Lamb of God
Christian doctrine holds that a divine Jesus chose to suffer crucifixion at Calvary to save the world from its sins.
The Latin version, Agnus Dei , and translations are a standard part of the Catholic Mass, as well as the classical Western Liturgies of the Anglican and Lutheran churches.
[1] The second use of the title Lamb of God takes place in the presence of the first two apostles of Jesus, who immediately follow him, address him as Rabbi with respect and later in the narrative bring others to meet him.
From a Christological perspective, these proclamations and the descent of the Holy Spirit as a dove in John 1:32 reinforce each other to establish the divine element of the Person of Christ.
[11][12] The Book of Revelation includes over twenty-nine references to a lion-like lamb ("slain but standing") which delivers victory in a manner reminiscent of the resurrected Christ.
"[20] The 11th century Christology of Saint Anselm of Canterbury specifically disassociates the Lamb of God from the Old Testament concept of a scapegoat, which is subjected to punishment for the sins of others without knowing it or willing it.
[2] Anselm emphasized that as Lamb of God, Jesus chose to suffer in Calvary as a sign of his full obedience to the will of the Father.
[21][22] In modern Eastern Orthodox Christology, Sergei Bulgakov argued that the role of Jesus as the Lamb of God was "pre-eternally" determined by the Father, before the creation of the world, by considering the scenario that it would be necessary to send The Son as an agent to redeem humanity disgraced by the fall of Adam, and that this is a sign of His love.
[23] Multiple hypotheses about the suitable symbolism for the Lamb of God have been offered, within various Christological frameworks, ranging from the interpretation of Old Testament references to those of the Book of Revelation.
[29][30] In Christian iconography, an Agnus Dei is a visual representation of Jesus as a lamb, since the Middle Ages, usually carrying a halo and holding a standard or banner with a cross and symbolizing the victory.
Several mosaics in churches include it, some showing a row of twelve sheep representing the apostles flanking the central Agnus Dei, as in Santi Cosma e Damiano, Rome (526–30).
In 692 AD the Synod of Constantinople prohibited using a depiction of lamb as a symbol of Christ, a point which was adopted in the East but not the West.
[32] A paschal lamb is a charge used in heraldry, for example as the crest of the Davie Baronets, and is blazoned: a paschal lamb[33] This charge is depicted as a lamb standing with body facing towards the dexter (viewer's left), with nimbus, and with head facing forwards (or turned looking backwards to sinister, termed reguardant) holding under its right foreleg a flagpole, tipped with a small cross, resting at a diagonal angle over its shoulder, flying a banner of the Cross of St. George (except in Perth's coat of arms, where it flies a banner of the Cross of St Andrew).
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Agnus Dei is a disc of wax, stamped with an image of Jesus as a lamb bearing a cross, that is consecrated by the pope as a sacramental.
