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| Coptic Christian Tattoos: Redemption, Reign, Resurrection |
"Tell Me the Story About Your Tattoos ... "
This post is part of a 3-part series focusing on the Christian artwork that is wrapped around my right forearm.
Due to the history and unique line work of Jerusalem Tattoos, along with the strong artistry of my friend, Kevin Shattuck, with Iconic Ink, I get the privilege to talk with curious people who lean in and wonder about the meaning behind each of my tattoos. One Eastern Orthodox friend said, "It's like you have your own icons to turn you back to Christ every time you look at your arm."
Some have even wondered if I could try doing an Instagram or TikTok video sharing about the history and symbology of the various pieces. Maybe someday. But for now, here is a written description.
Quick History of Jerusalem Tattoos
For a pithy overview of where this particular style of tattoos comes from, it originates in North Africa nearly 800 years ago. In this area of the world, Christians have often suffered intense persecution, particularly among Coptic Orthodox Christians. One family, the Razzouks, were Christians living in Egypt in the 1300s. Seeking to escape the violence, they became refugees who settled in Jerusalem where they set up Razzouk Tattoo, which still exists today and welcomes pilgrims from all over the world.
Quick Story About Tattoo Curiosity
For this specific tattoo, one of my favorite moments was when I was picking up some chicken sandwiches at Popeye's for my kids, and a young woman at the counter said, "That's a cool tattoo. What does it mean?" The series of thoughts below include some of what I told her, especially with the focus on the Wales Window (see more about the Wales Window below). As she listened, she said, "I'm not really religious at all, but I really like what you're saying." My hope and prayer is that the seed of hope that was planted that day helps her turn to Jesus as her Healer, Savior, Lord, and Friend someday.
Redemption Tattoo
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| Redemption Coptic Jerusalem Tattoo on Right Forearm |
This tattoo on the top of my forearm mirrors a Coptic tattoo that has existed for centuries. The central imagery around the cross, featuring the Spirit (dove) above with the moon and sun, the angels side by side, the two bystanders standing next to Jesus on the cross as the skull of death is under His feet, as well as the oval shape of stars can be seen in other Jerusalem tattoos that Christians from around the world go to the Razzouk Tattoo shop to have inked.
I call this my "Redemption Tattoo" (the others in future posts I will refer to as my "Resurrection" and "Reign" tattoos) because it showcases how:
Jesus gave Himself
to buy us back from everything
we were selling ourselves out to.
He's the Redeemer that became a slave
even unto death on the cross
to buy us back from everything
we were selling ourselves out to.
He's the Redeemer that became a slave
even unto death on the cross
so we could be freed from evil,
sin, death, and hell,
destroying the works of the devil,
overcoming death by His death.
The elements I have specifically adapted are listed below with brief explanations for each, beginning from the top to the bottom.
+ Sacred Heart Longing
The top image is often used in Catholic imagery to represent God's heart for us. It's a heart that is pierced by cross, crown of thorns, and spear like Jesus was, yet is still alive with compassion, a consuming fire that warms us to God's holy and whole-making presence.
The Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove, the moon and sun, and the angels watching everything that is happening on the cross showcases that all the things we see, as well as what we cannot see, were centered on this seemingly untimely death of a man from Nazareth.
Jesus could have called
on angels to rescue Him,
but chose out of love
but chose out of love
to lay down His life and
be crucified as the Lamb of God
who takes away the sins of the world.
+ Wales Window Jesus
The intentionality of this specific depiction of Jesus is in reference to the Wales Window that was crafted in Wales and then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to be generously given to 16th Street Baptist Church in an act of solidarity and sorrow after the 1963 bombing of the church building by the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham, Alabama.
Here on the cross,
Jesus' right hand is positioned
to showcase how He continues
to push away the destructive forces
of violence, murder, slavery, and racism,
even as His left hand is positioned
open to welcome
the oppressor and the oppressed
to be healed by His forgiving love
in order to transform all
who follow Him
to love their enemies
like He does.
Despite this seeming defeat of Jesus, the skull represents that death is at His feet because death is the last enemy He will defeat, not only for Himself, but for all those who are freed by Him. And underneath the skull is the tomb open to receive Him, but will never keep Him.
+ Heaven Breaking into Earth
The oval shape of stars surround the cross and reach from the sacred heart down to the place of death. An oval is an ancient and fresh Coptic Orthodox representation of the divine and human, heaven and earth, the seen and unseen coming together, meeting in this excruciating, yet exhilarating moment of Jesus somehow overcoming for us on the cross.
On one side the stars begin to crack and reveal a break in the chains, showcasing that the evil on earth and in the hearts of humanity has no hold on what the King of heaven and earth is doing to set people free.
