A relief with Crossing of the Red Sea and its use
Abstract
A relief at the Museum of Yozgat (Cappadocia) is decorated with the Crossing from Israelites of the Red Sea (Book of Exodus, 14-15). The apostle Paul and the church Fathers (initiation texts) interpreted this episode as prefiguration (type) of baptism into Christ. The event is mentioned frequently in paschal hymnography and the biblical reading of Exodus is one of the 15 Old Testament prophetic lessons, which have been read in the paschal vigil. The feast of Easter was the most appropriate day for the celebration of baptism. The above evidence shows that the patristic literature and the liturgy were influential to the iconographic program. Thus, the relief may had been used as lintel in a baptistery or a narthex, where the initiation (catecheses) and the baptism did take place.
Article Details
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ΓΚΙΟΛΕΣ (Nikolaos GKIOLES) N. (2025). A relief with Crossing of the Red Sea and its use. Deltion of the Christian Archaeological Society, 44, 379–386. https://doi.org/10.12681/dchae.40849
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