'Triclavianism': details on the crucifixion

[Paul Cowan]

I am talking to a relative on "how" Jesus was crucified. Her sources (e-mails) are saying there were 3 nails with His feet overlapping, our iconography shows 4 nails with His feet side by side. Also she says His hands were pierced in the veins of the wrists allowing all his blood to flow out where we say his hands (as does scripture).

How do Orthodox view the 3 versus 4 nail idea? Do we even debate where his hands were nailed? Also, how big were the nails? I have seen the piece at St. Xeropotamo Monastery, Athos and it looks to be about 3/8 inch across, How long were they?

Perhaps over time if I can debunk enough of her PC upbringing and actually make her think about what she is being taught, she possibly could come around. Long shot though.

Paul

[Michael Stickles]

From what I've read, the disagreement over the number of nails stretches back quite a ways.

De Passione, attributed to St. Cyprian, speaks of four nails, while Christus Patiens, attributed to St. Gregory Nazianzen, speaks of three. However, both attributions appear to widely regarded as spurious, with the works being written much later. The earliest work accepted as genuine which specifies the number of nails appears to be St. Gregory of Tours' Glory of the Martyrs (http://books.google.com/books?ct=result&id=YDMPv5F_ILoC&ots=xH3MS_NLly&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&q=nails#PPA25,M1) (late 6th century), which states that four were used.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia (http://thecatholicguide.com/wiki/Nails,_Holy_(Catholic_Encyclopedia)), it was in the 13th century that Western art began to represent Christ's feet as being pierced with a single nail. However, just to throw a monkey wrench in, a fifth-century ivory panel (http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/p/panel_from_an_ivory_casket_th.aspx) depicting the crucifixion shows nails in Christ's hands, but none in His feet (which is obviously not Scripturally accurate).

As for hand versus wrist, the Greek word used in Scripture for hand is xeir, which includes the arm (I've heard that this meant from the mid-forearm down, but my Liddell and Scott lexicon isn't that detailed). By itself, this would allow either interpretation. The idea that He was "pierced in the veins of the wrists allowing all his blood to flow out" seems odd, though - with the wrists being the high points of His body while on the cross, I'd think more blood would flow from His feet and His pierced side. In any case, with a little Googling you can find detailed defenses for nail locations in the wrist joint (http://www.frugalsites.net/jesus/crucifixion.htm), the center of the palm (http://e-forensicmedicine.net/Paris.htm), and the heel of the palm (http://www.catholicplanet.com/MHT/wounds-Christ.htm).

I've not seen any indication that the number, size, or precise location of the nails has ever been a matter of importance in Orthodoxy, but my reading in the Fathers is quite a bit too limited for that statement to mean much.

In Christ,
Michael

[Paul Cowan]

Thank you Michael,

I also found many of these same sights you mention. I am up against staunch PC relatives. Unless I can "prove" my Orthodox traditions, I have an uphill road. I will keep plugging away.

Christ always sent people back home to preach the Good News. That's my fertile ground.

Paul

[Olga]

As for hand versus wrist, the Greek word used in Scripture for hand is xeir, which includes the arm (I've heard that this meant from the mid-forearm down, but my Liddell and Scott lexicon isn't that detailed).

Michael, kheir or cheir is indeed the Greek word for hand, which includes the wrist as well. The word brachion refers to the whole arm. Similarly, podi refers to the foot, or to the leg, at least as far as the knee. Anatomical precision in common forms of Greek (koine as well as modern vernacular) is surprisingly lacking when it comes to limbs.

It is interesting to note this verse from the Praises of the Matins of Great Friday:

Each member of Your holy flesh endured dishonour for our sake: Your head the thorns; Your face the spittings; Your cheeks the blows; Your mouth the taste of gall mixed with vinegar; Your ears the impious blasphemies; Your back the scourge and Your hand the reed; Your whole body the stretching on the Cross; Your joints the nails, and Your side the lance. You suffered for our sake, and freed us from passions, You stooped down to us in Your love for mankind, and raised us up. All-powerful Saviour, have mercy on us.

The Greek version is thus:

Έκαστον μέλος τής αγίας σου σαρκός, ατιμίαν δι' ημάς υπέμεινε, τάς ακάνθας η κεφαλή, η όψις τά εμπτύσματα, αι σιαγόνες τά ραπίσματα, το στόμα τήν εν όξει κερασθείσαν χολήν τή γεύσει, τά ώτα τάς δυσσεβείς βλασφημίας. Ο νώτος τήν φραγγέλωσιν, καί η χείρ τόν κάλαμον, αι τού όλου σώματος εκτάσεις εν τώ σταυρώ, τά άρθρα τούς ήλους, καί η πλευρά τήν λόγχην. Ο παθών υπέρ ημών, καί παθών ελευθερώσας ημάς. Ο συγκαταβάς ημίν φιλανθρωπία, καί ανυψώσας ημάς, παντοδύναμε Σωτήρ, ελέησον ημάς.

