Most of us are familiar with the idea that after His death Christ “descended into Hell,” as it states in the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed. It is this event, rather than Christ’s resurrection at the tomb, that is the most popular and traditional representation of the Resurrection in the Eastern Church and classic iconography.

Early Christian writers like Origen and Saint Ambrose wrote about this event as “the harrowing of Hell.” This otherworldly event is alluded to in an ancient homily read in the Catholic Church on Holy Saturday and in Saint John Chrysostom’s Paschal homily read in many Orthodox churches on Easter morning. Detailed accounts of it can be found in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus and in the transcribed visions of the German nun and stigmatist Blessed Anna Catherine Emmerich.

Both of these accounts tell how when the soul of Christ left His body on the Cross, He entered Hades — that is, the underworld or the world of departed spirits — where He came to those departed souls who were awaiting the Christ and had not yet ascended into Paradise, many of them righteous and holy people.

In this paschal icon these holy ones stand on either side of the radiant and dynamic risen Christ, looking on in worshipful joy: King David, Solomon, Saint John the Baptist, Abel the Righteous, and the Prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. Raising them up the Savior brings them into Paradise and sets them free.

He also raises Adam and Eve by the hands from their tombs, symbolizing the freeing of mankind from its imprisonment in fallen nature that was accomplished by the Resurrection. As the Holy Saturday homily relates: “The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in awe and calls out to all: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.”

In the icon Christ stands on the fallen gates or doors of Hell and Lucifer lies chained and crushed beneath them, symbolizing the victory of the divine over evil:

“He that was taken by death has annihilated it! He descended into Hades and took Hades captive! … And anticipating this, Isaiah exclaimed: ‘Hades was embittered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions’ ” (Paschal Homily of Saint John Chrysostom).

This and many other classical icons depicting the great events coming up in Holy Week and Easter can be found on our website at Icons of Lent and Easter. All of these are available in sizes from 4 inches to 5 feet tall, all in our new Lumina Gold format.

With the approach of Lent and the spiritual opportunities this season offers all of us, we’d like to dedicate this month’s newsletter to the subject of prayer — specifically, interior prayer. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with the references to the Holy Name’s power to heal, to exorcise, and to transform human nature. The tradition of the Jesus Prayer — the constant invocation of Christ through the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me” — dates back to the earliest days of the Church, in the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. And this tradition continues to transform the lives of Christian monastics and laity to this day.

The Way of a Pilgrim

The most well-known and beloved introduction to the Jesus Prayer is the autobiographical account of a Russian peasant in The Way of a Pilgrim. The pilgrim’s manuscript came into the hands of a monk on Mount Athos in the nineteenth century and was first published in 1884. The chronicle follows the author as he travels across Russian and Siberia in the mid nineteenth century, visiting monasteries and shrines in quest of the means to “pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17) His journey leads him to a Russian monk who teaches him the spiritual discipline of the Jesus Prayer.

And then the story really begins. For before our eyes we see how by making the Prayer his constant companion and dearest friend the pilgrim’s life is transformed and he lives in heaven on earth, truly finding “the kingdom of God within.”

Saints of today

“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow” (Heb. 13:8).

The sanctifying power of the Holy Name and interior prayer is not just “for the saints” or an artifact of times past. Chronicled in the wonderful new DVD, The Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer, Professor Morris Chumley’s pilgrimage to monasteries and convents in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Russia brought him into contact with holy monastics who have made the Jesus Prayer the center of their lives and have found it to be a doorway to heaven.

You can get a glimpse into the extraordinary lives of such people at this video clip on youtube which features an interview with a forest dwelling monk living today in the mountains of Romania: Click here or on the image to watch the video.

In your own “back yard”

Amongst the body of writings about the Jesus Prayer available today, one of the best is The Jesus Prayer: The Ancient Desert Prayer that Tunes the Heart to God. What makes it so valuable is not just the breadth of helpful information on interior prayer it offers, but the source: not a monk, not a nun, nor a wandering pilgrim, but a mother and grandmother who is very active in her professional life as a prolific author, journalist, and lecturer on television and radio. Amidst all these activities Frederica Mathewes-Green has sustained a daily practice of the Jesus Prayer for decades.

“The prayer is not designed to generate fancy mystical experiences or soppy emotions,” she writes. “Yet it works away steadily inside, gradually building a sure connection with the Lord. Where the Lord enters, there is light; I can see many ways that He has changed me over the years, illuminating and dispelling reflexive lying thoughts and fears. My part was just to keep showing up, day after day, for these quiet sessions with him.”

This book is wonderful combination of common sense, practical advice on prayer, and a thorough knowledge of the Church fathers. The author is a living example of what we can all accomplish spiritually if we will just apply ourselves. What better time to start than this Lent?

And what is the remarkable story that caught our attention?

To our surprise we received over 100 wonderful letters in response to last month’s Christmas Icon Contest, including email from England, Australia, and Brazil. What a heart-warming pleasure to see such enthusiasm for our icons and incense, in some cases from clergy and laity who have been using our sacred art in their churches, schools, and homes for over twenty years.

Over the coming year we look forward to sharing these great stories and comments with you in our monthly newsletter and our catalog. Let’s begin with the winner of the large wrapped canvas Christmas icon, Mrs. Therese Rhein of Michigan, mother of ten, whose letter about her son Blaise literally took the prize:

“When our son was born, his godmother said she’d like to buy him a Monastery Icon each year for his birthday and special occasions. He loves them and requests them as gifts from us as well. He is now 12 years old and has a collection of 24 Monastery Icons! They are assembled over his bed in the shape of a San Damiano Cross! Really cool! Each time he adds a new one, he comes up with a new way to display the collection on the wall. She used to choose for him but now his collection is so large that she lets him pick one out himself from your catalog each year.

“We too started the tradition with our godchildren at their baptism, and add to their collection every year on their birthday. What a beautiful, lasting, and meaningful gift idea from godparents. My other children all wish their godparents has started the same tradition with them!

“There are so many ‘cheesy’ gifts for sale for the sacraments, and too many toys for birthdays. Your Monastery Icons are the PERFECT gift and become more and more meaningful as the child matures! Thank you for offering such a wonderful and cost-appropriate product!”

Thank you for sharing your Monastery Icons story, Mrs. Rhein. And our congratulations also to the runners-up, who all received gift icons from the Monastery Icons collection. Watch for more contests in 2012!

Visit MonasteryIcons.com to see our collection of sale items.