Tag: Rabbula Gospels

Christmas, Day 8: They named him Jesus

Victoria Emily JonesLeave a comment

LOOK: Virgin and Child from the Rabbula Gospels

Virgin and Child (Rabbula Gospels)
Virgin and Child, from the Rabbula Gospels, Syria, 586 CE. Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence (Plut.1.56, fol. 1v).

Among the earliest works of Byzantine iconography, this painting is from a sixth-century manuscript of the Gospels in Syriac (Peshitta version), completed at the Bēṯ Zaḡbā Monastery in northern Syria. It shows the Virgin Mary standing under a colorfully patterned aedicule, holding her son Jesus, who faces us. Perched on the roof are two peacocks, a symbol of resurrection and eternal life.

For a blog post on one of the Rabbula Gospels’ other full-page miniatures, see here.

LISTEN: “Jesus” by Glen Woodward, arr. Valeria A. Foster, 2000 | © 2000 GIA Publications, Inc. | Performed by choral students from Western Michigan and Calvin Christian High Schools and Calvin University, dir. James Abbington, with Brandon A. Boyd on piano, February 9, 2023

Jesus
Jesus
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus

I worship you
I worship you
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus

I love you, Lord
I love you, Lord
Jesus, Jesus
Jesus

Eight days after his birth, Jesus was circumcised as the Jewish law stipulates (Lev. 12:1–3) and given his name: “When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child, and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21). Thus many churches celebrate January 1 as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.

The name Jesus—or Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), as he would have been known to his fellow Aramaic speakers (“Jesus” is the Greek transliteration)—means “Yahweh saves.”

This post is part of a daily Christmas series that goes through January 6. View all the posts here, and the accompanying Spotify playlist here.

Christ ascending into Ezekiel’s vision

Victoria Emily Jones2 Comments

The sixth-century illuminated Syriac manuscript known as the Rabbula Gospels (after the signed name of its scribe) contains one of the earliest depictions of Christ’s ascension into heaven. A full-page miniature, it illustrates the narrative from Acts 1:6–11—but not strictly.

Ascension (Rabbula Gospels)
Ascension, fol. 13v from the Rabbula Gospels (cod. Plut. I, 56), Syria, 586. Tempera on parchment, 33 × 25 cm. Biblioteca Mediceo Laurenziana, Florence.

One embellishment to the story is the centralized presence of Mary on the bottom level. She is not mentioned in the biblical account of the event, but her attendance was likely. Here she stands in a frontal, orant pose and, unlike the other disciples, is nimbed. Whereas those around her are wracked with confusion, she understands the deep mysteries of her son’s birth, death, resurrection, and ascension, and she stands ready for his return.

Among the crowd is the apostle Paul—an anachronistic insertion, as his conversion occurred after the Ascension. The book he holds, signifying his contributions to the New Testament, is one of his identifying attributes.

The “two men . . . in white robes” mentioned in Acts 1:10 are interpreted as angels.

All these elements became standard in medieval iconography of the Ascension.   Continue reading “Christ ascending into Ezekiel’s vision” →