Editing Harrowing of Hell (section)

==Interpretations of the doctrine==
===Orthodoxy===
[[File:Anastasis at Chora.jpg|thumb|In ''Harrowing of Hades'', fresco in the ''parecclesion'' of the [[Chora Church]], [[Istanbul]], c. 1315, raising Adam and Eve is depicted as part of the Resurrection icon, as it always is in the East.]]

[[John Chrysostom]]'s [[Paschal Homily]] also addresses the Harrowing of Hades, and is typically read during the [[Paschal Vigil]], the climactic service of the Orthodox celebration of [[Easter|Pascha]] (Easter).

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the Harrowing of Hades is celebrated annually on [[Holy and Great Saturday]] during the [[Vespers|Vesperal]] [[Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil]], as is normative for the [[Byzantine Rite]]. At the beginning of the service, the [[Antependium|hangings]] in the church and the [[vestment]]s worn by the clergy are all somber [[Great Lent|Lenten]] colours (usually purple or black). Then, just before the [[Gospel]] reading, the [[liturgical colors]] are changed to white and the deacon performs a [[censing]], and the priest strews [[Bay Laurel|laurel]] leaves around the church, symbolizing the broken gates of Hell; this is done in celebration of the harrowing of Hades then taking place, and in anticipation of Christ's imminent resurrection.

====Icon====
[[File:Harrowing of hell by M.Bathas (16th c.).jpg|thumb|250 px|left|''Harrowing of Hell'' by [[Markos Bathas]] 16th Century]]
The Harrowing of Hades is generally more common and prominent in Orthodox [[iconography]] compared to the Western tradition. It is the traditional [[icon]] for [[Holy Saturday]], and is used during the [[Paschal season]] and on Sundays throughout the year.

The traditional Orthodox icon of the [[Resurrection of Jesus in Christian art|Resurrection of Jesus]], partially inspired by the apocryphal [[Gospel of Nicodemus|Acts of Pilate]] (4th c.), does not depict simply the physical act of Christ coming out of the [[Holy Sepulchre|Tomb]], but rather it reveals what Orthodox Christians believe to be the spiritual reality of what his [[Resurrection of Jesus|Death and Resurrection]] accomplished. The icon depicts Jesus, vested in white and gold to symbolize his divine majesty, standing on the brazen gates of Hades (also called the "Doors of Death"), which are broken and have fallen in the form of a cross, illustrating the belief that by his death on the cross, Jesus "trampled down death by death" (see [[Paschal troparion]]). He is holding [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]] and [[Eve]] and pulling them up out of Hades. Traditionally, he is not shown holding them by the hands but by their wrists, to illustrate the theological teaching that mankind could not pull himself out of his [[Original sin]], but that it could come about only by the work (''[[Essence-Energies distinction|energia]]'') of God. Jesus is surrounded by various righteous figures from the Old Testament ([[Abraham]], [[David]], etc.); the bottom of the icon depicts Hades as a chasm of darkness, often with various pieces of broken locks and chains strewn about. Quite frequently, one or two figures are shown in the darkness, bound in chains, who are generally identified as personifications of [[Death]] or the [[devil]].

===Catholicism===
[[File:HarrowingBermejo.jpg|thumb|left|''Christ leads the patriarchs from Hell to Paradise'', by Bartolomeo Bertejo, Spanish, c. 1480: [[Methuselah]], [[Solomon]] and the [[Queen of Sheba]], and [[Adam (Bible)|Adam]] and [[Eve]] lead the procession of the righteous behind Christ.]]

There is an ancient [[homily]] on the subject, of unknown authorship, usually entitled ''The Lord's Descent into Hell'' that is the second reading at the Office of Readings on [[Holy Saturday]] in the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=From an ancient homily for Holy Saturday: The Lord's descent into hell|url=https://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010414_omelia-sabato-santo_en.html|access-date=July 28, 2020|publisher=Holy See|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808204348/http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010414_omelia-sabato-santo_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2025/04/19/identifying-an-ancient-homily-for-holy-saturday-on-the-harrowing-of-hell/ Identifying “an ancient homily for Holy Saturday”, on the Harrowing of Hell], by Roger Pearse, accessed 19 April 2025.</ref>

The ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' states: "By the expression 'He descended into Hell', the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil 'who has the power of death' ([[Hebrews 2]]:14). In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened Heaven's gates for the just who had gone before him."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p122a5p1.htm |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church] |at=p. 636–37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100320090722/https://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p122a5p1.htm |archive-date=March 20, 2010}}</ref>

As the Catechism says, the word "Hell"—from the Norse, ''Hel''; in Latin, {{Lang|la|infernus, infernum, inferni}}; in Greek, {{lang|grc|ᾍδης}} ([[Hell in Christianity|Hades]]); in Hebrew, {{Lang|he|שאול}} (Sheol)—is used in Scripture and the Apostles' Creed to refer to the abode of all the dead, whether righteous or evil, unless or until they are admitted to Heaven (CCC 633). This abode of the dead is the "Hell" into which the Creed says Christ descended. His death freed from exclusion from Heaven the just who had gone before him: "It is precisely these holy souls who awaited their Savior in [[Bosom of Abraham|Abraham's bosom]] whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into Hell", the Catechism states (CCC 633), echoing the words of the [[Roman Catechism]], 1, 6, 3. His death was of no avail to the damned.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Conceptualization of the abode of the dead as a place, though possible and customary, is not obligatory (Church documents, such as catechisms, speak of a "state or place"). Some maintain that Christ did not go to the place of the damned, which is what is generally understood today by the word "Hell". For instance, [[Thomas Aquinas]] taught that Christ did not descend into the "Hell of the lost" in his essence, but only by the effect of his death, through which "he put them to shame for their unbelief and wickedness: but to them who were detained in [[Purgatory]] he gave hope of attaining to glory: while upon the holy Fathers detained in Hell solely on account of [[original sin]], he shed the light of glory everlasting."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Summa theologiae: Christ's descent into hell (Tertia Pars, Q. 52)|url=https://www.newadvent.org/summa/4052.htm|access-date=July 28, 2020|website=www.newadvent.org|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728123004/https://www.newadvent.org/summa/4052.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

While some maintain that Christ merely descended into the "limbo of the fathers", others, notably theologian [[Hans Urs von Balthasar]] (inspired by the visions of [[Adrienne von Speyr]]), maintain that it was more than this and that the descent involved suffering by Jesus.<ref name="Reno">{{cite web |last1=Reno |first1=R. R. |title=Was Balthasar a Heretic? |url=https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2008/10/was-balthasar-a-heretic |website=[[First Things]] |access-date=May 24, 2020 |date=October 15, 2008 |archive-date=May 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529135343/https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2008/10/was-balthasar-a-heretic |url-status=live }}</ref> Some maintain that this is a matter on which differences and theological speculation are permissible without transgressing the limits of orthodoxy.<ref name=Reno/> However, Balthasar's point here has been forcefully condemned by conservative Catholic outlets.<ref>[http://www.churchmilitant.tv/dispatches/emptyhell/ "Massa Damnata"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007103810/http://www.churchmilitant.tv/dispatches/emptyhell/ |date=October 7, 2020 }}. ChurchMilitant.TV.</ref>{{unreliable source?|reason=authority not established|date=November 2022}}<!-- Dead video source not archived: <ref>Taylor Marshall. [http://taylormarshall.com/2013/03/did-christ-suffer-in-hell-when-he.html "Did Christ Suffer in Hell When He Descended into Hell?"].</ref> -->

===Lutheranism===
[[Martin Luther]], in a sermon delivered in Torgau in 1533, stated that Christ descended into Hell.

The [[Formula of Concord]] (a Lutheran confession) states, "we believe simply that the entire person, God and human being, descended to Hell after his burial, conquered the devil, destroyed the power of Hell, and took from the devil all his power" (Solid Declaration, Art. IX).

Many attempts were made following Luther's death to systematize his theology of the descensus, whether Christ descended in victory or humiliation. For Luther, however, the defeat or "[[Humiliation of Christ|humiliation]]" of Christ is never fully separable from His victorious glorification. Luther himself, when pressed to elaborate on the question of whether Christ descended to Hell in humiliation or victory responded, "It is enough to preach the article to the laypeople as they have learned to know it in the past from the stained glass and other sources."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Skaggs |first=Rebecca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1zvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |title=1, 2 Peter and Jude Through the Centuries |date=June 2, 2020 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-97330-1 |language=en |access-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406025208/https://books.google.com/books?id=M1zvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Anglicanism===
"Anglican orthodoxy, without protest, has allowed high authorities to teach that there is an intermediate state, Hades, including both Gehenna and Paradise, but with an impassable gulf between the two."<ref name="Cook1883"/> The traditional language of the Apostles' Creed affirms that Jesus "descended into hell"; the contemporary ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'' says that Jesus "descended to the dead" (BCP, pp.&nbsp;53, 96).<ref name=Episcopal/>

===Calvinism===
[[John Calvin]] expressed his concern that many Christians "have never earnestly considered what it is or means that we have been redeemed from God's judgment. Yet this is our wisdom: duly to feel how much our salvation cost the Son of God."

