As the last stage in the divine descent (katabasis) and self-emptying (kenosis), the descent of Christ into Hades became at the same time the starting point of the ascent of humanity towards deification (theosis). Since this descent, the path to paradise is opened for both the living and the dead, which was followed by those whom Christ delivered from hell. The destination point for all humanity and every individual is the fullness of deification in which God becomes ‘all in all’. It is for this deification that God first created man and then, when ‘the time had fully come’ (Gal. 4:4), Himself became man, suffered, died, descended to Hades and was raised from the dead.
We do not know if every one followed Christ when He rose from hell. Nor do we know if every one will follow Him to the eschatological Heavenly Kingdom when He will become ‘all in all’. But we do know that since the descent of Christ into Hades the way to resurrection has been opened for ‘all flesh’, salvation has been granted to every human being, and the gates of paradise have been opened for all those who wish to enter through them. This is the faith of the Early Church inherited from the first generation of Christians and cherished by Orthodox Tradition. This is the never-extinguished hope of all those who believe in Christ Who once and for all conquered death, destroyed hell and granted resurrection to the entire human race.
Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev), “Christ the Conqueror of Hell – The Descent of Christ into Hades in Eastern and Western Theological Traditions”
July 14, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Brilliant! Will share. It’s a pre-Dante understanding of hell and heaven. The doors of heaven are never locked but no one is forced to enter. (C.S. Lewis takes uo this theme in “The Great Divorce.”)
July 14, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Thanks Jim,
If you haven’t seen it, you may also be interested in a short video by NT Wright on western ideas of hell here.
July 15, 2011 at 11:00 am
Thanks, Macrina, for the link to the NT Wright interview. Excellent.
July 15, 2011 at 12:44 pm
You’re welcome, Jim.
July 15, 2011 at 2:24 am
Greetings Macrina:
I hope all is well with you and found the post on Christ’s descent into Hades rich and compelling. It is often one of the great mysteries of our faith least attended to by many Christians. This summer I read a beautiful work on the subject by Anthony Coniaris entitled “No Matter How Deep the Darkness, He Descends Deeper Still: The Descent of Jesus into Hades”; an equally beautiful reflection on the subject.
Best regards,
Fr. David
July 15, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Thanks for your comment, Father David. I’m pleased to see that you’re blogging again! I haven’t read the Coniaris book (in fact I haven’t read anything by him at all) but I’ll look out for it. I have actually been quite surprised recently to discover that the descent into seems quite alien to some western Christians. Protestants I can sort of understand, but even for some Catholics around here it seems at best peripheral and at worst alien, which I find sad.
August 4, 2011 at 12:18 am
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