ABOUT THE LIVING CHRIST EVENT

The Living Christ is a Community Celebration of Holy Week, Easter, Passover, and the miraculous atonement and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Once again this year, we are thrilled to announce the display of a rare, authorized copy of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, Pietà, depicting grief-stricken Mary holding the crucified body of Jesus Christ. (See more information regarding Pietà below.) This event also includes sacred, live depictions of three paintings (in order of appearance): Woman at the Well by Carl Bloch, da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper, and by special permission of the living artist, Risen Hope by Joseph Brickey (see a photo our display of prints of these paintings below). In the chapel, you will see these three paintings portrayed with narration, music and live actors. Every effort has been taken to ensure this event portrays the highest devotion to the Savior and the sacred events of that first Holy Week. We invite you to prepare your family and friends to attend in a spirit of reverence.

Before the presentation of the live paintings, you may view the Pietà, peruse informative displays about Jesus Christ, His original Apostles, the ancient Passover Feast, Holy Week, and the various artists. You will also view a short video reviewing the events of Holy Week and the resurrection of Christ. We hope this experience helps you to focus your Easter season on the Lamb of God.

TICKETING: This is a FREE event and all are welcome. To help control crowds and maintain a spirit of reverence throughout the presentations, free tickets are recommended this year. See the three black button titled “Click Here to Reserve Free Tickets” (above) to obtain free reservations. Please try to arrive by your scheduled time. Tardy arrivals may need to wait for a later session. We kindly ask that any reserved tickets that will not be used be canceled prior to the event in our ticketing website, Eventbrite. To cancel one or more reserved tickets, click on “view or manage order” on your confirmation email.

WHO: All are Invited! Please consider inviting friends, family and neighbors to this extraordinary event. We will reserve some seating in the chapel for wheelchairs. Please note the presentation in the darkened Chapel contains a reverent narration and some young children may have difficulty remaining quiet for the 15-minute presentation. We ask that your children stay with you at all times.

EVENT DETAILS: The event will run Tuesday, March 28-Friday, April 7, 2023. No performances will be held Saturday, April 1, and there will be evening only times on Sunday, April 2, to avoid conflict with General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Each presentation of The Living Christ begins every 30 minutes. Upon arrival, guests will first be directed to the Cultural Hall (gymnasium) to view the Pietà and informational displays. Next, attendees will enter classrooms to watch a short video reviewing the events of Holy Week and the resurrection of Christ. Lastly, all will be guided to the Chapel to enjoy The Living Christ presentation of live paintings. Once begun, this portion lasts approximately 15 minutes. In total, please plan to spend about one hour at the meetinghouse for this event. Ushers will direct guests to the various locations of The Living Christ experience.

Please arrive at your reserved time to ensure your place in the respective session and to assist us in providing a safe flow of guests.

WHERE: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Meridian Idaho North Stake Center Chapel, 5555 North Locust Grove Road, Meridian, Idaho (see map below). Please enter the building via the south foyer.

DRESS: All are welcome, and there is no specific dress code for The Living Christ. Many will wear nice, casual dress, and some will wear Sunday best.

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ABOUT PIETÀ AND EVENT DISPLAYS

THE PIETÀ: Once again this year, we are thrilled present an authorized, full-scale replica of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, Pietà! Both Michelangelo and his magnificent sculpture became famous almost immediately after its completion in 1499. The artist was only twenty-four years old. Michelangelo chiseled Pietà from a single block of Carrara marble, which he claimed was the most perfect block of stone he ever sculpted. He also claimed that he could “see” the sculpture within the marble itself and that his job was merely to remove the excess in order to free the image inside. The sculpture was unique in the Renaissance because it was multi-figured and Michelangelo’s Mary was surprisingly youthful and peaceful. The sculptor’s painstaking attention to detail and lifelike treatment of the hair, skin, and countless curves, folds and recesses of the fabric gave Pietà both texture and substance. It is nevertheless, the artist’s masterful ability to render emotion from the cold marble that gave the sculpture its breath of life. Michelangelo’s biographer and fellow artist, Giorgio Vasari, described “It is certainly a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever have been reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh.”

EVENT DISPLAYS: The posters and displays prepared for The Living Christ event are meant to provide three-dimensional and multi-media learning, similar to museum exhibits. Plan to spend some time exploring these displays prior to viewing presentation of the live paintings. The displays will deepen your understanding of Jesus Christ, His Apostles, Holy Week, Passover, Easter, and the Resurrection. You will see replicas of an ancient Passover feast table (or triclinium) and a doorway depicting how the sacrificial lamb’s blood protected ancient Israelites from the destroying angel. Six-foot tall posters detail facts we know about Jesus Christ and each of His original Twelve Apostles. Other charts describe events of the Holy Week and Passover.

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RELATED STUDY TOPICS

If you wish to study or teach your family about the Last Supper, Holy Week, Easter, and/or Passover before the event, below are some links to websites containing related scriptures, talks, and videos.

To learn more about Easter and to view related talks and videos, see:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/easter?lang=eng

https://www.comeuntochrist.org/easter

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/collection/easter-topic?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/topics/easter?lang=eng

To learn more about Holy Week see:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/easter-2021/holy-week

http://www.redeemerofisrael.org/p/holy-week.html

To learn more about Passover and its sacred connections to Christ and Easter see:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1985/04/christ-our-passover?lang=eng

http://www.redeemerofisrael.org/p/passover.html

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2018/04/6-passover-symbols-that-might-change-how-you-look-at-easter?lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2014/04/the-passover-supper?lang=eng

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