1.
Discalced Carmelites
The Discalced Carmelites or Barefoot Carmelites is a Catholic mendicant order with roots in the eremitic tradition of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. The order was established in 1593, pursuant to the reform of the Carmelite Order of the Ancient Observance by two Spanish saints, Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint John of the Cross, the Discalced Carmelite order is now known by the initials O. C. D. The older branch of the order, Carmelites of the Ancient Observance, has the initials O. Carm, the secular branch of the order, has the initials O. C. D. S. The Discalced Carmelites are men and women, in religious consecration and lay people, the Carmelite nuns live in cloistered monasteries and follow a completely contemplative life. The Carmelite friars while following a contemplative life engage in the promotion of spirituality through their centres and churches. Lay people, known as the Secular Order, follow their contemplative call in their everyday activities, devotion to the Virgin Mary is a characteristic of Carmelites and is symbolised by wearing the brown scapular.
Carmelites trace their roots and their name to Mount Carmel in the Holy Land, there, in the 13th century, a band of European men gathered together to live a simple life of prayer. Their first chapel was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and they called themselves the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. The first Carmelites came as pilgrims to Mount Carmel to live a solitary life-style and these early hermits were mostly laity, who lived an unofficial religious life of poverty and prayer. Between 1206 and 1214, St. Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, brought the hermits on Mount Carmel together, at their request, into community. He wrote them a formula for living, which expressed their own intention and reflected the spirit of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land and they were inspired by the prophet Elijah who had been associated with Mount Carmel. That influence can be seen by the words of Elijah, I have been zealous for the Lord. Within fifty years of receiving their rule the Carmelite hermits were forced to leave Mount Carmel, although Carmel itself contributed a number of gifted and respected humanists, the trend which started out as a good thing occasioned a general decline in religious fervor.
This factor, coupled with the decimation of the population and severe economic hardships, had a demoralizing effect, many Carmelites and even whole communities succumbed to contemporary attitudes and conditions diametrically opposed to their original vocation. To meet this situation the Rule was mitigated several times, the Carmelites bore less and less resemblance to the first hermits of Mount Carmel. St. Teresa of Avila considered the surest way to prayer to be a return to the Primitive Rule embodying Carmels authentic vocation, on 24 August 1562, the new Convent of St. Joseph was founded. In addition to this, St. Teresa envisioned a fully dedicated to poverty. Working in close collaboration with St. Teresa was St. John of the Cross, the Discalced Carmelites were established as a separate province of the Carmelite Order by the decree Pia consideratione of Pope Gregory XIII on 22 June 1580
2.
Leonardo da Vinci
He has been variously called the father of palaeontology and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time. Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute and tank, many historians and scholars regard Leonardo as the prime exemplar of the Universal Genius or Renaissance Man, an individual of unquenchable curiosity and feverishly inventive imagination. Much of his working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He worked in Rome and Venice, and he spent his last years in France at the home awarded to him by Francis I of France, Leonardo was, and is, renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait, Leonardos drawing of the Vitruvian Man is regarded as a cultural icon, being reproduced on items as varied as the euro coin, and T-shirts. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings have survived, Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated power, an adding machine.
Some of his inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder. A number of Leonardos most practical inventions are nowadays displayed as working models at the Museum of Vinci. He made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, geology and hydrodynamics, Leonardo is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived. Leonardo was born on 15 April 1452 at the hour of the night in the Tuscan hill town of Vinci. He was the son of the wealthy Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine legal notary, and Caterina. Leonardo had no surname in the modern sense – da Vinci simply meaning of Vinci, his birth name was Lionardo di ser Piero da Vinci, meaning Leonardo. The inclusion of the title ser indicated that Leonardos father was a gentleman, little is known about Leonardos early life. He spent his first five years in the hamlet of Anchiano in the home of his mother and his father had married a sixteen-year-old girl named Albiera Amadori, who loved Leonardo but died young in 1465 without children.
When Leonardo was sixteen, his father married again to twenty-year-old Francesca Lanfredini, pieros legitimate heirs were born from his third wife Margherita di Guglielmo and his fourth and final wife, Lucrezia Cortigiani. Leonardo received an education in Latin and mathematics. In life, Leonardo recorded only two childhood incidents, which he regarded as an omen, was when a kite dropped from the sky and hovered over his cradle, its tail feathers brushing his face
3.
