Good Friday and the Icon of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ  (3/03)

A Meditation by Mary Grace Ritchey

There is no Divine Liturgy on Good Friday.  Instead, at each of the Canonical Hours there are a Prophecy, Epistle and Gospel readings that take us through all that is happening in the life of Christ culminating in His Crucifixion.  The content of the icon is taken from these readings.

Epistle:    Galatians 6: 14-18

Gospel: Matthew 27- 1-56

Third Hour

Epistle: Romans 5: 6-10

Gospel: Mark 15: 16-41

Epistle: Hebrews 2: 11-18

Gospel: Luke 23: 32-49

The Prophecy: Jeremiah 11: 18-23;

Epistle: Hebrews 10: 19-31

Gospel: John 18: 28-19: 37  and  12: 1-5, 9-11, 14-15

Much of the Gospel readings have been read on Holy Thursday and records the arraignment of Christ to His death and the witness of the Centurion "Truly this was the Son of God".  The early icons of the Crucifixion show the two thieves and Christ on Crosses, Mary and the faithful women disciples, St. John, the Pharisees and the crowd behind him, and the soldiers and Centurion.  Later icons are simplified to show Christ, Mary and only one faithful woman disciple, St. John and the Centurion.  The use of the image of the Cross appears very early in Christianity both as symbol, such as the anchor, and in the simple drawing of a cross.  According to Lossky and Ouspensky in their book THE MEANING OF ICONS, the image of Christ on the Cross is engraved on gems as early as the second century and the composition of the icon was seen on Church murals as early as the fourth century (p.180). Some icons show Christ's feet on a stool or horizontal crossbar with nails through each of His feet. Some icons show an oblique crossbar.  The slanted crossbar was introduced in Russian iconography and symbolically represented the condemnation of the thief on the left side of Christ, the crossbar slanted downward, and the justification of the thief on the right of Jesus, the crossbar slanted upward. At the bottom of the Cross is an open cave with a skull:

Victory over death and hell is symbolized by a cavern, which opens at the foot of the cross, below the rocky summit of Golgotha, the rock that was rent, at the moment of Christ's death, to allow a skull to appear.  It is the skull of Adam who, ' according to the belief of some", says St. John Chrysostom, would have been buried under Golgotha-the place of a skull" (John19: 17).  If the tradition of iconography adopted this detail coming from apocryphal sources, it was because it served to bring out the dogmatic meaning of the icon of the Crucifixion: the redemption of the first Adam by the blood of Christ, the New Adam, Who made Himself man to save the human race." (p. 181)

The top bar held the accusation of the crucified person.  The Byzantine icon has the insignia "King of Glory" which indeed is the true title of the crucified Christ.  St. John Chrysostom says "I call Him King, because I see Him crucified:  it belong to the King to die for His subjects" (p. 180).  The earthly King was expected to give up his personal life for the good of the people.  Our King of Glory gives His life voluntarily out of love for mankind. Christ's body in the icon is twisted right, his head bowed toward His mother, His eyes closed in death.  "No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again" (John 10: 18). The cross is the symbol of victory by defeat.  By the death of Jesus, death was defeated. We all are called to carry our cross. In the Galatians epistle Paul tells us "But far be it for me to glory except in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6: 14)."

There are eight ends to the cross.  The number eight has an outside-of-time connotation. There are often angels seen in the icons.  Some angels cover their faces to shield themselves from the sight, or cover their hands ready to serve the Lord. Some seem to be announcing our salvation with trumpets.  Sometimes the moon and the sun are placed above the cross. These symbols represent nature responding to the action of Christ and also the victory of light over darkness:  " It was about the sixth hour and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two" (Luke 23: 44-45).  Behind the Cross, the wall of Jerusalem is seen in many icons because Christ died outside the gates of Jerusalem at the same time that the Passover lamb is slaughtered outside the wall of Jerusalem.

There is a kind of silence in the icon.  Mouths are not open; nothing suggests sound.  But St. Ignatius of Antioch said "He who possesses in truth the word of Jesus can hear even in silence".  This silence moves us to prayer and contemplation of the event depicted. The figures in this icon show emotion.  Mary is often shown with her hand touching her face in grief and the other hand raised toward Christ, or one hand drawing her mantle closer and one hand raised toward Christ.  John is shown, head down, sometimes touching his face in terror.  Longinos, the Centurion has his face raised toward Christ witnessing his last words "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46).  Sometimes Longinos has a hand raised and anger on his face not able to comprehend this injustice.  The women show their concern for Mary in some icons and their grief in their faces. We contemplate the words of Isaiah in their faces:  "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53: 4-5).