1.
Fra Angelico
–
Fra Angelico was an Early Italian Renaissance painter described by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists as having a rare and perfect talent. He was known to contemporaries as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole and Fra Giovanni Angelico, in modern Italian he is called il Beato Angelico, the common English name Fra Angelico means the Angelic friar. In 1982 Pope John Paul II proclaimed his beatification in recognition of the holiness of his life and he is listed in the Roman Martyrology as Beatus Ioannes Faesulanus, cognomento Angelicus—Blessed Giovanni of Fiesole, surnamed the Angelic. Fra Angelico was born Guido di Pietro at Rupecanina in the Tuscan area of Mugello near Fiesole towards the end of the 14th century, nothing is known of his parents. He was baptized Guido or Guidolino, the earliest recorded document concerning Fra Angelico dates from October 17,1417 when he joined a religious confraternity or guild at the Carmine Church, still under the name of Guido di Pietro. The first record of Angelico as a friar dates from 1423, Fra, a contraction of frater, is a conventional title for a mendicant friar. According to Vasari, Fra Angelico initially received training as an illuminator, possibly working with his older brother Benedetto who was also a Dominican and an illuminator. The former Dominican convent of San Marco in Florence, now a state museum, the painter Lorenzo Monaco may have contributed to his art training, and the influence of the Sienese school is discernible in his work. He had several important charges in the convents he lived in, but this did not limit his art, according to Vasari, the first paintings of this artist were an altarpiece and a painted screen for the Charterhouse of Florence, none such exist there now. Between 1418 and 1436 he was at the convent of Fiesole, where he executed a number of frescoes for the church and the Altarpiece. A predella of the Altarpiece remains intact and is conserved in the National Gallery, London and it shows Christ in Glory surrounded by more than 250 figures, including beatified Dominicans. In 1436, Fra Angelico was one of a number of the friars from Fiesole who moved to the newly built convent or friary of San Marco in Florence, in 1439 Fra Angelico completed one of his most famous works, the San Marco Altarpiece at Florence. The result was unusual for its time, but in this instance, the saints stand squarely within the space, grouped in a natural way as if they were able to converse about the shared experience of witnessing the Virgin in glory. Paintings such as this, known as Sacred Conversations, were to become the major commissions of Giovanni Bellini, Perugino and Raphael. In 1445 Pope Eugene IV summoned him to Rome to paint the frescoes of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament at St Peters, later demolished by Pope Paul III. Vasari claims that at this time Fra Angelico was offered the Archbishopric of Florence by Pope Nicholas V, the story seems possible and even likely. However, if Vasaris date is correct, then the pope must have been Eugene IV and not Nicholas, moreover, the Archbishop in 1446–1459 was the Dominican Antoninus of Florence, canonized by Pope Adrian VI in 1523. In 1447 Fra Angelico was in Orvieto with his pupil, Benozzo Gozzoli, among his other pupils were Zanobi Strozzi
Fra Angelico
–
Detail from Deeds of the Antichrist by
Luca Signorelli (c. 1501) in
Orvieto Cathedral,
Italy
Fra Angelico
–
The Virgin of the Annunciation
Fra Angelico
–
San Marco Altarpiece.
Fra Angelico
–
The Crucified Christ
2.
San Marco, Florence
–
San Marco is the name of a religious complex in Florence, Italy. It comprises a church and a convent, the convent, which is now a museum, has three claims to fame. During the 15th century it was home to two famous Dominicans, the painter Fra Angelico and the preacher Girolamo Savonarola, also housed at the convent is a famous collection of manuscripts in a library built by Michelozzo. The present convent occupies the site where a Vallombrosan monastery existed in the 12th century, both of these groups were branches of the Order of St. Benedict. In the time of the Sylvestrines at least, the church was used both for monastic liturgical functions and as a parish church, from this initial period there have recently been rediscovered some traces of frescoes below floor level. They appealed to Cosimo de Medici the Elder, who lived nearby in the palace, now known as the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. So it was that in 1437 Cosimo commissioned Michelozzo, the Medici’s favourite architect to rebuild the San Marco convent on Renaissance lines. By 1438 the work was underway and the final dedication took place on Epiphany night 1443 in the presence of Pope Eugene IV. These years marked in fact the height of the Medici family’s artistic patronage, the church has a single nave with side chapels designed in the late 16th century by Giambologna, and housing paintings from the 16th–17th centuries. In the late 17th century the tribune and the ceiling were also realized. A further renovation was carried on in 1678 by Pier Francesco Silvani, the façade, in Neo-Classical style, was built in 1777–1778. Among the artworks, the most ancient is a 14th-century crucifix in the counter-façade, the crucifix on the high altar is by Fra Angelico. Over the first altar to the right is St. Thomas Praying by Santi di Tito from 1593, Giambologna completed the Cappella di SantAntonino in May 1589. The Salviati family had been linked by marriage to the Medici (Pope Leo XI was the son of Francesca Salviati, the interior was decorated in fresco with a Translation and Funeral of St. Antonino Perozzi by Domenico Passignano. The dome of the chapel is by Bernardino Poccetti, also author of frescoes in the Sacrament Chapel, the latter also has canvases by Santi di Tito, Crespi, Francesco Morandini, Jacopo da Empoli, and Francesco Curradi. The work was planned according to arrangements that took account of simplicity and practicality, but were of great elegance, a sober, though comfortable, Renaissance edifice. The internal walls were covered in whitewashed plaster, layout centred on two cloisters, with the usual features of a chapter house, two refectories and guest quarters on the ground level. On the upper floor were the friars’ cells, small walled enclosures overarched by a trussed roof
San Marco, Florence
–
The façade and the bell tower of San Marco in Florence.
San Marco, Florence
–
The Last Judgement, by Fra Angelico.
3.
Saint Longinus
–
This act created the last of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ. This individual, unnamed in the Gospels, is identified in legend as the centurion present at the Crucifixion. No name for this soldier is given in the Gospels, the name Longinus is instead found in the pseudepigraphal Gospel of Nicodemus that was appended to the apocryphal Acts of Pilate, Longinus did not start out as a saint. Later traditions turned him into a Christian convert, but as Sabine Baring-Gould observed, The name of Longinus was not known to the Greeks previous to the patriarch Germanus and it was introduced amongst the Westerns from the Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. There is no authority for the Acts and martyrdom of this saint. However, an old tradition does link the birthplace of Longinus with the village of Anxanum, Samnite territory, the name is probably Latinized from the Greek lonche, the word used for the lance mentioned in John 19,34. As the Lance of Longinus, the figures in the legends of the Holy Grail. Some of Jesus’s blood fell upon his eyes and he was healed, upon this miracle Longinus believed in Jesus. The relics are said to have been divided and then distributed to Prague and elsewhere, however, official guides of the Basilica do not mention the presence of any tomb associated with Saint Longinus. It is also said that the body of Longinus was found in Sardinia, Greek sources assert that he suffered martyrdom in Gabala, Longinus is venerated, generally as a martyr, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Armenian Apostolic Church. The original feast day of 15 March is still maintained in the calendar in the Extraordinary Form. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him on 16 October, in the Armenian Apostolic Church, his feast is commemorated on October 22. The statue of Saint Longinus, sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is one of four in the niches beneath the dome of Saint Peters Basilica, a spearpoint fragment from the Holy Lance is also conserved in the Basilica. Longinus and his legend are the subject of the Moriones Festival held during Holy Week on the island of Marinduque, in Irving Pichels 1939 film The Great Commandment Albert Dekker portrays him as the commanding officer of a Roman army company escorting a tax collector about Judea. Subsequently, he is converted to Christianity through the kindness of Joel bar Lamech, in the George Stevenss 1965 film The Greatest Story Ever Told, Longinus is identified with the centurion who professed, Truly this man was the Son of God on Golgotha. Longinus is a character in the 2005 four issue comic The Light Brigade by DC comics. The comic takes place in 1944 during World War 2 and features a immortal Longinus doomed to walk the Earth to atone for his deed by fighting fallen angels and their allies. Casca Rufio Longinus, in a series entitled Casca by Barry Sadler
Saint Longinus
–
Longinus pierces the side of Jesus with the
Holy Lance.
Fresco by
Fra Angelico (1395–1455), San Marco, Florence
Saint Longinus
–
Saint Longinus in St. Peter's Basilica by
Bernini.
Saint Longinus
–
Longinus the Centurion.
Russian icon by
Fyodor Zubov, 1680.
