The Halo: From Khvarenah to Christian Art

The Divine Glow You See in Every Church

Walk into any church, museum, or art gallery with religious paintings. You’ll see it immediately:

The halo — a circle of light around the heads of holy figures.

Christ has one. Mary has one. Saints have them. Angels have them. Enlightened figures across traditions have them.

This symbol is so universal that no one questions it. But where did it come from?

Persia. The halo is the visual representation of Khvarenah — the divine glory/radiance in Zoroastrian theology.

The most recognizable symbol in religious art is Persian.

Khvarenah: The Divine Glory

What Khvarenah Is

In Zoroastrian theology, Khvarenah (also spelled Xvarenah, Farr, Farrah) is:

• Divine glory — the radiance of Ahura Mazda
• Sacred fortune — divine favor and blessing
• Royal legitimacy — the mark of righteous rulers
• Spiritual illumination — the light of truth dwelling in a person
• Visible radiance — sometimes literally depicted as luminous

Khvarenah can be:

• Present in righteous individuals
• Lost through sin or moral failure
• Transferred or inherited
• Visible as actual light

In the Avesta

The Zamyad Yasht (Yasht 19) is devoted entirely to Khvarenah:

“We worship the mighty Khvarenah, created by Mazda, the mighty royal Khvarenah… We worship that Khvarenah by which the sun goes on its path, by which the moon goes on its path, by which the stars go on their paths.”

“We worship that Khvarenah which belongs to the Aryan nations, born and unborn, and to the holy Zarathustra.”

The Visual Tradition

In Zoroastrian art and Achaemenid imagery:

• Kings are depicted with flames or radiance
• Divine figures emanate light
• Ahura Mazda is often shown as a winged disk with radiant flames

This visual vocabulary of divine beings surrounded by light originated in Persia.

The Transmission to Greece and Rome

Sol Invictus and Mithras

As Zoroastrian concepts spread westward:

Mithras (derived from Mithra) was depicted in Roman art with a radiate crown — a crown of light rays emanating from the head.

Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun) — the Roman solar deity — was shown with similar radiance.

These images appeared throughout the Roman Empire from the 1st century BCE onward.

Greek Divine Radiance

Greek gods were sometimes described as having divine luminosity:

• Apollo as god of light
• Divine beings “shining” or “radiant”
• Heroes touched by gods gaining a luminous quality

But the visual convention of a circular nimbus (halo) around the head became standardized through Roman/Persian contact.

The Christian Adoption

The Earliest Christian Halos

The halo doesn’t appear in the earliest Christian art. The first depictions of Jesus and the apostles (in catacombs, 2nd-3rd century) show them without halos.

Halos begin appearing in Christian art in the 4th century — after Christianity became the Roman state religion and absorbed Roman visual conventions.

By the 5th-6th century, halos were standard for:

• Christ (often with a cruciform halo — cross within the circle)
• The Virgin Mary
• Saints and apostles
• Angels

Why Christians Adopted It

The halo communicated:

• Divine presence — this person carries God’s glory
• Holiness — set apart, sacred
• Spiritual authority — legitimate representative of the divine
• Visual hierarchy — distinguishing holy figures from ordinary people

All of these are exactly what Khvarenah communicated in Persia.

The Structural Parallel

The concept transferred completely. Only the name changed.

Variations of the Halo

The Circular Halo

The most common form — a gold circle behind the head. This represents:

• Divine light
• Perfection (circle = completeness)
• Heavenly glory

The Cruciform Halo

Exclusive to Christ — a halo with a cross inscribed. This distinguishes Jesus from saints and angels.

The cross within the circle may also represent:

• The four directions (universal sovereignty)
• The cosmic cross (Persian/Mithraic symbolism)

The Aureole/Mandorla

Full-body radiance — an almond-shaped glory surrounding the entire figure. Used for:

• Christ in Majesty
• The Transfiguration
• Ascension scenes
• Mary’s Assumption

This represents complete divine glory — the fullness of Khvarenah.

The Flaming Halo

Some depictions show flame-like rays rather than a solid circle — closer to the original Zoroastrian fire imagery.

