descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell)

E359795

Christian doctrine Christological doctrine theological concept

The descent of Christ to the dead, or Harrowing of Hell, is a traditional Christian belief that after his crucifixion Jesus descended to the realm of the dead to proclaim victory over death and liberate the righteous who had died before his resurrection.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
descent of Christ into Hades	1
descent of Christ to the dead	1
descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3457372 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell)
Context triple: [Joyous Saturday, associatedEvent, descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell)]

A. Paschal mystery
The Paschal mystery refers to the saving events of Jesus Christ’s passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, through which Christians believe humanity is redeemed and brought into new life.
B. resurrection of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundational Christian belief that Jesus rose bodily from the dead, affirming his divinity and the promise of eternal life for believers.
C. Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Descent of the Holy Spirit is the Pentecost event in Christian belief when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, empowering them to preach and marking the birth of the Church.
D. Incarnation of Christ
The Incarnation of Christ is the Christian belief that the eternal Son of God assumed human nature in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both fully divine and fully human.
E. The Death of Death in the Death of Christ
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ is a classic 17th-century Reformed theological treatise by John Owen that rigorously defends the doctrine of definite (or limited) atonement.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell)
Target entity description: The descent of Christ to the dead, or Harrowing of Hell, is a traditional Christian belief that after his crucifixion Jesus descended to the realm of the dead to proclaim victory over death and liberate the righteous who had died before his resurrection.

A. Paschal mystery
The Paschal mystery refers to the saving events of Jesus Christ’s passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, through which Christians believe humanity is redeemed and brought into new life.
B. resurrection of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundational Christian belief that Jesus rose bodily from the dead, affirming his divinity and the promise of eternal life for believers.
C. Descent of the Holy Spirit
The Descent of the Holy Spirit is the Pentecost event in Christian belief when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, empowering them to preach and marking the birth of the Church.
D. Incarnation of Christ
The Incarnation of Christ is the Christian belief that the eternal Son of God assumed human nature in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both fully divine and fully human.
E. The Death of Death in the Death of Christ
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ is a classic 17th-century Reformed theological treatise by John Owen that rigorously defends the doctrine of definite (or limited) atonement.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Christian doctrine ⓘ Christological doctrine ⓘ theological concept ⓘ
affirmedByTradition	Anglican Communion ⓘ Eastern Orthodox Church ⓘ linked to: Eastern Orthodox Christianity Lutheran Churches ⓘ linked to: Lutheranism Oriental Orthodox Churches ⓘ linked to: Oriental Orthodoxy Roman Catholic Church ⓘ linked to: Roman Catholicism many Reformed Churches ⓘ
associatedWithDoctrine	Christ’s universal lordship ⓘ Christ’s victory over death ⓘ redemption of the righteous who died before Christ ⓘ
associatedWithFeast	Paschal (Easter) celebrations ⓘ
centralFigure	Jesus Christ ⓘ
concernsRealm	Hades ⓘ Hell (in traditional imagery) ⓘ linked to: Hell Sheol ⓘ realm of the dead ⓘ
depictedIn	Byzantine iconography ⓘ Western medieval art ⓘ
developedIn	early Christian theology ⓘ patristic theology ⓘ
followsEvent	crucifixion of Jesus ⓘ
hasAlternativeName	Harrowing of Hell ⓘ
hasBiblicalBasisIn	1 Peter 3:18–20 ⓘ 1 Peter 4:6 ⓘ Ephesians 4:8–10 ⓘ Psalm 16:10 (as interpreted in Acts 2:27) ⓘ linked to: Psalm 16:10 Romans 10:6–7 ⓘ
iconographicTheme	Christ breaking the gates of Hades ⓘ Christ leading the righteous from the underworld ⓘ Christ raising Adam and Eve ⓘ
involvesAction	descent of Jesus to the realm of the dead ⓘ liberation of the righteous dead ⓘ proclamation of victory over death ⓘ
liturgicalCommemoration	Holy Saturday ⓘ
mentionedAs	“He descended into hell” ⓘ
mentionedIn	Apostles’ Creed ⓘ
precedesEvent	resurrection of Jesus ⓘ
refersTo	descent of Christ to the dead ⓘ linked to: descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell)
relatedConcept	Christ’s three-day rest in the tomb ⓘ intermediate state of the dead ⓘ
subjectOf	apocryphal gospels and writings ⓘ homilies of early Church Fathers ⓘ medieval mystery plays ⓘ theological debates on the meaning of “hell” in the Creed ⓘ
theologicalTheme	Christ’s solidarity with the dead ⓘ extension of salvation to the dead ⓘ transition from Old Covenant to New Covenant ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Joyous Saturday → associatedEvent → descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell) ⓘ

Harrowing of Hell → refersTo → descent of Christ to the dead ⓘ

subject linked to: descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell)

linked to: descent of Christ to the dead (Harrowing of Hell)

Acts of Pilate → includesEpisode → descent of Christ into Hades ⓘ