It's the figure of Jesus himself.
那就是耶稣本尊的形象
And it was he who lay at the heart of early Christianity's
就是他身处早期基督教
theological battles.
神学之战的中心
The early centuries of Christianity were not a period
早期基督教并非充满
of peace and goodwill. Far from it.
和平和善意 而是恰恰相反
They were torn apart by religious controversy about the nature
有关耶稣本性和神圣本质的宗教争论
and divine essence of Jesus.
让整个教会四分五裂
There were crucial religious issues at stake.
有些关键性的宗教问题必须解决

What was the exact relationship
耶稣和上帝之间
between Jesus and God?
到底是怎样的关系
What and where had Jesus been
在圣母玛利亚未诞下耶稣之前
before he was born to Mary?
耶稣是谁 又在哪里
How could a perfect and indivisible God
一个完美而不可分割的上帝
give up part of himself to create a son?
如何用自己的一部分赋予儿子生命
And, so - and this was the killer question for many -
还有这个对大多数人来说致命的问题
were Jesus and God made of the same substance?
耶稣和上帝是一体的吗
Or were they just very like each other?
还是他们只是非常相似
The mosaics here make a very strong case
这里的马赛克为
for the divine status of Jesus,
耶稣的神圣地位提供了有力论据
as if to erode any misunderstanding
它好像能消除任何误解
because he appears as part of a calculated scheme of images
因为他出现在一系列旨在结束争论
designed to end the controversy,
而被精心安排的图像中
telling the viewer exactly what to believe.
告诉观赏者该相信什么
In perfect alignment
在一条完美的直线上
are three different aspects of Jesus.
是三个不同模样的耶稣
The apse, there's the beardless Jesus, young,
半圆壁龛上画的是没有胡子的年轻耶稣
the son of God.
是上帝之子
The centre of the ceiling,
在屋顶中央
there's Jesus as the symbolic lamb of God,
耶稣表现为上帝的羔羊
the Jesus who's to be sacrificed on behalf of humanity.
是那个为了人类而献身的耶稣形象
And, at the top of the entrance arch,
而在入口拱门的上方
there's the older, bearded,
是年老 留有胡须
all-powerful Jesus,
全能的耶稣
who's about as indistinguishable
此时他和圣父
as you could get from God the Father.
几乎难以区分
So, there's a lesson here
所以这就是辨识耶稣形象的
in seeing Jesus.
一堂课了
And, also, particularly in that last image, a clear steer.
特别是最后一幅 明显有所指向