The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-05-01
ON AGAIN-APRiL 3OTH.
THE KATY" FLYER.
PORTRAITS OF CHRIST.

bishop Hurst IN CHRISTIAN AoNOcate-1
Every few years new rumors arise
about the finding of unheard-of por-
traits of Christ, or descriptions OF his
actual appearance by contemporaneous
writers, of which the world hitherto
knew nothing. Only very recently the
public has been informed of something
fresh and original that until Few
months ago had lain in coucealment,
and now, forsooth. must be taken as
downright revelation from the obscuri-
ty of nearly twenty centuries But the
eye of just and keen criticism has dis
covered the sham
The fact is that of all the alleged
representations of the figure and fea-
lures OF Christ, not one, which from
time to time the Roman Catholic church
has invited its adherents and the world
to accept as true portrait, is worthy
of the name of one moments constd-
Grafton.
Taking the whole class of the alleged
pictures Of Christ together. even the
archaeoIogists of the Roman Catholic
church have ascribed to them all
later date than the time of our Lord
and His apostles. a most important
service in this interesting field of in
qUiry has recently been rendered by
Prof Muller, of the Berlin university
Now that Prof. Piper, the greatest
Protestant archaeoIogist, has passed
away. Miller stands at the head of this
important and fascinating science. He
has gone over the entire field, and has
come to certain conclusions which the
scholars of all branches of the church
are bound to receive He deals with
the representations of Christ in the
catacombS in a new and in such
strong manner that his treatment may
be regarded as final. Nowhere is Chris
tianity stronger or more beautiful than
where its learned men raise their pro-
test against the shams and fables of
those who would advance their cause
by these realistic attractions
All these portraits in the catacombs
bear traces of a thoroughly Roman
origin While there is an infinite varie-
ty in Details even the details themselves
are all of a Roman character. There is
not a single oriental quality in them.
They are, of course, ideal creations, but
the type is that of the Roman young
man upon whom the Christians were
accustomed to look when they made the
catacombs their abiding place. For ex-
ample; In the catacomb of Praetexta-
tus our Lord and two of His apostles
have exactly the same figure, the same
head and the same face.
Those early artists had neither rough
reniniscence or fraditinn to haf1 ie tb pre
They were in precisely the same eondi-
ton as Augustine at later time when
he confessed :,s his eompIete ignorance CON
is not the slightest likelihood that the let
ter Forged IN the twelfth century in the
Of respect in his Life of Christ has a2y
tradition of value to help it out
The earlier pictures represent our Lord
the current portraits of a later period rep
resent him with a beard. Now. the in
PRODUCTION of the beard took place about
the ending of the fourth or the Beginning
of the fifth century, and came TO be in
use because. as Augustine says. the beard
about this time began to be associa ted
with manly strength and maturity The
alleged portraits of our Lord represent his
hair as parted in the middle. but this fea-
ture in portFaIture was entirely absent
from the earliest art. and this method was
urquestiona bly, intended by Christian art
lists to be an allusion to our Lords Jewish
origin. The contradictions and anachron-
isrns in all the alleged portraits of Christ
are 50 numerous that there is not a single
one that would be considered as represent
ing the face and figure of Christ The
universal procedure has been, whenever
the daring of the artist has IN
dertaken this high subject to endeavor
to portray our Lord with all the color and
detail of the types which he saw in The
streets or in the homes about him
1t would seem that there is something of
a providence in the total absence of everv-
thing that bears any semblance of proof
or authority to remind one of the exact ap-
pearance of our Lord Isaiah saws
There is no beauty that we should desire
him, and that remains true to the pres
ent day It would seem that there was a
divine purpose in forever Withholding anv
material outline of Christ in order that
each believer may form his own concep-
ton of what 1t may have been