Editing Transfiguration of Jesus (section)

== Theology ==

===Importance===

[[File:Saint Catherine's Transfiguration.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Mosaic of the Transfiguration, [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], [[Mount Sinai]]]]

[[Christian theology]] assigns a great deal of significance to the transfiguration, based on multiple elements of the narrative. In Christian teachings, the transfiguration is a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth.{{sfn|Lee|2004|p=2}}

The transfiguration not only supports the identity of Jesus as the Son of God (as in his baptism), but the statement "listen to him", identifies him as the messenger and mouth-piece of God.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=47–49}} The significance of this identification is enhanced by the presence of Elijah and Moses, for it indicates to the apostles that Jesus is the voice of God "par excellence", and instead of Moses or Elijah (representing the Law and the prophets) he should be listened to, surpassing the laws of Moses by virtue of his divinity and filial relationship with God.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=47–49}} [[s:Bible (American Standard)/2 Peter#1:16|2 Peter 1:16–18]] echoes the same message: at the Transfiguration God assigns to Jesus a special "honor and glory" and it is the turning point at which God exalts Jesus above all other powers in creation, and positions him as ruler and judge.{{sfn|Evans|2005|pp=319–320}}

The transfiguration also echoes the teaching by Jesus (as in [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Matthew#22:32|Matthew 22:32]]) that God is not "the God of the dead, but of the living". Although Moses had died and Elijah had been taken up to heaven centuries before (as in [[s:Bible (American Standard)/2 Kings#2:1|2 Kings 2:11]]), they now live in the presence of the Son of God, implying that the same return to life applies to all who face death and have faith.{{sfn|Poe|1996|p=166}}

=== Historical development ===
[[File:Transfiguration of Christ Icon Sinai 12th century.jpg|thumb|left|12th-century icon of the Transfiguration]]
The theology of the transfiguration received the attention of the [[Church Fathers]] from the earliest times. In the 2nd century, [[Irenaeus]] was fascinated by the transfiguration and wrote: "the glory of God is a live human being and a truly human life is the vision of God".{{sfn|Louth|2003|pp=228–234}} [[Origen]]'s theology of the transfiguration influenced the [[patristic]] tradition and became a basis for theological writings by others.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=60–65}} Among other issues, given the instruction to the apostles to keep silent about what they had seen until the resurrection, Origen comments that the glorified states of the transfiguration and the resurrection must be related.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=60–65}}

The [[Desert Fathers]] emphasized the light of the ascetic experience and related it to the light of the transfiguration – a theme developed further by [[Evagrius Ponticus]] in the 4th century.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=60–65}} Around the same time [[Gregory of Nyssa]] and later [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]] were developing a "theology of light" which then influenced [[Byzantine]] meditative and mystical traditions such as the [[Tabor light]] and [[theoria]].{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=60–65}} The [[iconography]] of the transfiguration continued to develop in this time period, and there is a 6th-century symbolic representation in the [[apse]] of the [[Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe]] and a well known depiction at [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] on [[Mount Sinai]] in [[Egypt]].{{sfn|Baggley|2000|pp=58–60}}

Byzantine Fathers often relied on highly visual metaphors in their writings, indicating that they may have been influenced by the established iconography.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=67–69}} The extensive writings of [[Maximus the Confessor]] may have been shaped by his contemplations on the [[katholikon]] at Saint Catherine's Monastery – not a unique case of a theological idea appearing in icons long before it appears in writings.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=67–81}}

In the 7th century, [[Maximus the Confessor]] said that the senses of the apostles were transfigured to enable them to perceive the true glory of Christ. In the same vein, building on [[s:Bible (American Standard)/2 Corinthians#3:18|2 Corinthians 3:18]], by the end of the 13th century the concept of "transfiguration of the believer" had stabilized and [[Gregory Palamas]] considered "true knowledge of God" to be a ''transfiguration of man by the Spirit of God''.{{sfn|Palamas|1983|p=14}} The spiritual transfiguration of the believer then continued to remain a theme for achieving a closer union with God.{{sfn|Majerník|Ponessa|Manhardt|2005|p=121}}{{sfn|Wiersbe|2007|p=167}}

