Elders (Apocalypse)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Chartres_-_portail_royal%2C_tympan_central.jpg/310px-Chartres_-_portail_royal%2C_tympan_central.jpg)
20 crowned elders sit on their thrones in the two outer archivolts , 4 more stand below; all hold musical instruments in their hands. Winged angels stand in the inner arch .
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Colegiata_de_Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_la_Mayor_%28Toro%29._Portada_norte.jpg/310px-Colegiata_de_Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_la_Mayor_%28Toro%29._Portada_norte.jpg)
According to the Revelation of John (Apocalypse), the 24 elders belong to the staff at the return of the Lord ( Parousia ) on the day of judgment . They were often depicted in medieval art in the Christian West; in the Eastern Church , however, they are almost unknown.
Interpretations
The 24 elders form a representative sovereign framework for the Last Judgment, led by Christ . They are grouped around the throne of Christ like a gathering of the elders (two for each of the twelve Jewish tribes). Sometimes they are interpreted as the twelve patriarchs of the Old Testament plus the twelve apostles of the New Testament . Other interpretations refer to the 24 hours of the day and see cosmological aspects in them. None of the elders are directly involved in carrying out the Last Judgment; their advice is also not sought - their repeated prostration is an expression of the recognition of the supreme authority and absolute power of the judge or the lamb.
Representations
The 24 elders were extremely popular in Romanesque sculpture, where they - mostly together with the Christ enthroned in the middle and the four evangelist symbols - can often be found in the larger portal sympana , on their lintels or in the archivolts . In medieval painting, on the other hand, they are very rarely depicted in apse frescoes . In contrast to the biblical text, they do not wear 'golden wreaths' around their heads, but rather crowns ; the ' harps ' have mostly become fiddles, etc. and the 'golden bowls full of incense' are mostly omitted entirely. The prostration before God is only shown in one of the tapestries of the Apocalypse of Angers from the end of the 14th century; in another picture of this carpet series they surround - together with the tetramorph - the slaughtered lamb.
With the beginning of the Gothic period , depictions of the Last Judgment on church portals became rarer overall, but experienced new highlights in late Gothic altar and fresco painting (e.g. in Rogier van der Weyden and Hans Memling or fresco in Albi Cathedral ); Here, however, other pictorial traditions (e.g. the weighing of souls and the separation of the saved and the damned) play a more important role - the 24 elders and the tetramorph almost completely disappear from the repertoire of sculptors and painters.
Bible passages
- “Then I saw: a door was open in heaven; and the voice that had spoken to me earlier, which sounded like a trumpet, said: Come up and I'll show you what must happen then. Immediately I was seized by the spirit. And I saw that there was a throne in heaven; on the throne sat someone who looked like a jasper and a carnelian. And over the throne arched a rainbow that looked like an emerald. And around the throne stood twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders in white robes and with gold wreaths on their heads. Lightning, voices, and thunder emanated from the throne. And seven flaming torches burned before the throne; these are the seven spirits of God. And in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the middle, around the throne, were four eyes, front and back. The first living being looked like a lion, the second a bull, the third looked like a person, the fourth looked like a flying eagle. And each of the four living beings had six wings, full of eyes on the outside and inside. They do not rest, day and night, and cry: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, the God, the ruler over all creation; he was and he is and he is coming. And when living beings show glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and lives forever, then the twenty-four elders prostrate themselves before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever . And they lay their golden wreaths before his throne and say: You, our Lord and God, are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. For it is you who created the world, by your will it was and was created. ”( Rev 4 : 1–11 EU )
- “And I saw a scroll on the right hand of him who sat on the throne; it was written inside and out and sealed with seven seals. And I saw: A mighty angel called out with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the scroll and loosen its seal? But no one in heaven, on earth or underground could open the book and read it. I cried a lot because no one was found worthy to open the book and read it. Then one of the elders said to me: Don't cry! The lion from the tribe of Judah was victorious, the scion from the root of David; he can open the book and its seven seals. And I saw that between the throne and the four living creatures, and among the elders, stood a lamb; it looked as if it had been slaughtered, and had seven horns and seven eyes; the eyes are the seven spirits of God sent out over all the earth. The Lamb came and received the book in the right hand of the one on the throne. When it received the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb; they all carried harps and golden bowls full of incense; these are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals; for you were slaughtered, and with your blood you acquired people for God from every tribe and tongue, from every nation and people, and you made them kings and priests for our God; and they will rule the earth. I saw and heard the voice of many angels around the throne and around the living creatures and the elders; the number of angels was ten thousand times ten thousand and a thousand times a thousand. They shouted in a loud voice: The lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, riches and wisdom, strength and honor, glory and praise. And all creatures in heaven and on earth, under the earth and on the sea, all that is in the world, I heard saying: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb are due praise and honor and glory and power in all eternity. And the four living beings said, Amen. And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped. "( Rev 5,1-14 EU )
- “And all the angels stood around the throne, around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God and said: Amen, praise and glory, wisdom and thanks, honor and power and strength to our God for all eternity. Amen. One of the elders asked me: Who are these who wear white robes, and where did they come from? I replied: Sir, you must know that. And he said to me: They are those who come out of the great distress; they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they stand before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will pitch his tent over them. They will no longer suffer from hunger or thirst, and neither will the heat of the sun nor any searing heat weigh on them. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will feed them and lead them to the springs from which the water of life flows, and God will wipe all tears from their eyes. ”( Rev 7 : 11-17 EU )
- “The seventh angel blew his trumpet. Loud voices rang out in heaven, shouting: Now the dominion over the world belongs to our Lord and his anointed; and they will reign for ever and ever. And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God prostrated themselves, worshiped God, and said, We thank you, Lord God and ruler over all creation, who you are and who you were; for you have claimed your great power and have come to rule. The peoples became angry. Then came your wrath and the time to judge the dead: the time to reward your servants, the prophets and the saints and all who fear your name, both great and small, the time to destroy all who are the earth spoil. The temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible in his temple: there began to lightning, booming and thundering, there was a tremor and heavy hail. ”( Rev 11 : 15-19 EU )
- “Then I heard something like the loud cry of a great crowd in heaven: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power are with our God. His judgments are true and just. He judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her fornication. He has taken revenge for the blood of his servants that was on their hands. Once again they shouted: Hallelujah! The smoke of the city rises for all eternity. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures bowed down before God who sits on the throne, worshiped him, and cried, Amen, alleluia! And a voice came from the throne: Praise our God, all his servants and all who fear him, small and great! ”( Rev 19 : 1-5 EU )
literature
- Hans-Georg Gradl, Georg Steins , Florian Schuller (eds.): At the end of days. Apocalyptic images in the Bible, art, music and literature . Pustet, Regensburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-7917-2386-0 .
- Richard Loibl (Ed.): Apocalypse. Images from the end of time. Lahn-Verlag, Limburg / Kevelaer 2001, ISBN 3-7867-8395-0 .
- Claude Carozzi: End of the world and salvation . Apocalyptic visions in the Middle Ages. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1996, ISBN 3-596-60113-4 .