Calvin's conclusion is that "If any persons have scruples about admitting this article into the Creed, it will soon be made plain how important it is to the sum of our redemption: if it is left out, much of the benefit of Christ’s death will be lost."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics|url=https://reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/documents/Christ_in_hell/index.html|access-date=July 28, 2020|website=reformed.org|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304145431/https://reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/documents/Christ_in_hell/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Calvin strongly opposed the notion that Christ freed prisoners, as opposed to traveling to Hell as part of completing his sufferings.<ref>[https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes/institutes/Page_441.html ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'', Book 2, chapter 16, sections 8–10] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928161907/https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes/institutes/Page_441.html |date=September 28, 2020 }}.</ref>

The [[Calvinism|Reformed]] interpret the phrase "he descended into Hell" as referring to Christ's pain and humiliation ''prior'' to his death, and that this humiliation had a spiritual dimension as part of God's judgement upon the sin which he bore on behalf of Christians. The doctrine of Christ's humiliation is also meant to assure believers that Christ has redeemed them from the pain and suffering of God's judgment on sin.<ref>Allen, R. Michael (2012). ''Reformed Theology''. pp. 67–68</ref>

===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints===
{{main|Spirit world (Latter Day Saints)|Plan of salvation (Latter Day Saints)}}
The Harrowing of Hell has been a unique and important doctrine among members of the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] since its founding in 1830 by [[Joseph Smith]], although members of the church usually call it by other terms, such as "Christ's visit to the spirit world". Like Christian exegetes distinguishing between [[Sheol]] and [[Gehenna]], Latter-day Saints distinguish between the realm of departed spirits (the "[[Spirit world (Latter Day Saints)|spirit world]]") and the portion (or state) of the wicked ("[[Spirit world (Latter Day Saints)#Spirit prison|spirit prison]]"). The portion or state of the righteous is often referred to as "paradise".

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Latter-day Saint beliefs regarding the Harrowing of Hell is their view on the purpose of it, both for the just and the wicked. [[Joseph F. Smith]], the sixth president of the Church, explained in what is now a canonized revelation, that when Christ died, "there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, ... rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand. They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death".<ref>[[Doctrine and Covenants|D&C]] {{lds||dc|138|12|,15–16|||x}}</ref>

In the Latter-day Saint view, while Christ announced freedom from physical death to the just, he had another purpose in descending to Hell regarding the wicked. "The Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; but behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces ... and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead, ... to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets".<ref>{{lds|D&C|dc|138|29|30,32}}</ref> From the Latter-day Saint viewpoint, the rescue of spirits was not a one-time event but an ongoing process that still continues.<ref>{{lds|D&C|dc|138}}; {{lds|1 Peter|1-pet|4|6}}</ref> This concept goes hand-in-hand with the doctrine of [[baptism for the dead]], which is based on the Latter-day Saint belief that those who choose to accept the gospel in the spirit world must still receive the saving ordinances in order to dwell in the kingdom of God.<ref>{{lds|Mark|mark|16|16}}; {{lds|John|john|3|5}}; {{lds|1 Peter|1-pet|3|21}}</ref> These baptisms and other ordinances are performed in Latter-day Saint temples, wherein a church member is baptized vicariously, or in behalf of, those who died without being baptized by proper authority. The recipients in the spirit world then have the opportunity to accept or reject this baptism.<ref>{{citation |url=http://mormon.org/faq/topic/baptism/question/baptism-for-the-dead |title=Why do Mormons perform baptisms for the dead? |department=Frequently Asked Questions |website=Mormon.org |publisher=LDS Church |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213103405/http://mormon.org/faq/topic/baptism/question/baptism-for-the-dead |archive-date=February 13, 2016}}</ref>