Transfiguration of Jesus
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- For Transfiguration in Harry Potter, see Hogwarts subjects#Transfiguration
Synoptic Gospels in which Jesus was transfigured upon a mountain ([Matthew 17:1-6], [Mark 9:1-8], [Luke 9:28-36]). The original Greek term in the Gospels is metamorphothe, describing Jesus as having undergone metamorphosis.
The Gospels state that Jesus led three of his apostles - Peter, John the Apostle, and James the Great - to pray at the top of a mountain. Once at the top, Jesus became transfigured, his face shining like the sun, and his clothes a brilliant white. They claim that Elijah and Moses suddenly appeared with Jesus and talked with him; Matthew and Mark do not say what the conversation was about, but Luke states that it was about Jesus' future death. Once they had spoken with each other, the Gospels state that a bright cloud appeared overhead, and a voice from Heaven proclaimed, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased," paralleling a similar event during the Baptism of Jesus.
Traditionally, the event was considered to have literally happened, and it was believed that the event took place on Mount Tabor. Some modern scholars however, together with the ancient gnostics, believe that the Synoptic Gospels were originally meant to be understood allegorically. Moses and Elijah have been interpreted to represent the Law and the Prophets respectively, and their recognition and conversation with Jesus symbolising how Jesus fulfils "the law and the prophets" ([Matthew 5:17-19], see also Expounding of the Law).
In the narrative, after the cloud dissipates, Elijah and Moses disappear, and Jesus and the three Apostles head down the mountain, Jesus telling his Apostles to keep the event a secret until a/the Son of Man had risen from the dead (there is no article in Koine Greek). The Apostles are described as questioning Jesus about Elijah, and he as responding ...Elijah comes first, and restores all things ... but ... Elijah has come indeed ... ([Mark 9:12-13]). It was commonly believed that Elijah would reappear before the coming of the Messiah, as predicted in the Book of Malachi ([Malachi 4], and the three Apostles are described as interpreting Jesus' statement as a reference to John the Baptist.
2 Peter and the Gospel of John briefly allude to the event in their writings ([2 Peter 1:16-18], [John 1:14]).
Christian commemorations of the Transfiguration
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Feast of the Transfiguration commemorates this event. It is one of the twelve Great Feasts in the liturgical year of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is observed by it on August 6. Traditionally, fruit is brought to church to be blessed on this day. The Transfiguration falls during the Dormition Lent, but fish, wine and oil are allowed to be consumed on this day in recognition of the feast.
Protestant churches observe Transfiguration Sunday on the last Sunday after the Epiphany (January 6), which places it somewhere in February or March.
Raphael's Transfiguration (see
The Transfiguration (1517–1520) is a painting depicting the event, by Raphael, completed posthumously by Giulio Romano. It is considered to be one of Raphael's greatest works. The painting unusually combines a portrayal of the Transfiguration itself in the upper part with a scene depicting the Apostles trying unsuccessfully to expel a demon from a possessed child. This juxtaposition has been interpreted as a symbolic representation of the concept of divine grace. The philosopher Nietzsche interpreted the painting in his book The Birth of Tragedy as an image of the conflict between Apollonian and Dionysian principles.
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