Majestas
The Majestas (properly Majestas Christi: the Majesty of Christ) was made by Alan Durst and dedicated in 1960 in memory of the Revd C. L Hulbert-Powell, Vicar 1914-27, and his wife. It is placed above the High Altar in Great St Mary's Cambridge.
The robed figure of the resurrected Christ stands in front of the cross; his right hand is held up in a gesture of blessing, his left holds a book. The wounds on hands and feet are marked with crosses as a reminder of 'those glorious scars' still borne by the risen and ascended Christ. Above him is the crown of his kingship and of eternal life. On the arms of the cross are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet -- alpha and omega -- taken from the words of Christ in the Revelation of St John: 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last'
In the angles formed by the arms of the cross are four beasts, which Revelation describes as surrounding the throne of God: 'the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle" ([Revelation 4:7]; see also Ezekiel 1:5-11. The four Evangelists, whose writings convey to humankind the good news about Christ, themselves surround the throne of God. The earliest recorded use of these beasts to symbolise the Evangelists is by St lrenaeus of Lyons in the late second century. Late in the following century Victorinus of Pettau explained that the animal of each Evangelist is associated with the opening lines of his Gospel. Matthew is likened to a man because his Gospel begins with Christ's earthly ancestry and his human nature. Mark begins with a voice crying in the wilderness, as the lion roars in the desert. Luke is represented by the sacrificial ox, because his Gospel begins with the sacrifice offered by Zachariah. The eagle, which was thought to be able to gaze directly at the sun, is associated with John because his Gospel begins with a direct statement of the divinity of Christ, 'the Sun of Righteousness' and 'Light of the World'.
Beneath the cross is a serpent, symbol of Satan and of the evil which has been overcome by Christ's death on the cross. This way of representing victory over evil was taken from, among other references, a verse of Psalm 91: 'Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.' The cross itself sprouts out, as if still part of a living tree, because it is the Tree of Life (Lignum Vitae, written below it); on the book in Christ's left hand is written in Latin:'the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations'
Majestas
The Majestas (properly Majestas Christi: the Majesty of Christ) was made by Alan Durst and dedicated in 1960 in memory of the Revd C. L Hulbert-Powell, Vicar 1914-27, and his wife. It is placed above the High Altar in Great St Mary's Cambridge.
The robed figure of the resurrected Christ stands in front of the cross; his right hand is held up in a gesture of blessing, his left holds a book. The wounds on hands and feet are marked with crosses as a reminder of 'those glorious scars' still borne by the risen and ascended Christ. Above him is the crown of his kingship and of eternal life. On the arms of the cross are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet -- alpha and omega -- taken from the words of Christ in the Revelation of St John: 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last'
In the angles formed by the arms of the cross are four beasts, which Revelation describes as surrounding the throne of God: 'the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle" ([Revelation 4:7]; see also Ezekiel 1:5-11. The four Evangelists, whose writings convey to humankind the good news about Christ, themselves surround the throne of God. The earliest recorded use of these beasts to symbolise the Evangelists is by St lrenaeus of Lyons in the late second century. Late in the following century Victorinus of Pettau explained that the animal of each Evangelist is associated with the opening lines of his Gospel. Matthew is likened to a man because his Gospel begins with Christ's earthly ancestry and his human nature. Mark begins with a voice crying in the wilderness, as the lion roars in the desert. Luke is represented by the sacrificial ox, because his Gospel begins with the sacrifice offered by Zachariah. The eagle, which was thought to be able to gaze directly at the sun, is associated with John because his Gospel begins with a direct statement of the divinity of Christ, 'the Sun of Righteousness' and 'Light of the World'.
Beneath the cross is a serpent, symbol of Satan and of the evil which has been overcome by Christ's death on the cross. This way of representing victory over evil was taken from, among other references, a verse of Psalm 91: 'Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.' The cross itself sprouts out, as if still part of a living tree, because it is the Tree of Life (Lignum Vitae, written below it); on the book in Christ's left hand is written in Latin:'the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations'