Saint Christopher and his alchemical symbolism

PhotoView on the original blog↗"Before he became a Christian, Christopher was called Offerus; he was a kind of giant, and very slow-witted. When he came of age, he set off on a journey, saying that he wanted to serve the greatest lord on earth. He was advised to go to the court of a very powerful king, who was delighted to have such a strong servant. One day the king, hearing a minstrel utter the name of the devil, was terrified and made the sign of the cross. 'Why do you do that?' Christopher asked at once. 'Because I am afraid of the devil,' the king replied. 'But if you fear him, then you are not so powerful after all? Then I want to serve the devil.' And with that, Offerus left the court.
"After a long march in search of this mighty monarch, he saw a great troop of knights dressed in red advancing towards him; their leader was black and said to him: 'What do you want?' 'I am looking for the devil, to serve him.' 'I am the devil; follow me.' And so Offerus found himself enlisted among the servants of Satan. One day, during a long ride, the infernal troop came upon a cross by the roadside; the devil ordered them to turn back. 'Why?' asked Offerus, always eager to learn. 'Because I fear the image of Christ.' 'If you fear the image of Christ, it means you are less powerful than he is; so I want to enter the service of Christ.' Offerus passed the cross alone and went on his way. He met a good hermit and asked him where he might see Christ. 'Everywhere,' the hermit replied. 'I don't understand,' said Offerus, 'but if you speak the truth, what services could a strong, quick young man like me render him?' 'You must serve him,' the hermit replied, 'with prayer, fasting and vigils.' Offerus pulled a face. 'Is there no other way to win his favour?' he asked. The hermit understood whom he was dealing with and, taking him by the hand, led him to the bank of a raging torrent that came down from a high mountain. There he said to him: 'Many poor people who have crossed this water have drowned; stay here, and carry across on your strong shoulders those who ask you. If you do this for the love of Christ, he will recognise you as his servant.' 'I will gladly do it for the love of Christ,' Offerus replied. So he built himself a hut on the bank and, day and night, carried across the travellers who asked him. One night, worn out with fatigue, he was fast asleep when he was woken by knocking at the door, and heard the voice of a child calling him by name three times! He got up, set the child on his broad shoulders and stepped into the torrent. When he reached the middle of the riverbed, he saw the torrent suddenly swelling and growing ever more threatening; the waves rose and hurled themselves against his sinewy legs to knock him over. He did his best to resist, but the child weighed like a heavy burden; then, fearing he might drop the little traveller, he uprooted a tree to lean on. But the waters rose still higher, and the child was growing heavier and heavier. Offerus, afraid of seeing him die, raised his head towards him and said: 'Child, why are you becoming so heavy? I feel as if I were carrying the whole world.' The child replied: 'Not only are you carrying the world, but also the one who made the world. I am Christ, your God and your master. As a reward for your good service, I baptise you in the name of my Father, in my own name and in that of the Holy Spirit; from now on you shall be called Christopher.' From that day on, Christopher travelled the world teaching the word of Christ." This is the legend as told by Amédée de Ponthieu in his "Légendes du Vieux Paris".

The figure of Saint Christopher, the Christian symbol of pilgrimage and of the inner journey towards the truth of Christ's word, is also a symbol of great importance in Hermetic doctrine. In the Christian tradition the name Christopher is understood to mean "he who carries Christ", but phonetic cabala reveals another meaning hidden in the name: Chrysophoros, "he who carries gold". In alchemical terms he represents, as Fulcanelli states, a true "hieroglyph of solar sulphur, or nascent gold, raised upon the mercurial waves and then carried, by the very energy of this mercury, to the degree of power possessed by the Elixir." The fervent devotion the saint enjoyed in the Middle Ages matched the high symbolic value the alchemists attributed to him.

Abruzzo has two exceptional examples of medieval paintings of this symbolism, in the Church of San Tommaso in Caramanico Terme and in the Oratory of San Pellegrino in Bominaco. In both frescoes the symbolic analogy between this rough giant carrying Christ and the primitive matter that conveys gold, which plays a role of primary importance in the Alchemical Work, is made explicit through pictorial details. That the painter or painters of both frescoes knew this meaning, or at least faithfully reproduced its symbolism, is shown by the precise choice of colours for the saint's clothing. According to Aristotle, in fact, the emblematic colour of mercury is grey or violet, exactly as Saint Christopher is depicted in both frescoes. This is even more evident in the motif of the quilted belt in the fresco of the Church of San Tommaso, with criss-crossing lines similar to those which, according to the alchemists, form on the surface of the mercurial solvent "when it has been canonically prepared". These geometric forms persist and appear more sharply defined when gold is dissolved in the mercurial solvent to bring the noble metal back to its primitive state, that of "young or rejuvenated gold, alias Child Gold". Thus Christopher, bearer of the Christ Child, becomes Chrysophoros (Mercury), bearer of Young Gold, in its ultimate meaning of rebirth and perpetual regeneration.

The raising of nascent gold upon the mercurial waves is instead expressed symbolically by the flounced belt in the fresco of the Oratory of San Pellegrino.

The symbolic depiction of Saint Christopher thus becomes an emblem of initiation into the mysteries, in which one must leave behind the husk of crude ignorance in order to put on the garments of a new, revealed knowledge.

Bibliography:

Il mistero delle Cattedrali (The Mystery of the Cathedrals) - Fulcanelli - Edizioni Mediterranee