Three Headed Jesus | Strange Christian Art

Without a doubt, the most depicted figure in art is Jesus. But have you seen him depicted as a three headed-hybrid? A strange multi-headed being with one body, three noses, and four eyes. It’s one of the most peculiar examples of Christian iconography. So peculiar in fact, that they were even banned by the Catholic Church. Perhaps because they stem from ancient pagan mythologies, or that they appear in portraits of the Devil. Welcome to Strange Christian Art. This Episode: Three Headed Jesus.

This bizarre icon is an attempt to illustrate a core Christian belief about God: The Trinity. The seemingly paradoxical idea that one God exists as three distinct persons. These kinds of images (known as tricephalics if you want to seem smart) appear in a number of European mythologies. Gods like Janus, Lugus, Triglav, and Hecate all have three heads. Not to forget the many outside Europe too like the Hindu deity Brahma. The idea that Satan too has three heads comes from Dante's Inferno, who offered a chilling, multi-faceted, description of Lucifer.

I have been planning this series for a while now and have collected so many more strange artworks that I hope to explore. Stick around for more! Oh, and thank you for 566,000 subscribers. Wow!

H.

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Sources & Further Reading:

The Three-Faced Representation of the Holy Trinity by Zoe Goedecke. Kerver Book of Hours: Senior Capstone. 2018.

Not So Unorthodox: A Reevaluation of Tricephalous Images of the Trinity by Gesa E. Thiessen. Theological Studies. 2018.

Triple Deity - Wiki

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Music:

Intro - Epic of Gilgamesh in Sumerian by Peter Pringle

The Inspector by David Celeste
Via Epidemic Sound

Erudition by Ambre Jaune
Via Epidemic Sound

Wandering Soul by Gabriel Lewis
Via Epidemic Sound

My Kind of Illusion by Jay Varton
Via Epidemic Sound

Mastermind by David Celeste
Via Epidemic Sound

Outro - Peaceful Ambient Music by CO.AG

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[neilangelopalquiza]

I love it when hochelaga covers medieval Christianity. So much beautiful and bizarre art came from that time

[ceciliallanos]

There's one in a church's glass in La Paz, Bolivia. That's why it didn't seem odd to me, it made sense like you said. I'll look for a picture. Thank you for sharing your work

[neilangelopalquiza]

Medieval artists had such bizarre imaginations. Goose trees and a three headed Jesus isn't something you see that often

[mandelabrein]

The trinity is not confusing, matter of fact, it's kinda like GTA5.
Michael, Franklin and Trevor, 3 individuals in game but ultimately they are the same person, the player.

[theopollind]

Love how a fanfic self-insert (Dante's Inferno) managed to influence a religion.

[nekrotikon.]

Oh, I was so excited when you mentioned Dante's Inferno, even for a minute! If you made a video trilogy on the Divine Comedy, that would be AMAZING. Your voice and the vibes of your channel in general would fit that so well! And if you haven't read it before, I personally highly suggest John Ciardi's translation.

[kianwallace]

When St.Patrick came to Ireland, he used a shamrock to describe the trinity to the pagan Irish. Three separate leaves that together form a single shamrock, I'm surprised similar ways of teaching Christianity weren't used elsewhere.

[philtkaswahl]

I remember my classmate having a collection of those three-faced Jesus depictions. Freaked me the hell out as a kid.

[jztouch]

I’ve looked at a ton of Christian art through the ages since I grew up Christian but am now secular and have retained a fascination with it, especially its creepier edges, but have never come across this motif. I guess the ban worked! Thanks for sharing!

[Pokemanic]

I honestly think this makes perfect sense and is a really clever way to depict the identity of the Trinity, as unsettling as it can be

[sdastoryteller]

As a Christian and an artist I love this type of stuff. Whenever I visit a Church (specifically one with a lot of art) I love to trace their influences and meanings. As trying to grapple with the divine will always inspire the imagination. I feel when we're too rigid we strangle the creativity and make the faith in accessible.
Love the Channel and this video KEEP IT UP!

[jacobshore]

I was wondering where the idea of depicting a three-faced devil came from, now I know! (And the three faces of his are red, black, and yellow, they represent hatred, ignorance and impotence I think.)

[MasterOwl]

My favorite thing about your videos is your neutral, non-religious attitude, it makes everything presented so much more interesting!

[jeremytjahjana]

i don't understand why nobody said anything about the video quality... it's awesome, the editing is phenomenal

[yokeman]

The Celts believed that your soul was in your head so the gods are depicted with multiple heads and in war someone’s head was a war prize because of this reason

[incomprehensiblehorrors]

Having played Elden Ring recently, the two headed masks from Raya Lucaria seem to have taken inspiration from this. Great video.

[whyamilikethis]

I'm currently doing a module called Magic and Science in Mediaeval Writings, and your content covering animals made my reading for the class on bestiaries much more enjoyable! This week we're studying lapidaries - it would be wonderful to hear your take on the perception of stones as animate 😃

[Macroprosopus]

Three Headed Jesus? You had me at hello.

[simonyeomans]

I think of the trinity this way : Water. Water can be liquid, solid, or gas. All three are water, but solid is not liquid is not gas is not solid.

[rosafiammante]

Also orthodox icons often represented sacred subjects with a warped perspective: it was said that they were "not painted by the hand of the man", and the icon was considered a manifestation of God, a holy object (summing it up a lot).