Curiosities of Christian History Prior to the Reformation

by James Paterson

CHRIST’S PRAYER AT HIS BAPTISM.

The following is said by Jeremy Taylor to be a current version of this prayer: “O Father, according to the good pleasure of Thy will, I am made a man; and from the time in which I was born of a Virgin unto this day I have finished those things which are agreeable to the nature of man, and with due observance have performed all Thy commandments, the mysteries and types of the law; and now truly I am baptised; and so have I ordained baptism, that from thence, as from the place of spiritual birth, the regeneration of men may be accomplished. And as John was the last of the legal priests, so am I the first of the evangelical. Thou therefore, O Father, by the meditation of My prayer, open the heavens, and from thence send Thy Holy Spirit upon this womb of baptism; that as He did untie the womb of the Virgin and thence form Me, so also He would loose this baptismal womb, and so sanctify it unto men, that from thence new men may be begotten, who may become Thy sons, and My brethren, and heirs of Thy kingdom. And what the priests under the law, until John, could not do, grant unto the priests of the New Testament (whose chief I am in the oblation of this prayer), that whensoever they shall celebrate baptism, or pour forth prayers unto Thee, as the Holy Spirit is seen with Me in open vision, so also it may be made manifest, that the same Spirit will adjoin Himself to their society in a more secret way, and I will by them perform the ministries of the New Testament, for which I am made a man; and as the high priest I do offer these prayers in Thy sight.”

This prayer was transcribed out of the “Syriac Catena” upon the third chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel, and is by the author of that Catena reported to have been made by our Blessed Saviour immediately before the opening of the heavens at His baptism, and that the Holy Spirit did descend upon Him while He was thus praying; and for it he cites the authority of St. Philoxenus.

PORTRAITS OF CHRIST.

It is singular that there are no authentic portraits of Christ in existence. The evangelists do not think it necessary to make any statements as to Christ’s personal appearance. Origen, born 186, seems the earliest writer who notices that subject, and he says the Saviour had no external beauty. But the Fathers and the artists have all insisted that His countenance must have corresponded to His character. A letter supposed to have been written by Lentulus, a friend of Pilate, to the Roman Senate, professes to describe the personal appearance, but some doubt its authenticity. It was preserved, and first came to light among the writings of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, who lived in the eleventh century. Another description is contained in the writings of St. John of Damascus, who flourished in the eighth century, and he professes to have known from earlier writers that Jesus had “eyebrows that joined together, beautiful eyes, curly hair, black beard, a yellow complexion, and long fingers like His mother.” Others say that St. Luke was a painter, and Nicodemus was a sculptor, and thus that some portraits must have existed. It is also said that Pilate took secretly a portrait of Christ. There is also a legend that King Agbarus wrote a letter to Christ, asking for a visit to cure him of leprosy, and at all events for a portrait; and that Christ answered that He could not visit him, having other work to do, but He would send a disciple who would cure him. And St. Thomas did so. Others add that Christ sent His portrait on a handkerchief to Agbarus. Again, there is a legend about Veronica and her handkerchief, which had a portrait miraculously impressed, and which she preserved.

EARLY DESCRIPTION OF CHRIST’S PERSONAL APPEARANCE.

The letter purporting to be written by Publius Lentulus, a friend of Pilate, to the Roman Senate, and preserved in St. Anselm’s writings, if not genuine, is supposed to have been fabricated as early as the third century, and is as follows: “In this time appeared a man who lives till now—a man endowed with great powers. Men call Him a great prophet. His own disciples term Him the Son of God. His name is Jesus Christ. He restores the dead to life, and cures the sick of all manner of diseases. This man is of noble and well-proportioned stature, with a face full of kindness and yet firmness, so that the beholders both love Him and fear Him. His hair is the colour of wine, and golden at the root—straight and without lustre—but from the level of the ears curling and glossy, and divided down the centre, after the fashion of the Nazarites. His forehead is even and smooth; His face without blemish, and enhanced by a comely red; His countenance ingenuous and kind; nose and mouth in no way faulty. His beard is thick, of the same colour as his hair, and forked in form. His eyes are blue and extremely brilliant. In reproof and rebuke He is formidable; in exhortation and teaching, gentle and amiable of tongue. None have seen him to laugh; but many, on the contrary, to weep. His person is tall; His hands beautiful and straight. In speaking he is deliberate and grave, and little given to loquacity. In beauty surpassing most men.”

KING AGBARUS WRITING A LETTER TO CHRIST.

Eusebius, who died about 338, mentions the legend about King Agbarus, who sent to Christ by the hand of Ananias, his footman, a letter inviting Him to Edessa, saying that he had heard of the cures performed by Christ, and that he earnestly desired to be cured of a disease. Our Lord replied that He could not come, for His mission to the Jews must be fulfilled; but after His Ascension He would send one of His disciples, who would cure him and all that were with him. Nothing further is known, except that St. John of Damascus, writing in the eighth century, alluding to the story, says that Agbarus also requested Christ’s picture as a means of cure. Others say Agbarus sent a painter to take the likeness, but he found an insurmountable difficulty in the light which beamed from the Lord’s countenance. Christ, knowing the thoughts of the messenger, took His robe, and, pressing it to His countenance, a perfect portrait was left upon it; and this was sent to King Agbarus, who was cured thereby. Others add that Ananias, in conveying the portrait, had occasion to stop at Hierapolis, and, fearing to lose it, hid it among some bricks; but a supernatural light surrounded the place, and the image was also copied on a brick lying near the cloth, and this brick was also preserved. The original cloth afterwards found its way to Constantinople, another to Rome, and another to Genoa. The replica of the cloth is shown in St. Sylvester’s, in Rome.