459
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. C. Tobias, J. G. Morrison, On the Nature of Ecological Paradox,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64526-7_49
Chapter 49
The Christ Paradox
49.1 Christ Imagery: The Raw Ideals
Iconographical images of Christ are known to have been circulated at length by the
third century.
1
Carlo Cecchelli cites Eusebius’ (260?–340?) Historia ecclesiastica
(VII, 18) in which already there was mention of icons depicting Christ and two
apostles, Peter and Paul. Cecchelli’s analysis of the origins of the youthful, lean,
bearded, and long-haired version of Christ largely adopted throughout art history
derives in part from the Mandylion, or Image of Edessa given in Eusebius’ recounting to King Abgar of Edessa, who is said to have received the image on cloth and a
letter from Christ himself. Abgar V died around AD 40, between 7 and 10 years after
Christ moved on. The image, the letter, engendered a perennial challenge with
respect, of course, to the whole endeavor of anthropomorphism and what Cecchelli
describes as that singular course of events in Western history whereby “The God of
Israel came down to man, became man, the servant of mankind.” And that “his sanctity ‘appears to us in the fullness of an actual living fact, and no longer in the customary language.’” And, finally, that “The process of humanization this kenosis
(‘emptying of himself’), of divinity provided a legitimate opportunity for its representation
2
” (Fig. 49.1).
At the time of Christ the human population was approximately 150–200 million.
3
By the First Council of Nicaea (325) when Arianism (the theory that Christ was
not divine, but created) was contested, and the notion of homoousios (“one substance”, meaning that Christ was deemed to be unified with the Father, God, and
1 See “Christ” by art historian Carlo Cecchelli (1893–1960), Encyclopedia Of World Art, Volume
3, McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, Toronto, London, 1960. pp. 596–601.
2 ibid., Cecchelli, p. 396.
3 See https://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/history/world-population-growth.htm, Accessed May 5,
2020.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. C. Tobias, J. G. Morrison, On the Nature of Ecological Paradox,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64526-7_49
Chapter 49
The Christ Paradox
49.1 Christ Imagery: The Raw Ideals
Iconographical images of Christ are known to have been circulated at length by the
third century.
1
Carlo Cecchelli cites Eusebius’ (260?–340?) Historia ecclesiastica
(VII, 18) in which already there was mention of icons depicting Christ and two
apostles, Peter and Paul. Cecchelli’s analysis of the origins of the youthful, lean,
bearded, and long-haired version of Christ largely adopted throughout art history
derives in part from the Mandylion, or Image of Edessa given in Eusebius’ recounting to King Abgar of Edessa, who is said to have received the image on cloth and a
letter from Christ himself. Abgar V died around AD 40, between 7 and 10 years after
Christ moved on. The image, the letter, engendered a perennial challenge with
respect, of course, to the whole endeavor of anthropomorphism and what Cecchelli
describes as that singular course of events in Western history whereby “The God of
Israel came down to man, became man, the servant of mankind.” And that “his sanctity ‘appears to us in the fullness of an actual living fact, and no longer in the customary language.’” And, finally, that “The process of humanization this kenosis
(‘emptying of himself’), of divinity provided a legitimate opportunity for its representation
2
” (Fig. 49.1).
At the time of Christ the human population was approximately 150–200 million.
3
By the First Council of Nicaea (325) when Arianism (the theory that Christ was
not divine, but created) was contested, and the notion of homoousios (“one substance”, meaning that Christ was deemed to be unified with the Father, God, and
1 See “Christ” by art historian Carlo Cecchelli (1893–1960), Encyclopedia Of World Art, Volume
3, McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, Toronto, London, 1960. pp. 596–601.
2 ibid., Cecchelli, p. 396.
3 See https://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/history/world-population-growth.htm, Accessed May 5,
2020.