Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 95 No. 4, 2025.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.95.4.2
The Figure of the Orant in Early Christian Art: A Contribution to the Theological Interpretation of the Iconography of the Gesture of Prayer
Tomislav Ćurić
orcid.org/0000-0003-2372-9964
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
The paper analyses the iconography of the figure of the Orant in early Christian art from an art-historical and theological perspective. The figure of the Orant is one of the earliest Christian figures preserved in sepulchral context. It is an anthropomorphic figure with an upright posture, outstretched arms, depicting a gesture of prayer. Inherited from the patrimony of late antique religions and artistic imagery, this figure was adopted by Christian communities and endowed with a new semantic »subject«– the Christian, saved through the Mystery of Christ’s cross and resurrection. With respect to its position and symbolic function, the figure of the Orant reflects customs, traditions, faith, and liturgical practice of Roman Christians. Therefore, the consideration of individual segments of artistic language and the spectrum of iconographic elements, in correspondence with historical, literary, and artistic sources, is presented as a starting point for an interpretation that seeks to determine the elements of an early Christian visual culture.
Keywords
Orant; early Christian art; catacombs; early Christian symbols; sign of the cross; gesture of prayer
Hrčak ID:
343719
URI
Publication date:
23.1.2026.
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