Saint Longinus
–
Christ on the Cross, the three Marys, John the Evangelist, and Saint Longinus
4.
Gospel of John
–
The Gospel According to John is one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. It traditionally appears fourth, after the gospels of Matthew, Mark. John begins with the witness and affirmation of John the Baptist and concludes with the death, burial, resurrection, although the Gospel of John is anonymous, Christian tradition historically has attributed it to John the Apostle, son of Zebedee and one of Jesus Twelve Apostles. C. K. Barrett, and later Raymond E. Brown, suggested that a tradition developed around the Johannine Community, and that this tradition gave rise to the gospel. The discovery of a number of papyrus fragments of manuscripts with Johannine themes has led more scholars to recognize that the texts were among the most influential in the early Church. The discourses contained with this gospel seem to be concerned with issues of the debate at the time of composition. It is notable that in John, the community appears to define itself primarily in contrast to Judaism, though Christianity started as a movement within Judaism, it gradually separated from Judaism because of mutual opposition between the two religions. The Gospel of John can be divided into four sections, a prologue, a Book of Signs, a Book of Glory, the narrative of Jesus public ministry, beginning with the introduction of the first disciples of Jesus. It consists of seven miracles, or signs, interspersed with long dialogues, discourses, Amen, amen sayings, in John it is this, and not the cleansing of the Temple, that prompts the authorities to have Jesus executed. The narrative of Jesus Passion, Resurrection, and post-Resurrection appearances and this is followed by Jesus Farewell Discourse, an account of his betrayal, arrest, trial, death, burial, post-Resurrection appearances, and final commission for his followers. Jesus mocking and crowning with thorns, the Ecce homo, the discovery of the empty tomb, the noli me tangere, the Great Commission, and the incredulity of Thomas. The section ends with a conclusion on the purpose of the gospel, that may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, a large majority of scholars believes this chapter to be an addition to the gospel. The Gospel of John is anonymous, traditionally, Christians have identified the author as the Disciple whom Jesus loved mentioned in John 21,24, who is understood to be John son of Zebedee, one of Jesus Twelve Apostles. These identifications, however, are rejected by the majority of biblical scholars. Nevertheless, the author of the fourth Gospel is sometimes called John the Evangelist, a significant minority consider the traditional account of John the Apostles authorship to be genuine. In addition, the ancient external attestation for Johannine authorship is strong, John is usually dated to AD 90–110. It arose in a Jewish Christian community in the process of breaking from the Jewish synagogue, scholars believe that the text went through two to three redactions, or editions, before reaching its current form. John, which regularly describes Jesus opponents simply as the Jews, is more hostile to the Jews than any other body of New Testament writing
Gospel of John
–
Books of the
New Testament
Gospel of John
–
Stained glass depiction of St. John at
St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Charleston, South Carolina.
Gospel of John
–
The
Rylands Papyrus is perhaps the earliest New Testament fragment; dated from its handwriting to about 125.
5.
Lance
–
The lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier. Lances were often equipped with a vamplate – a small circular plate to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact. The name is derived from the word lancea - the Roman auxiliaries javelin or throwing knife, although according to the OED, also compare λόγχη, a Greek term for spear or lance. A lance in the sense is a light throwing spear. The English verb to launch fling, hurl, throw is derived from the term, the term from the 17th century came to refer specifically to spears not thrown, used for thrusting by heavy cavalry, and especially in jousting. A thrusting spear which is used by infantry is referred to as a pike. The second use of the lance in this sense was made by the Assyrians, long thrusting cavalry spears were especially popular among the Hellenistic armies agema and line cavalry. One of the most effective ancient lanced cavalry units was Alexander the Greats Companion cavalry, the Roman cavalry long thrusting spear was called a contus. It was usually 3 to 4m long, and grasped with both hands and it was employed by equites contariorum and equites cataphractarii, fully armed and armoured cataphracts. The Byzantine cavalry used lances almost exclusively, often in mixed lancer, the Byzantines used lance both overarm and underarm, couched. It is commonly believed that this became the dominant European cavalry tactic in the 11th century after the development of the saddle and stirrups. Cavalry thus outfitted and deployed had a collective force in their charge. Recent evidence has suggested, however, that the charge was effective without the benefit of stirrups. Because of the stopping power of a thrusting spear, it quickly became a popular weapon of infantry in the Late Middle Ages. These eventually led to the rise of the longest type of spears and this adaptation of the cavalry lance to infantry use was largely tasked with stopping lance-armed cavalry charges. In Europe, a lance was a variation of the knights lance which was modified from its original war design. The centre of the shaft of such lances could be designed to be hollow, in order for it to break on impact and they were often at least 4m long, and had hand guards built into the lance, often tapering for a considerable portion of the weapons length. These are the versions that can most often be seen at medieval reenactment festivals, in war, lances were much more like stout spears, long and balanced for one-handed use, and with sharpened tips
Lance
–
Norman cavalry attacks the
Anglo-Saxon shield wall at the
Battle of Hastings as depicted in the
Bayeux Tapestry. The lances are held with a one-handed over-the-head grip.
Lance
–
Assyrian cavalry with lances.
Lance
–
Vargas Swamp Lancers memorial in
Colombia.
Lance
–
A lance tip from the re-enactment of the
Eglinton Tournament (1839)
6.
Jesus
–
Jesus, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who became the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was baptized by John the Baptist and subsequently began his own ministry, preaching his message orally and often being referred to as rabbi. He was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities, and was crucified by the order of Pontius Pilate, Jesus debated fellow Jews on how to best follow God, performed healings, taught in parables and gathered followers. After his death, his followers believed he rose from the dead, and his birth is celebrated annually on December 25 as a holiday known as Christmas, his crucifixion is honored on Good Friday, and his resurrection is celebrated on Easter. The widely used calendar era AD, from the Latin anno Domini, most Christians believe Jesus enables humans to be reconciled to God. The Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead either before or after their bodily resurrection, the great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three persons of a Divine Trinity. A minority of Christian denominations reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, in Islam, Jesus is considered one of Gods important prophets and the Messiah. Muslims believe Jesus was a bringer of scripture and was born of a virgin but was not the Son of God, the Quran states that Jesus himself never claimed divinity. To most Muslims, Jesus was not crucified but was raised into Heaven by God. Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill Messianic prophecies, a typical Jew in Jesus time had only one name, sometimes supplemented with the fathers name or the individuals hometown. Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is commonly referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus neighbors in Nazareth refer to him as the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, the carpenters son, or Josephs son. In John, the disciple Philip refers to him as Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth, the name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς. The Greek form is a rendering of the Hebrew ישוע, a variant of the earlier name יהושע, the name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. The 1st century works of historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote in Koine Greek, the etymology of Jesus name in the context of the New Testament is generally given as Yahweh is salvation. Since early Christianity, Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as Jesus Christ, the word Christ is derived from the Greek Χριστός, which is a translation of the Hebrew משיח, meaning the anointed and usually transliterated into English as Messiah. Christians designate Jesus as Christ because they believe he is the Messiah, whose arrival is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, in postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of Jesus Christ—but originally it was a title. The term Christian has been in use since the 1st century, the four canonical gospels are the only substantial sources for the life and message of Jesus. Acts of the Apostles refers to the ministry of Jesus
Jesus
–
(
stained glass at
St John's Ashfield in
Sydney, Australia)
Jesus
Jesus
–
A 3rd-century Greek
papyrus of the
Gospel of Luke
Jesus
–
Adoration of the Shepherds by
Gerard van Honthorst, 1622.
7.