One of the generalizations of Christian belief has been that the [[Eastern Church]] emphasizes the transfiguration while the [[Western Church]] focuses on the crucifixion. However, in practice both branches continue to attach significance to both events, although specific nuances continue to persist.{{sfn|Poe|1996|p=177}} An example of such a nuance is the saintly signs of the ''[[Imitation of Christ]]''. Unlike Catholic saints such as [[Padre Pio]] or [[Francis of Assisi]] (who considered [[stigmata]] a sign of the imitation of Christ) Eastern Orthodox saints have never reported stigmata, but saints such as [[Seraphim of Sarov]] and [[Silouan the Athonite]] have reported being transfigured by an inward light of grace.{{sfn|Brown|2012|p=39}}{{sfn|Langan|1998|p=139}}

=== Connection to the resurrection ===

[[File:Alexandr Ivanov 015.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''Transfiguration'' by [[Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov|Alexandr Ivanov]], 1824]]

Origen's initial connection of the transfiguration with the resurrection continued to influence theological thought long thereafter.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=60–65}} This connection developed both within the theological and iconographic dimensions – which however, often influenced each other. Between the 6th and 9th centuries the iconography of the transfiguration in the East influenced the iconography of the resurrection, at times depicting various figures standing next to a glorified Christ.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=161–167}}

Most commentators in the [[Middle Ages]] considered the transfiguration a preview of the glorified body of Christ following his resurrection.{{sfn|Thunø|2002|pp=141–143}} As an example, in the 8th century, in his sermon on the transfiguration, the [[Benedictines|Benedictine]] monk [[Ambrosius Autpertus]] directly links the [[Road to Emmaus appearance|Supper at Emmaus appearance]] in [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Luke#24:39|Luke 24:39]] to the transfiguration narrative of [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Matthew#17:2|Matthew 17:2]], and states that in both cases, Jesus "was changed to a different form, not of nature, but of glory."{{sfn|Thunø|2002|pp=141–143}}

The concept of the transfiguration as a preview and an anticipation of the resurrection includes several theological components.{{sfn|Edwards|2002|pp=272–274}} On one hand it cautions the disciples, and therefore the reader, that the glory of the transfiguration and the message of Jesus can only be understood in the context of his death and resurrection and not simply on its own.{{sfn|Edwards |2002|pp=272–274}}{{sfn|Garland|2001|pp=182–184}} When the transfiguration is considered an anticipation of the resurrection, the presentation of a shining Jesus on the mount of transfiguration as the Son of God who should be listened to can be understood in the context of the statement by Jesus in the [[Resurrection appearances of Jesus|resurrection appearance]] in [[Matthew 28:16]]–[[Matthew 28:20|20]]: "all authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth".{{sfn|Garland|2001|pp=182–184}}

=== Presence of prophets ===

The presence of the prophets next to Jesus and the perceptions of the disciples have been subject to theological debate. Origen was the first to comment that the presence of Moses and Elijah represented the "Law and the prophets", referring to the Torah (also called the Pentateuch) and the rest of the Hebrew Bible.{{sfn|Andreopoulos|2005|pp=60–65}} [[Martin Luther]] continued to see them as the Law and the Prophets respectively, and their recognition of and conversation with Jesus as a symbol of how Jesus fulfills "the law and the prophets" ([[Matthew 5:17]]–[[Matthew 5:19|19]], see also [[Expounding of the Law]]).{{sfn|Luther|1905|p=150}}

More recently, biblical scholar Caleb Friedeman has argued that the appearance of Moses and Elijah together at the transfiguration was because both of them had witnessed similar [[Theophany|theophanies]] at [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]]. Friedeman asserts that, in light of both Old Testament theophanies, the transfiguration must be considered a theophany in which Jesus manifests his divinity.{{sfn|Friedeman|2024|pp=64–71}} The connection between the Mount Sinai/[[Mount Horeb|Horeb]] theophanies of both Moses and Elijah and their presence at the Transfiguration is also made by the [[New American Bible]].<ref>1 Kings 19, fn. [d]. New American Bible, Revised Edition.</ref>

The real presence of Moses and Elijah on the mount is rejected by those churches and individuals who believe in "[[soul sleep]]" (Christian mortalism) until resurrection. Several commentators have noted that the Gospel of Matthew describes the transfiguration using the Greek word ''horama'' ({{Bibleverse|Matthew|17:9}}), according to [[Joseph Henry Thayer|Thayer]] more often used for a supernatural "vision" than for real physical events{{efn|{{bibleverse|Acts|12:9|KJV}} 'Peter thought he was seeing a "vision" {{gstrong's|37|05|hórama}} }} and conclude that Moses and Elijah were not truly there.{{sfn|Warren|2005|p=85}} In [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] doctrine, Moses and Elijah ministered to Christ as "spirits of just men made perfect" (Doctrine and Covenants 129:1–3; see also Hebrews 12:23).