Antonio de Pereda
Antonio de Pereda was a Spanish Baroque-era painter, best known for his still lifes. He was the eldest of three brothers from an artistic family and his father and two brothers were all painters. He was educated in Madrid by Pedro de las Cuevas and was taken under the wing of the influential Giovanni Battista Crescenzi. After Crescenzis death in 1635, Pereda was expelled from the court, el Socorro a Génova,1634 Agila,1635, painted for the collection of series of Gothic kings at the Palacio del Buen Retiro, Museo del Prado. Annunciation,1637, Prado Los desposorios de la Virgen con San José,1640 San Jerónimo penitente and San Pedro liberado por el ángel,1643, profesión de la infanta Margarita con San Agustín y la Virgen en gloria,1650, Convento de la Encarnación, Madrid. Curación de Tobías, Barnard Castle, Bowes Museum,1652, San José, Royal Palace,1654. El Salvador,1655, now at the Capilla del Cristo and at San Ginés church, santo Domingo en Soriano,1655, Museo Cerralbo. Elías y los profetas de Baal,1659, parroquia del Carmen y San Luis The Sacrifice of Isaac, Dallas Museum of Art San Francisco de Asís en la Porciúncula,1664, San jerónimo y la visión del Juicio Final,1668, private collection.
San Guillermo de Aquitania,1672, Museum of Fine Arts, several paintings of Bodegon including the Museo dArte Antiga, Lisbon and the Pushkin Museum, Moscow
4.
Nativity of Jesus
The nativity of Jesus or birth of Jesus is described in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the time of Herod the Great to a virgin whose name was Mary. In Christian theology the nativity marks the incarnation of Jesus as the second Adam, in fulfillment of the divine will of God, undoing the damage caused by the fall of the first man, Adam. The artistic depiction of the nativity has been an important subject for Christian artists since the 4th century, the nativity plays a major role in the Christian liturgical year. Christian congregations of the Western tradition begin observing the season of Advent four Sundays before Christmas, the traditional feast-day of his birth, which falls on December 25. The date of birth for Jesus of Nazareth is not stated in the gospels or in any secular text, the Gospels of both Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. However, Luke 1, 26–27 clearly states that Mary lived in Nazareth before the birth of Jesus, at the time of the Annunciation.
The Gospel of Luke states that Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed him in a manger “because there was no place for them in the inn, but does not say exactly where Jesus was born. This could be a place to keep the sheep within the Bethlehem area, in the 2nd century, Justin Martyr stated that Jesus had been born in a cave outside the town, while the Protoevangelium of James described a legendary birth in a cave nearby. In Contra Celsum 1.51, who from around 215 travelled throughout Palestine, the Quranic birth of Jesus, like the Gospels, places the virgin birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about, the mother of Jesus, was betrothed to Joseph, but was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Joseph intended to divorce her quietly, but an angel told him in a dream that he should take Mary as his wife and name the child Jesus, Joseph awoke and did all that the angel commanded. Chapter 1 of Matthews Gospel recounts Jesus birth and naming and the beginning of chapter 2 reveals that Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the time of Herod the Great.
Magi from the east came to Herod and asked him where they would find the King of the Jews, advised by the chief priests and teachers, Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem, where they worshiped the child and gave him gifts. When they had departed an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and warned him to take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, for Herod intended to kill him. The Holy Family remained in Egypt until Herod died, when Joseph took them to Nazareth in Galilee for fear of Herods son who now ruled in Jerusalem, so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. When the time of the birth drew near the Roman Emperor commanded a census of all the world, and Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, the city of David, as he was of the House of David. In accordance with the Jewish law his parents presented the infant Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem and Mary returned to Nazareth
5.
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland. There are two groups, the Inner and Outer Hebrides. This diversity is reflected in the given to the islands. The Hebrides are the source of much of Scottish Gaelic literature, today the economy of the islands is dependent on crofting, tourism, the oil industry, and renewable energy. The Hebrides have lower biodiversity than mainland Britain, but there is a significant presence of seals, the Hebrides have a diverse geology ranging in age from Precambrian strata that are amongst the oldest rocks in Europe to Paleogene igneous intrusions. The Hebrides can be divided into two groups, separated from one another by the Minch to the north and the Sea of the Hebrides to the south. The Inner Hebrides lie closer to mainland Scotland and include Islay, Skye, Raasay, there are 36 inhabited islands in this group. The Outer Hebrides are a chain of more than 100 islands, there are 15 inhabited islands in this archipelago.
