Semantron
Encyclopedia
The semantron or semanterion (σημαντήριον), also called a xylon (ξύλον) ' onMouseout='HidePop("94878")' href="/topics/Russian_language">Russian
: било, bilo; Bulgarian
and , klepalo) is a percussion instrument
used in monasteries to summon monks to prayer or at the start of a procession
.
(but also beech
), from 12 feet (3.5 m) and upwards in length, by 1½ feet (45 cm) broad, and 9 inches (25 cm) in thickness.
Of Levant
ine and Egyptian origin, its use flourished in the Greece
and on Mount Athos
before spreading among Eastern Orthodox
in what are now Bulgaria
, Romania
, Moldova
, Serbia
, Montenegro
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the Republic of Macedonia
. It both predates and substitutes for bells
(first introduced to the East in 865 by the Venetians
, who gave a dozen to Michael III
), being used to call worshipers to prayer. They are sometimes made of iron or brass (ἁγιοσίδηρα, hagiosidera / клепало, klepalo); formed of slightly curved metal plates, these give out a sound not unlike that of a gong
.
In the wooden form, at the centre of the instrument's length, each edge is slightly scooped out to allow the player to grasp it by the left hand, while he holds a small wooden (or sometimes iron) mallet
in the right, with which he strikes it in various parts and at various angles, eliciting loud, somewhat musical sounds (κροῦσμα, krousma). Although simple, the instrument nonetheless produces a strong resonance and a variety of different intonations, depending on the thickness of the place struck and the intensity of the force used, so that quite subtle results can be obtained. A metal semantron, smaller than those of wood, is usually hung near the entrance of the catholicon
(the monastery's main church).
In the traditional monastic ritual
, before each service the assigned monk takes a wooden semantron and, standing before the west end of the catholicon, strikes on it three hard and distinct blows with the mallet. He then proceeds round the outside of the church, turning to the four quarters and playing on the instrument by striking blows of varying force on different parts of the wood at uneven intervals, always winding up the "tune" with three blows similar to those at the beginning. Where there is a metal semantron, it is customary to strike it after the wooden one has been played. The semantron is sounded every midnight for night offices (Midnight Office
and Matins
); this is done by the candle-lighter (κανδηλάπτης, kandilaptis). The semantra are usually suspended by chains from a peg in the proaulion (porch of the catholicon) or perhaps outside the refectory
door, or on a tree in the courtyard.
for their deep notes sounded at long intervals, as well as at other services, semantra have also played a part in Orthodox history. Their origin has been traced to at least the beginning of the 6th century, when the semantron had replaced the trumpet
as the agent of convocation in the monasteries of Egypt
, Palestine
and Sinai
; the rhythms struck on wood were soon vested with the aural memory of rhythmic blasts from earlier trumpets, an iconography of trumpeting that was eventually transferred to the zvon of Russian bells
. The joy shown at Constantinople
on the occasion of the translation
of the relic
s of St. Anastasius
was shown by the beating of xyla. In the Life of St. Theodosius
the Archimandrite
, by Moschus
, one reads of some Eutychian
monks of the party of Severus
who, to disturb the saint
at his devotion, "beat the wood" at an unwonted hour. St. Sabas rose for his devotions "before the hour of striking."
Larger and smaller semantra have been used, the smaller being sounded first, followed by the larger, then by those of iron. Theodore Balsamon
, in a treatise on the subject, compares the sounding of the little, great and iron semantra to the preaching of the Law
and of the Gospel
, and the Last Trumpet
. He also says that the congregations were summoned by three semantra in monasteries, and only by one large one in parish churches. Moreover, he emphasises the persistence of the semantron in the East as a symbolic manifestation of difference with the Latin
West (it remains unclear if some isolated practices in the West such as the Basque
txalaparta
are associated with the pre-schism
liturgy); in Byzantium
, the use of bells did not really gather momentum until after the Fourth Crusade
, and at the Fall of Constantinople
semantra still outnumbered bells by a five-to-one ratio. Semantra, from their size and shape, furnished formidable weapons, and were sometimes so used with fatal effect in a church brawl. One reason why semantra continue to be used in southeastern Europe in particular is that the ringing of bells was outlawed during Ottoman
times, forcing monasteries to use the semantron instead; the practice then became customary, though in Bulgaria it largely fell into disuse after independence.
In Russia
, the techniques for playing the bilo were retained in bell-ringing rubrics, and it could still be heard in more remote, rural areas at the time of the Revolution. Today, its use is restricted to the Altai region
and Siberia
, as well as Old Believer
skete
s, the latter retaining the aloofness toward outsiders that has characterised the group since it broke away from the main body of the Russian Orthodox Church (see Raskol
). Also, a semantron may be in use because the monastery cannot afford a bell.
