In the rear chapel of our church, on one side of the tabernacle of the Blessed Sacrament, is restored the San Damiano cross.
From our camera, the pictures illustrate the details from the helpful Wikepedia. The painting was hand made in Assisi.
San Damiano cross
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
to right .... |
The San Damiano
Cross
Copy now in the
original position inside the Church of San Damiano
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The San Damiano Cross is the large Romanesque rood cross that St. Francis of Assisi was praying before when he is said to
have received the commission from the Lord to rebuild the Church.
The original cross hangs in the Basilica of Saint Clare (Basilica di Santa Chiara) in Assisi,Italy. Franciscans cherish this cross as the symbol of
their mission fromGod. The cross is of a type sometimes called an icon cross because besides the main figure
it contains images of other saints and people related to the incident of
Christ's crucifixion. The tradition of such crosses
began in the Eastern Church and probably reached Italy viaMontenegro and Croatia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Damiano_cross#Description
Description[edit]
Jesus Christ is
represented upright in full stature while the surrounding figures are smaller.
The bright white of his body contrasts with the dark red and black around it
and accentuates the prominence of Jesus. This representation contrasts with the
regal Christ portrayed on the cross in earlier centuries and the suffering,
dying, crucified Christ depicted generally throughout the Churchsince
the beginning of the 14th century. Above the head of Christ is the inscription
in Latin: Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews.[3]
Two smaller figures are located in the corners with the witnesses. On
the lower left is Longinus the traditional name of the Roman
soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a lance. He is represented here as
holding the lance and looking up at Jesus. The blood running down the right arm
of Jesus begins at the elbow and drips straight down and will land on the
upturned face of Longinus. In the lower right is Stephaton,
the traditional name for the soldier who offered Jesus the sponge soaked in
vinegar wine.[3]
Peering over the left shoulder of the centurion is a small face. A close
look reveals the tops of the heads of three others beside him. This represents
the centurion's son who was healed by Jesus and the rest of his family to show
that "he and his whole household believed" (John 4:45-54).
Six angels are
represented as marvelling over the event of the crucifixion. They are
positioned at both ends of the crossbar. Their hand gestures indicate they are
discussing this wondrous event of the death and calling us to marvel with them.
At the foot of the cross there is a damaged picture of six figures, two
of whom are represented with halos. In accordance with the traditions of the
day, these six are the patrons of Umbria: St. Damian, St. Michael, St. Rufino, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter andSt. Paul.
On the top of the cross, one sees Jesus now fully clothed in his regal
garments and carrying the cross as a triumphant sceptre.
He is climbing out of the tomb and into the heavenly courts. Ten angels are
crowded around, five of whom have their hands extended in a welcoming gesture
to Jesus, who himself has his hand raised in the form of a greeting.
At the very top of the cross is the Hand of God with
two fingers extended. This is to be understood as the blessing of God the Father on
the sacrifice of his Son.
On the right side of the picture next to the left calf of Jesus, there
is a small figure of a fowl. Some art historians have interpreted it to be a rooster,
representing the sign of Jesus' denial by Peter, mentioned in all four Gospel
accounts. Other commentators see it as a peacock,
a frequent symbol of immortality in Early Christian art. Along the lower right side
of the shaft, there is a small animal, possibly a cat.
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