Synoptic Gospels
–
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose content is comparatively distinct, the term synoptic comes via Latin from the Greek σύνοψις, synopsis, i. e. This strong parallelism among the three gospels in content, arrangement, and specific language is attributed to literary interdependence. Broadly speaking, the gospels are similar to John, all are composed in Koine Greek, have a similar length. In content and in wording, though, the synoptics diverge widely from John but have a deal in common with each other. Though each gospel includes some material, the majority of Mark and roughly half of Matthew and Luke coincide in content, in much the same sequence. This common material is termed the triple tradition and this stands in contrast to the material found in only two of the gospels, which is much more variable in order. The classification of text as belonging to the tradition is not always definitive. For example, Matthew and Mark report the cursing of the fig tree, clearly a single incident, despite some differences of wording. Searching Luke, however, we find only the parable of the fig tree. Some would say that Luke has extensively adapted an element of the triple tradition, an illustrative example of the three texts in parallel is the healing of the leper, More than half the wording in this passage is identical. Just as interesting, though, is that each gospel includes words absent in the two and omits something included by the other two. It has been observed that the tradition itself constitutes a complete gospel quite similar to the shortest gospel. Mark, unlike Matthew and Luke, adds little to the triple tradition. Pericopae unique to Mark are scarce, notably two healings involving saliva and the naked runaway, Marks additions within the triple tradition tend to be explanatory elaborations or Aramaisms. The pericopae Mark shares with only Luke are also few, the Capernaum exorcism and departure from Capernaum, the strange exorcist. A greater number, but still not many, are shared with only Matthew, most notably the so-called Great Omission from Luke of Mk 6, most scholars take these observations as a strong clue to the literary relationship among the synoptics and Marks special place in that relationship. The hypothesis favored by most experts is Marcan priority, that Mark was composed first, a leading alternative hypothesis is Marcan posteriority, that Mark was formed primarily by extracting what Matthew and Luke shared in common
Synoptic Gospels
–
The
calming of the storm is similarly recounted in each of the three synoptic gospels, but not in John.
Synoptic Gospels
–
Christ cleansing a leper by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864.
Synoptic Gospels
–
A page of Griesbach's Synopsis Evangeliorum, in which the texts of the synoptic gospels are arranged in columns.
8.
Crucifixion
–
It is principally known from classical antiquity, but remains in occasional use in some countries. The crucifixion of Jesus is a narrative in Christianity. Ancient Greek has two verbs for crucify, ana-stauro, from stauros, stake, and apo-tumpanizo crucify on a plank, in earlier pre-Roman Greek texts anastauro usually means impale. New Testament Greek uses four verbs, three of them based upon stauros, usually translated cross, prospegnumi, to fix or fasten to, impale, crucify occurs only once at the Acts of the Apostles 2,23. The English term cross derives from the Latin word crux, the Latin term crux classically referred to a tree or any construction of wood used to hang criminals as a form of execution. The term later came to specifically to a cross. The English term crucifix derives from the Latin crucifixus or cruci fixus, past participle passive of crucifigere or cruci figere, Crucifixion was often performed in order to terrorize and dissuade its witnesses from perpetrating particularly heinous crimes. Victims were left on display after death as warnings to others who might attempt dissent, Crucifixion was usually intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful, gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period, in some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 135 kg, but the crossbeam would not be quite as burdensome, weighing around 45 kg. Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in place. Objects used in the crucifixion of criminals, such as nails, were sought as amulets with perceived medicinal qualities, while a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. Although artists have depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth or a covering of the genitals. Writings by Seneca the Younger state some victims suffered a stick forced upwards through their groin, despite its frequent use by the Romans, the horrors of crucifixion did not escape mention by some of their eminent orators. Frequently, the legs of the executed were broken or shattered with an iron club, an act called crurifragium. This act hastened the death of the person but was meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses. The gibbet on which crucifixion was carried out could be of many shapes, at times the gibbet was only one vertical stake, called in Latin crux simplex. This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing the condemned, frequently, however, there was a cross-piece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism
Crucifixion
–
Protester tied to a cross in Washington D.C, photography by Oliver F. Atkins (1970)
Crucifixion
Crucifixion
–
Crucifixion of Jesus by
Marco Palmezzano (Uffizi,
Florence), painting c. 1490
Crucifixion
–
Prisoner kneeling on chains, thumbs supporting arms, photographic print on
stereo card,
Mukden, China (c 1906).
9.
Lamb (liturgy)
–
The Lamb is the square portion of bread cut from the prosphora in the Liturgy of Preparation at the Divine Liturgy in the Orthodox Church and in the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. The Lamb is placed in the center of the diskos, the prosphoron from which the Lamb is cut is a loaf of leavened bread, formed in two layers to symbolize the hypostatic union of the human and divine natures of Christ. The portion of the loaf demarcated by the seal will be cut out as the Lamb. When the priest cuts the Lamb from the prosphoron, he uses a knife called a spear. As he cuts along the four edges of the seal, the priest says the words from Isaiah 53, 7-8, which St. Philip interprets as referring to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. The priest repeats a phrase from the prophecy as he cuts along each of the four sides of the seal, on the right side, on the left side, And as a spotless lamb before His shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. At the top, In his humiliation his judgement was taken away, at the bottom, And who shall declare His generation. As he removes the Lamb from the prosphoron, For His life is taken up from the earth and he then places the Lamb face down on the seal, and cuts it cross-wise almost all the way through, leaving it connected as one piece by the seal. This will facilitate the fraction after the anaphora, as he makes these cuts, he says, Sacrificed is the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world, for the life of the world, and the salvation thereof. And he that saw it bare witness, and his witness is true, there are other particles also cut from prosphora as part of the Liturgy of Preparation. These commemorate the Theotokos, nine ranks of saints, the living, and these smaller particles are arranged around the Lamb on the diskos. A metal frame, the asterisk or star-cover, is placed over the diskos to support the small veil with which it is covered and this veil remains in place until the diskos is set upon the altar. At the anaphora only the Lamb is actually consecrated, the particles are considered to remain only bread. When it comes time for Communion, the priest will divide the Lamb into four portions, the deacon will say, Break, Master, the Holy Bread. And, as he breaks it, the priest says, Broken and distributed is the Lamb of God, broken and he then puts the four portions of the Lamb on the rim of the diskos in the form of a cross. They remain in this arrangement only briefly, the upper portion is placed whole in the Chalice to signify the oneness of Christ. The deacon says, Fill, Master, the Holy Cup, as he places the particle in the Chalice, the priest says, The fullness of the Holy Spirit. The lower portion, is cut into smaller particles with which the clergy are communicated, the portions on the left and right are cut into much smaller particles
Lamb (liturgy)
–
the Lamb placed on the
diskos during the
Proskomedie. To the left are other
prosphora which will be used during the service.
Lamb (liturgy)
–
the Lamb with particles.
10.
Origen
–
Origen, or Origen Adamantius, was a Greek scholar, ascetic, and early Christian theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a writer in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, philosophical theology, preaching. He was anathematised at the Second Council of Constantinople and he was one of the most influential figures in early Christian asceticism. Origens Greek name Ōrigénēs probably means child of Horus and his nickname or cognomen Adamantios derives from Greek adámas, which means adamant, unalterable, unbreakable, unconquerable, diamond. He acquired it because of his ascetical practices. Origen was born in Alexandria to Christian parents and he was educated by his father, Leonides of Alexandria, who gave him a standard Hellenistic education, but also had him study the Christian scriptures. The name of his mother is unknown, in 202, Origens father was martyred in the outbreak of the persecution during the reign of Septimius Severus. A story reported by Eusebius has it that Origen wished to follow him in martyrdom, the death of Leonides left the family of nine impoverished when their property was confiscated. Many modern scholars, however, doubt that Clements school had been an ecclesiastical institution as Origens was. His fame and the number of his pupils increased rapidly, so that Bishop Demetrius of Alexandria, Origen, to be entirely independent, sold his library for a sum which netted him a daily income of 4 obols, on which he lived by exercising the utmost frugality. Teaching throughout the day, he devoted the greater part of the night to the study of the Bible, Eusebius reported that Origen, following Matthew 19,12 literally, castrated himself. The later church historian Philostorgius of Apamea, on the other hand, Eusebius story was accepted during the Middle Ages and was cited by Peter Abelard in his letters to Heloise. Edward Gibbon, in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, during the past century, scholars have often questioned this, surmising that this may have been a rumor circulated by his detractors. Henry Chadwick points out that, while the story may be true, it seems unlikely, however, many noted historians, such as Peter Brown and William Placher, continue to find no reason to deny the truth of Eusebius claims. But the school had far outgrown the strength of a man, the catechumens pressed eagerly for elementary instruction. Under these circumstances, Origen entrusted the teaching of the catechumens to Heraclas and his own interests became more and more centered in exegesis, and he accordingly studied Hebrew, though there is no certain knowledge concerning his instructor in that language. From about this period dates Origens acquaintance with Ambrose of Alexandria, later Ambrose, a man of wealth, made a formal agreement with Origen to promulgate his writings, and all the subsequent works of Origen were dedicated to Ambrose. In the following year, an uprising at Alexandria caused Caracalla to let his soldiers plunder the city, shut the schools
Origen
–
Origen
Origen
–
Origen reportedly studied under
Clement of Alexandria and was influenced by his thought.
Origen
–
Plato from
The School of Athens by
Raphael, 1509
11.