The Syria
n Orthodox hold the semantron in great veneration, based on an ancient tradition that Noah
invented it. According to the story, God told him: "Make for yourself a bell of box-wood
, which is not liable to corruption, three cubits long and one and a half wide, and also a mallet from the same wood. Strike this instrument three separate times every day: once in the morning to summon the hands to the ark, once at midday to call them to dinner, and once in the evening to invite them to rest". The Syrians strike their semantra when the liturgy is about to begin and when it is time to summon the people to public prayer. Their tradition also links the sound of the wood to the wood of the Garden of Eden
that caused Adam to fall when he plucked its fruit, and to the nailing to the wood of the cross
of Jesus Christ
, come to atone for Adam's transgression.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: било, bilo; Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
and , klepalo) is a percussion instrument
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
used in monasteries to summon monks to prayer or at the start of a procession
Procession
A procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner.-Procession elements:...
.
Origins and use
The semantron is made of a long, well-planed piece of timber, usually heart of mapleMaple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
(but also beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
), from 12 feet (3.5 m) and upwards in length, by 1½ feet (45 cm) broad, and 9 inches (25 cm) in thickness.
Of Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine and Egyptian origin, its use flourished in the Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and on Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
before spreading among Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
in what are now Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. It both predates and substitutes for bells
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
(first introduced to the East in 865 by the Venetians
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, who gave a dozen to Michael III
Michael III
Michael III , , Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian-Phrygian Dynasty...
), being used to call worshipers to prayer. They are sometimes made of iron or brass (ἁγιοσίδηρα, hagiosidera / клепало, klepalo); formed of slightly curved metal plates, these give out a sound not unlike that of a gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
.
In the wooden form, at the centre of the instrument's length, each edge is slightly scooped out to allow the player to grasp it by the left hand, while he holds a small wooden (or sometimes iron) mallet
Mallet
A mallet is a kind of hammer, usually of rubber,or sometimes wood smaller than a maul or beetle and usually with a relatively large head.-Tools:Tool mallets come in different types, the most common of which are:...
in the right, with which he strikes it in various parts and at various angles, eliciting loud, somewhat musical sounds (κροῦσμα, krousma). Although simple, the instrument nonetheless produces a strong resonance and a variety of different intonations, depending on the thickness of the place struck and the intensity of the force used, so that quite subtle results can be obtained. A metal semantron, smaller than those of wood, is usually hung near the entrance of the catholicon
Catholicon
Catholicon may refer to:* Catholicon, the conventual church at the centre of an abbey* Katholikon, the primary church in an Orthodox or Eastern Catholic monastery* Catholicon , part of the Holy Liturgy of Mor Yakub of the Syriac Orthodox Church...
(the monastery's main church).
In the traditional monastic ritual
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
, before each service the assigned monk takes a wooden semantron and, standing before the west end of the catholicon, strikes on it three hard and distinct blows with the mallet. He then proceeds round the outside of the church, turning to the four quarters and playing on the instrument by striking blows of varying force on different parts of the wood at uneven intervals, always winding up the "tune" with three blows similar to those at the beginning. Where there is a metal semantron, it is customary to strike it after the wooden one has been played. The semantron is sounded every midnight for night offices (Midnight Office
Midnight Office
The Midnight Office is one of the Canonical Hours that compose the cycle of daily worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The office originated as a purely monastic devotion inspired by Psalm 118:62, At midnight I arose to give thanks unto Thee for the judgments of Thy righteousness , and also by...
and Matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
); this is done by the candle-lighter (κανδηλάπτης, kandilaptis). The semantra are usually suspended by chains from a peg in the proaulion (porch of the catholicon) or perhaps outside the refectory
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
door, or on a tree in the courtyard.
History
While continuing in daily use at monasteries and sometimes featuring at funeralsChristian burial
A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with specifically Christian ecclesiastical rites; typically, in consecrated ground. Until recent times Christians generally objected to cremation, and practised inhumation almost exclusively, but this opposition has weakened, and now vanished...
for their deep notes sounded at long intervals, as well as at other services, semantra have also played a part in Orthodox history. Their origin has been traced to at least the beginning of the 6th century, when the semantron had replaced the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
as the agent of convocation in the monasteries of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and Sinai
Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai
Saint Catherine's Monastery lies on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of a gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai in the city of Saint Catherine in Egypt's South Sinai Governorate. The monastery is Orthodox and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
; the rhythms struck on wood were soon vested with the aural memory of rhythmic blasts from earlier trumpets, an iconography of trumpeting that was eventually transferred to the zvon of Russian bells
Russian Orthodox bell ringing
Russian Orthodox bell ringing has a history starting from the baptism of Rus in 988 and plays an important role in the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church.-Theology:The ringing of bells is one of the most essential elements of an Orthodox church...
