The Harrowing of Hell and John the Evangelist – A folio from the Vani Gospels. Manuscript A-1335. The Vani Gospels or Vani Four Gospels is a Georgian manuscript of the gospels composed at the request of Queen Tamar of Georgia (r: 1184 – 1210) by the Georgian monk John the Unworthy in Constantinople (The manuscript even bears her majesty’s signature). Later for some time it was kept at the Shoreti Monastery (Meskheti region of Georgia), then in Vani (Imereti region; hence comes its name). The manuscript consists of 274 folios each of 29X21 cm in size and is abundantly illuminated. ‘The Harrowing of Hell’ is the main iconographic representation of the Resurrection in the eastern part of Christendom, showing the essence of the event. You can always find icons with this scene in the center of Eastern Orthodox churches during the Easter liturgies and in the days that follow. One more interesting thing about the Easter liturgy is that its Gospel reading isn’t about the episode of Resurrection, but contains the introductory part from the Gospel of John, first of all underlining the divinity and eternity of the Logos Incarnate. National Center of Manuscripts, Tbilisi, Georgia #archaeohistories