Catholicism
–
The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
Catholicism
–
Ruins of gothic Catholic church in
Liptovská Mara (
Slovakia).
Catholicism
–
Ancient statue of
Saint Peter in the Basilica dedicated to him in the
Vatican.
Catholicism
–
An
Italian priest during the sacrament of
Baptism
12.
Allegory
–
As a literary device, an allegory is a metaphor whose vehicle may be a character, place or event, representing real-world issues and occurrences. Many ancient religions are based on astrological allegories, that is, allegories of the movement of the sun, in classical literature two of the best-known allegories are the Cave in Platos Republic and the story of the stomach and its members in the speech of Menenius Agrippa. One of the examples of allegory, Platos Allegory of the Cave. In this allegory, Plato describes a group of people who have lived chained in an all of their lives. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows, using language to identify their world. He tries to tell the people in the cave of his discovery, also allegorical is Ezekiel 16 and 17, wherein the capture of that same vine by the mighty Eagle represents Israels exile to Rome. Allegory has an ability to freeze the temporality of a story, Mediaeval thinking accepted allegory as having a reality underlying any rhetorical or fictional uses. The allegory was as true as the facts of surface appearances, if, then, the Greeks or others say that they were not committed to the care of Peter and his successors, they necessarily confess that they are not of the sheep of Christ. This text also demonstrates the frequent use of allegory in religious texts during the Mediaeval Period, following the tradition, since meaningful stories are nearly always applicable to larger issues, allegories may be read into many stories which the author may not have recognised. This is allegoresis, or the act of reading a story as an allegory. S, lewis and A Kingdom Far and Clear, The Complete Swan Lake Trilogy by Mark Helprin. The story of the apple falling onto Isaac Newtons head is another famous allegory and it simplified the idea of gravity by depicting a simple way it was supposedly discovered. It also made the scientific revelation well known by condensing the theory into a short tale. According to Henry Littlefields 1964 article, L. Yet, George MacDonald emphasised in 1893 that, A fairy tale is not an allegory, I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and this further reinforces the idea of forced allegoresis, as allegory is often a matter of interpretation and only sometimes of original artistic intention. Like allegorical stories, allegorical poetry has two meanings – a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning, some unique specimens of allegory can be found in the following works, Edmund Spenser – The Faerie Queene, The several knights in the poem actually stand for several virtues. Nathaniel Hawthorne – Young Goodman Brown, The Devils Staff symbolises defiance of God, the characters names, such as Goodman and Faith, ironically serve as paradox in the conclusion of the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter, The scarlet letter symbolises many things, the characters, while developed with interiority, are allegorical in that they represent ways of seeing the world. George Orwell – Animal Farm, The pigs stand for political figures of the Russian Revolution, lászló Krasznahorkai - The Melancholy of Resistance and the film Werckmeister Harmonies, It uses a circus to describe an occupying dysfunctional government
Allegory
–
Allegory of Music by
Filippino Lippi (between 1475 and 1500): The "Allegory of Music" is a popular theme in painting. Lippi uses
symbols popular during the
High Renaissance, many of which refer to Greek mythology.
Allegory
–
Salvator Rosa:
Allegory of Fortune, representing
Fortuna, the Goddess of luck, with the
horn of plenty
Allegory
–
British School 17th century - Portrait of a Lady, Called Elizabeth, Lady Tanfield. Sometimes the meaning of an allegory can be lost, even if art historians suspect that the artwork is an allegory of some kind.
Allegory
–
Allegory of
Arithmetic, by
Laurent de La Hyre, c. 1650
13.
Gospel of Matthew
–
The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. The narrative tells how the Messiah, Jesus, rejected by Israel, most scholars believe the Gospel of Matthew was composed between AD80 and 90, with a range of possibility between AD70 to 110. The title Son of David identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel, as Son of Man he will return to judge the world, an expectation which his disciples recognise but of which his enemies are unaware. As Son of God he is God revealing himself through his son, the gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelists community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. The original versions of the Gospel of Matthew and the gospels are lost. The oldest relatively complete extant manuscripts of the Bible are the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus, besides these, there exist manuscript fragments ranging from a few verses to whole chapters. P104 and P67 are notable fragments of Matthew, in the process of recopying, variations slipped in, different regional manuscript traditions emerged, and corrections and adjustments were made. The Gospel of Matthew is anonymous, the author is not named within the text, the consensus is that Papias does not describe the Gospel of Matthew as we know it, and it is generally accepted that Matthew was written in Greek, not in Aramaic or Hebrew. The majority view of scholars is that Mark was the first gospel to be composed. The author of Matthew did not, however, simply copy Mark, an additional 220 verses, shared by Matthew and Luke but not found in Mark, from a second source, a hypothetical collection of sayings to which scholars give the name Quelle, or the Q source. The author also had at his disposal the Greek scriptures, both as book-scrolls and in the form of collections, and, if Papias is correct. The majority view among scholars is that Matthew was a product of the last quarter of the 1st century, the Christian community to which Matthew belonged, like many 1st-century Christians, were still part of the larger Jewish community, hence the designation Jewish Christian to describe them. The author of Matthew wrote for a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians located probably in Syria, Matthew, alone among the gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase When Jesus had finished. The Gospel of Matthew begins with the words The Book of Genealogy of Jesus Christ, John baptizes Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him. Jesus prays and meditates in the wilderness for forty days, and is tempted by Satan and his early ministry by word and deed in Galilee meets with much success, and leads to the Sermon on the Mount, the first of the discourses. The sermon presents the ethics of the kingdom of God, introduced by the Beatitudes and it concludes with a reminder that the response to the kingdom will have eternal consequences, and the crowds amazed response leads into the next narrative block. From the authoritative words of Jesus the gospel turns to three sets of three miracles interwoven with two sets of two stories, followed by a discourse on mission and suffering. Opposition to Jesus comes to a head with accusations that his deeds are done through the power of Satan, Jesus in turn accuses his opponents of blaspheming the Holy Spirit
Gospel of Matthew
–
Books of the
New Testament
Gospel of Matthew
–
Papyrus
4, fragment of a flyleaf with the title of the Gospel of Matthew, ευαγγελιον κ̣ατ̣α μαθ᾽θαιον (euangelion kata Maththaion). Dated to late 2nd or early 3rd century, it is the earliest manuscript title for Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
–
37, a 3rd-century CE papyrus of
Matthew 26
Gospel of Matthew
–
The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel (
Rembrandt)
14.
First Council of Nicaea
–
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD325. Constantine I organized the Council along the lines of the Roman Senate and presided over it and this ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the Church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. Hosius of Cordoba, who was one of the Papal legates. The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of the Church, St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position, the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly, through it a precedent was set for subsequent general councils to adopt creeds and canons. This council is considered the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils in the History of Christianity. The First Council of Nicaea was convened by Emperor Constantine the Great upon the recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Córdoba in the Eastertide of 325 and this synod had been charged with investigation of the trouble brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking east. To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls and this was the first general council in the history of the Church summoned by emperor Constantine I. In the Council of Nicaea, The Church had taken her first great step to define revealed doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology. Constantine had invited all 1,800 bishops of the Christian church within the Roman Empire, Eusebius of Caesarea counted more than 250, Athanasius of Alexandria counted 318, and Eustathius of Antioch estimated about 270. Later, Socrates Scholasticus recorded more than 300, and Evagrius, Hilary of Poitiers, Jerome, Dionysius Exiguus and this number 318 is preserved in the liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire, including Britain, the participating bishops were given free travel to and from their episcopal sees to the council, as well as lodging. These bishops did not travel alone, each one had permission to bring him two priests and three deacons, so the total number of attendees could have been above 1,800. Eusebius speaks of an almost innumerable host of accompanying priests, deacons, the Eastern bishops formed the great majority. Of these, the first rank was held by the three patriarchs, Alexander of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Macarius of Jerusalem and this position is supported by patristic scholar Timothy Barnes in his book Constantine and Eusebius. Historically, the influence of these marred confessors has been seen as substantial, Athanasius of Alexandria, a young deacon and companion of Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, was among the assistants. Athanasius eventually spent most of his life battling against Arianism, Alexander of Constantinople, then a presbyter, was also present as representative of his aged bishop. The supporters of Arius included Secundus of Ptolemais, Theonus of Marmarica, Zphyrius, other supporters included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Paulinus of Tyrus, Actius of Lydda, Menophantus of Ephesus, and Theognus of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
–
Council of Nicea
First Council of Nicaea
–
Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
–
Constantine the Great summoned the bishops of the Christian Church to Nicaea to address divisions in the Church (mosaic in
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), ca. 1000).