. The joy shown at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
on the occasion of the translation
Translation (relics)
In Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another ; usually only the movement of the remains of the saint's body would be treated so formally, with secondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony...
of the relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of St. Anastasius
Anastasius
Anastasius is derived from the Greek ἀνάστασις meaning "resurrection". Its female form is Anastasia.-Byzantine emperors:*Anastasius I – Byzantine emperor 491–518*Anastasios II – Byzantine emperor 713–715...
was shown by the beating of xyla. In the Life of St. Theodosius
Theodosius
Theodosius is a name which might refer to one of several people:* One of three emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium:** Theodosius I , son of Count Theodosius...
the Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
, by Moschus
Moschus
Moschus , ancient Greek bucolic poet and student of the Alexandrian grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, was born at Syracuse and flourished about 150 BC...
, one reads of some Eutychian
Eutychianism
Eutychianism refers to a set of Christian theological doctrines derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople . Eutychianism is a specific understanding of how the human and divine relate within the person of Jesus Christ .At various times, Eutyches taught that the human nature of Christ was...
monks of the party of Severus
Severus
Emperors in the Severan dynasty*Septimius Severus , Roman Emperor from 193 to 211*Alexander Severus , Roman Emperor from 222 to 235*Flavius Valerius Severus , Roman Emperor from 306 to 307Other individuals...
who, to disturb the saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
at his devotion, "beat the wood" at an unwonted hour. St. Sabas rose for his devotions "before the hour of striking."
Larger and smaller semantra have been used, the smaller being sounded first, followed by the larger, then by those of iron. Theodore Balsamon
Theodore Balsamon
Theodore Balsamon was a canonist of the Greek Orthodox Church and 12th century Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.Born in the second half of the 12th century at Constantinople; died there, after 1195...
, in a treatise on the subject, compares the sounding of the little, great and iron semantra to the preaching of the Law
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and of the Gospel
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...
, and the Last Trumpet
Seven seals
The Seven Seals is a phrase in the Book of Revelation that refers to seven symbolic seals that secure the book or scroll, that John of Patmos saw in his Revelation of Jesus Christ. The opening of the seals, on the Apocalyptic document occurs in Revelation Chapters 5-8...
. He also says that the congregations were summoned by three semantra in monasteries, and only by one large one in parish churches. Moreover, he emphasises the persistence of the semantron in the East as a symbolic manifestation of difference with the Latin
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
West (it remains unclear if some isolated practices in the West such as the Basque
Basque music
The strict classification of Basque music remains a controversial issue, complicated in part by the growing diversification of such music, but by and large it is made in the Basque Country, it reflects traits related to that society/tradition and it is devised by people from the Basque...
txalaparta
Txalaparta
The txalaparta is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone, similar to Romanian toacă. In Basque, zalaparta means "racket", while in the nearby areas of Navarre "txalaparta" has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely related to the sound of the...
are associated with the pre-schism
East-West Schism
The East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...
liturgy); in Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, the use of bells did not really gather momentum until after the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
, and at the Fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
semantra still outnumbered bells by a five-to-one ratio. Semantra, from their size and shape, furnished formidable weapons, and were sometimes so used with fatal effect in a church brawl. One reason why semantra continue to be used in southeastern Europe in particular is that the ringing of bells was outlawed during Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
times, forcing monasteries to use the semantron instead; the practice then became customary, though in Bulgaria it largely fell into disuse after independence.
In Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the techniques for playing the bilo were retained in bell-ringing rubrics, and it could still be heard in more remote, rural areas at the time of the Revolution. Today, its use is restricted to the Altai region
Altay Mountains
The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the original locus of the speakers of Turkic as well as other members of the proposed...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, as well as Old Believer
Old Believers
In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...
skete
Skete
A Skete is a monastic style community that allows relative isolation for monks, but alsoallows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection...
s, the latter retaining the aloofness toward outsiders that has characterised the group since it broke away from the main body of the Russian Orthodox Church (see Raskol
Raskol
Raskol |schism]]') was the event of splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in mid-17th century, triggered by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in 1653, aiming to establish uniformity between the Greek and Russian church practices.-The Raskol:...
). Also, a semantron may be in use because the monastery cannot afford a bell.
The Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n Orthodox hold the semantron in great veneration, based on an ancient tradition that Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
invented it. According to the story, God told him: "Make for yourself a bell of box-wood
Buxus
Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood ....
, which is not liable to corruption, three cubits long and one and a half wide, and also a mallet from the same wood. Strike this instrument three separate times every day: once in the morning to summon the hands to the ark, once at midday to call them to dinner, and once in the evening to invite them to rest". The Syrians strike their semantra when the liturgy is about to begin and when it is time to summon the people to public prayer. Their tradition also links the sound of the wood to the wood of the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
that caused Adam to fall when he plucked its fruit, and to the nailing to the wood of the cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
of Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, come to atone for Adam's transgression.