The Gospel Book on the throne: The codex as an image of the scripturally incarnate and reigning Christ-Logos.

This paper explores the influence of Origen's theological thought on the symbolic facet of events at the council of Ephesus (431), during which Bishop Cyril placed the gospel book on the throne, seeing it as a token of Jesus' actual presence among the assembly. Having the saviour there in lieu of the emperor, who had traditionally presided over the deliberations of the council fathers, is also part of a quest for theological justification that would underpin the autonomy of the church and its emancipation from imperial power. The events of Ephesus, the theological idea of Christ the king as the sovereign of the universe, which took shape following the council of Nicaea (325), and the Origenist concept of the Logos incarnate in the Scriptures, had a great impact on early Christian iconography, causing hitherto unknown themes to emerge in the latter. Furthermore, both theological concepts, along with Pope Gregory the Great's reflections on the Scriptures, contributed to the presence of codices aurei being accepted by Christians in their sacred sphere. Recognising that the gospel book manifested the real presence of the Son of God prompted an evolution of the liturgical rite involving public display of the codex, with numerous elements from the imperial ceremonial incorporated into it as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]