In 2019, Passjoni – Merging Art and Faith, gave readers an overview of the statues that make up the Maltese islands’ many Good Friday processions. Now, a second book in the series, titled Passjoni – Silent Witnesses in Gethsemane, shines a light on the statues that open these well-attended processions, starting from The Last Supper and moving on to the events that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane.

A detail of the Angel of the Lord forming part of Vittoriosa’s Good Friday statue The Agony in the Garden.

Very few Good Friday processions in Malta and Gozo kick off with a statue depicting The Last Supper. In fact, this is so far the preserve of just two localities: Qormi in Malta and Żebbuġ in Gozo. All the others begin the much-anticipated processions with a statue of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, which almost always shows Christ being comforted by the Angel of the Lord.

Even so, while the statue of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane is a staple in all Good Friday processions, certain localities have added their own twist to the scene. Cospicua, Qormi and, in the past, the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, showed Christ flanked by two angels rather than one.

Meanwhile, in Mġarr, Malta, the figures of Christ and the angel are accompanied by two cherubs, who hold the symbols of the Passion: the chalice and the Holy Cross.

Another scene which takes place within the confines of the Garden of Gethsemane is Judas’s infamous betrayal in which he uses a kiss to bring down the Son of Man. This statue was introduced to the Maltese islands by Qormi, which added it to their Good Friday procession in 1907. It remained the only such depiction for 54 years, until Żejtun introduced theirs in 1961. Even today, this statue is not particularly common and can only be found in the Good Friday processions of Cospicua, Luqa, Mosta, Naxxar, Paola and Qormi.

Found at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane is located just outside the walls of Jerusalem. This is the garden in which Christ went to pray after the Last Supper and where he was betrayed by Judas and arrested. Therefore, it plays a crucial role in the story of the Passion of Christ. The story, told in all four Gospels, with some minor differences between them, begins with Christ praying in the Garden.

The statue of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane is a staple in all Good Friday processions

In the Gospel of Matthew, we are told that Jesus went with his disciples “to a plot of land called Gethsemane”. He said to them: “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took with him Peter, James and John, and told them: “My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and stay awake with me.” He went a little further and he fell on his face and prayed: “My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it.”

A close-up of the statues of Jesus and Judas from Mosta’s The Betrayal of Judas.

For three times, he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. Suddenly Judas arrives, followed by a “large number of men armed with swords and clubs”. Immediately after Judas’s kiss, one of the disciples draws his sword and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Following this, Jesus is led to Caiaphas, while all the disciples desert him and run away.

The Gospel account according to Mark repeats Matthew’s almost verbatim. It includes Christ’s agony, Judas’s betrayal and the cutting off of the ear of the high priest’s servant. Yet there is one fascinating detail which is only found in Mark’s Gospel. While all the disciples deserted Jesus and ran away, a young man “with nothing on but a linen cloth” followed Jesus. The soldiers seize him too but the young man leaves the cloth in their hands and runs away naked.

Even Luke’s account is very similar to Matthew’s, except for two very important differences. One is that Luke’s is the only Gospel that mentions Jesus’s sweat falling to the ground “like great drops of blood”. Luke is also the only one who notes that, after the incident involving the right ear of the high priest’s servant, Jesus touched the man’s ear and healed him.

A detail (above) and the set of statues making up Nadur’s The Agony in the Garden.

John tells us that after the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples “crossed the Kidron valley where there was a garden into which he went with his disciples”. However, John makes no mention of Christ’s agony. Instead, Christ is shown as being completely aware of what was about to happen to him. So much so that he himself meets the group of men led by Judas and asks them who it is they were after. He tells them: “I am he”, and they move back and fall on the ground. Even at such a dramatic moment, Jesus protects his disciples and heals the high priest’s servant.

John is the only Evangelist to reveal the name of the disciple who struck with his sword (Simon Peter) and that of the servant (Malchus).

All four Gospels portray how the Garden of Gethsemane plays a central role in the first phase of Jesus’s Passion, including the agony, the betrayal and the arrest. This makes it an important scene to remember as one leafs through the book.

Passjoni – Silent Witnesses in Gethsemane is available from Horizons, Agenda and other leading bookshops. It includes photography by Mario Cocker and a commentary by Mario Coleiro.