 he crucifix
of "St. Damien" was painted by an anonymous Umbrian
artist, in the typical Byzantine style, during the 12th century;
Paul Sabatier writes: "the image of Christ does not correspond
to the typical features of a 13th century painful Christ. He looks
quiet and sweet; he does not close his eyes, giving himself up
to despair and pain, but he keeps his eyes open, forgetting himself,
and his eyes seem to say: "Come to me".
The canvas, this icon is painted on, is stuck on a wooden strip
(H. cm. 190 x W. cm. 120 x Th. cm. 12); it was kept among the
ruins of St. Damien Church, when - in autumn 1205 - St. Francis,
already reached by the grace of God, came into the oratory, and
"began to pray intensely in front of the crucified Christ's
image" (Legend of three companions, chapt. V, n. 13).
And so he said: "High, glorious God, / enlighten the darkness
of my heart. / Give me right faith, / certain hope and perfect
charity, / wisdom and knowledge, / Lord, / let me follow your
holy and true commandment. Amen". And the crucifix spoke
to him in such a moving way: "Francis, don't you see my
house is in ruins? Go then, and restore it for my sake".
Trembling and astonished the young man answered: "I will
do it with pleasure, my Lord". But he misunderstood these
words, because he thought, he should repair that church, which
was very old and in ruins. The words heard from that Christ made
him very happy; he felt, deep in his soul, that Christ had spoken
to him. As he came out of the church, he found a priest sitting
down nearby, he offered his money saying: "Dear Sir, please
buy some oil and let a lamp burn in front of that crucifix. I'll
bring you some more money later, if you need more." "
(Legend of three companions, chapt. V, n. 13).
When, in 1257, the poor Clares left St. Damien to reach St. George
church, they brought the crucifix with them.
Today the precious relic is dearly kept inside the Basilica of
St. Clara.
THE PORTRAIT OF THE CHRIST
The central figure in the icon is Christ, of course, spreading
light to the whole picture: "I'm the light of the world;
who follows me, will not walk in the darkness, but he will have
the light of life" (John, 8,12). Jesus stands alive; he's
not nailed to the cross. His eyes are open, as if he were looking
at the world he saved with his sacrifice. He's wearing a plain
veil: His chest, throat and neck are very pronounced, as if
he were already breathing the Holy Ghost to his disciples (John,
20, 22) and to everybody kneeling down in front of him. Behind
his outstretched arms (while from his hands blood keeps flowing
down) we can see his empty grave.
THE MEDALLION AND THE INSCRIPTION
Above Christ we can see a red circle; inside of it we find
a representation of
the Ascension: Christ seems to come out from the circle; in
his left hand, like a royal sceptre, he's holding a golden cross.
He wears golden garments symbolising the victory; a red scarf
stresses his domain and sovereignty. Around him the angels are
welcoming him in heaven.
Under the circle there is a writing: IHS NAZARE REX IUDERUM:
Jesus Nazarene, King of Jews.
THE FATHER'S HAND
 Inside
the semicircle surrounding the icon we can see God's hand, who
is blessing us - after his son's passion - with his two fingers.
THE MYSTICAL VINE
All around the cross we can see different paper rolls, a symbol
for the Mystical Vine. " I'm the vine, you are the shoots…"
(John, 15, 1-8); they recall Jesus' words: "Thos is my
commandment: love one another, the way I loved you. Nobody has
a bigger love than this : giving his own life for the friends"
(John 15, 12-14).
Under the cross you can see a piece of rock: this is Peter's
symbol, the first head of Christian Church. The shells symbolize
the eternity.
MARY AND JOHN
(On Jesus' right side)
Mary and John are standing close to one another, on Jesus'
right side (see
John 19,26). Mary's coat is white: a symbol of victory (Rev.
3,5), purification (Rev. 7,14) and kindness (Rev. 19,8). The
jewels on her coat remind us of the Holy Ghost. The dark red
colour underneath her coat is a symbol of love, while the dress
is crimson, a colour symbolizing the Ark of the Covenant (Ex.
