Christ is Risen

Icon of the Resurrection by Manuel Panselinos 13c.
Source

That We Must Meet the Lord Jesus Christ in this Life!

Icon of Christ in a Different Form by Manuel Panselinos
Photograph by Paul Mylonas


Recently, I read a passage from St Maximos the Confessor that
brought a lot of hope to my heart. Our Orthodox Church Fathers, 
like St Symeon the New Theologian and teachers such as Fr John
Romanides instruct us that we must meet Christ in this life. The 
eye of our soul, our nous, must be opened before we depart this life,
in order to see our Lord in the next. 

All the ascetical struggle of the Orthodox Christian has the purpose
of purifying the heart so that one day he may meet the Lord Jesus
Christ face to face. We must be spiritually alive to God to be able to
enter the Kingdom. But how is this event to take place? St Maximos
writes,

" For the Lord does not always appear in glory to those who are
standing before Him; rather, He comes in the form of a servant to 
beginners,... Thus it is possible for the Lord not to appear in the 
same form to all those who meet him, but to some in one way and
to others in another way, that is, by varying the contemplation 
(of Him) according to the measure of faith in each one."
From 'Maximos Confessor Selected Writings', Chapters on Knowledge p.150,

Trans. by George C. Berthold, The Classics of Western Spirituality, Paulist 

Press New York 1985

In the Gospel of Luke 24:13 NASB,we read:

"And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village
named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And
they were talking with each other about all these things which had
taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself
approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were
prevented from recognizing Him."

The disciples did not recognize the Lord but they felt the fire of

His Presence in their hearts. It wasn't until the end of the day that

Luke and Cleopas were able to see that it was the Lord speaking to

them. "When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the

bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He 

vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our

hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, 

while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” All the hours the 

disciples spent conversing with the Lord on the way to Emmaus

were needed to prepare their hearts for a fuller revelation of

Himself.

Again, when the disciples were fishing on the sea of Galilee, the Lord

stood on the beach and spoke to them saying, "Cast the net on the 

right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” John 21:6

They obeyed the 'stranger' and caught a big catch of fish. Then

"that disciple whom Jesus loved (John) said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

John 21:7

You see, the disciples had heard those words before, when Jesus
called them to follow Him at the beginning of His ministry. And
John, whose heart was ready, immediately recognized his Master.

This experience is absolutely necessary if we are to hold converse

with the Lord. It is also necessary for a correct understanding of

the scriptures. In reference to the revelation of Christ's glory to 

His disciples on Mount Tabor, St Maximos writes,

"When the Word of God becomes bright and shinning in us, and 

His face is dazzling as the sun, then also will His clothes be radiant,

that is, the clear and distinct words of the Holy Scripture of the

Gospels now no longer veiled. Then Moses and Elijah will stand 

beside Him, that is, the more spiritual meanings of the Law and 

the Prophets."
Maximos Confessor Selected Writings p.150, Trans. by George C.

Berthold, Paulist Press 1985

What Orthodox Iconography Is, by Photios Kontoglou

Christ at the Well Icon by Manuel Panselinos 14th c.
Source

The religion of Christ is the revelation, by Him, of the truth.
And this truth is the knowledge of the true God and of the
spiritual world. But the spiritual world is not what men used
to—and still do—call "spiritual."Christ calls His religion "new
wine" and "bread that cometh down from Heaven." The
Apostle Paul says, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creation. The old things have passed away: behold,
all things have become new."

In a religion like this, one that makes the believer into a "new
man," everything is "new." So, too, the art that gradually took
form out of the spirit of this religion, and which it invented to
express its Mystery, is a "new" art, one not like any other, just
as the religion of Christ is not like any other, in spite of what
some may say who have eyes only for certain meaningless
externals.

The architecture of this religion, its music, its painting, its
sacred poetry, insofar as they make use of material media,
nourish the souls of the faithful with spirit. The works
produced in these media are like steps that lead them from
earth up to heaven, from this earthly and temporary state to
that which is heavenly and eternal: This takes place so far as
is possible with human nature.

For this reason, the arts of the Church are anagogical, that is,
they elevate natural phenomena and submit them to "the
beautiful transformation." They are also called "liturgical"
arts, because through them man tastes the essence of the
liturgy by which God is worshipped and through which man
becomes like unto the Heavenly Hosts and perceives immortal
life.

Ecclesiastical liturgical painting, the painting of worship, took
its form above all from Byzantium, where it remained the
mystical Ark of Christ’s religion and was called hagiographia
or sacred painting. As with the other arts of the Church, the
purpose of hagiographia is not to give pleasure to our carnal
sense of sight, but to transform it into a spiritual sense, so
that in the visible things of this world we may see what
surpasses this world.

Please continue reading this article here, the wonderful
Orthodox blog, 'Full of Grace and Truth'.

