Christ the All-Ruler	It is not uncommon for Orthodox Churches to have an icon of ‘Christ the Pantokrator’ painted into the dome, or cupola, at the top of their Churches. Thus, Christ is looking down on the Church and congregation, watching over His creation. Pantokrator is a Greek word meaning ‘All-Ruler’ or ‘All-Mighty’. It is a translation of the Hebrew name El Shaddai, also meaning God Almighty. But it goes further than this as it also implies a sense of Christ as the ‘Sustainer’. The word ‘krator’ in Greek suggests ‘achievement’ or ‘accomplishing’ something. It is a term for an active rather than a passive Christ. Christianity teaches that Christ not only created the world, but continues to be involved in it. This is what is meant by Christ the Sustainer. But there is more to the title ‘Pantokrator’. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek as the Septuagint, the title ‘Pantokrator’ was used not just for the Hebrew title ‘El Shaddai’ (‘God Almighty’), but also for YHWH Sabaoth (‘Lord of Hosts’). One reason for this single Greek word being used for two Hebrew titles maybe that both Hebrew titles conveyed a meaning that the Greeks considered to be inter-related. Whilst the term ‘El Shaddai’ is usually translated as ‘God Almighty’, its literal meaning is obscure. One theory of its original meaning is based around the root Hebrew word ‘shadad’ which means to plunder, overpower or make desolate. This could be seen as a reference to God as the Destroyer and Christ the agent of this as the Lord of Hosts leading a great army of angels in the final battle against the forces of evil.
Christ as Creator and Sustainer (Pantokrator) are well known concepts within mainstream Christianity. But how should we view the aspect of Christ as ‘El Shaddai’, the Destroyer. The key to understanding this is to understand that the term ‘destroyer’ should be seen as one who transforms, destroys the old and brings about a new creation. It is the Destroyer who will finally overcome sin and evil at the final great battle of Armageddon. All three of the Synoptic Gospels include a passage, sometimes called the ‘Olivet Discourse’ in which Christ foretells His return to this earth. Whilst there are differences in precise interpretation, most Christian denominations hold that Christ will return to ‘judge both the living and the dead’. The Book of Revelation tells of a coming apocalypse (meaning revelation), a great battle in which evil is finally, and for all time, defeated by good. Christ, as Lord of Hosts, leads the armies of God’s angels in this great battle and the dawn of a new age. Not the meek and mild Jesus here, but the warrior king, the Lord of All – the All-Ruler. The Destroyer! Thus we can see Christ as: • the Creator • the Sustainer • the Destroyer Where have we seen this ‘Trinity’ before? Well, it is remarkably similar to the Hindu ‘Trimurti’; the cosmic functions of creation, sustenance and destruction. God as Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver (or Sustainer) and Shiva as the destroyer or transformer. The Christian parallel to this Hindu trinity is not explicitly stated, but it is clearly there. As Pantokrator, Christ is sustaining the world that he has created, holding the forces of chaos at bay and bringing forth order and creation. This role is similar to that of Vishnu, ‘the Preserver’, in the Vedic tradition. Whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces, Vishnu descends in the form of an avatar or incarnation to restore the cosmic order. This concept also reminds us of the same theme in our own Germanic mythology, the constant struggle of the gods against the forces of chaos seeking to reverse the forward progression of creation. This is a struggle that takes place at all levels of reality, including in the heavens and here in the Middle Earth. We can help in this struggle by living honourable lives and following Christ’s teachings in the path of righteousness and the natural law of God. As with Shiva in the Hindu tradition, Christ the Destroyer is also the Transformer. The cosmos will be finally and irreversibly transformed and perfected. Change always comes out of destruction and renewal. And transformation is not only at the cosmic scale. Christ teaches us how to transform our old ways and live more in harmony with the divine law. The icon of him with an open book symbolizes this role as a teacher. Go back to contents