The main islands include Barra, Berneray, Lewis, North Uist, South Uist, in total, the islands have an area of approximately 7,200 square kilometres and a population of 44,759. A complication is that there are descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides. The Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying east of the Minch, there are various islands that lie in the sea lochs such as Eilean Bàn and Eilean Donan that might not ordinarily be described as Hebridean, but no formal definitions exist. In the past, the Outer Hebrides were often referred to as the Long Isle, they are known as the Western Isles, although this phrase can be used to refer to the Hebrides in general. The Hebrides have a temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude. In the Outer Hebrides the average temperature for the year is 6 °C in January and 14 °C in summer, the average annual rainfall in Lewis is 1,100 millimetres and sunshine hours range from 1,100 –1,200 per annum.
The summer days are long, and May to August is the driest period. The Hebrides were settled during the Mesolithic era around 6500 BC or earlier, after the conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. Occupation at a site on Rùm is dated to 8590 ±95 uncorrected radiocarbon years BP, there are many examples of structures from the Neolithic period, the finest example being the standing stones at Callanish, dating to the 3rd millennium BC. Cladh Hallan, a Bronze Age settlement on South Uist is the site in the UK where prehistoric mummies have been found
6.
Globus cruciger
The cross represents Christs dominion over the orb of the world, literally held in the hand of an earthly ruler. In the iconography of Western art, when Christ himself holds the globe, he is called Salvator Mundi, holding the world in ones hand, or more ominously, under ones foot, has been used as a symbol since antiquity. To citizens of the Roman Empire, the round globe held by Jupiter represented the world, or the universe. The orbis terrarum was central to the iconography of the Tetrarchy, constantine I claimed to have had a vision of a cross above the sun, with the words In this sign, you shall conquer, at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. His soldiers painted crosses upon their shields, and defeated their foe, with the growth of Christianity in the 5th century, the orb was topped with a cross, symbolising the Christian Gods dominion over the world. The emperor held the world in his hand, to show that he ruled it on Gods behalf, to non-Christians already familiar with the pagan globe, the surmounting of a cross sent a message about the triumph of Christianity.
Although the globe symbolized the entire Earth, its use spread among many Christian rulers who reigned over parts of the earth. The globus cruciger was associated with rulers and celestial beings alike. It first appeared on coins in the early 5th century and remained throughout the Middle Ages in coins, iconography. It may still be seen in the arms of the surviving European monarchies. Even in the era in England, the Sovereigns Orb symbolises both the state and Church of England under the protection and domain of the royal crown. The Ball and the Cross Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch Monde Earth symbol Leslie Brubaker, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, vol 5,564, ISBN 0-684-18161-4 Picture of the 10th century Orb and Crown insignia of the Holy Roman Empire
7.
Jesus in Christianity
Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and believe that through his death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life. The choice Jesus made thus counter-positions him as a new man of morality and obedience, most Christians believe that Jesus was both human and divine—the Son of God. Jesus, having become fully human in all respects, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, as fully God, he defeated death and rose to life again. According to the Bible, God raised him from the dead and he ascended to heaven to sit at the Right Hand of God, and he will return to earth again for the Last Judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the World to Come. Although Christian views of Jesus vary, it is possible to summarize key elements of the shared beliefs among major denominations based on their catechetical or confessional texts. Christian views of Jesus are derived from biblical sources, particularly from the canonical Gospels.
Christians predominantly hold that these works are historically true and those groups or denominations committed to what are considered biblically orthodox Christianity nearly all agree on the following points, Christians believe that the mother of Jesus was a virgin. Christians believe that Jesus was a human being who was fully God, Christians believe that Jesus came into the world as the son of only one earthly parent, Mary. Christians believe that Jesus never sinned or did anything wrong, Christians believe that Jesus was eventually martyred, was buried in a tomb, and on the third day came back to life. Christians believe that because he rose from the tomb on the third day, Christians believe that Jesus eventually ascended back to God the Father. Christians believe that Jesus will come back to earth a second time, the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus are his Baptism, Crucifixion and Ascension. These are usually bracketed by two episodes, his Nativity at the beginning and the sending of the Paraclete at the end.