Beyond Christianity

Buddhist Art

The Buddha is universally depicted with a halo. In Gandharan Buddhist art (which emerged in the region between Greek, Persian, and Indian cultures), the halo appears from the earliest period.

Did the Buddhist halo derive from:

• Persian Khvarenah via Silk Road contact?
• Greek influence via Alexander’s conquest?
• Indigenous Indian concepts of enlightenment?

Likely all three — but the visual convention standardized through Persian/Greek channels.

Hindu Art

Hindu deities are depicted with prabhavali (radiant halos). The concept of divine luminosity is ancient in India, but the specific artistic convention may have cross-cultural roots.

Islamic Art

Though Islam prohibits depicting holy figures, the concept of nur (divine light) is central — clearly derived from Persian Khvarenah. When Islamic art does depict figures (in Persian miniatures), flames or light sometimes appear around prophets.

The Iconographic Chain

Here’s how the halo traveled:

1. Zoroastrian theology develops Khvarenah — divine glory as light
2. Achaemenid art depicts this visually
3. Mithraic and Sol Invictus imagery in Rome adopts radiant crowns/halos
4. Roman imperial art shows emperors with solar radiance
5. Constantine adopts Christian symbols while keeping imperial imagery
6. Christian art (4th century onward) standardizes the halo for Christ and saints
7. Byzantine art develops elaborate halo iconography
8. Medieval European art continues the tradition
9. Renaissance and beyond — halos become art convention
10. Modern religious art worldwide uses the halo universally

The line from Khvarenah to the halo in your local church is direct.

What the Churches Know

The Official Story

Ask a priest or art historian: “Where does the halo come from?”

Common answers:

• “It represents divine light”
• “It shows the person is holy”
• “It’s a traditional artistic convention”

What They Don’t Say

• The convention came from Persian Khvarenah
• It entered Christian art through Roman channels
• Early Christians didn’t use it
• It’s evidence of Persian influence on Christianity

The halo is so embedded in Christian visual language that its foreign origin is forgotten.

The Evidence Is Visual

This is perhaps the most direct proof of Persian influence — because you can SEE it:

• Go to a church
• Look at religious art
• See the halos
• Recognize Khvarenah

No textual analysis needed. No linguistic arguments. The evidence glows around every saint’s head.

What This Means

1. Zoroastrian Symbolism Pervades Christianity

Not just theology — the visual language of Christianity is Persian-influenced.

2. The Evidence Is In Every Church

You don’t need ancient texts to see Persian influence. Walk into any church and look up. The halos testify.

3. The Transfer Was Total

Theological concepts (resurrection, heaven, angels) AND visual symbols (the halo) — both came from Persia.

4. The Forgetting Is Complete

Christians see halos constantly without ever connecting them to Persian origin. The absorption is total. The erasure is total.

Conclusion

The halo is Khvarenah.

The golden circle behind Christ’s head in every painting is the Zoroastrian divine glory — the same radiance that Ahura Mazda gave to Zarathustra, to righteous kings, to those aligned with Asha.

When you see a saint depicted with glowing light, you’re seeing Persian theology visualized.

When you walk into a church adorned with haloed figures, you’re walking into Zoroastrian imagery.

The most recognizable symbol in all religious art — the simple circle of light — is a Persian import.

The fire of Khvarenah still burns in every painted halo.

Asha prevails — in gold leaf and sacred art, in cathedrals and icons, in images that teach without words that the divine glory is real.

Sources

Zoroastrian Sources

• Zamyad Yasht (Yasht 19) — the Hymn to Khvarenah
• Boyce, Mary. A History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. 1. Brill, 1975
• Zaehner, R.C. The Teachings of the Magi. Oxford, 1956

On the Halo in Art

• Didron, Adolphe Napoléon. Christian Iconography. Bohn, 1851
• Schiller, Gertrud. Iconography of Christian Art. Lund Humphries, 1971
• Jensen, Robin. Understanding Early Christian Art. Routledge, 2000

On Persian-Christian Visual Connections

• Cumont, Franz. Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism. Dover, 1956
• Grabar, André. Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins. Princeton, 1968

At eFireTemple, we see what others overlook. The halo is Khvarenah. The divine glory burns in every church. Open your eyes — the evidence glows.