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janeiro 06, 2006
Epifania
Adoration of the Magi, centre panel of a triptych by the Antwerp Mannerist painter Jan de Beer, c. 1520; in the Brera, Milan.
(from Greek epiphaneia, “manifestation”), festival celebrated on January 6; it is one of the three principal and oldest festival days of the Christian Church (including Easter and Christmas). It commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi, and the manifestation of his divinity, as it occurred at his Baptism in the Jordan River and at his first miracle at Cana in Galilee.
The festival originated in the Eastern Church, where it at first included a commemoration of Christ's birth. In Rome, by 354, Christ's birth was being celebrated on December 25, and later in the 4th century the church in Rome began celebrating Epiphany on January 6. In the Western Church the festival primarily commemorates the visit by the Magi to the infant Jesus. In the East it primarily commemorates the Baptism of Jesus.
In the West the evening preceding Epiphany is called Twelfth Night.
"Epiphany." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 6 Jan. 2006
singular Magus , also called Wise Men in Christian tradition, the noble pilgrims “from the East” who followed a miraculous guiding star to Bethlehem, where they paid homage to the infant Jesus as king of the Jews (Matthew 2:1–12). Christian theological tradition has always stressed that Gentiles as well as Jews came to worship Jesus—an event celebrated in the Eastern church at Christmas and in the West at Epiphany (January 6). Eastern tradition sets the number of Magi at 12, but Western tradition sets their number at 3, probably based on the three gifts of “gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11) presented to the infant.
The Gospel of Matthew relates how at Jerusalem they attracted the interest of King Herod I of Judaea by announcing Jesus' birth: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). Herod extracted from them the place of Jesus' birth, requesting that they disclose the exact spot upon their return. They continued on to Bethlehem, where they worshiped Jesus and offered him gifts. Warned in a dream not to return to Herod, “they departed to their own country by another way” (Matthew 2:12).
Subsequent traditions embellished the narrative. As early as the 3rd century, they were considered to be kings, probably interpreted as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalms 72:11 (“May all kings fall down before him”). In about the 8th century the names of three Magi—Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa—appear in a chronicle known as the Excerpta latina barbari. They have become known most commonly as Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar (or Casper). According to Western church tradition, Balthasar is often represented as a king of Arabia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India.
Their supposed relics were transferred from Constantinople, possibly in the late 5th century, to Milan and thence to Cologne Cathedral in the 12th century. Devotion to the Magi was especially fervent in the Middle Ages. The Magi are venerated as patrons of travelers; their feast day is July 23.
The Adoration of the Magi—i.e., their homage to the infant Jesus—early became one of the most popular themes in Christian art, the first extant painting on the subject being the fresco in the Priscilla Catacomb of Rome dating from the 2nd century. In the Middle Ages the Adoration of the Magi was often associated with two other major events of Jesus' life: his Baptism, during which the voice of God publicly declared Jesus to be his son, and the wedding at Cana, at which he revealed his divinity by changing water into wine. The three events, all celebrated on the same feast day, were frequently represented together in the monumental sculpture that decorated the churches of the period.
("Magi." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 6 Jan. 2006
Star of Bethlehem
celestial phenomenon mentioned in the Gospel According to Matthew as leading “wise men from the East” to the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Natural events that might well have been considered important omens and described as stars include exploding stars (novae and supernovae), comets (Halley's Comet was visible in 12 and 11 BC), meteors, and planetary conjunctions—i.e., apparent close approaches of two or more planets to each other.
The year of Jesus' birth is uncertain but can be narrowed down to probably between 6 and 4 BC. The biblical account indicates two sightings of the star, one before the wise men began their journey (probably from Babylonia or Persia) and the other near their journey's end, when the omen “came and stood over where the young child was.” A celestial object near the horizon of any given observer might be considered by him as pointing out some spot on Earth below.
Chinese annals record novae in 5 BC and 4 BC; in the early 17th century, Johannes Kepler advanced the view that the Star of Bethlehem may have been a nova occurring in or near some conjunction of bright planets.
Several striking planetary conjunctions also took place within 10 years of the chronological point now taken as the beginning of the Christian era. A triple conjunction in early 6 BC, in which Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn stood at the points of a triangle, has often been mentioned as a possible explanation of the star. Prior to that, in 7 BC, Jupiter and Saturn were for eight months within three degrees of each other and three times within that period passed within one degree. Several years later, on June 17, 2 BC, the bright planets Venus and Jupiter would have appeared to observers in Babylon to have merged just before setting in the general direction of Bethlehem to the west.
("Bethlehem, Star of." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 6 Jan. 2006
Publicado por morfeu às janeiro 6, 2006 06:17 PM