Editing Harrowing of Hell (section)

{{short description|Christ's triumphant descent into the underworld}}
{{redirect2|Christ in Limbo|Descent into Hell|the 1986 film|Descent into Hell (film)|the novel by Charles Williams|Descent into Hell (novel)|the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon liturgical play|Harrowing of Hell (drama)}}
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[[File:Harrowhell.jpg|thumb|right| ''The Harrowing of Hell'', ''{{lang|fr|[[Petites Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry|Petites Heures]]}}'', 14th-century [[illuminated manuscript]] commissioned by [[John, Duke of Berry]]]]

[[File:Harrowing of hell Christ leads Adam by the hand. On scroll in border, the motto 'Entre tenir Dieu le viuelle' (f. 125) Cropped.jpg|thumb|Christ leading Adam by the hand, depicted in the ''[[Vaux Passional]]'', {{circa|1504}}]]
[[File:Fra Angelico 024.jpg|thumb|Before his [[resurrection]] from the dead, Jesus Christ grants [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] to souls by the Harrowing of Hell. Fresco, by [[Fra Angelico]], {{circa|1430s}}.]]
{{Gospel Jesus}}
In [[Christian theology]], the '''Harrowing of Hell''' ({{langx|la|Descensus Christi ad Inferos}}; [[Greek language|Greek]]: {{Lang|el|Ἡ εἰς ᾍδου κάθοδος τοῦ Χριστοῦ}} – "the descent of Christ into [[Christian views on Hell|Hell]]" or [[Christian views on Hades|Hades]]){{efn|Note that the Latin word is {{lang|la|inferos}} "those below", not {{lang|la|infernos}} "those of the lower regions". Neither word relates to fire; the use in English and other languages of "inferno" to mean "large fire" is modern and figurative, literally "hellish".}} is the period of time between the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]] and his [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]]. In triumphant descent, [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] brought [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] to the souls held captive there since the beginning of the world.<ref name="Warren">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Harrowing of Hell |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07143d.htm |access-date=May 11, 2023 |website=www.newadvent.org |at=Vol. 7 |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511224829/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07143d.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Christ's descent into the world of the dead is referred to in the [[Apostles' Creed]] and the [[Athanasian Creed]] ({{lang|la|Quicumque vult}}), which state that he "descended into the underworld" ({{lang |la|descendit ad inferos}}), although neither mention that he liberated the dead. His [[descent to the underworld]] is alluded to in the [[New Testament]] in [[1 Peter 4]]:6, which states that the "good tidings were proclaimed to the dead".<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Testament: a translation| editor =Hart, David Bentley |isbn=978-0-300-18609-3|location= New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |oclc=1002687102|date = January 2017}}</ref> The ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' notes [[Ephesians 4]]:9, which states that "[Christ] descended into the lower parts of the earth", as also supporting this interpretation.<ref>{{Citation| title = Catechism| url = https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a5p1.htm| section = 631| access-date = March 15, 2020| archive-date = April 10, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200410125137/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a5p1.htm| url-status = live}}.</ref> These passages in the New Testament have given rise to differing interpretations.<ref>D. Bruce Lockerbie (1977). ''The Apostle's Creed: Do You Really Believe It''. Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, pp. [http://64.33.81.65/ancient/descendit.htm 53–54]. {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120709152254/http://64.33.81.65/ancient/descendit.htm |date= July 9, 2012}}.</ref> The Harrowing of Hell is commemorated in the [[liturgical calendar]] on [[Holy Saturday]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Keene|title=The Christian Experience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cOuxmzwcA_sC&pg=PA112|year=1995|publisher=Nelson Thornes|isbn=978-0-7487-2188-7|page=112|access-date=March 14, 2018|archive-date=May 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529135342/https://books.google.com/books?id=cOuxmzwcA_sC&pg=PA112#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', the story first appears clearly in the [[Gospel of Nicodemus]] in the section called the [[Acts of Pilate]], which also appears separately at earlier dates within the [[Acts of Peter and Paul]].<ref name= "Wilhelm501">Wilhelm Schneemelcher, R. McLachlan Wilson (December 1, 1990) ''New Testament Apocrypha'', Vol. 1 {{ISBN |0-66422721-X}} pp. 501–02</ref> The descent into Hell had been related in [[Old English]] poems connected with the names of [[Cædmon]] (e.g. ''[[Christ and Satan]]'') and [[Cynewulf]]. It is subsequently repeated in [[Ælfric of Eynsham]]'s homilies {{circa|1000 AD}}, which is the first known inclusion of the word "harrowing". [[Middle English literature|Middle English dramatic literature]] contains the fullest and most dramatic development of the subject.<ref name=Warren/>

As a subject in [[Christian art]], it is also known as the {{transliteration|el|Anastasis}} ([[Greek language|Greek]] for "resurrection"), considered a creation of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] culture and first appearing in the [[Latin West|West]] in the early 8th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Leslie |url=http://archive.org/details/medievalarttopic00ross |title=Medieval art : a topical dictionary |date=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-313-29329-0 |publication-place=Westport, Connecticut, United States |pages=10–11}}</ref>