The word arthra (sing. arthron) clearly refers to joints. I will look through the other Holy Week texts and feasts of the Cross and look for other references to hands and joints with regard to the Crucifixion. Personally, I would not attach great significance in the exact number of nails used. What is more important is that Christ was indeed nailed to the cross, and not simply tied to it.

[Andreas Moran]

I can't quote sources but I recall that much research has been done which suggests that the nails would have had to have been through the wrist joints. The hands would not have borne the weight.

[Olga]

I can't quote sources but I recall that much research has been done which suggests that the nails would have had to have been through the wrist joints. The hands would not have borne the weight.

Quite true. There is ample direct archaeological evidence supporting the Roman practice of nailing through the wrist joint. In many cases, however, the person was not nailed, but simply tied on the cross at the wrists and ankles, which would have led to an even more lingering death. (ugh..)

[Paul Cowan]

Quite true. There is ample direct archaeological evidence supporting the Roman practice of nailing through the wrist joint. In many cases, however, the person was not nailed, but simply tied on the cross at the wrists and ankles, which would have led to an even more lingering death. (ugh..)

I understand a practise of consistency in crucifixion, however scripture does not seem to follow this for Jesus. When I go to the store, I always go in the same door and go down the same aisle first. However on special occassions, I use the front door instead of the side door and go straight to the aisle that has exactly what I want. This is what I am suggesting happened with Jesus. He was a special case. They treated Him differently than the "common" criminal, perhaps to have Him suffer more? If the nails would not hold His weight, yes, it might tear his hands apart and then they get to nail Him up again. Perhaps God permitted His flesh to not tear so as to not allow them to abuse Him even further? Just a thought. I am a creature of habit, but when I change the way I do something, it is for a reason. Perhaps they did as well.


Luke 24:39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”


John 20:27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”


Paul

[Olga]

Just to clarify, I wasn't trying to suggest no nails were used in Christ's crucifixion by my reference to tying alone being one form of this punishment. There is yet another variant, that of tying at the wrists and ankles, and nailing through the palms and feet. The tying would prevent the tearing of the hands and feet. This is quite feasible, as it seems a common practice was for the condemned person to be tied at the wrists to the horizontal beam, be forced to walk to his place of execution, then the vertical beam of the cross would be fixed to the horizontal. Then the nails were fixed in place.

More liturgical material, with the accompanying Greek equivalent, with the relevant words in bold:

Royal Hours of Great Friday

The opening portion of Catechesis 73 by St Theodore of the Studion:


On the Saving Passion of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ
Brethren and Fathers, while the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ when they are recalled are always able to pierce the soul, they do so especially in these present days, on which each of them reached its end. What then are they? The murderous council against Him, the Jewish arrest, His being led away to death, His arraignment before Pilate’s tribunal, the interrogation, the scourging, the blows, the spittings, the insults, the mockeries, the ascent of the Cross, the nailing of His hands and feet, the tasting of gall, the piercing of His side and all the other things which blazed forth with them, which the world cannot contain, nor can anyone worthily proclaim, not human tongue, nor even all the tongues of angels together. For let us consider, brethren, this great and ineffable mystery.

(At present, I cannot locate the Greek version of the above passage.)

Sixth Hour:

You have worked salvation in the midst of the earth, Christ our God. You stretched out Your most pure hands on the Cross, gathering together all the nations, as they cry: Lord, glory to You

Σωτηρίαν ειργάσω εν μέσω τής γής, Χριστε ο Θεός, επί Σταυρού τάς αχράντους σου χείρας εξέτεινας, επισυνάγων πάντα, τά έθνη, κράζοντα. Κύριε δόξα σοι.

Matins of Holy Saturday:

Ode 3

You opened out Your palms and united things that before were separated, while by being closed in a shroud and a grave, O Saviour, You loosed those who were fettered. None is holy but You, O Lord.

Ήπλωσας τάς παλάμας, καί ήνωσας τά τό πρίν διεστώτα, καταστολή δέ Σώτερ, τή εν σινδόνι καί μνήματι, πεπεδημένους έλυσας. Ουκ έστιν άγιος, πλήν σου Κύριε, κραυγάζοντας.

Thomas’ Sunday, Great Vespers:

As the Disciples hesitated, O Saviour, You came on the eighth day, where they were gathered. You gave them peace and cried to Thomas, ‘Come here, Apostle, handle the palms in which they fixed the nails’. O excellent unbelief of Thomas, which led the hearts of the faithful to knowledge; and with fear he cried, ‘My Lord and my God, glory to You’.

