Image Details

Photo by Robert D. Rubic, courtesy of Stefan Arteni.

ON THE COVER: Jesus stands on the gates of Hell (marked with a skull) in this Japanese ink and gouache painting of the Anastasis (Resurrection), by contemporary New York artist Stefan Arteni. With his right hand, Jesus pulls Adam up; in his left hand, he holds a scroll. According to early Christian tradition, after Jesus died, he descended into Hell, where he raised the Old Testament heroes from the dead and invited them to join him in heaven. The scroll Jesus holds in images of the descent (also called the Harrowing of Hell) may stem from a medieval tradition that remains alive today in Eastern European folktales. According to these legends (described by David R. Cartlidge in “Dealing with the Devil”), Jesus not only saved Adam, he also tore up the scrolled contract the first man had signed with Satan after the Fall.