Sacred art, by its very nature, is catechetical. The purpose of this art was and continues to be a method of instruction. The Catholic Church, in its Latin and Greek Rites, and the twenty-six Catholic Rites that are in union with Rome, have all produced magnificent sacred calligraphy and art; non-Catholic faiths have done this, too.
Two thousand years ago Christians hiding in Rome inscribed images of Christ, the Blessed Mother and with the Christ child, and other Scriptural images on the walls of the catacombs. That art contributed to the catechesis of the early Christians. Two millennia later, Pope St. John Paul II in paragraph 18 of his Apostolic Exhortation, Catachesi tradendae, speaks of this function: it is “an education in the faith… in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.”
Sacred art, in tandem with scholarship, edifies and makes beautiful the truth, goodness, and beauty of God. One of my favorite forms of sacred art is that of the Coptic Christian Church (historically based in Alexandria, Egypt). Coptic art is presented in an especially down to earth way. It is beautiful and humble at the same time. It is catechetical and colorful. It possesses a fine palette, yet the viewer does not get caught up in the colors to the detriment of catechesis.
The Coptic faith’s icons are simple, yet, profound. They convey theological truths in a way that can be understood by all age groups and are excellent sources of catechesis.
The first image above is a 7th century Coptic icon. It was discovered at the Monastery of Bawit (Egypt) in the early 20th century by two French archaeologists who brought it, and other Monastery artifacts, back to Paris. Currently located in the Byzantine wing of the Louvre it is unique because it presents Jesus affectionately putting his arm around the Monastery’s abbot – Abbot Mena.
The second sacred image is my original composition. It is painted in archival ink, acrylic paint, and the halos are 23 karat gold leaf. My style slightly follows the Coptic in that it portrays figures that are not intimidating, are easily understandable, and act as a teaching tool for children and adults. It does present additional symbolism which further explains key theological truths of our faith.
Symbolism of the second sacred image:
The IC XC is the Greek abbreviation for Jesus Christ.
The slightly larger than normal eyes represents holiness, spiritual wisdom, and maturity.
Jesus’ white alb (tunic): purity; King David’s light green alb: hope for spiritual growth and friendship with God.
Jesus’ outer garments consist of two parts: robe and stole which are painted in various shades of royal purple. Royal purple indicates kingly authority. The tassels of His stole are multicolored representing the intersection of purity and kingship. Christ’s lower stole’s has an intersecting weave representing Jesus’ blood and water shed for us on the Holy Cross. Liturgically, deacons, priests, and bishops all wear albs, cinctures (belts), stoles, and outer garments (dalmatic or chasuble). These articles of clothing each symbolize different aspects of Jesus’ Passion and ministry.
Elevated above Jesus’ left hand are the scrolls of the Old (Hebrew) and New (Christian) Testaments. The color symbolism for the Hebrew Scriptures’ scroll: green, which represents hope, expectation of the Messiah, and devotion to God. The Christian Scriptures‘ scroll: red, representing Jesus divine and human energy, love, Redemptive sacrifice, and His mercy and justice.
Jesus’ arm is around David’s shoulder. His gesture to David expresses His love, affection, and mercy which are evident and available to everyone. However, the expression that I put on Jesus’ face, especially His eyes, conveys the severe justice that Jesus’ renders to all non repentant sinners. David committed murder and adultery yet ultimately becomes aware of the enormity of his sins. His Psalms were written to plead for mercy, express sorrow for sins, and give praise and thanksgiving to God (see especially: Psalms: 1, 51, 56, 65, and 117). David’s crimson coat symbolizes human life and energy, it is trimmed in dark green symbolizing his hope for mercy.
Circa 1000 BC, David and his armies captured Jerusalem and brought the Ark of the Covenant into the city (1 & 2 Samuel). King David is holding the city of Jerusalem in his right hand; and in his left the book of Psalms. David’s son Solomon built the First Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant (1 & 2 Kings).
Between David and Jesus are a ram and a new born lamb.
