“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
An explanation of the icon of the Resurrection
In the centre of the icon we see the Lord Jesus rising from the dead, clothed in white and radiating light. He holds by the hand an old man and a very elderly woman, Adam and Eve, and pulls them out of Hades.
On either side of the icon are saints of the Old Testament: on one side the kings David and Solomon and John the Baptist, on the other Moses and some of the Old Testament prophets.
Christ’s feet trample the shattered gates of Hades, because he conquered death and broke down the gates of Hades by descending into it. That is why, at the bottom of the icon, we see the two doors lying in the shape of a cross, with keys and broken chains scattered around them.
At the bottom of the icon there is also a dark, chained and defeated figure: it represents Satan, conquered by the Lord Christ.
That is why on the day of glorious Easter we sing:
“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.”
Father Boutros El Zein
