HOHENHEIM AS CHRIST
Van Hohenheim
It is through Himoru Arakawa’s supporting character Van Hohenheim do we see symbolism of Christianty through the aspect of a Christ figure. When first introduced however, Hohenheim seems more of an antagonist with his identical appearance to the antagonist called Father. (This I will explain later in the symbolism of Father.) As the series progresses through the actions of Hohenheim, it becomes clear that he was influenced by Christianity and was created to be a symbol of a Christ figure.
Originally, Hohenheim was a human slave in the ancient city civilization of Xerxes and was experimented on by his master to create a creature known as a Homunculus. In exchange for giving him life the Homunculus, would teach Hohenheim how to read, write and importantly perform alchemy. As Hohenheim's status improved with his newfound knowledge, he and the Homunculus would attempt to obtain immortality for the king of Xerxes. However, the Homunculus tricked Hohenheim and sacrificed the entire population of Xerxes so that it and Hohenheim would have immortality instead. Horrified at the realization of his immortality due to half the city's population sustaining him, Hohenhiem flees to wander the nearby desert for centuries before arriving in the nation of Amestris after learning that the Homunculus, now called Father, plans to perform the ritual again on this nation to achieve the powers of “God”. This kicks off the main Hohenheim’s role in FMAB and the viewer can see that, similar to Christ's role in the Bible with combating Lucifer, Hohenheim began to counteract Father’s ritual and restore balance to the world.
Hohenheim with the Homunculus
Ruins of Xerxes as they appear in modern day
With his newfound powers and quest to stop Father’s ritual, Hohenheim travels across Amestris to enact his counter ritual. As he travels, Hohenheim performs miracles using alchemy to aid the citizens as a way of atonement for his past deeds. This includes healing the sick, one of Christ's many famous miracles in the Bible. In FMAB, Hohenheim meets with an alchemist who damaged her organs after failing to bring back her dead child using alchemy. Using his powers, Hohenheim is able to heal her ravaged organs to a sense of previous normalcy. This is very similar to Christ's healing of the leper in the Gospel of Matthew. Further evidence of Hohenheim being a symbol of a Christ figure in FMAB, is when he needs to cross a flooded passageway to reach Father's transmutation circle in order to counteract the alchemy. Rather than draining the passage, he opts to use alchemy to walk across the water, an obvious allusion to Christ. Lastly during the Promise Day, it is directly through Hohenheim’s actions that directly save Amestris that is similar to Christ's actions as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. In FMAB, after Father successfully consumes the souls of Amestris to achieve the power of “God” it is Hohenheim’s counter alchemy and sacrifice that not only saves the protagonists from death but also restores the taken souls of the Amestrian citizens to their rightful bodies. This is extremely similar to Christ’s actions in Revelations where he defeats Satan and wrestles away the keys of death freeing souls to go to heaven.
Hohenheim performs miracles
Hohenheim defeating Father and
restoring the souls of the people
