What this ikon tells us about the Resurrection of the Lord

Yesterday I was crucified with Christ; today I am glorified with him. Yesterday I was dead with him; today I am sharing in his resurrection. Yesterday I was buried with him; today I am waking with him from the sleep of death. – St. Gregory Nazianzen

Christ is in the center of the ikon, He is risen and glorified. His resurrection is the center of the Christian faith. The Lord’s resurrection is our hope and joy. Death is destroyed, sin conquered. He is surrounded by a silver mandorla a symbol of the glory of God. The Lord’s cloak is moving, a sign of the action of God. He stands on the crossed gates of Hades (or Hell, not the hell of satan, full of torture and fire, but the underworld, that place of darkness where the righteous ones of the Old Testament awaited Christ’s coming among them to deliver them).

The Lord grasps the wrists of Adam, the first man, and Eve, the mother of all the living; He pulls them from the tombs. Our first parents represent all of us who hope in the Lord that He might raise us to be with Him forever on the Last Day. Both point to Christ with their other hands, acknowledging Him to be their God.

On the left of Christ are Abel, the shepherd, the son of Adam and Eve, the first to die in the history of salvation. Killed by his brother Cain, Abel was righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Behind Abel are Abraham, Isaac, Moses, the prophets; Elijah, Habbakuk and Jeremiah. These saints are imperfect Old Testament images of Christ; they point to the coming of Christ. The prophets foretold of promised Messiah.

On the right are King David and his son, King Solomon. St John the Baptist and Forerunner of the Lord is pointing to Christ (“Behold the Lamb of God…”) and there are other Old Testament figures.

Above the Lord is the Holy Cross, held by angels; the trophy of His victory over sin and death. Above the Cross is the “prepared throne” or the heavenly altar with the dove of the Holy Spirit resting on it. The prepared throne awaits the Lord’s Ascension.

Below the Lord are two angels subduing an old man, he represents death and is being chained up forever. In the blackness of Hades are broken locks and bent keys. These are a reminder that man could not unlock the gates of hell by any power of his own. Only Christ God could tear down the gates of the underworld and rescue the souls of those imprisoned there.

May Christ, the Destroyer of Death raise us up to live with Him forever. Amen.

Yours,
Fr. Phil

(written April 16, 2020)