26, 1-4). Mary's left hand is on her cheek, this means her love
for John; her right hand is pointing at John, while her incredibly
sweet eyes seem to accept Jesus' invitation: "Woman, here
is your Son!" (John 19,26). John is almost hit with the
blood flowing out from the wound on Jesus' chest; he wears a
pink coat, a symbol for eternal wisdom; his tunic is white,
meaning that he's pure. He stands between Jesus and Mary, because
he's loved by both of them: "Woman, here is your Son! Then
he talked to John and he said: Here is your mother" and
since that moment the disciple took her in his home" (John,
19, 26.27).
OTHER MAJOR CHARACTERS
(On Jesus' left side)
Mary Magdalene: she's a very special character, because
she's very close to Jesus; her hand is on her chin, almost referring
to a secret; she wears a scarlet dress, the colour of love,
her blue coat almost intensifies this deep feeling.. 
Mary from Cleopa: she's standing near the Magdalene:
according to the tradition she was James' mother. She wears
an earth - brown dress, a symbol of her humility; her coat is
green like hope. Her admiration for Jesus seems to be evident
in her right hand's gesture.
The Centurion from Cafarnao: he's near Mary from Cleopa.
In his right hand he holds a piece of wood, this would mean
the future building of a synagogue (Luc. 7,1-10). The child
beyond his shoulders is his son, who was healed by Jesus. Three
heads behind him show "him and his family" (John 4,
45-54). His thumb and two fingers mean the Trinity, while his
closed fingers symbolize the secret hidden in Jesus Christ's
double nature: "This man was really the son of God!"
(Mc. 15,39).
LESSER CHARACTERS
Longinus: it's the small figure sitting near the Virgin
Mary. He's the roman soldier who hit Jesus' chest with his spear
(see. Jh. 19, 33-34).
Stephen: it's the small figure near the Centurion. Stephen
should be the soldier, who gave Jesus a sponge wet with vinegar,
after he had cried "I'm thirsty" (Jh. 19, 28-30).
 Unknown
Saints: at the rear of the icon we can see six more Saints;
some scholars think, they represent the following Saints: Damien
Rufino, Michael, John Baptist, Peter and Paul; they are all
Patrons of different churches around Assisi. The image is unfortunately
very damaged, so we still cannot identify them very well.
Angels discussing: under Jesus' wounded hands we can
see two groups of angels, who - according to the experts - are
talking
about the mystery which was revealed: "God loved the world
so much, that he gave his only son to it, in a way that everybody
believing in him cannot die, but he can have an eternal life"
(Jh. 3,16).
The grave: as we already said, behind Jesus' shoulders
the tomb is open. Christ is alive. He's
standing on his grave. The red colour of love overcomes the
Black Death! The gestures of the unknown Saints and his hands
show faith. Two unknown Saints could be Peter and John, standing
in font of the empty grave. (see Jh. 20,3-9).
The cock: On one hand the cock reminds us (on Jesus'
left side, near his foot) of Peter's denial, when he cried,
after his betrayal. On the other hand the cock could symbolise
a new dawn coming with Christ's resurrection. (see Lc. 24).
The cross' shape: the shape is unusual, because Umbrian
artist wanted to include all the people attending the Passion
in the picture. On the right side of the cross we can see the
good thief, traditionally called Dismas, whom Jesus spoke, telling
him, he would follow him to heaven. On the left side there's
the bad thief.
Numbers
In the icon we can see 33 characters: 1 Christ, 1 God's hand,
5 major characters, 2 lesser characters, 14 angels, 2 unknown
characters near Jesus' hands, 1 small child, 6 unknown characters
behind the cross and 1 cock. We can also number 33 nails in
the frame just behind the shells and 7 other nails around the
halo.
by Paolo Rossi
paolorossi62@libero.it
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