Μεθ' ημέρας οκτώ, τής Εγέρσεώς σου Κύριε, ώφθης τοίς Μαθηταίς σου εν τόπω ού ήσαν συνηγμένοι, καί φωνήσας αυτοίς, Ειρήνη υμίν, τώ απιστούντι Μαθητή τάς χείρας υπέδειξας, καί τήν άχραντον πλευράν, ο δέ πεισθείς εβόα σοι, ο Κύριός μου καί ο Θεός μου, δόξα σοι.

Ode 6:

You did not leave Thomas, O Master, plunged in the depths of unbelief when You stretched out Your palms for investigation.

Τόν Θωμάν ου κατέλιπες, βαπτιζόμενον Δέσποτα, βυθώ απιστίας παλάμας, προτείνας εις έρευναν.

Praises:

Eight days after Your Rising, O Jesus, king and only-begotten Word of the Father, You appeared to Your Disciples when the doors were shut, and gave them peace. And to the unbelieving Disciple You showed the marks. ‘Come, feel My hands and My feet and My spotless side’. But he, convinced, cried out to You, ‘My Lord and my God, glory to You’.

Μεθ' ημέρας οκτώ τής Εγέρσεώς σου Ιησού βασιλεύ, μονογενές Λόγε τού Πατρός, ώφθης τοίς Μαθηταίς σου, κεκλεισμένων τών θυρών, τήν ειρήνην σου παρεχόμενος, καί τώ απιστούντι Μαθητή τούς τύπους έδειξας, Δεύρο ψηλάφησον τάς χείρας, καί τούς πόδας, καί τήν ακήρατόν μου πλευράν, ο δέ πεισθείς εβόα σοι, ο Κύριός μου καί ο Θεός μου, δόξα σοι.

Taking into account the scriptural and liturgical evidence, I can draw the following conclusions:

1. There is no doubt that Christ was indeed nailed to the cross, and not simply tied on.

2. No mention at all is made of the number of nails used in Christ's crucifixion, therefore I feel it is a detail which is most likely irrelevant from the doctrinal or theological point of view. I am aware of a change in the representation of the Crucifixion in western religious art in about the 13th century which began showing a single nail through Christ's feet, instead of a nail in each foot. There may well have been a reason peculiar to western thought for this, perhaps others can provide more information.

3. What is less clear is the actual anatomical location of the nails. We see a variety of potential locations, from palms (palames), to hands (which can include the wrist), to joints (which clearly refers to the wrist).

The iconographic record is completely consistent: I have yet to see the nails in anywhere other than the palms of Christ's hands. However, it should also be remembered that so very often, certain details in an icon are of spiritual significance, which often are not exactly the same as the actual, "flesh-and-blood reality".

For instance, the inscription above Christ's head in an icon of the Crucifixion reads "The King of Glory", not the scriptural "Jesus Christ, King of the Jews". In this case, (and, please, correct me if I'm wrong, Matthew P and others!) the higher meaning takes precedence. Similarly, Christ is shown not as a bloodied, ravaged corpse, but as God and Man, the willing sacrifice on behalf of humanity, even in death, triumphing over death and sin, the ultimate manifestation of love for mankind: that He did indeed lay down His life so that mankind could live again in God.

I have noticed that there is usually a gentle upright tilt to Christ's hands in the icons. This could refer to His being the Creator and Life-giver, as well as to His equanimity in enduring death for mankind's sake. This gesture is also reminiscent of the orans position of the hands, denoting prayer and supplication. There are quite a few such allusions in the Holy Week texts. Here are but two:

Matins of Great Friday, Eirmos of Ode 8:

The godly youths made a spectacle of the monument of ungodly evil; while Sanhedrin of the lawless raged and took vain counsel against Christ; thought to slay the One who holds life in His palm; whom all creation blesses and glorifies to the ages.

Another excerpt from Catechesis 73:

.... the Lord who measures the heavens with the span of His hand and the earth in a handful and weighed all the mountains in the balance is the one who is struck by the hand of a servant; the Lord who adorned the boundaries of the earth with flowers is the one who is dishonourably crowned with thorns; ....

And, of course, the troparion of Ode 3 from the Matins of Holy Saturday which appears earlier in this post.

[Andreas Moran]

I don't know whether the Turin Shroud is genuine but the wrist which is visible on the Shroud shows the nail wound between the radius and the ulna just behind the wrist joint.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Gee... you had me worried there for a moment. I though the title of this thread was Tricalvinism.

Talk about split personalities.

[Mary Horey]

I don't know whether the Turin Shroud is genuine but the wrist which is visible on the Shroud shows the nail wound between the radius and the ulna just behind the wrist joint.

A coroner who made a lifetime study of the Shroud showed that the nail could have entered the wrist and exited the back of Christ's palm.

[Bryan J. Maloney]

Straining at gnats?