Byzantine Christians often commissioned artists...
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Byzantine Christians often commissioned artists to decorate the interior of the church domes with large images of two men, representing God and Christ. The figures would be identical in every respect -- visually representing the Nicene formula of the relationship of Father and Son. And both figures would look down upon the worshipers, frowning -- visually representing Divine Judgment upon humanity. The art was designed to elicit the response voiced in this passage, that "every knee should bend ... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...." Because Christ was viewed almost solely as stern eternal judge of the quick and the dead, his humanness and his mercy were virtually ignored. Although the Jesus of the Gospels looked upon the crowds with compassion, the Christ of Byzantium looked down upon the crowds with censoriousness. So believers turned to the saints and to Mary, hoping in them to find compassion and spiritual solace. In Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incas, a misquotation of scripture over the door of a colonial church reflects the desire for divine grace: "Come unto Mary all you that labor and are heavy laden and she will give you rest." Although Paul could sing of the glory of the risen heavenly Christ and urge believers to work out their own salvation "with fear and trembling" (v. 12), he identified the spirit of Christ with "encouragement," "consolation from love," "sharing in the Spirit," "compassion and sympathy," and "joy" (v. 1). For Paul, the glory and majesty of Christ was manifest, first and foremost, in his humility. -- Bristow
