Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Assistant Professor, Department of Art Research, Faculty of Art and Entrepreneurship, Isfahan University of Art.
Abstract
Introduction
Adoration of the Magi is one of the first narratives depicted in Christian art, which has been the focus of artists before other scenes of the New Testament, and one of the more important icons among representations of the birth of Jesus. After the formalization of the religion of Christ in the 4th century AD, commemorating the coming of the Magi as Epiphany on January 6 became an important part of the Christmas celebration. The Church Fathers interpreted the story of the Magi in the light of Old Testament messianic prophecies. In the 5th century AD, this event's icons spread from the catacombs to the public spaces, and magi appeared in the decorations of the first great churches. Finding the historical roots of the formation of this narrative can be beneficial for understanding the first connections between this new religion and ancient Iranian thought.
Material & Methods
The present article is a historical case study with qualitative methods and documentary data; which tries to find the origins of this narrative in the historical writings and to suggest a reasoned interpretation of its importance to the Church Fathers. Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyze non-numerical (descriptive) data to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivations. Case Studies are a qualitative design in which the researcher explores in depth a program, event, activity, process, or one or more individuals. The case(s) are bound by time and activity, and researchers collect detailed information using a variety of data collection procedures over a sustained period. Documentary research is the use of outside sources, and documents, to support the viewpoint or argument of an academic work. The process of documentary research often involves some or all of conceptualizing, using, and assessing documents. All the data of this article is collected from the first-hand texts of the writers and commentators of the Christian religion.
Discussion of Results
From the Median period onwards, magi have been known in Iran’s history and culture as agents of religious rituals, performers of prayer and sacrifice ceremonies, soothsayers, court advisors, princes' tutors, and guardians of shrines and kings’ tombs. In addition, written sources show that they were also famous in the neighboring lands of Iran for their wisdom, knowledge of the future, and excellence in astrology. In the Gospel of Matthew, magi begin a journey from the East to praise the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The present article tries to find the origins of this narrative in historical writings and to suggest a reasoned interpretation of its importance to the Church Fathers. Most biblical scholars agree that Matthew's version was written after the destruction of Jerusalem and addressed to Jews and neo-Christians under Roman rule.
The Gospel of Matthew describes the coming of the Magi from the East to praise the baby Jesus. According to predominant scholarly views, it was written in the last quarter of the first century AD by an anonymous Jew familiar with technical legal aspects of scripture to appeal to Jewish audiences. Therefore, it is full of links between the life of Jesus and the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets. Under Roman rule, this text recounts a difficult time for both Jews and Christians. Rome, which conquered and destroyed Jerusalem during this period, failed in an attrition battle with the Persians.
The opening part of this Gospel seems to be born out of the suffering of that era and was written to provide a political policy and give hope to the new believers. Therefore, after conveying the lineage of Jesus to the famous kings of Judah, it used the testimony of the Magi from the East in the court of the Roman ruler to prove the legitimacy of the kingdom of Jesus for the Jews. Some of the Bible commentators have considered the origin of these travelers to be Iran; The country that freed the Jews from the Babylonian captivity once before, was sheltering the Jews and Christians, and was at war with their common enemy. The memorial of adoration of the Magi on Epiphany still has for many Christians the same powerful political function that it had for the Gospel of Matthew's author, Tertullian, Justin, and Pope Leo I in the first centuries.
Conclusions
It seems that the first part of the Gospel of Matthew is not only born from the conditions of such times but also tries to provide a political policy for the new believers; First by mentioning the genealogy that introduces Jesus as the descendant of the famous kings of Judah, and then by the testimony of wise men from the East in the presence of the Roman ruler about the rightness of Jesus for the kingdom of the Jews. That is why some commentators of the Bible have considered these travelers to be Persian magi; Men renowned for their wisdom and foresight, from a country that once freed the Jews from Babylonian captivity; was sheltering Jews and Christians, and was at war against their common enemy. In the following centuries, they were called kings and wise men instead of the Magi, and intending to link them with the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, they made different origins for them, which were neither in the East nor the Magi's homeland. Now the Christians consider them to be three saints, named Melchior (perhaps from Hebrew: king of light), Balthasar (perhaps from Babylonian: God preserves the king), and Gaspar (perhaps from ancient Persian: treasure bearer); Magnificent names worthy of kings of the East.
Keywords
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