The Ladder of Divine Ascent is a late-12th-century Christian icon at Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. [1] [2]
The Ladder of Divine Ascent is a late-12th-century Christian icon at Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai. [1] [2]
The icon represents the theological teachings of John Climacus, also known as John of the Ladder, as represented in the ascetical treatise The Ladder of Divine Ascent , written c. AD 600. The treatise has been influential in Eastern Christianity. [3] [4]
The icon depicts monks ascending the ladder towards Jesus in Heaven, at the top right of the image with John Climacus at the top of the ladder, being welcomed by Jesus. The ladder has 30 rungs representing the 30 stages of ascetic life. [1]
The ascent of the monks is assisted by the prayers of angels, saints and the community, while demons attack and try to make monks fall from the ladder by pulling them down or striking them with arrows. [1] [2] The depiction of the ladder reflects the importance of angels and demons in Eastern Orthodox spirituality. [2] The icon also shows a gaping maw, representing the Devil himself who is devouring a monk who has fallen from the ladder. [5]
The ladder shows some monks who have almost reached the summit as being tempted by demons and falling. [6] The depiction of the monks falling off is a reflection of what John Climacus expressed as "what never ceased to amaze him" namely why some monks still gave in to worldly passions when God, the angels and the saints were encouraging them towards virtue. [5]
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John Climacus, also known as John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites, was a 6th–7th-century Christian monk at the monastery on Mount Sinai. He is revered as a saint by the Latin Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.
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Prayer has been an essential part of Christianity since its earliest days. Prayer is an integral element of the Christian faith and permeates all forms of Christian worship. Prayer in Christianity is the tradition of communicating with God, either in God's fullness or as one of the persons of the Trinity.
March 29 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - March 31
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The Ladder of Divine Ascent or Ladder of Paradise is an important ascetical treatise for monasticism in Eastern Christianity, written by John Climacus in c. 600 AD; it was requested by John, Abbot of the Raithu monastery.
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For about a thousand years, in obedience to interpretations of specific Bible passages, pictorial depictions of God in Western Christianity had been avoided by Christian artists. At first only the Hand of God, often emerging from a cloud, was portrayed. Gradually, portrayals of the head and later the whole figure were depicted, and by the time of the Renaissance artistic representations of God the Father were freely used in the Western Church.
The Resurrection of Jesus has long been central to Christian faith and Christian art, whether as a single scene or as part of a cycle of the Life of Christ. In the teachings of the traditional Christian churches, the sacraments derive their saving power from the passion and resurrection of Christ, upon which the salvation of the world entirely depends. The redemptive value of the resurrection has been expressed through Christian art, as well as being expressed in theological writings.
The history of Eastern Orthodox Christian theology begins with the life of Jesus and the forming of the Christian Church. Major events include the Chalcedonian schism of 451 with the Oriental Orthodox miaphysites, the Iconoclast controversy of the 8th and 9th centuries, the Photian schism (863-867), the Great Schism between East and West, and the Hesychast controversy. The period after the end of the Second World War in 1945 saw a re-engagement with the Greek, and more recently Syriac Fathers that included a rediscovery of the theological works of St. Gregory Palamas, which has resulted in a renewal of Orthodox theology in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Ascension of Jesus to Heaven as stated in the New Testament has been a frequent subject in Christian art, as well as a theme in theological writings.
The Transfiguration of Jesus has been an important subject in Christian art, above all in the Eastern church, some of whose most striking icons show the scene.
Prayer has been an essential part of Christianity since its earliest days. As the Middle Ages began, the monastic traditions of both Western and Eastern Christianity moved beyond vocal prayer to Christian meditation. These progressions resulted in two distinct and different meditative practices: Lectio Divina in the West and hesychasm in the East. Hesychasm involves the repetition of the Jesus Prayer, but Lectio Divina uses different Scripture passages at different times and although a passage may be repeated a few times, Lectio Divina is not repetitive in nature.