Longinus (hagiography)
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- For other uses, see Longinus.
Longinus is the name given in Christian tradition to a Roman soldier who pierced Jesus on his side while he was on the Cross.
[edit] Origins of the legend
No name for this soldier is given in the Gospels; the name Longinus comes from a version of the apocryphal Acts of Pilate. The spear used is known as the Spear of Destiny, or Lance of Longinus, and figures in the legends of the Holy Grail. In some medieval folklore, e.g. the Golden Legend, the touch of Jesus's blood cures his blindness. Longinus is revered as a martyr in the Eastern Orthodoxy, with anecdotal details introduced to reinforce the duplicity of the Jews in the lore that accumulated around these supposed witnesses to the crucifixion. Longinus does not have an entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
A statue of a Saint Longinus is in the Basilica di San Pietro, in the Vatican. It was sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
[edit] The Longinus legend in popular culture
- Louis de Wohl, well known for his "biographical novels" of saints and other religious characters, devotes an entire novel, Spear, to Cassius Longinus, the legionnaire who put a spear through Christ's side. The novel tells his life before and after the event, from a pagan son of a member of Roman nobility, through him being sold as a slave, to a converted Christian. Though not a groundbreaking literary milestone, it is nonetheless an interesting portrait of the character.
- Leonard Wibberley's The Centurion (1966) features Longinus as a veteran of the campaigns in Britain who seeks Christ's help when his servant (and father-in-law) falls mortally ill. This version conflates the Centurion in Matthew 8:8 with the one in command of the guard at the Crucifixion (Matthew 27:54).
- The Seventh Sign is a 1988 film that incorporates elements of the Longinus legend and the Wandering Jew legend.
- Barry Sadler's Casca: the Eternal Mercenary series of novels features Casca Rufio Longinius, cursed by Jesus for spearing him to soldier until they meet again. This seems to be an intentional blending of the legends of Longinus and the Wandering Jew.
- In the short-lived television series Roar starring a young Heath Ledger, a Roman soldier who is also a wizard is revealed to be the Roman who pierced the side of Jesus, and thus cursed to walk the earth, not being able to die by any means until he finds the Spear of Destiny.
- Gainax's anime title "Neon Genesis Evangelion" features a weapon called The Lance of Longinus. The anime series is immersed in references to the Kabbalah and Biblical legend. The weapon first appears being carried by one of the EVA units. It is later visible being thrust into the body of what is said to be the "First Angel". In a later episode, EVA Unit-01 hurls the Lance of Longinus through an attacking Angel, destroying it utterly. The weapon continues to travel into the heavens and out into space where it finally stops, attaining orbit around the moon. It should be noted that in this episode, before the Lance it thrown, it is pulled out of the body of what is later revealed to be "Lilith" and that aside from religious reference, Lilith is a hypothetical natural satellite of Earth.
