The crucifixion took place on Friday, the eve of the great Jewish holiday of Passover. In order not to leave the bodies of those executed on the crosses, the Jews asked Pilate to hasten their death. Pilate agreed.
The arriving soldiers broke the legs of two robbers: after this, the crucified man died almost instantly. But, approaching Jesus and making sure that He was already dead, the soldiers did not break His legs.
So that there would be no doubt about the death of Jesus Christ, one of the soldiers pierced Him with a spear in the ribs. Blood and water immediately flowed from the wound. This was clear evidence of death.
That same evening, one of the members of the Sanhedrin, a secret disciple of Jesus Christ, Joseph of Arimathea, came to Pilate. He was a man of righteous life and did not participate in the condemnation of the Savior. Joseph asked Pilate for permission to remove Jesus' body from the Cross and bury Him.
Having received permission, he bought burial cloth - a shroud - and went to Golgotha. Nicodemus also came there. Once he secretly came to the Savior to hear from Him the teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Joseph and Nicodemus took the body of Jesus from the Cross, anointed Him with incense and wrapped Him in a shroud.
Near Golgotha there was a garden that belonged to Joseph. There, in the stone rock, he carved a new burial cave for himself. The disciples reverently placed the body of the Lord Jesus Christ in it and rolled a large stone to the door of the tomb.
The burial of the Savior was watched by women standing at His Cross. Among them were the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Joseph.
The sun was setting. In anticipation of the coming Sabbath, the great day of rest, everyone left the burial place of Christ. Returning home, the women bought precious myrrh. After the Sabbath had passed, they wanted to come to the tomb again and anoint the body of the Savior with myrrh in order to complete the burial with dignity.
Meanwhile, the high priests and Pharisees came to Pilate and said to him: “Sir! We remembered that that deceiver, while still alive, said: after three days I will rise again." Therefore, order that the tomb be guarded for three days, "so that His disciples, coming at night, do not steal Him and say to the people: He has risen from the dead; and the last deception will be worse than the first."
“The first deception” they called what the Lord Jesus Christ taught about Himself as the Son of God, about the Messiah. And the last one is a sermon about the Resurrection of the Lord from the dead and His victory over hell. Pilate answered them: “You have a guard; go, guard as best you can.”
Having received this permission, the high priests and the Pharisees went to the tomb of Jesus Christ. Having carefully examined the burial site, they set up a guard of Roman soldiers, who were at their disposal during the holidays. Then they attached the seal of the Sanhedrin to the stone that closed the entrance to the cave and left, leaving the body of the Savior under guard.
When the body of Christ lay in the tomb, He descended with His soul into hell, preaching victory over sin and death to the dead. For all the Old Testament righteous, all who expected the coming of the Savior, the Lord opened the Kingdom of Heaven and brought their souls out of hell.
From this moment on, the Kingdom of God is open to all who believe in Christ and fulfill His commandments. Hell has been defeated by the power of the crucified Son of God, and we, together with the apostle, can say: “Death! where is your sting? Hell! where is your victory?”
That same evening, soon after everything had happened, a famous member of the Sanhedrin, a rich man, came to Pilate Joseph of Arimathea(from the city of Arimathea). Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus Christ, secret - out of fear of the Jews. He was a kind and righteous man, who did not participate in the council or in the condemnation of the Savior. He asked Pilate for permission to remove the body of Christ from the cross and bury it.
The suffering of Christ is remembered by the Holy Orthodox in the week before Easter. This week is called Passionate. Christians should spend this entire week in fasting and prayer.
IN Great Wednesday Holy Week remembers the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot.
IN Maundy Thursday in the evening, during the all-night vigil (which is Good Friday matins), twelve parts of the gospel about the suffering of Jesus Christ are read.
IN Good Friday during Vespers(which is served at 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon) is taken out of the altar and placed in the middle of the temple shroud, i.e. a sacred image of the Savior lying in the tomb; this is done in remembrance of the taking down of the body of Christ from the cross and His burial.
IN Holy Saturday on matins, with the funeral bells ringing and while the song “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us” is sung, the shroud is carried around the temple in memory of the descent of Jesus Christ into hell, when His body was in the tomb, and His victory over hell and.
TO Holy Week and for the holiday of Easter we prepare ourselves by fasting. This fast lasts forty days and is called Holy Pentecost or Great Lent.
In addition, the holy Orthodox woman has fasted according to Wednesdays And Fridays every week (except for some, very few, weeks of the year), on Wednesdays - in remembrance of the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas, and on Fridays in remembrance of the suffering of Jesus Christ.
We express our faith in the power of Jesus Christ’s suffering on the cross for us sign of the cross during our prayers.
Date of creation: 1612–14.
Type: oil, oak.
Location: Antwerp.
Descent from the Cross
Together with the Italian artist Caravaggio , Peter Paul Rubens was one of the leading figures in painting baroque. Both masters expressed the drama and mystery underlying Catholic dogma, and were also experts in chiaroscuro and shape modeling. But while Caravaggio is known for his unadorned naturalism, Rubens adheres to more traditional rules.
« Descent from the Cross" is the central panel of a triptych that Rubens painted for the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp. This was the second altarpiece completed by the artist. The first “Elevation of the Cross” dates back to 1610. In addition, he wrote two other variations on the theme of withdrawal. One from 1616–1617, which is now in the Museum Fine Arts(Lille, France), another in 1617–1618 (Hermitage, Russia).
Version from Lille
Analysis of the work
The painter began work immediately after a long visit to Italy, where he studied altars, the new style of Caravaggism, as well as anatomical structure(through Renaissance sculptures). “The Descent from the Cross” is full of methods and techniques gleaned by the master after his journey.
The composition of the central part of the triptych is based on the emotional interaction of a group of figures located around the lifeless body of the Savior. Diagonally across the painting is the pale and muscular body of Jesus and his slow removal. Positioned at the top of two ladders, on top of the canvas, two workers began the lowering process using a bandage. They help St. John (in a red cloak) at the foot of the cross, Joseph of Arimathea (standing in the middle of the left staircase) and Nicodemus (situated in the middle of the right staircase).
The scale of the painting (420.5 * 320 cm), according to the guidelines of the Catholic Council, was supposed to stimulate the piety and imagination of the viewer, because the teachings of the Jesuits emphasized Special attention to the need to develop the believer's ability to imagine biblical scenes as if they were absolutely real. Crucifixion and its consequences - important element Christian theology to this day.
Version from the Hermitage
Rubens' two other works on this subject are equally dramatic and masterfully executed. Some art historians believe that the Hermitage version offers the most difficult and monumental interpretation of events, thanks to the small number of figures and the absence of background. The masterpiece from Antwerp is usually considered the most “baroque” of the three.
Painting "Descent from the Cross" updated: October 23, 2017 by: Gleb
That same evening, soon after everything that had happened, the famous member of the Sanhedrin, the rich man Joseph of Arimathea (from the city of Arimathea), comes to Pilate. Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus Christ, secret - out of fear of the Jews. He was a kind and righteous man, who did not participate in the council or in the condemnation of the Savior. He asked Pilate for permission to remove the body of Christ from the cross and bury it. Pilate was surprised that Jesus Christ died so soon. He called the centurion who was guarding the crucified, learned from him when Jesus Christ died, and allowed Joseph to take the body of Christ for burial.
Joseph, having bought a shroud (cloth for burial), came to Golgotha. Another secret disciple of Jesus Christ and a member of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus, also came. He brought with him for burial a precious fragrant ointment - a composition of myrrh and aloe.
They took the body of the Savior from the Cross, anointed Him with incense, wrapped Him in a shroud and laid Him in a new tomb, in the garden, near Golgotha. This tomb was a cave that Joseph of Arimathea carved into the rock for his burial, and in which no one had yet been laid. There they laid the body of Christ, because this tomb was close to Golgotha, and there was little time, since the great holiday of Easter was approaching. Then they rolled a huge stone to the door of the coffin and left.
Mary Magdalene, Mary of Joseph and other women were there and watched how the body of Christ was laid out. Returning home, they bought precious ointment, so that they could then anoint the body of Christ with this ointment as soon as the first, great day of the holiday had passed, on which, according to the law, everyone should be at peace.
But the enemies of Christ did not calm down, despite their great holiday. The next day, Saturday, the high priests and Pharisees (disturbing the peace of the Sabbath and the holiday) gathered, came to Pilate and began to ask him: “Sir, we remembered that this deceiver (as they dared to call Jesus Christ), while still alive, said: “After three days I will rise.” Therefore, order that the tomb be guarded until the third day, so that His disciples, coming at night, do not steal Him and tell the people that He has risen from the dead; and then the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Pilate said to them: “You have a guard; go, guard as best you can.”
Then the high priests and the Pharisees went to the tomb of Jesus Christ and, having carefully examined the cave, they applied their (Sanhedrin’s) seal to the stone; and they placed a military guard at the tomb of the Lord.
When the Savior's body lay in the tomb, He descended with His soul into hell to the souls of people who died before His suffering and death. And He freed all the souls of righteous people who were waiting for the coming of the Savior from hell.
NOTE: See in the Gospel: Matthew, ch. 27, 57-66; from Mark, ch. 15, 42-47; from Luke, ch. 23, 50-56; from John, ch. 19, 38-42.