15.
Mass (liturgy)
–
Mass often refers to the entire church service in general, but is specifically the sacrament of the Eucharist. The term mass is called in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodox churches and many Old Catholic, Anglican, as well as some Lutheran churches. Some Protestants employ terms such as Divine Service or service of worship, the English noun mass is derived from Middle Latin missa. The Latin word was adopted in Old English as mæsse, and was sometimes glossed as sendnes, the Latin term missa itself was in use by the 6th century. It is most likely derived from the concluding formula Ite, missa est, historically, however, there have been other explanations of the noun missa, i. e. as not derived from the formula ite, missa est. Already Du Cange reports various opinions on the origin of the noun missa mass, including the derivation from Hebrew matzah, here attributed to Caesar Baronius. The Hebrew derivation is learned speculation from 16th-century philology, medieval authorities did derive the noun missa from the verb mittere, but not in connection with the formula ite, missa est. Thus, De divinis officiis explains the word as a mittendo, quod nos mittat ad Deo, the Catholic Church sees the Mass or Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life, to which the other sacraments are oriented. The Catholic Church believes that the Mass is exactly the same sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered on the Cross at Calvary, after making the sign of the cross and greeting the people liturgically, he begins the Act of Penitence. This concludes with the prayer of absolution, which, however. The Kyrie, eleison, is sung or said, followed by the Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Introductory Rites are brought to a close by the Collect Prayer. On Sundays and solemnities, three Scripture readings are given, on other days there are only two. If there are three readings, the first is from the Old Testament, or the Acts of the Apostles during Eastertide, the first reading is followed by a psalm, either sung responsorially or recited. The second reading is from the New Testament, typically one of the Pauline epistles. A Gospel Acclamation is then sung as the Book of the Gospels is processed, sometimes with incense and candles, the final reading and high point of the Liturgy of the Word is the proclamation of the Gospel by the deacon or priest. At least on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, a homily, finally, the Creed is professed on Sundays and solemnities, and it is desirable that in Masses celebrated with the people the Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful should usually follow. The congregation responds, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, the priest then pronounces the variable prayer over the gifts. The Eucharistic Prayer, the centre and high point of the entire celebration, the priest continues with one of many Eucharistic Prayer thanksgiving prefaces, which lead to the reciting of the Sanctus acclamation
Mass (liturgy)
–
A 15th-century Mass
Mass (liturgy)
–
A priest offering the Mass at the
St Mary's Basilica, Bangalore
Mass (liturgy)
–
Consecration of the host during Mass in the
Grotto of the Annunciation, Nazareth.
16.
Faustina Kowalska
–
Saint Maria Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament, OLM, popularly spelled Faustina, was a Polish Roman Catholic nun and mystic. Her claims of receiving apparitions of Jesus Christ inspired the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy and her biography submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints quoted some of these conversations with Jesus regarding the Divine Mercy devotion. Faustina and Sopoćko directed an artist to paint the first Divine Mercy image, Sopoćko used the image in celebrating the first Mass on the first Sunday after Easter. Subsequently, Pope John Paul II established the Feast of Divine Mercy on that Sunday of each liturgical year, the Roman Catholic Church canonized Faustina as a saint on 30 April 2000, considering her a virgin and mystic. She is venerated within the Church as the Apostle of Divine Mercy and she was born as Helena Kowalska, in Głogowiec, Łęczyca County, north-west of Łódź in Poland. She was the third of ten children of Stanisław Kowalski and Marianna Kowalska and her father was a carpenter and a peasant and the family was poor and religious. She stated that she first felt a calling to the life while attending the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 7 years of age. She wanted to enter the convent after completing her time at school, when she was 16 years old, she went to work as a housekeeper first in Aleksandrów Łódzki where she received the Sacrament of Confirmation then in Łódź, to support herself and help her parents. In 1924 at the age of 19 years, Faustina and her sister Natalia went to a dance in a park in Łódź, Faustina said that while at the dance she had a vision of a suffering Jesus. She then went to the Cathedral, where she said that Jesus instructed her to depart for Warsaw immediately and she packed a small bag that night and took a train for Warsaw the next morning, without the permission of her parents and without knowing anyone in Warsaw. After she arrived, she entered the first church she saw and she asked the priest, Father Dąbrowski, for suggestions and he recommended staying with a Mrs. Lipszycowa, a local woman whom he considered trustworthy, until she found a convent. Faustina approached several convents in Warsaw, but was turned every time, in one case being told that we do not accept maids here. Faustina could read and write and had three or four years of education, Faustina knew nothing of the convent she was entering, except that she believed she was led there. In 1925, Faustina worked as a housemaid to save money, making deposits at the Convent throughout the year, on 30 April 1926 at the age of 20 years, she received her habit and took the religious name of Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. The name Faustina, meaning fortunate or blessed, may have intended as a feminine form of Faustinus. In April 1928, she took her first religious vows as a nun with her parents attending the profession rite and she was a nun for a little more than a decade, and died at the age of 33 years on 5 October 1938. From February to April 1929, she was sent to the convent in Wilno, then in Poland, contemporarily Vilnius, Lithuania, although her time in Vilnius was short, she returned there later and met Father Michael Sopoćko, who supported her mission. A year after her first return from Vilnius, in May 1930, she was transferred to the convent in Płock, Faustina arrived in Płock in May 1930
Faustina Kowalska
–
Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament
Faustina Kowalska
–
The first Divine Mercy painting by
Kazimierowski (1934) at the
Divine Mercy Sanctuary (Vilnius)
Faustina Kowalska
–
A small convent house where Faustina lived in Vilnius
17.
Divine Mercy
–
The Divine Mercy of Jesus, also known as the Divine Mercy, is a Roman Catholic devotion to Jesus Christ associated with the reputed apparitions of Jesus revealed to Saint Faustina Kowalska. The Roman Catholic devotion and venerated image under this Christological title refers to the merciful love of God towards all people. Sister Kowalska was granted the title Secretary of Mercy by the Holy See in the Jubilee Year of 2000, sister Faustina Kowalska reported a number of apparitions during religious ecstasy which she wrote in her diary, later published as the book Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, had great affinity towards this devotion, the liturgical feast of the Divine Mercy is celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Some members of the Anglican Communion also share its pious beliefs, the primary focus of the Divine Mercy devotion is the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through ones own heart towards those in need of it. As he dedicated the Shrine of Divine Mercy, Pope John Paul II referred to this when he said, — Words attributed to Jesus by Faustina in her diary. The third component is reflected in the statement Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners attributed to Jesus in Faustinas diary. This statement is followed in the diary by a short prayer, O Blood and Water. Which Faustina also recommended for the Hour of Divine Mercy, paint an image according to the pattern you see with the signature, Jesus, I trust in You… I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. The chaplet is associated with the paintings of the image as in Faustinas diary, the most widely used is an image painted by Adolf Hyla. Hyla painted the image in thanksgiving for having survived World War II, in the image, Jesus stands with one hand outstretched in blessing, the other clutching the side wounded by the spear, from which proceed beams of falling light, coloured red and white. An explanation of these colors was given to Saint Faustina by Jesus himself saying and these colors of the rays refer to the blood and water of the Gospel of John which are also mentioned in the optional prayer of the Chaplet. The words “Jesus I Trust in Thee” usually accompany the image, the original Divine Mercy image was painted by Eugene Kazimierowski in Vilnius, Lithuania, under St. Faustinas direction. The picture was used during the early years of the devotion, and is still in circulation within the movement. After the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on 30 April 2000 new versions of the image have emerged from a new generation of Catholic artists. Three time of 3.00 pm corresponds to the hour at which Jesus died on the cross and this hour is called the hour of Divine Mercy or the hour of great mercy. The feast of Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted by Pope John Paul II and is celebrated the Sunday after Easter on the General Roman Calendar, a number of Marian churches and shrines have been dedicated to Divine Mercy. One of the most important is the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, the worldwide center of the devotion is Divine Mercy Sanctuary, commonly known as Łagiewniki
Divine Mercy
–
Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1, 2011, at the
Vatican, for which over a million pilgrims went to Rome.
Divine Mercy
–
Faustina's chapel at her resting place, the
Basilica of Divine Mercy in Krakow, Łagiewniki.
Divine Mercy
–
The first Divine Mercy painting by
Kazimierowski (1934) at the
Divine Mercy Sanctuary (Vilnius).
