The Lord of the Rings and christianity
Al
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/garden.htm
"THE LORD OF THE RINGS" AND CHRISTIANITY
In the Holy Scripture the temple of God is compared with paradise. In the
vision of prophet Ezekiel the garden of Eden grows on the banks of the
river that flows from the temple: "Waters issued out from under the
threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood
toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of
the house, at the south side of the altar?And by the river upon the bank
thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat,
whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it
shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters
they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat,
and the leaf thereof for medicine (Eze 47:1-12).
Paradise robes look like the vestments of high priest: "Thou hast been in
Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius,
topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire,
the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold" (Eze 28:13).
The connection between the temple and paradise is mentioned in the book of
Joshua the son of Sirach, the Revelation of John the Theologian, as well as
apocryphal books and the works of Church Fathers.
"The garden of Eden is the Holy of Holies and the abode of the Lord" (The
Book of Jubilees or Small Genesis, Ch.8)."The mystery of paradise was
presented by Moses who made two sanctuaries - the Holy and the Holy of
Holies. The access to the external sanctuary was always free, but it was
allowed to enter the internal one only once. Thus God closed from Adam the
internal part of paradise, and opened the external part for him to be
satisfied with the external one.
Since Adam was not allowed to enter the internal temple, this temple was
guarded, for Adam to be satisfied with the ministry in the external temple,
and as a priest serves bringing a censer, he served in the same way
observing the commandment.
The tree of knowledge was for Adam the symbol of the door, the fruit - the
curtain that covers the temple. The One Who planted the tree of knowledge
set it in the middle to divide the highest and the lowest, the Holy and the
Holy of Holies.
Adam stepped in, dared enter and was horrified. Like King Uzziah was
covered with leprosy, in the same way Adam bared himself; and since he was
stricken like Uzziah he retreated hastily.
In his uncleanness he wanted to enter the Holy of Holies that loves only
the like; and since he dared enter the internal sanctuary, he was not left
in the external one.
Let us remember Uzziah, who dared enter the sanctuary. Since he strove for
High Priesthood, he lost his kingdom (2 Chr. 26:16). Adam wanted to
acquire, but increased his poverty. In the sanctuary you can see a tree, in
the censer - a fruit, in the leprosy - nakedness" (St. Ephraim the Syrian,
On paradise, Works, vol.5., Moscow, 1995).
Speaking about the symbolism of Byzantine Divine Services, St. Symeon of
Thessalonica explains: "Splendor of the temple signifies the beauty of
paradise, therefore the Divine temple pictures paradise or better to say
presents the paradise heavenly gifts...
In the beginning of prayers we stand outside of the temple as if outside
paradise or heaven itself. And when the songs are finished and the gates
open we enter the Divine temple like paradise or heaven. It means that
heavenly dwellings are open to us and we got access to the Holy of Holies,
we ascend to the light and approach the throne of the Lord...
Standing and singing outside the temple expresses our expulsion from
paradise? The vespers can be outside the temple and signify our falling
away from paradise" (St. Symeon of Thessalonica, A conversation on the
sacred rites and church sacraments, Ch. 108, 123, 505 and 515). In the
modern Russian orthodox services before the vespers the Royal Gates open
and the priests begin with censing the altar. During singing Psalm 104 the
entire temple is censed. These sacred rites symbolize the creation of the
world and the blessed life of Adam and Eve in paradise. Then the Royal
Gates close similar to the gates of paradise that closed after the fall of
humans. Opening of the Royal Gates during singing of a Theotokion means
that through incarnation of the Son of God through All-Holy Virgin Mary and
His Descent to the earth the gates of paradise were opened to us.
According to the legend the Jerusalem Temple was built on the place where
the Forefathers expulsed from paradise held Divine services (Louis
Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, vol. 5). The Temple was divided into
three parts - the narthex, the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. For
decoration of the Temple precious species of wood were used - cedar, fir
(cypress) and algum (2 Chr. 2:8). These trees were believed to grow in the
garden of God (Eze 31:8).
The golden seven-branched lamp stand was the symbol of the garden of Eden:
"And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the
candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his
flowers, were of the same. And six branches going out of the sides thereof"
(Exo 25:31-40; 37:17-24).
The Cherubs, palms and flowers pictured on the walls of the Temple also
reminded of paradise (1 Kings 6:18, 29, 32, 35). These images were
decorated with gold and precious stones: "Solomon carved upon them carvings
of cherubs and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold,
and spread gold upon the cherubs, and upon the palm trees. And he carved
thereon cherubs and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold
fitted upon the carved work" (1 Kings 6:32, 35); "And he garnished the
house with precious stones for beauty" (2 Chr.3:6).
Cherubs were pictured with faces of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle: "And
on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubs:
and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen
were certain additions made of thin work." (1 Kings 7:29); "Upon all the
wall round about within and without were carved cherubs and palm trees
between the cherubs, and each cherub had two faces. The face of a man was
toward one palm tree on this side and on that side, and the face of a lion
toward another palm tree on this side and on that side: the house was
carved all round. From the floor to the ceiling were cherubs and palm trees
carved" (Septuagint, Eze 41:17-20).
