| Titre | La Sainte Cène, tableau du peintre ambulant Nikolaj Ge : opposition du profane et du sacré : Judas dans l'hymnographie byzantine | |
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| Auteur | Marie Sémon | |
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Revue | Revue des Etudes Slaves |
| Numéro | Vol. 77, no 4, 2006 La figure de Judas Iscariote dans la culture russe | |
| Rubrique / Thématique | La figure de Judas Iscariote dans la culture russe Articles |
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| Page | 573-585 | |
| Résumé anglais |
The Last Supper, a picture by the Peredvižnik Nikolaj Ge: Opposition Between Profane and Sacred: Judas in the Byzantine Hymnography
Describing the picture (the center of which is Judas, an enormous shadow facing the Christ), the A. stresses its inadequacy in relation to Ge's sources (the Gospel) deprived of their sacred character. This provoked a scandai in Russian society (1863). The Orthodox party was shocked by the profanation of the «colossal event» (Dostoevskij), «foundation of Christianity» (Pogodin). On the contrary, the Peredvižniki (and the Radicals) admired it. Most of them were positivists and did not confess Jesus Christ' s divinity. In 1886, Tolstoj wrote a commentary for his disciple' s picture. The most important according to him was Christ' s love for Judas, His ennemy. In 1891, encouraged by his master, Ge painted a picture of Judas alone. Tolstoj wanted him to stress the feeling of pity for Judas. This kind of approach is in contradiction with the hymnography where predominates a repulsion for the avaricious «demon», etc. Certain critics of the time considered Judas as a religious nationalist, a sort of «Old Believer» of fanatic Judaism.
Yet is any kind of apology possible for a Christian who considers the traitor as a deicide? Can an attitude of mercy and hope for his salvation exist? Though the problem of his eternal destiny remains a mystery, Saint Isaac the Syrian — who had a great influence on Russian religious thinkers and especialy on Dostoevskij — prayed 'even for démons'. There are 'no limits to God's mercy', he insists. However, the fear of becoming a Judas is typical of the Russian religious mind, and it may be due to the hymnography of the Holy Week reinforced by the prayer constantly repeated when the Holy Eucharist is celebrated: 'I shall not give Thee a kiss like Judas'.
Looking nowadays on Ge's picture, one might see in the gigantic shadow facing the Christ ail the Judas who, during the Soviet persecutions, condemned to death millions of innocents (the novomučeniki), i.e. re-crucified Jesus.
A Russian Judas? Probably. The most dramatic figure of the Bible has deeply influenced the religious mentality and the culture issued from it. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Article en ligne | https://www.persee.fr/doc/slave_0080-2557_2006_num_77_4_7042 |