The ram refers to the sacrifice by Abram (Abraham) of a ram caught in a thicket in substitution for the sacrifice of his son Isaac (Genesis 22). Jesus and David are members of the same genealogical family, stretching all the way back to Abraham and Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob.
The newborn lamb represents Jesus Christ, the “lamb of God” (John 1: 29). He was given in sacrifice by the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of mankind from their sins. That Redemptive act by Our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, instituted the New Covenant which was sealed with His, the Lamb of God’s, blood.
The New Covenant does not replace the Old Covenant God made with the Hebrews. The New Covenant of Christ’s sacrifice (as described in the 27 books of the Christian Scriptures) fulfills the Old Covenant promise of a Savior found within the 45 books of the Hebrew Scriptures. The ram and the lamb provide the visible connection between the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Covenant) and Christian Scriptures (New Covenant).
The New Covenant is continued down through the centuries by the un-bloody sacrifice of Holy Mass. Selections from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are read. The Gospel is proclaimed prior to the priest representing Christ, in Persona Christi, transubstantiating the host and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.
In faith and action Catholics consume His Body and Blood toward the end of Holy Mass. This consumption does not transform Him, as simple food, into ourselves. Rather, we (as repentant sinners) are transformed by Him (through Sanctifying Grace) into Himself. He doesn’t become part of us, rather, we become part of Him. This is an article of faith believed by all Catholic Christians of the Western an Eastern Rites of the Church. The reception of Holy Communion by Catholics is not a “right,” it is a privilege given by Jesus Christ to worthy (repentant and Reconciled) recipients (culminating in our giving eternal thanks and praise to Him in Heaven; see Matthew 26: 29).
Therefore, in this non-intimidating sacred image you have a teaching tool that includes elements of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. It is simple grist for any informed catechist’s mill.
UPDATE: If you find this subject interesting I recommend you read my post on Catechesis and Naive Sacred Art: St. Peter – A Lesson Plan, published on January 25, 2022. Thanks!
Copyright © 2011- 2021 by Deacon Paul O. Iacono – All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint essays and/or my paintings must be obtained from me by, using the comment box and making a comment/request on this post. I will respond to you through answering in the comment box. Students, and those interested, may quote small sections of my essays as long as the proper credit and notation are given. Thank you.
The Fra Angelico Institute for Sacred Art 
“Paul, your protestations begs the question, do pagans go to Heaven? If so, why? If not, why not?” from Bernard Gallagher
These are excellent questions.
Before I attempt to answer them my readers should understand that I am a committed and Traditional Roman Catholic. His questions will be answered through the lens of the teachings of my Faith. That Faith is based on a foundation of Holy Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and two thousand years of Catholic scholarship.
Allow me to also mention that we need to understand that two Councils of the Church, the Councils of Orange and Trent (1000 years later), are critical in forming a correct answer to Mr. Gallagher’s questions. The Councils of Orange are significant (both of them were held in the city of Orange in Southern France, AD 441 and 529). The more important Second Council of Orange’s episcopal deliberations were sent to Rome and approved by Pope Boniface II in AD 531. That Council specifically proclaimed that everyone (who has reached the “age of reason”) is given sufficient Grace to be saved from eternal damnation. God will give, and has given all people, Actual Grace. If a person accepts and acts on that Grace, they will be saved.
What is Actual Grace? Actual Grace is an admonition by God for a person to correct their way of life, desire, search after, and make the sincere effort to obtain the Sanctifying Grace provided by the Catholic Church. The key action which achieves salvation and eternal life with God is the Holy Sacrament of Baptism. This allows the person to enter into God’s family. The Sacrament of Baptism removes Original Sin from an individual’s soul and enables it to receive additional Sacramental Sanctifying Grace. All Grace enables a person to become holy in God’s eyes. The other six Sacraments flow from the waters of Baptism. Pope Pius 9th (papal reign 1846 -1878) proclaimed that it would be extraordinary for an unbaptized person to achieve the eternal salvation and reward of Heaven.
