The Apostles' Creed in Public and Private Worship

Catholic Exchange ^ | June 3, 2006 | Claire M. O'Neill

[NYer]

He Descended into Hell

05/12/06
		In our rosary group after Mass, one of the leaders, when reciting the Apostles' Creed, will say, “He descended among the dead” instead of “He descended into hell.” Is there a difference? Actually, what do we mean when we say that Jesus descended into hell?
Some of the new versions of the Apostles' Creed have made the change mentioned in the question: Jesus “descended among the dead” instead of “descended into hell.” I have never heard of any official change being made to the text, and, furthermore, one should not tamper with the wording of the Creed. Despite the difference in wording, there is no difference in meaning. Therefore, we must examine the word hell. Usually, when we hear the word hell, we immediately think of the place of eternal damnation for those who have rejected God in this life and have committed mortal sins without repentance. However, in the Old Testament, hell (sheol in the Hebrew texts or hades in Greek texts) referred to "the place of the dead." (Interestingly, our English word hell is derived from a germanic name for the place of the dead in Teutonic mythology.) This hell was for both the good and the bad, the just and the unjust. It was the nether world, a region of darkness. In the later writings of the Old Testament, a clear distinction is made between where the good resided in hell versus where the bad were, the two being separated by an impassable abyss. The section for the unjust was named Gehenna, where the souls would suffer eternal torment by fire. Our Lord attested to this "land of the dead" understanding of hell: Recall the parable of Lazarus, the poor beggar, who sat at the gate of the rich man, traditionally called Dives (cf. Lk 16:19ff). Lazarus dies and is taken to the "land of the dead" (the original Greek text uses the word hades) and is comforted at the bosom of Abraham. Dives also dies and goes to the "land of the dead"; however, he finds eternal torment, being tortured in flames. Dives sees Lazarus and cries out to Abraham for relief. However, Abraham replies, "My child, remember that you were well-off in your lifetime, while Lazarus was in misery. Now he has found consolation here, but you have found torment. And that is not all. Between you and us there is fixed a great abyss, so that those who might wish to cross from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross from your side to us." Our Lord also emphasized the "eternal punishment" of hell: When Jesus spoke of the coming last judgment and the separating of the righteous from the evil, he will say to the latter, "Out of my sight you condemned, into that everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (cf. Mt 25:31ff). Jesus also spoke of "risking the fires of Gehenna" for serious sins, like anger and hatred (Mt 5:21ff), and adultery and impurity (Mt 5:27ff). Given this understanding, we believe that the sin of Adam and Eve closed the gates of heaven. The holy souls awaited the Redeemer in the land of the dead, or hell. Our Lord offered the perfect sacrifice for all sin by dying on the Cross, the redemptive act that touches all people of every time — past, present and future. He was then buried. During that time, He descended among the dead: His soul, separated from His body, joined the holy souls awaiting the Savior in the Land of the Dead. Remember St. Paul wrote, "'He ascended' — what does this mean but that He had first descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the very one who ascended high above the heavens, that He might fill all men with His gifts" (Eph 4:9-10). His descent among the dead brought to completion the proclamation of the Gospel and liberated those holy souls who had long awaited their Redeemer. The gates of heaven were now open, and these holy souls entered everlasting happiness enjoying the beatific vision. Please note Jesus did not deliver those souls damned to eternal punishment in hell nor did He destroy hell as such; they remained in that state and place of damnation begun at the time of their particular judgment. The Catechism highlights the importance of this event: "This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption" (No. 634). An "Ancient Homily" of the early Church for Holy Saturday captured this event: The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began.... He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives of Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve.... "I am your God, Who for your sake have become your Son.... I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."

[Mrs. Don-o]

The Orthodox have a much fuller (and beautifully poetic) celebration of Christ's descent into hell, in their wonderful Holy Saturday/Pascha Liturgy.

Care to comment? (Ping to other Orthodox, please.)

[Mercat]

The harrowing of Hell was described very graphically in Dante's Inferno.

[don-o]

Heres an icon from an old buddy’s web site.

[TradicalRC]

Much as I hate change (specifically done for the sake of change), I'm all for clarity and precision. I would accept the Hebrew Sheol as it would be more precise and offer an opportunity for understanding. Of course it would also open it up for abuse. (i.e.There is no such thing as Hell.)

[TradicalRC]

Not sure if this is the subject of this image.

[Kolokotronis]

Well, here's a snip, in English, from the Paschal Sermon of +John Chrysostomos which is proclaimed at every Pasha Liturgy. I think it explains the Icon of the Descent into Hades (otherwise the Resurrection Icon)

"Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He destroyed Hades when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.
It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.
Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!"

