Moissac - South Side - S12MS12

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  Moissac
South Side
S12MS12

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S12MS12S S

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S12MS12SW SW

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S12MS12W W

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S12MS12NW NW

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S12MS12N N

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S12MS12NE NE

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S12MS12E E

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S12MS12SE SE

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The Miracles of Jesus

Two miracles of Jesus are represented on this capital: the healing of the possessed daughter of a Canaanite woman and the healing of the son (or servant, according to Luke) of a Roman centurion. On the west side the Canaanite woman stands to the left, Christ to the right. Between them stands a haloed figure, presumably an apostle; he is stretching out one arm to the woman, and the other to Christ, as if he wanted to bring them both together. In the north-west corner the possessed daughter with tangled hair as sign of her madness lies as if struck down under an arched doorway of her house. Strongly paralleling the previous scene, the healing of the son of the centurion is narrated on the east side. The centurion wears a short dress. To Christ, who stands under the north-east volute, he points out the sickbed of his son under an arcade, which represents his house. Behind him stands the apostle Peter with his keys. The three haloed figures on the south side, of whom one holds a book, are undoubtedly the disciples who beg Christ to send the Canaanite woman away. Both these miraculous events have something in common: the faith in Christ of two foreigners who do not belong to the people of Israel or the Jews; the adjacent capital with the representation of the Good Samaritan (S13MS13) also underlines the commandment to love our neighbour, and not just members of our own ethnic group. The parallel between these two miracles is underlined by John Chrysostom in a homily on Matthew’s Gospel (Homily LII, § 6).
What spiritual sense does this iconographic parallel have? The Apostles spread the Good News of Jesus among Jews and Gentiles alike, in order to unite all in one house, the Church (two houses are explicitly represented on the capital); the Church, to which Peter has the keys, is the true home of all Christians.

Apostel Jesus centurion Canaanite-woman healing miracle Peter key Christ