First principle,
a) The Roman Catholic Church, the ethnic church Rites that are in union with Rome, the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches, and some of the Protestant churches say that Jesus Christ, is the Word of God, the Son of the Father, begotten not made and consubstantial with Him. He is the Messiah, the Savior. His human life, ministry, passion, death, and resurrection redeemed mankind from their sins. His divinity is expressed through His position as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
b) He is known to mankind through the historical Gospels and Epistles of the Apostles, the witness of His Mother, the Virgin Mary (especially at her apparition at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. When asked what sin was most harmful and condemned unrepentant people to Hell she responded: ‘The sins of impurity are one of the major reasons why men and women are condemned to Hell.'” We cannot ignore our sins or consider them unimportant because of the current worldview. Also, the erudition of the Catholic Church Fathers, Doctors of the Church, Saints, and the historical teaching authority of the Church have all provided the scholarship and analysis that is sufficient for humanity to understand God’d Revelation and laws.
c) He is also known through the extraordinary scholarship of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. The teaching authority of the Church, (as found in its Magisterium), is the Church’s responsibility to give to the world an authentic interpretation of the Revelation of God as found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
d) Additionally, let us not forget the importance of the testimony of the angels found in Holy Scripture, and the saints, of whom Jesus’ Mother Mary is the greatest of saints. All of these facts contribute to mankind’s understanding and witness of our Savior Jesus Christ.
e) Jesus commissioned His Apostles (the first bishops) to make known the free gift of His Redemption and graces. These critical graces are found in the Seven Sacraments of the Church, beginning with the keystone Sacrament, Baptism.
Second, let’s refer to what Jesus Christ says in response to Nicodemus’ questions concerning eternal life in the Gospel of St. John, John 3: 1-21: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus continues to question Him, and Jesus responds, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God…You must be born again.”
The great significance of the necessity of Baptism into the Christian faith is again stressed in another passage of the Gospels. The Gospel of St. Matthew, in its very last passage deals with the commissioning of the Apostles which occurred after His resurrection and before His Ascension back to the Father. Jesus emphasizes that combined with their preaching and works they must baptize faith-filled individuals because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Humanity’s broken relationship with God must be healed. It was healed through the death and resurrection of the Father’s Son Jesus the Christ. Jesus death, on our behalf allowed the formation of the Church and the Sacraments to be instituted to provide the grace to a broken humanity. Baptism is the Sacrament that makes this happen. It makes an individual’s body and soul a member of God’s family. Matthew 28: 18-20: “Jesus drew near and spoke to them saying, “all power in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
Third, it appears, within the Christian faith, that we can come to specific conclusions that will provide a springboard for my response to Mr. Gallagher:
Fourth, so, are pagans going to Heaven or Hell?
In a nutshell, I would never presume to know God’s mind, except from that which He revealed through Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition. I would never make a judgement on another person’s soul as he or she are seen by God at the time of their death and individual judgement. Unknown to the world, even a great sinner may suddenly, in their last moments, repent of their sins and ask for God’s mercy. But, make no mistake about it, Scriptural Revelation, and the Sacred Tradition of the Catholic Church and specifically the words of Jesus in the Holy Scriptures, states that there is a Hell (Matthew 10: 28; 22: 13. Luke 16: 26; etc.); there is a Heaven, and, damnation into Hell for all eternity.
It is believed that there is also a place of natural happiness called Limbo. It is not within Heaven, nor is it in the fires of the Hell of the Damned. It is a state of natural happiness and joy. It is not supernatural happiness because its inhabitants do not have the Beatific Vision (see additional discussion in the Summa Theologica, Supplement 1, 3rd part article 2, by Fra Rainaldo da Piperino). The question of what happens to infants who die without the Sanctifying Grace of Baptism is a much debated issue. Many Traditionalists support the idea of Limbo; however, contemporary scholarship supports the idea that God, in His mercy, would not withdraw the vision of His glory to unbaptized infants who have died.
Some additional issues:
Copyright © 2011- 2019, Deacon Paul O. Iacono – All Rights Reserved. Permission to reprint must be obtained (through the Comments section below) from the author in writing. Students, and those interested, may quote small sections of the article as long as the proper credit and notation is given. Thank you