The gospel accounts of the teachings of Jesus are often presented in terms of specific categories involving his works and words, e. g. his ministry, Christians not only attach theological significance to the works of Jesus, but to his name. Devotions to the name of Jesus go back to the earliest days of Christianity and these exist today both in Eastern and Western Christianity—both Catholic and Protestant. Christians predominantly profess that through Jesus life and resurrection and his death on a cross is understood as a redemptive sacrifice, the source of humanitys salvation and the atonement for sin which had entered human history through the sin of Adam. But who do you say that I am, only Simon Peter answered him, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God — Matthew 16, 15-16 Jesus is mediator, but…the title means more that someone between God and man. He is not just a third party between God and humanity…, as true God he brings God to mankind. As true man he brings mankind to God, most Christians generally consider Jesus to be the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, as well as the one and only Son of God
8.
Vestment
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among the Eastern Orthodox, Catholics and Lutherans. For other garments worn by clergy, see clerical clothing, the rubrics for the type of vestments to be worn vary between the various communions and denominations. In some, clergy are directed to wear clerical clothing in public at all, most. This generally consists of a collar, clergy shirt. In the case of members of orders, non-liturgical wear includes a religious habit. This ordinary wear does not constitute liturgical vestment, but simply acts as a means of identifying the wearer as a member of the clergy or a religious order. A distinction is made between the type of vestment worn for Holy Eucharist or Holy Communion and that worn for other services. In other traditions, there is no name for this attire, although it often takes the form of a Geneva gown worn with or without preaching bands. In the more ancient traditions, each vestment—or at least the stole—will have a cross on it, a number of churches have special vesting prayers which are recited before putting each vestment on, especially the Eucharistic vestments.
For the Eucharist, each vestment symbolizes a spiritual dimension of the priesthood, in some measure these vestments harken to the Roman roots of the Western Church. Use of the following vestments varies, some are used by all Western Christians in liturgical traditions. Many are used only in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, cassock an item of clerical clothing, a long, close-fitting, ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and some Reformed churches. Stole The long, narrow strip of cloth draped around the neck, a vestment of distinction, deacons wear it draped across the left shoulder diagonally across the body to the right hip while priests and bishops wear it draped around the back of the neck. It may be crossed in the front and secured with the cincture, this was done by priests when wearing Eucharistic vestments, whereas bishops always wore it uncrossed. Modern usage is for both bishops and priests to wear the stole uncrossed, corresponds to the Orthodox orarion and epitrachelion.
Alb The common garment of any ministers at the eucharist, worn over a cassock, most closely corresponds to the Orthodox sticharion. Cassock-alb or cassalb is a modern garment and is a combination of the traditional cassock. It developed as a convenient undergarment worn by clergy and as an alternative to the alb for deacons, a white or off-white cassock-alb has replaced the traditional cassock and alb in some Anglican and Lutheran churches since the 1970s
9.
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is an early episode in the life of Jesus that is celebrated by the Church on the holiday of Candlemas. It is described in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament in the Christian Bible, within the account, Lukes narration of the Presentation in the Temple combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the presentation of Jesus at the temple is celebrated as is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante. In Western Christianity, the name for the day is Candlemas, which is known as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. In some liturgical churches, Vespers on the Feast of the Presentation marks the end of the Epiphany season, in the Catholic Church, the Presentation is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. The event is described in the Gospel of Luke, Luke explicitly says that Joseph and Mary take the option provided for poor people, sacrificing a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
Leviticus 12, 1–4 indicates that this event should take place forty days after birth for a male child, upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they encountered Simeon. The Gospel records that Simeon had been promised that he should not see death before he had seen the Lords Christ. Simeon prophesied to Mary, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. The elderly prophetess Anna was in the Temple, and offered prayers and praise to God for Jesus, and spoke to everyone there of His importance to redemption in Jerusalem. Early images concentrated on the moment of meeting with Simeon, typically shown at the entrance to the Temple, and this is continued in Byzantine art and Eastern Orthodox icons to the present day. In the West, Simeon is more often already holding the infant, or the moment of handover is shown, the Lutheran church of the Baroque observed the feast as Mariae Reinigung.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed several cantatas to be performed in the service of the day. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is known as the Presentation of the Lord in the books first issued by Paul VI. It is known as the Presentation of Our Lord in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod observes 2 February as The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord. In some Protestant churches, the feast is known as the Naming of Jesus, Candlemas had been the last feast day in the Christian year that was dated by reference to Christmas. Subsequent moveable feasts are calculated with reference to Easter, Candlemas occurs 40 days after Christmas. In Poland the feast is called Święto Matki Bożej Gromnicznej and this name refers to the candles that are blessed on this day, called gromnice, since these candles are lit during storms and placed in windows to ward off storms
10.