Divine Mercy
–
A display at the Altar on
Divine Mercy Sunday at
St Pancras Church Ipswich.
18.
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
Orthodox liturgy
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
An
icon of
John the Baptist, 14th century, Macedonia
19.
Divine Liturgy
–
Divine Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite which is the Rite of the The Great Church of Christ and was developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term. Some Oriental Orthodox employ the term holy offering for their Eucharistic liturgies instead, the term is sometimes applied also to Roman Rite Eucharistic liturgies, though the term Mass is more commonly used there. In Eastern traditions, those of the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Divine Liturgy is seen as transcending time, all believers are believed to be united in worship in the Kingdom of God along with departed Saints and the celestial Angels. To this end, everything in the Liturgy is seen as symbolic, yet also not just merely symbolic, according to Eastern tradition and belief, the Liturgys roots go back to Jewish worship and the adaptation of Jewish worship by Early Christians. This can be seen in the first parts of the Liturgy termed the Liturgy of the Catechumens that includes reading of scriptures and, the latter half was added based on the Last Supper and the first Eucharistic celebrations by Early Christians. Each Liturgy has its differences from others, but most are similar to each other with adaptations based on tradition, purpose, culture. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, used on the 5 Sundays of Great Lent, on the eves of the Nativity and Theophany, and on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, it is celebrated as a vesperal liturgy. In some traditions, Saint Basils Liturgy is also celebrated on the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross on September 14, all together, St. Basils liturgy is celebrated 10 times out of the liturgical year. The Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, is used during Great Lent on Wednesdays, Fridays, and a handful of other occasions, and also on the first three days of Holy Week. Nowadays it is celebrated as a vesperal liturgy, the Liturgy of the Faithful has no Anaphora. It is traditionally attributed to St. Gregory the Dialogist, although some believe it originated with Patriarch Severus of Antioch. The Liturgy of Saint Mark was also observed in the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria on at least that Saints day until recent times. As numbers in a diocese increased dramatically the bishop as presiding over the Eucharistic assembly appointed presbyters as celebrant in the local community, still, the Church is understood in Eastern Orthodoxy not in terms of the presbyter, but the diocesan bishop. When the latter is present, he is chief celebrant, phrases and hymns are also added. The hierarch commemorates his hierarch demonstrating unity with the greater Orthodox community, note, Psalms are numbered according to the Greek Septuagint. For the Hebrew Masoretic numbering that is familiar in the West. The format of Divine Liturgy is fixed, although the specific readings and hymns vary with season, in modern times, this restriction applies only to Holy Communion — reception of the sacrament of holy communion
Divine Liturgy
–
Icon of Ss.
Basil the Great (left) and
John Chrysostom, ascribed authors of the two most frequently used
Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgies, c. 1150 (
mosaic in the
Palatine Chapel,
Palermo).
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
20.
Prosphora
–
A prosphoron is a small loaf of leavened bread used in Orthodox Christian and Greek Catholic liturgies. The term originally meant any offering made to a temple, prosphoro is made from only four ingredients, wheat flour, yeast, salt, and water. Salt was not used in times and is still not used in the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. Any member of the church who is in standing and whose conscience is clean may bake prosphora. Often in a church the women will take turns baking the prosphora, in monasteries. It is common but not necessary to go to confession before baking prosphora, sometimes, special kitchen implements are used for making the prosphora which are used for no other purpose. There may be special prayers said before commencing, and the baker tries to maintain a state of mind throughout. Usually enough prosphora for a number of services are baked at the same time, a prosphoron is made up of two separate round pieces of leavened dough which are placed one on top of another and baked together to form a single loaf. This double-loaf represents the two natures of Christ, human and divine and this impression is baked into the bread and serves as a guide for the priest who will be cutting it. In the Slavic practice five smaller prosphora are used, in the Greek practice one larger prosphoron is used. In the part of the Divine Liturgy known as the Liturgy of Preparation, a cube is cut from the center of the prosphoron, the motto the loaf of Natures kitchen table, a common metaphor for returning thanks and agape back to nature, is derived from prosphora. Prosphora can vary in size and imprinted design in different liturgical traditions, the laity may also present smaller prosphora together with a list of the faithful living and departed whom they wish to have commemorated during the Liturgy. From each of these smaller prosphora the priest will remove a piece as well as several smaller particles while he prays for each of the persons listed. The Prosphoron from which a particle is removed in honor of the Theotokos is called Panagia and is blessed in her honour during the Divine Liturgy. This prosphoron is often stamped with an icon of the Theotokos and he then removes a large, triangular particle and places it to the side of the Lamb, as he says, At Thy right hand stood the queen, arrayed in vesture wrought of gold and diverse colours. The remainder of the prosphoron is blessed over the table, before the blessing of the antidoron. Today, this practice is performed only in some monasteries. After the Liturgy, a portion is cut from the prosphoron by the refectorian
Prosphora
–
Mount Nebo (Jordan) fifth-century monastery Prosphora inscription in
Greek: "Offering of Caesarios, at the time of Alexios and Theophilos, priests"
Prosphora
–
Saints Spyridon and Nicodemus, prosphora bakers of the
Kiev Caves Monastery.
Prosphora
–
The
Lamb and particles placed on the
diskos during the Divine Liturgy.
Prosphora
–
Greek-style prosphora seal, for one large loaf: in the center is the
Lamb (symbol: IC XC NI KA Christogram), to the viewer's right is the
Panagia (symbol: ΜΘ (
Μήτηρ Θεοῦ)), to the left are the Nine Angelic Ranks (symbol: nine triangles), and on the top and bottom are extra Lambs for
Presanctified (symbol: said Christogram). The positions of the Panagia and Nine Ranks will be reversed when the impression is made.
21.
Spear (liturgy)
–
The Spear or Lance is a liturgical implement used during the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Spear symbolizes the lance of Longinus that was used at the time of Christs death on the Cross to pierce his side, from which flowed blood and this event is traditionally interpreted as prefiguring the Sacred Mysteries of the Eucharist and Baptism. The Spear is one of the Sacred Vessels usually kept on the Table of Oblation, often when a Chalice and Diskos are made, an Asterisk and a Spoon and Spear will be made to match them. The Spear is normally made of metal, has a point sharp enough to cut the bread. The Spear is used during the Liturgy of Preparation when the priest cuts the Lamb out of the Prosphoron which will be consecrated to become the Body of Christ. The Spear is also used before Holy Communion to cut the Lamb into pieces for the clergy, in the Euchologion there is also a special Prayer of the Spear which may be said by the priest when one is sick. The Spear, being an object, may not be used for any purpose than the litugical uses for which it is appointed
Spear (liturgy)
–
the liturgical spear, on the
Table of Oblation.
22.
Acts of the Apostles
–
The Acts of the Apostles, often referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament, it tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a work, Luke–Acts, by the same anonymous author. The first part, the Gospel of Luke, tells how God fulfilled his plan for the salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts continues the story of Christianity in the 1st century, beginning with Jesuss Ascension to Heaven, the early chapters, set in Jerusalem, describe the Day of Pentecost and the growth of the church in Jerusalem. Initially the Jews are receptive to the Christian message, but soon turn against the followers of Jesus. Rejected by the Jews, under the guidance of the Apostle Peter the message is taken to the Gentiles. The later chapters tell of Pauls conversion, his mission in Asia Minor and the Aegean, and finally his imprisonment in Rome, the title Acts of the Apostles was first used by Irenaeus in the late 2nd century. It is not known whether this was a title or one invented by Irenaeus, it does seem clear, however. The Gospel of Luke and Acts make up a work which scholars call Luke–Acts. The author is not named in either volume. )He admired Paul, the earliest possible date for the composition of Acts is set by the events with which it ends, Pauls imprisonment in Rome c.63 AD, but an early date is now rarely put forward. In either case there is evidence that it was still being revised well into the 2nd century. Luke aligned his work, Luke–Acts, to the narratives which many others had written, Acts, the second part, is widely thought of as a history, but it lacks exact analogies in Hellenistic or Jewish literature. The title Acts of the Apostles would seem to identify it with the telling of the deeds and achievements of great men. By and large the sources for Acts can only be guessed at, but Luke would have had access to the Septuagint, the gospel of Mark and the collection of sayings of Jesus called the Q source. )There are also points of contacts with 1 Peter, the Letter to the Hebrews, and 1 Clement. Other sources can only be inferred from internal evidence—the traditional explanation of the three we passages, for example, is that they represent eye-witness accounts, the search for such inferred sources was popular in the 19th century, but by the mid-20th it had largely been abandoned. Acts was read as a history of the early church well into the post-Reformation era. The mid-19th century scholar Ferdinand Baur suggested that Luke had re-written history to present a united Peter and Paul, Baur continues to have enormous influence, but today there is less interest in determining Lukes historical accuracy than in understanding his theological program. Luke was written to be read aloud to a group of Jesus-followers gathered in a house to share the Lords supper, the author assumes an educated Greek-speaking audience, but directs his attention to specifically Christian concerns rather than to the Greco-Roman world at large
Acts of the Apostles
–
Books of the
New Testament
Acts of the Apostles
–
Ministry of the Apostles:
Russian icon by
Fyodor Zubov, 1660
Acts of the Apostles
–
Acts 1:1-2a from the 14th century
Minuscule 223
Acts of the Apostles
–
Paul's conversion, from Livre d'Heures d'Étienne Chevalier (c. 1450–1460),
Jean Fouquet, in the
Château de Chantilly.
