium. Thus, several icons of the Judgment of God date back to the 4th century. They depicted a parable known at that time, where goats and sheep were separated, and also the story was about ten virgins. However, today's understanding of the Last Judgment arose a little later, but still in Byzantium. This happened at the turn of the 18th century. As for Mother Rus', the Last Judgment icon began to appear almost immediately after baptism. Historians call the first monastery where this icon was seen the St. Cyril Monastery monastery. Later it was noticed that the plot of the icon was completely divided into the court scene and the image of the Apocalypse, which became the reason for their official separation.
Main scenes of the Last Judgment icon
The icon of the Last Judgment of God is primarily different from the rest of the presence of “bright” subjects that the Apocalypse prophesies. It depicts Adam and Eve - the first people on earth, and the apostles holding books in their hands, and the angels who stand behind them. In the hands of unearthly creatures is a scroll, which marks the completion, the finale of history on earth. They, the heavenly inhabitants, surrounded Daniel, interpreting his prophecy. In addition, the Judgment Day icon is the only one among all Orthodox icons that shows the Creator with gray hair, in the form of an old man. Accompanied by Saints Peter and Paul, who lead the march, the immaculate righteous march. This ends the main “light” scenes and is followed by the “dark” ones. These include the Serpent (the fiery river where human souls burn) - the personification of all earthly sins, the sitting or standing Antichrist, sometimes holding the soul of Judas in his palms, and also the four kingdoms of destruction, in place of which the Kingdom of Heaven will appear.
The icon of the Second Coming of Christ is not without scenes of neutral meaning, where sinners and the righteous stand before judgment. The first are dressed in ethnic costumes, as a symbol of all nations of the world, and the saints are distributed according to rank in two rows. Heaven and hell, scenes of the struggle between demons and angels. There is a dark circle around the Earth, a tomb and the sea - resurrection of the dead. Good and evil, but sometimes there is an intermediate phenomenon, and this helps to understand a lost person who has not gone to heaven or hell.
Meaning of the icon
Icon of the Judgment of God, based on general interpretations may cause a feeling of fear, horror, but every person, whether he wants it or not, will ultimately face the Last Judgment, where all deeds will be judged. The supreme judge there is Jesus Christ; it is he who, during the Second Coming, is destined to decide the fate of a person, sending the soul to eternal peace or torment.
The main thing is the essence of everything depicted - not to scare, but to force a person to rethink how he lives, what he does, whether he believes and sincerely repents after making a mistake.
That's why ecclesiastical significance icons of the Apocalypse - awareness of sins and repentance.
Prayer before the icon
The prayer to the icon of the Last Judgment is focused on the atonement of sins not only through contemplation, but also by pronouncing cherished words that confirm sincere intentions. That is why it is necessary to pray in front of the icon for involuntary and voluntary sins, in order to gain the opportunity to enter the Heavenly Kingdom, and the commemoration of dead sinners is also allowed.
For at Thy Terrible One, and without respect for persons, I stand before the Judgment Seat, O Christ God, and lift up condemnation, and create a word about the evil things I have done: this day, before the day of my condemnation even came, I stand before You at Your holy Altar, and before the terrible and holy Angels By yours, bowed by my conscience, I offer my wicked and lawless deeds, reveal this and expose it. See, Lord, my humility, and forgive all my sins, see how my iniquity has multiplied more than the hair of my head. Why haven't you done evil? What sin have I not committed? What evil have I not imagined in my soul? I have created every feeling and every evil that is defiled, corrupted, and indecent, having become a work of the devil in every way. And I know, Lord, that my iniquities have exceeded my head. But the multitude of Thy bounties is immeasurable, and the mercy of Thy kindness is inexpressible, and there is no sin, conquering Thy love for mankind. Moreover, Wonderful King, kindly Lord, surprise me, a sinner, with Thy mercy, show Thy goodness the power and show the strength of Thy gracious mercy, and when you turn, accept me, a sinner. Receive me as you received the prodigal, the robber, the harlot.
Receive me, having sinned beyond measure in word and in deed, in placeless lust, and in wordless thought against You. And just as at the one and tenth hour you accepted those who came, having done nothing worthy, so also accept me, a sinner: for many have sinned, and have become defiled, and have grieved Thy Holy Spirit, and grieved Thy humane womb, in deed, and in word, and in thought, in the night and in days, manifested and unmanifested, willingly and unwillingly. And we know that you have presented my sins before me as such, as I have committed, and have spoken with me about them who have sinned unforgivenly in their minds. But, Lord, Lord, do not reprove me with Thy righteous judgment, nor with Thy wrath, nor punish me with Thy wrath.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am not only weak, but also Your creation. For Thou, O Lord, hast Thou established Thy fear upon me, and I have done evil before Thee, for Thy alone have sinned. But I pray to You, do not enter into judgment with Your servant. If you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, who will stand? Because I am the abyss of sin and am not worthy, below I am content to look and see the heights of heaven from the multitude of my sins, of which there is no number. Why haven't my sins been corrupted? Are Kiimi not kept evil? I have committed every sin, I have brought every uncleanness into my soul: it would be undesirable for You, my God, and for man. Who will raise me up, in the face of evil and a fraction of fallen sin?
Lord my God, I trust in You: if I have hope for salvation, if Your love for mankind overcomes the multitude of my iniquities, be my Savior, and according to Your generosity and Your mercy, weaken, forgive, forgive me all, even if You have sinned, for I have been filled with many evils my soul, and there is within me the salvation of hope. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and do not reward me according to my deeds, and do not judge me according to my deeds, but convert, intercede, and deliver my soul from the evils and cruel perceptions that co-increase with it. Save me for the sake of Thy mercy: that where sin abounds, Thy grace abounds. Grant me tears of contrition and tenderness of heart, leading the fallen to their inheritance, with them I will be cleansed from all sin, for it is a terrible and threatening place for the imam to pass through, bodies separated: then a multitude of dark and inhuman demons will overwhelm me, and no one will accompany or deliver me to help, but my works will condemn me. For this reason, before the end, receive me in repentance and never leave me, Thy servant, but always rest in me, do not betray me to the sedition of the serpent and do not leave me to the desires of Satan, for there is a seed of aphids in me.
Thou, O Lord God worshiped, the Holy King, Jesus Christ, preserve me with Thy Holy Spirit, with whom Thou hast sanctified Thy disciples. Grant, O Lord, to me, Thy unworthy servant, too, Thy salvation: enlighten my mind with the light of understanding of Thy Holy Gospel, illuminate my soul with the love of Thy Cross, whiten my heart with the purity of Thy word, heal my body with Thy passionless passion, preserve my thought with Thy humility, and uplift me to do Thy commandments, and grant that with a cheerful heart and sober thought I may pass through the night of this present life, awaiting the coming of Thy bright and revealed day. You are, Lord, Light, more than any light, Joy, more than any joy, Hope, more than any hope, True Life and Salvation, which endures forever and ever. Amen!