Self Portrait of Photios Kontogou

The Physical Appearance of Our Lord, Jesus Christ

Icon of Our Lord Jesus Christ 14th c. by Manuil Panselinos
Source

The Physical Appearance of Our Lord, Jesus Christ

By Pouplious Lantoulos & St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite

From Orthodox Heritage Periodical published by
The Orthodox Brotherhood of St Poimen
Copied with permission

Concerning the God-man, the Son and Logos of God, the Evangelists and Apostles wrote about His works in the world in the Divine Gospels. They recorded the accounts of His transfiguration, His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension up to heaven. But there were many other private individuals of that period, not followers of Christ, who wrote a more detailed account concerning the life of the Lord. One who wrote about the character, appearances, form and figure of Christ which is worthy of mention, is the Roman Pouplious Lantoulos, who lived during the days of our Lord, residing in Jerusalem at that time. He wrote a letter to the Roman senate which is as follows:

In those days there appeared a young man, who is still living, a youth that has great power and whose name is Jesus Christ. The populace calls Him a strong prophet and His disciples call Him, Son of God. He raised the dead to life; and cures the sick of every type of disease. The youth is tall but well proportioned. The countenance of His face is both serious and active, so that those who look at Him love Him, and yet in another way, they are afraid of Him. The hair on His head is the color of wine down to the beginning of His ears, lacking brilliance. It is smooth from the beginning of His ears to His shoulders, then twisted and brilliant from the shoulders down, where it hangs divided according to the custom of the Nazarenes. His forehead is smooth and clean, His face without blemish decorated with a light pink color. His appearance is polite and joyful, His nose and mouth are altogether blameless. His beard is thick being of the same color as His hair, and is also divided in two, while His eyes are blue and filled with extreme brilliance. When He scolds He is fearful; when He teaches and advises, He is attractive and beloved. Wonder is the grace of His face and dignified. Not once was He seen laughing, but He was often seen crying. According to the height of His body, His hands being very straight and His arms graceful, and according to His generation, He is the nicest of all men.

St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite, in "A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel, the Classics of Western Spirituality Proper Delights of the Mind”, addresses the great delight of envisioning the physical appearance of Christ.

Let me say this too. Even the mere envision of the physical appearance and the beauty of the divine face of Jesus brings inexpressible delight so that you will want to say enthusiastically: "You are all sweetness, O Savior; You are all desire and appeal; You are all insatiate; You are all beauty irresistible." Also you will want to say: "You have attracted me with desire, O Christ, and You have transfigured me with your divine love." Moreover, you will want to say with St. Paul: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Rom. 8:35) Also you will want to ask the question of the bride: "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" (Song of Solomon 3:3) And you will want to say many other words of love.

Think of those most pure eyes of Jesus, so calm, so sweet; the straightness of His nose; the somewhat chestnut-colored and at the same time golden hair and beard of His; His great and joyous forehead; the blended color of His calm and royal face; His fine, long fingers and his perfectly shaped hands; His moderate stature, and simply all of the other symmetry and grace, which shone in all His members. Jesus was so beautiful that, as Lantoulos, that officer who had seen the Lord with his own eyes in Jerusalem, wrote to the senate in Rome, there has never appeared on earth another person more beautiful than Jesus. Foreseeing this beauty, prophet David wrote: "You are the most beautiful of the sons of men" (Ps 45:2). Aquila rendered this line, "You are adorned with beauty by the sons of men." Symmachus rendered it,: "Among the sons of men You are good in beauty." The bride in the Song speaks lovingly to Him: "Behold, You are beautiful, my beloved, truly lovely (Song 1:16) This is why the people could not be satisfied when looking upon Him, nor did they want to take their attention away from Him.

St. John Chrysostom explaining this passage "When Jesus saw great crowds around Him" (Matt. 8:18), wrote: "The people were really attracted to Him and they loved Him and marveled at Him, desiring always to be looking upon Him. Who would want to leave while He was doing these marvelous deeds? Who would not want to simply get a glance at the face and the mouth that as saying such wonderful things? He was not so wonderful only when He was doing wonders, but even when He was just looked upon, simply He was just full of grace." This is what the prophet David meant when he said that He was the most beautiful among the sons of men.

Now if the physical body of sweetest Jesus was so beautiful then when He was bearing a corruptible body, how much more beautiful is it now that it has become incorruptible and glorified and His divine face is shining in heaven infinitely more brightly than the sun? This is why St. John Chrysostom has sought with his eloquent homilies to move us to do everything we can so that we may achieve and enjoy the most sweet vision of the glorified and most beautiful and most desired divine face of Jesus. For if one is to be deprived of the vision of that most beautiful and most desired face of Jesus, this is truly a worse calamity than a thousand hells. For as St. John Chrysostom wrote:

"Even if we experience a thousand hells, none of these will be anything like the experience of seeing the calm face of Jesus and His serene eyes turn away from us as being unable to endure looking upon us."

Christ at the Well (detail) - 14th c. Panselinos

From Uncut Mountain Supply