23.
Antidoron
–
The antidoron is ordinary leavened bread which is blessed but not consecrated and distributed in Eastern Orthodox Churches and less often in Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite. It comes from the remains of the loaves of bread from which portions are cut for consecration as the Eucharist during the Divine Liturgy, the word Ἀντίδωρον means instead of gifts. In the Orthodox Church, blessed antidoron is distributed after every Divine Liturgy, during the Prothesis, the priest will bless each prosphoron as he takes it up to remove particles and place them on the diskos. The remainder of the prosphora is cut into fragments and kept aside in a bowl or salver, at the conclusion of the liturgy, the antidoron is distributed to the faithful as they come up to kiss the blessing cross. Antidoron is not considered a sacrament and is not consecrated during the Eucharist. However this is limited only to Christians permitted to attend the Liturgy of the Faithful, because the antidoron is blessed, it must be consumed only when fasting. On Bright Saturday in place of the antidoron, the Paschal Artos is cut up. In other Eastern Catholic churches of the Byzantine Rite it is distributed as in the Orthodox churches, the earliest historical reference to this custom are in fact found in the Western Church. It is mentioned in the 118th letter of St. Augustine to Januarius, originally it was a substitute, or solatium for such of the faithful as were not properly prepared to receive Holy Communion or were unable to get to the eucharistic sacrifice. In the Eastern Church, mention of the antidoron began to appear about the ninth and tenth centuries, germanus of Constantinople is the earliest Eastern author to mention it in his treatise, The Explanation of the Liturgy, about the ninth century. Subsequent to him many writers of the Eastern Church have written on the custom of giving the antidoron, a similar custom also survives among the Syrian Christians of the Malabar coast in India. Christmas wafer This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles
Antidoron
–
Antidoron
Antidoron
–
The faithful preparing to receive
Holy Communion. In the foreground are wine and antidoron which the communicants will partake of after receiving the
Body and Blood of Christ.
24.
Rabula Gospels
–
The Rabbula Gospels, or Rabula Gospels, is a 6th-century illuminated Syriac Gospel Book. Coming from a period from which little art survives, and which saw development in Christian iconography, the manuscript has a significant place in art history. Recent scholarship has suggested that the manuscript completed in 586 was later partly overpainted by restorers and it was signed by its scribe, Rabbula about whom nothing else is known. In their current condition the folios are 34 cm by 27 cm and their original size is unknown because they were trimmed during previous rebindings. The text is written in black or dark brown ink in two columns of a number of lines. There are footnotes written in red ink at the bottom of many of the columns, the text is the Peshitta version of the Syriac translation of the Gospels. The manuscript is illuminated, with the text framed in elaborate floral and architectural motifs, the Gospel canons are set in arcades ornamented with flowers and birds. The miniaturist obviously drew some of his inspiration from Hellenistic art, the scene of the Crucifixion is the earliest to survive in an illuminated manuscript, and shows the Eastern form of the image at the time. There is a miniature of the Apostles choosing a new twelfth member, the French Orientalist Edgard Blochet argued that some of the folios of the manuscript, including the pictorial series, were an interpolation no earlier than the 10th or 11th century. But doubts as to the unity of the contents continued. The history of the manuscript after it was written is vague until the 11th century when it was at Maipuc, in the late 13th or early 14th century it came to Quannubin. In the late 15th or early 16th century, the manuscript was taken by the Maronite Patriarch to the Laurentian Library in Florence, 1a Election of the Apostle Mathias by the Eleven fol. 1b Theotokos with the infant Jesus fol, 2a Christ receives a book from two monks / The saints Eusebius of Caesarea and Ammonius of Alexandria fol. 3b-12b The canon tables of Eusebius with smaller marginal miniatures fol, 13a Crucifixion of Christ / Three Marys at the tomb fol. 14a Ascension of Christ / Christ with four monks fol, weitzmann, Kurt, Late Antique and Early Christian Book Illumination, New York, George Braziller. Bernabò, Massimo, ed. Il Tetravangelo di Rabbula,1.56, Lillustrazione del Nuovo Testamento nella Siria del VI secolo, Rome, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura,2008. Weitzmann, Kurt, ed. Age of spirituality, late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century, no
Rabula Gospels
–
Folio 13v of the Rabbula Gospels contains a miniature of the
Ascension.
Rabula Gospels
–
The earliest crucifixion in an
illuminated manuscript, from the Rabbula Gospels.
Rabula Gospels
–
Folio 4v of the Rabbula Gospels showing the
canon tables, harmonization of the four gospels, with marginal miniatures.
25.
Centurion
–
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Most centurions commanded groups of centuries of around 80 men but senior centurions commanded cohorts or took senior staff roles in their legion, centurions were also found in the Roman navy. In the Byzantine Army, they are known by the name kentarch. Their symbol of office was the staff, with which they disciplined even Roman citizens protected from other forms of beating by the Porcian Laws. In the Roman infantry, centurions initially commanded a centuria or century, centuries, or centuriae, developed from the Roman tribal system under the Servian reforms and could contain 200 to 1000 men. Later, generals and Caesars further manipulated these numbers with double, Julius Caesar, for instance, made the first century double strength. Centurions seemed to receive a higher rate of pay than the average legionary. Veteran legionaries often worked as tenants of their former centurions, during the Imperial era, centurions gradually rose in seniority in their cohort, commanding centuries with higher precedence, until commanding the senior century and therefore the whole cohort. The very best centurions were then promoted to become centurions in the First Cohort, called Primi Ordines, commanding one of the ten centuries, the most senior centurion of the legion was the Primus Pilus who commanded the first century. All centurions, however senior, had their own allocated century, there was little difference between the ranks of centurions except for the Primus Pilus. The Primus Pilus also participated in war councils, the Primus Pilus was so called because his own century was the first file of the first cohort. Comparisons between the grades and modern officer ranks can lead to many incorrect assumptions. Centurions could be elected, appointed by the Senate, or promoted from the ranks for a variety of reasons, Julius Caesar is said to have promoted his centurions for displays of valor. Other historians cite examples of them being the first over the wall or through the breach. If this case were strictly so, then there would be a lack of centurions in peacetime garrisons, nonetheless, although not directly comparable to modern ranks, the various centurion grades may be loosely compared to modern junior and middle officer grades. A modern captain is typically in command of roughly 200 men and, although he controlled far less weaponry, centurions often suffered heavy casualties in battle, generally fighting alongside the legionaries they commanded. They usually led from the front, occupying a position at the front right of the century formation and they could be identified by the transverse horse-hair crest on top of their helmet, their metal greaves and the sword worn on the left, like all Roman officers. They led and inspired their men by example and they also sought to display the skill and courage that may have brought them to their rank in the first place
Centurion
–
A
historical reenactor in Roman centurion costume. Note the transverse crest on the
Galea (helmet). It was worn to indicate the wearer's rank in regimental 'triumph' and honorific parades. Its purpose was purely symbolic. In ordinary events, it was not part of the standard battle-dress of Roman soldiers in the field.
Centurion
–
A
cenotaph to
Marcus Caelius, a centurion of
Legio XVIII, killed at the
Battle of Teutoburger Wald. Note the prominent display of the
vine staff, his sign of office.
Centurion
–
Artifacts from a centurion tomb.
26.