On the other side, the stars begin to form into drops of water into seeds planting in the place of death, bringing forth the signs of new creation, blossoms hinting at the resurrection evident in creation itself when one seed dies and yet springs to life to bring a harvest.
+ Servant of All
Also at the place of death is a drop of water and a towel in a basin. This is to represent how Jesus washed the feet of those who would betray, deny, and desert Him. As the King with the power to confront evil and death, He bent down in humility and vulnerability to cover a multitude of sins through His sacrifice that washes away our sins.
We're invited to join Him in this cruciform posture of love for our family, friends, neighbors, and enemies.
We wash in silence.
We wash through His Word.
We serve at the feet of others,
remembering the feet
that were pierced to save us.
+ Worcester Saints Underground
The final piece of the tattoo above the verses Isaiah 61:11 and Romans 6:3-8 that pull together the meaning of all the imagery is a large "W" with an abbreviation of saints in "Sts" along with a "U" that's beginning to sprout.
This is a dream of my city of Worcester becoming a place where:
More are Welcome at the Cross.
More are Welcome at the Cross.
More Wonder about the Cross.
More Worship the One on the Cross.
More are Witnesses from the Cross.
More become part of the
"thousands of nameless,
faceless Christians (who) humbly submit
to the task of contributing
their bucket to the torrent,"
cruciformed unseen saints
who love their neighbors,
laying down their lives
for the life of the world
while sharing that Good News
has come even from
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| Coptic Christian Tattoos: Redemption, Reign, Resurrection |
Bonus Quote:
By dying as He did,
Christ shows that He loves us
in such a way that
He can descend into our private hells.
His love is so empathetic and compassionate
that it can penetrate all barriers
that we construct out of hurt and fear,
in order to enter right into
our despair and hopelessness.
We see this idea expressed
powerfully in John 20.
Twice John presents the disciples
as huddled behind closed doors,
locked in because of fear.
Twice John has Jesus come through
the locked doors and stand
in the midst of that frightened
and depressed group and
breathe peace into them.
That image —
Christ going through locked doors
— is perhaps the most consoling image
within our entire faith.
Put simply, it means God can help us
even when we cannot help ourselves.
God can empower us
even when we are too weak
and despairing to even, minimally,
open the door to let Him in.
Christ shows that He loves us
in such a way that
He can descend into our private hells.
His love is so empathetic and compassionate
that it can penetrate all barriers
that we construct out of hurt and fear,
in order to enter right into
our despair and hopelessness.
We see this idea expressed
powerfully in John 20.
Twice John presents the disciples
as huddled behind closed doors,
locked in because of fear.
Twice John has Jesus come through
the locked doors and stand
in the midst of that frightened
and depressed group and
breathe peace into them.
That image —
Christ going through locked doors
— is perhaps the most consoling image
within our entire faith.
Put simply, it means God can help us
even when we cannot help ourselves.
God can empower us
even when we are too weak
and despairing to even, minimally,
open the door to let Him in.
There is no hell
— no private hell of wound, depression,
fear, sickness, or even bitterness —
that God's love cannot and will not
descend into.
Once there, (God's love)
will breathe out
the peace of the Holy Spirit.
— no private hell of wound, depression,
fear, sickness, or even bitterness —
that God's love cannot and will not
descend into.
Once there, (God's love)
will breathe out
the peace of the Holy Spirit.
+ Fr. Ronald Rolheiser,
Prayer: Our Deepest Longing
Prayer: Our Deepest Longing
Special Note About Tattoos:
God used the skin of His Son
to communicate with us.
God also chose
to write a message on Jesus' skin.
to write a message on Jesus' skin.
The marks that Thomas touched
are the marks that put to death
the ultimate power of death
for every human soul.
The nail prints in His hands and feet,
the gash from the spear that
was thrust in His side,
the marks on His scalp
from the thorny crown,
and the field of furrowed flesh
on His back —
all are the tattoos* that illustrate
the depth of passion God has for us.
*Leviticus 19:28 reads: "Do not cut
your bodies for the dead or put tattoo
marks on yourselves. I am the Lord."
God was instructing His chosen people,
God was instructing His chosen people,
the new nation of Israel, to set
themselves apart. They were not to
imitate pagan religious practices
that used cuttings or tattoos to
honor the dead or as an offering
to false gods.
God forbade these markings because
they reflected a belief that the dead
could intercede (plead with gods
or advocate) for the living. To conclude,
as some do, that this passage prohibits
modern tattoos is to misread it.
+ Tattoos: Telling the Secrets of the Soul
pgs. 145, 162, 170
More Tattoo Posts:
+ Resurrection: Emmaus Road
+ Resurrection: Emmaus Road
Many blessings of peace and presence,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
