Mosaics and early Christianity

 Ravenna boasts several UNESCO world heritage sites and I am so glad they are protected.  Ravenna has such a remarkable history. Ravenna is in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, near the Adriatic coast but actually connected to the sea by a canal.  It became the capital of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century and from there became an important city for the development of early Christianity.  And this is a story that is not straight-forward.  I have been reading a book about the first 500 years of Christianity, a history of all its forms and approaches.  You can actually see evidence of this in the art of Ravenna's ancient churches.

San Vitale is one of the most extraordinary churches I have ever been in.

Made of brick, it sits there like a fat and jolly octagonal building with all sorts of random sections jutting out here and there.  But when you enter, you know this is a sacred space.  Beautiful painted cupola, alabaster windows, exquisite immersion baptismal fount and mosaics of splendor.  Begun in 526, it was finished in 547 under Bishop Maxentius and in that marked the takeover of Italy by Emperor Justinian.  Here is Justinian in his robes, receiving accolades:

And here is his wife, Theodora, dressed in finery, glib that she has risen through the ranks.  Prostitute to Empress!

And then there is the Commander in Chief, Jesus, in the center of an orb, looking very much like an Emperor himself.

Purple robe, sitting on a throne, Roman sandals, dictating....

The depiction of Jesus in these early mosaics is very telling and when we look at two different baptistries in Ravenna, we get insight into one of the many controversies revolving around the nature of Jesus.  

Once Constantine (in 325 was the Council of Nicaea) proclaimed that Christianity was going to be the 'official' religion of the Roman Empire, he wanted a clear picture of the theological notions and dogmatic beliefs.  The Council of Nicaea plotted it all out and one of the ideas it held to was the idea of the trinity.  That god, the son, and the holy spirit are one essence.  Jesus is God.  He is God made man. That became the bedrock of Roman Catholicism.  And 'orthodox' depictions of Jesus feature that idea.  That he is human, yes.... but God, nonetheless.  Here is the mosaic of Jesus in the Neonian baptistry.

You can see he has a beard, a grown body, a nimbus, the holy spirit and... blurry genitals.

But Arian Christianity held a different view.  Largely the work and influence of Bishop Arius from Alexandria, Arian Christianity rejected the notion of the trinity.  This sect of Christianity believed that Jesus was the son of God, and therefore beneath God, secondary to God.  His humanity was complete, as it had to be to demonstrate the impact of the sacrifice of his life for the salvation of humanity.  In Ravenna during this time, different approaches to Christianity were still allowed.  So you can visit churches and this one baptistry that are of the Arian sect.  Here is their version of the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist.

Jesus is young, nubile and naked.  His genitals are clearly shown to indicate his full humanity.

I think this is all so fascinating.