Laurentian Library
–
The Laurentian Library is a historic library in Florence, Italy, containing more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books. It contains the manuscripts and books belonging to the library of the Medici family. The library is renowned for its architecture, designed by Michelangelo, a Codex Laurentianus identifies any of the book-bound manuscripts in the library. The Laurentian Library was commissioned in 1523 and construction began in 1525, however and it was then continued by Tribolo, Basari, and Ammannati based on plans and verbal instructions from Michelangelo. In this way, the library integrates parts executed by Michelangelo with others built much later in an interpretation of his instructions, the Laurentian Library is one of Michelangelos most important architectural achievements. Even Michelangelos contemporaries realized that the innovations and use of space in the Laurentian Library were revolutionary, the admirable distribution of the windows, the construction of the ceiling, and the fine entrance of the Vestibule can never be sufficiently extolled. The two-story Quattrocento cloister remained unchanged by the addition of the library, because of this, certain features of Michelangelo’s plan, such as length and width, were already determined. Therefore, new walls were built on pre-existing walls and cloisters, because the walls were built on pre-existing walls, recessing the columns into the walls was a structural necessity. This led to a style and pattern that Michelangelo took advantage of. The vestibule, also known as the ricetto, is 19.50 m long,10.50 m wide and it was built above existing monastic quarters on the east range of the cloister, with an entrance from the upper level of the cloisters. Originally, Michelangelo planned for a skylight, but Clement VII believed that it would cause the roof to leak, blank tapering windows––framed in pietra serena, surmounted by either triangular or segmental pediments, and separated by paired columns set into the wall––circumscribe the interior of the vestibule. The plan of the stairs changed dramatically in the design phase, originally in the first design in 1524, two flights of stairs were placed against the side walls and formed a bridge in front of the reading room door. A year later the stairway was moved to the middle of the vestibule, Tribolo attempted to carry out this plan in 1550 but nothing was built. Ammannati took on the challenge of interpreting Michelangelo’s ideas to the best of his abilities using a clay model, scanty material. The staircase leads up to the room and takes up half of the floor of the vestibule. The treads of the flights are convex and vary in width. The three lowest steps of the flight are wider and higher than the others, almost like concentric oval slabs. As the stairway descends, it divides into three flights, the reading room is 46.20 m. long,10.50 m. wide, and 8.4 m. high
Laurentian Library
–
Aerial view. The Laurentian Library can be identified in the long row of windows above the cloister extending to the left of the picture. The taller structure with two rows of windows immediately to its right is the vestibule.
Laurentian Library
–
The vestibule
Laurentian Library
–
Plan
Laurentian Library
–
The reading room
27.
Florence
–
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
Florence
–
A collage of Florence showing the
Galleria degli Uffizi (top left), followed by the
Palazzo Pitti, a sunset view of the city and the
Fountain of Neptune in the
Piazza della Signoria
Florence
–
A wooden model of Florence as it would have probably looked during Roman times, showing the ancient amphitheatre
Florence
–
The façade of the Cathedral
Florence
–
Leonardo da Vinci statue outside the
Uffizi Gallery.
28.
First Crusade
–
The First Crusade was the first of a number of crusades that attempted to capture the Holy Land, called by Pope Urban II in 1095. An additional goal became the principal objective—the Christian reconquest of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. During the crusades, nobility, knights, peasants and serfs from many regions of Western Europe travelled over land and by sea, first to Constantinople and then on towards Jerusalem. The Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem, launched an assault on the city and they also established the crusader states of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Edessa. The First Crusade was followed by the Second to the Ninth Crusades and it was also the first major step towards reopening international trade in the West since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The majority view is that it had elements of both in its nature, the origin of the Crusades in general, and particularly that of the First Crusade, is widely debated among historians. The confusion is due to the numerous armies in the first crusade. The similar ideologies held the armies to similar goals, but the connections were rarely strong, the Umayyad Caliphate had conquered Syria, Egypt, and North Africa from the predominantly Christian Byzantine Empire, and Hispania from the Visigothic Kingdom. In North Africa, the Umayyad empire eventually collapsed and a number of smaller Muslim kingdoms emerged, such as the Aghlabids, who attacked Italy in the 9th century. Pisa, Genoa, and the Principality of Catalonia began to battle various Muslim kingdoms for control of the Mediterranean Basin, exemplified by the Mahdia campaign and battles at Majorca and Sardinia. Essentially, between the years 1096 and 1101 the Byzantine Greeks experienced the crusade as it arrived at Constantinople in three separate waves, in the early summer of 1096, the first large unruly group arrived on the outskirts of Constantinople. This wave was reported to be undisciplined and ill-equipped as an army and this first group is often called the Peasants’ or People’s Crusade. It was led by Peter the Hermit and Walter Sans Avoir and had no knowledge of or respect for the wishes of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. The second wave was not under the command of the Emperor and was made up of a number of armies with their own commanders. Together, this group and the first wave numbered an estimated 60,000, the second wave was led by Hugh I, Count of Vermandois, the brother of King Philip I of France. Also among the wave were Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse. It was this wave of crusaders which later passed through Asia Minor, captured Antioch in 1098 and finally took Jerusalem 15 July 1099. ”The third wave, composed of contingents from Lombardy, France. At the western edge of Europe and of Islamic expansion, the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula was well underway by the 11th century and it was intermittently ideological, as evidenced by the Codex Vigilanus compiled in 881
First Crusade
–
The Capture of Jerusalem marked the First Crusade's success
First Crusade
–
Pope Urban II at the
Council of Clermont. Illumination from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer, of c 1490 (
Bibliothèque Nationale)
First Crusade
–
A map of the routes of the major leaders of the crusade, in
French
First Crusade
–
An illustration showing the defeat of the
People's Crusade
29.
Jerusalem
–
Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
Jerusalem
–
From upper left: Jerusalem skyline viewed from Givat ha'Arba,
Mamilla, the
Old City and the
Dome of the Rock, a
souq in the
Old City, the
Knesset, the
Western Wall, the
Tower of David and the
Ottoman Old City walls
Jerusalem
–
Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim)
Arabic: القُدس (al-Quds)
Aramaic: יְרוּשְׁלֶם (Yərushəlem)
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
–
Stepped Stone Structure in
Ophel /
City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem
30.
Mount Zion
–
For Zion as a symbol for Jerusalem, redemption, etc. See Zion Mount Zion is a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City, in a wider sense, the term is also used for the entire Land of Israel. The etymology of the word Zion is uncertain, mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Samuel as the name of the Jebusite fortress conquered by King David, its origin likely predates the Israelites. If Semitic, it may be associated with the Hebrew root ṣiyyôn or the Arabic root ṣiyya or the Arabic šanā and it might also be related to the Arabic root ṣahî or ṣuhhay. A non-Semitic relationship to the Hurrian word šeya has also been suggested, sahyun is the word for Zion in Arabic and Syriac. A valley called Wâdi Sahyûn seemingly preserves the name and is located approximately one, Mount Zion, appears nine times in the Tanakh. It is spelled with a Tzadi and not Zayin, at first, Mount Zion was the name given to the Jebusite fortified city on the lower part of ancient Jerusalems Eastern Hill, also known as the City of David. Once the First Temple was erected at the top of the Eastern Hill, after the conquest of the Jebusite city, its build-up area expanded northward towards the uppermost part of the same, Eastern Hill. This highest part became the site of Solomons Temple. The Mount Zion mentioned in the parts of the Book of Isaiah, in the Book of Psalms. The Western Hill is what today is called Mount Zion, in the second half of the First Temple period, the city expanded westward and its defensive walls were extended to include the entire Western Hill behind them. Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the city almost completely around 586 BCE, severing the continuity of historical memory, a long period of rebuilding followed, ending with Jerusalems second total destruction at the hands of the Romans in 70 CE. During the 1948 war, Mount Zion was conquered by the Harel Brigade on May 18,1948, a cable car capable of carrying a load of 250 kilos was designed for this purpose. The cable car was used at night and lowered into the valley during the day to escape detection. The ride from the Israeli position at the St. John Eye Hospital to Mount Zion took two minutes, between 1948 and 1967, when the Old City was under Jordanian occupation, Israelis were forbidden access to the Jewish holy places. Mount Zion was a designated no-mans land between Israel and Jordan, Mount Zion was the closest accessible site to the ancient Jewish Temple. Until East Jerusalem was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War, the winding road leading up to Mount Zion is known as Popes Way. It was paved in honor of the visit to Jerusalem of Pope Paul VI in 1964
Mount Zion
–
Mount Zion
Mount Zion
–
View of Mount Zion from
Mount of Olives
Mount Zion
–
David's Tomb on Mount Zion
Mount Zion
–
Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion
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