The problem here is not with any theological point, but rather with what the English word "Hell" has come to mean. I don't know when the "hell fire and brimstone" image arose in the West. Certainly Dante gave it a certain currency. The idea of The Place of the Dead long precedes Christianity but at least in the East didn't carry with it the idea of devils with pitchforks and firey furnaces. In my opinion saying descended to the dead is more descriptive of what happened given the "modern" understanding of the word "hell" and the mistaken, or at least confused, theological implications which likely stem from its use in this context.

[FJ290]

The problem here is not with any theological point, but rather with what the English word "Hell" has come to mean. I don't know when the "hell fire and brimstone" image arose in the West. Certainly Dante gave it a certain currency. The idea of The Place of the Dead long precedes Christianity but at least in the East didn't carry with it the idea of devils with pitchforks and firey furnaces. In my opinion saying descended to the dead is more descriptive of what happened given the "modern" understanding of the word "hell" and the mistaken, or at least confused, theological implications which likely stem from its use in this context.

The image the West has about Hell arose from Sacred Scripture and from Jesus' own words:

"And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire:

Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished." St. Mark 9:46-47

"Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels." St. Matthew 25:41

[Kolokotronis]

The firey place referred to in scripture is where the damned, the Evil One and his minions will go after the Final Judgment. Christ descended to the Place of the Dead, not that firey place. My comment was meant to show that I didn't know when or why the West confused the two. That confusion is what can lead to the theological misunderstandings which this change in the wording of the Apostles Creed is designed to correct. Of course, rather than changing the wording, I suppose the Latin Church could simply catechize the laity, and probably a good portion of the clergy, properly in this matter.

[TradicalRC]

It looks as though Christ was saying that we also can be cast into the fire.

[A.A. Cunningham]

"Because Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit, In which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison: Which had been some time incredulous, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." 1 Peter 3:18-20

[Mrs. Don-o]

Thank you, Kolokotronis, for giving us that great +John Chrysostomos sermon. It just floors me.

One of the strange (awe-ful) things about Jesus is that he talked about hell and devils than anybody else in Scripture. Somebody told me that in the Gospel of Mark (the shortest gospel) there are more references to devils and hellfire than in the whole Old Testament.

Maybe we can't comprehend the Good News until we clearly see --- feel --- the reality of the Bad News. Til we clearly see Sin for what a hideous horror it is. Til we see what He has overcome.

[Kolokotronis]

"It looks as though Christ was saying that we also can be cast into the fire."

Oh, indeed we can, at the Final Judgment as its icon rather graphically demonstrates.

[Kolokotronis]

You are very welcome, dear lady!

[NYer]

"....descended into Hell..." is the way we say it, with the proper understanding of Hell, of course.

Actually, according to Fr. Anthony J. Salim (from the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon), ....

"Just what the exact nature of the punishment of hell is, has never been specifically defined by the Church, despite a long tradition of the image of burning flames. The Anamnesis prayer of the Anaphora of St. Peter refers to it this way:

... On that fearsome and awesome day,
when you will separate the just from sinners,
do not hand us over to the burning flame
that causes weeping and mourning, affliction and torment,
because of our sins and the evil we have done;
rather, have mercy on us, O Lord, and forgive us ...

The image of flames is not to be taken literally: fire was once feared as ultimate destruction. What is clear, however, is that hell is the total absence of God and divine love and mercy, a burning pain far worse than fire. It is the result of an intentional choice to reject God. The destruction of ourselves due to rejection of God is far more intense.

(excerpted from Fr. Anthony Salim's book Captivated By Your Teachings).

[FJ290]

The firey place referred to in scripture is where the damned, the Evil One and his minions will go after the Final Judgment. Christ descended to the Place of the Dead, not that firey place. My comment was meant to show that I didn't know when or why the West confused the two. That confusion is what can lead to the theological misunderstandings which this change in the wording of the Apostles Creed is designed to correct. Of course, rather than changing the wording, I suppose the Latin Church could simply catechize the laity, and probably a good portion of the clergy, properly in this matter.

Oh, okay. Your previous post seemed to imply that there wasn't a fiery place at all. Glad we cleared that up, LOL!

As far as being catechized properly in this matter, please read this and I think you will see that we are:

The Profession of the Faith

Hopefully, this will show that we aren't that far apart.

[Kolokotronis]

"As far as being catechized properly in this matter, please read this and I think you will see that we are:

The Profession of the Faith

Hopefully, this will show that we aren't that far apart."

Sounds about right!

[FJ290]

Actually, according to Fr. Anthony J. Salim (from the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon), ....

"Just what the exact nature of the punishment of hell is, has never been specifically defined by the Church, despite a long tradition of the image of burning flames.

Hmm.. I am going to have to strongly disagree with the good Father here and go with the majority of Early Church Fathers:

The Hell There Is

It also seems that if you enter the words hell, hellfire, eternal punishment, etc.. into the search at this Greek Orthodox site, they don't agree with him either.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America