Circumcision of Jesus
The circumcision of Jesus is an event from the life of Jesus according to the Gospel of Luke, which states in verse 2,21 that Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth. This is in keeping with the Jewish law which holds that males should be circumcised eight days after birth during a Brit milah ceremony, at which they are given their name. The circumcision of Christ became a common subject in Christian art from the 10th century onwards. It was initially only as a scene in larger cycles. The event is celebrated as the Feast of the Circumcision in the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 1 in whichever calendar is used, a number of relics claiming to be the Holy Prepuce, the foreskin of Jesus, have surfaced. However, this account is extremely short, particularly compared to Paul the Apostles much fuller description of his own circumcision in the chapter of his Epistle to the Philippians. In addition to the account in the Gospel of Luke. And the old Hebrew woman took the foreskin, and preserved it in an alabaster-box of old oil of spikenard.
And she had a son who was a druggist, to whom she said, Take heed thou sell not this alabaster box of spikenard-ointment, although thou shouldst be offered three hundred pence for it. Now this is that alabaster-box which Mary the sinner procured, and poured forth the ointment out of it upon the head and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, and wiped it off with the hairs of her head. The circumcision controversy in early Christianity was resolved in the 1st century, Saint Paul, the leading proponent of this position, discouraged circumcision as a qualification for conversion to Christianity. Circumcision soon became rare in most of the Christian world, except the Coptic Church of Egypt, one of the earliest depictions to survive is a miniature in an important Byzantine illuminated manuscript of 979-984, the Menologion of Basil II in the Vatican Library. This has a scene which shows Mary and Joseph holding the baby Jesus outside a building, probably the Temple of Jerusalem and this is typical of the early depictions, which avoid showing the operation itself.
Like most depictions these are taking place in a large building, probably representing the Temple. Medieval pilgrims to the Holy Land were told Jesus had been circumcised in the church at Bethlehem, the scene gradually became increasingly common in the art of the Western church, and increasingly rare in Orthodox art. Various themes in theological exegesis of the event influenced the treatment in art. As the first drawing of Christs blood, it was seen as a forerunner of, or even the first scene of, the Passion of Christ. Other interpretations developed based on it as the naming ceremony equivalent to Christian baptism, such an arrangement is seen in a miniature from a German Pentateuch in Hebrew from about 1300, showing the Circumcision of Isaac
11.
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a period in European history, from the 14th to the 17th century, regarded as the cultural bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and spread to the rest of Europe. This new thinking became manifest in art, politics, Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the 15th century. In politics, the Renaissance contributed to the development of the customs and conventions of diplomacy, the Renaissance began in Florence, in the 14th century. Other major centres were northern Italian city-states such as Venice, Milan, the word Renaissance, literally meaning Rebirth in French, first appeared in English in the 1830s. The word occurs in Jules Michelets 1855 work, Histoire de France, the word Renaissance has been extended to other historical and cultural movements, such as the Carolingian Renaissance and the Renaissance of the 12th century.
The Renaissance was a movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism, however, a subtle shift took place in the way that intellectuals approached religion that was reflected in many other areas of cultural life. In addition, many Greek Christian works, including the Greek New Testament, were back from Byzantium to Western Europe. Political philosophers, most famously Niccolò Machiavelli, sought to describe life as it really was. Others see more competition between artists and polymaths such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Masaccio for artistic commissions as sparking the creativity of the Renaissance. Yet it remains much debated why the Renaissance began in Italy, several theories have been put forward to explain its origins. During the Renaissance and art went hand in hand, Artists depended entirely on patrons while the patrons needed money to foster artistic talent. Wealth was brought to Italy in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries by expanding trade into Asia, silver mining in Tyrol increased the flow of money.
Luxuries from the Eastern world, brought home during the Crusades, increased the prosperity of Genoa, unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity, Arab logicians had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Spain and Sicily and this work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history
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