The question of cherub images "without" that is on the outside walls of the
Old Testament Temple remains open for discussion. "There are no Old
Testament texts, save for the little known redaction of the Greek text
accepted however by editor A.Ralfs as the basic one, that testify for the
external sculptural decoration of the Temple" (A.M.Visotsky, The Ezekiel
Temple as the source of the external sculptural decoration of the churches
in Vladimir and Suzdal (the 12th-13th centuries): sic et non, Ancient
Russian art: Russia and the Byzantine countries, the 12th century,
Sankt-Peterburg, 2002). Though the textological study shows that in the
majority of the Old Testament redactions the Septuagint text variant about
carved decoration of the temple facades is missing, the cherub images with
animal faces made a part of the uniform iconographical program of external
temple vessels. Images of bulls, lions and cherubs decorated the molten sea
(1 Kings 7:23-25) and the bases of lavers (1 Kings 7:37). Similar images
corresponded to the idea of cherubs as keepers of the holy territory of the
Temple.
Faces of cherubs were embroidered on the curtain that closed the entrance
into the Holy of Holies (Exo 26:31-33). The Holy of Holies was guarded by
gilded sculptures of cherubs made of olive wood (1 Kings 6:23-28).
The pure gold that covered all over the Holy of Holies (1 Kings 6:20)
manifested the image of the glory of God.
Ancient symbols of paradise were inherited by Christian church art. The
orthodox churches are decorated with mosaics, frescos, icons, carving and
floral decoration.
The orthodox iconography includes paradise palms, flowers and floral
ornaments, for "the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall
grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the
LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God" (Psa 92:12-13). The Old
Testament descriptions of the images of angels, palms and flowers can be
compared, i.g. with the Byzantian mosaics of St. Appolinarius of Nuovo
Basilica in Ravenna (the 6th century) that depict procession of martyrs,
men and women, in the garden of Eden. Green meadows under the feet of the
saints are dotted with lilies. Among the figures of Christian heroes palm
trees can be seen that symbolize eternal life. In the period of
iconoclastic heresy in Byzantium the Old Testament symbols of paradise were
used instead of icons and thus according to the testimony of the
contemporaries the churches "turned into gardens, flower beds and
poultry-yards".
Adam was called "to dress and to keep" the garden of Eden (Gen.2:15). After
the fall of man cherubs became the keepers of paradise: "So He drove out
the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden a Cherub, and a
flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life"
(Gen.3:24). The Holy Scripture compares the cherubs with the porters who
stood at the gates of the Temple: "And he (Jehoiada the high priest) set
the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was
unclean in any thing should enter in" (1 Chr.23:19). In the New Testament
the High Priest Lord Jesus Christ entrusted His Church with the keys to the
gates of paradise: "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven"
(Mt.16:18-19). Therefore on the walls of the early Byzantine churches
saints are depicted among the palms and not cherubs. For example, on one of
Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna St. Apostle Peter standing between two palms
is holding the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven in his hands.
The Orthodox tradition preserved also images of cherubs with faces of a
man, a line, an ox and an eagle. In the icon-painting they signify the four
Evangelists - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
In Byzantium on the floors of the churches rivers of paradise were depicted.
On the facades of St. Dmitry Cathedral in Vladimir (the 12th century)
arcature-columnar belt with palms and saints creates a symbolic border of
the church as of the New Jerusalem. This iconographical motive found its
original realization in the iconostasis. Significantly, St. Ephraim the
Syrian compares the paradise trees with the curtain of the Old Testament
tabernacle and temple. The iconostases of the Russian orthodox churches
unify the images of the curtain and the garden of Eden. Their general
motive of the wonderful golden garden that surrounds the icon images is
interlaced with bunches of grape, leaves, fruit of the trees of paradise
and flowers (Yu.N.Zvezdina, Floral ornaments in the Russian iconostasis,
"Iconostasis. Origin - development - symbolism", Moscow, 2000).
In the Russian iconostases no sculptural images were allowed save for
carved gilded cherubs. Obviously this exception was made under the
influence of the Old Testament cherub sculptures that decorated the ark of
the covenant and the Holy of Holies of the Temple.
St. Symeon of Thessalonica remarks that in the Byzantine churches there
were many-branched candlesticks that had the form of paradise plants and
the Burning bush (St. Symeon of Thessalonica, A conversation on the sacred
rites and church sacraments, Ch. 108). The seven-branched candlestick or
lampstand in the altar of a Russian church relates to the seven lamps seen
by John the Theologian in the Heavenly Temple at the similar place -
between the High place (the Throne of God) and the Holy (altar) table.
The gold of the background, halos, assist, precious framework of icons show
the influence of the Divine light that originates from the heavenly Holy of
Holies and transfiguring people and nature. Lord Jesus Christ said about
Himself: "I am the light of the world" (Jn.8:12), and about His disciples
also: "Ye are the light of the world" (Mt.5:14); "Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Mt.13:43).
John the Theologian testifies that in the spiritual Jerusalem that descends
from heaven to earth (Rev.21:1-2) before the throne of God and the Lamb the
Divine service is celebrated like we have in the Orthodox Church. Therefore
the orthodox church is called heaven on earth and the gates of paradise.
"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven" (Mt.6:10) - the Church prays.
Yuri Klitsenko
29 / 07 / 2003
Linards Ticmanis
> 2003.07.29 Orthodoxy:
>
> http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/garden.htm
>
> "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" AND CHRISTIANITY
>
> In the Holy Scripture the temple of God is compared with paradise. In the
> vision of prophet Ezekiel the garden of Eden grows on the banks of the
Did you mean this one?
http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/vkolec.html
I don't agree with him that Evil is portrayed as too strong and good as
too weak in the book though. I think Tolkien wanted to make clear that
"evil is simply stronger, there's no point in fighting it" is a lie -
but a very strong lie, a very "reasonable" sounding lie, a very
believable lie for many reasons.
--
Linards Ticmanis
The Master said, "The business of laying on the colors follows the
preparation of the plain ground."