Αναρτήσεις

THE “PANAGIARIA” AND THE SEALS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD / ΤΑ «ΠΑΝΑΓΙΑΡΙΑ» ΚΑΙ ΟΙ ΣΦΡΑΓΙΔΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΘΕΟΤΟΚΟΥ

Εικόνα
The Monastery of Patmos houses two 15th-century ecclesiastical vessels called “Panagiarion”. These are two carved, gilded and painted hollow parts, joined by a clasp and closed to hold a piece of bread, with the triangular seal of the Mother of God. This seal shows a triangle, flanked by a schematic spear and a sponge, while inside it are inscribed two Greek letters of the name of the Mother of God, Mi below and Theta above ( ΜΘ -Meter Theou-Mother of God). The combination of names and monogram-seals was a favorite habit of the Byzantines. The vessel is carried on festive days after the Liturgy to the Monastery Dining Hall in procession, where a special Service is held after the meal, the “Exaltation of the Virgin Mary”. Unfortunately, this service has not been studied satisfactorily to elucidate its roots and its usefulness. Therefore, its vessels, which are kept in Museums and Monasteries, still remain unexplored. This is a Monastic Service, which, however, in the Slavic countrie...
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

THE DENARIES AND THE TALENTS / ΤΑ ΔΗΝΑΡΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΤΑΛΑΝΤΑ

Εικόνα
In the parable of the two debtor slaves in Matthew's gospel, the first owed a thousand talents and the second a hundred denarii. Knowing that the daily wage in the time of Christ was a silver denarius and considering the month to be about 25 days' wages, the second slave owed 4 months' wages. The daily wage today is paid about 40 euros, so he owed about 4,000 euros. The first slave owed 10,000 talents, one talent was 100 pounds of silver and each pound was worth 100 denarii, that is, 100 days' wages. To understand the difference with the debt of another, if we assume that a town has 10,000 residents, all the residents of the city would have to work for all their working years, that is, for about 35 years, in order to accumulate wages worth 10,000 talents. In the photo, the silver denarius of the time of Christ with the image of the emperor Tiberius. +E. G . ---------------------------------------------------- Στην παραβολή του ευαγγελίου του Ματθαίου για του...
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

FREE MEDICAL CARE / ΔΩΡΕΑΝ ΙΑΤΡΙΚΗ ΠΕΡΙΘΑΛΨΗ

Εικόνα
  On Mount Nerezi near Skopje, Alexios of the great aristocratic family of the Angels built a church and monastery in honor of Saint Panteleimon. In 1066 the frescoes were finished and the Monastery began to function. On the central shrine of the marble Iconostasis, an elegant Komnenian Saint Panteleimon was painted with lush, tufted hair and refined facial features. The Roman paenula that covers his shoulders is king-like, purple in color with gold edges. His tunic has gold cuffs and a gold royal “maniakin” around his neck. The open box with the medical preparations that he holds in his left hand is also gilded, while with his right he points towards it, as if saying: "come to me and be healed for free." The widespread use of the veneration of the money-free physician saint in antiquity also shows how financially inaccessible medical assistance would have been. + E . G . ------------------------------------------------------------- Στο Όρος Νέρεζι δίπλα στα Σκόπια, ο Α...
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

ETERNAL YOUTH / ΑΙΩΝΙΑ ΝΕΟΤΗΤΑ

Εικόνα
  At the end of the 12th century, the Norman king of Sicily, Roger II, invited artists from Constantinople to decorate the new cathedral he built in Cefalù, a town near Palermo, with the highest form of art of his time, mosaics. The great artists executed his order in 1148 on the apse of the Holy Altar, depicting the enormous Christ Pantocrator. They cut and used thousands of small stones of marble, gold, glass and enamel in squares and other shapes, placing them side by side, in such a masterful way that from a distance they appeared to be a single color. The mosaic composition is the only artistic creation whose colors never change, remaining the same and bright, as on the first day. +E. G . ------------------------------------------------------------- Στα τέλη του 12 ου αιώνα ο Νορμανδός βασιλιάς της Σικελίας Ρογήρος ο Β΄ ( Roger II ) προσκαλεί καλλιτέχνες από την Κωνσταντινούπολη για να διακοσμήσουν τον νέο καθεδρικό Ναό που έχτισε στην Κεφαλού (Cefalù), μια πόλη κοντά ...
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

THE FIRST ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF THE BISHOPS / Η ΠΡΩΤΗ ΣΥΝΟΔΟΣ ΤΩΝ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩΝ ΤΗΣ ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΗΣ

Εικόνα
  The historian Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, contemporary of the first in history Council of Bishops of the whole Ecumene (325), tells us exactly how the Council took place. The Bishops entered the royal palace of Nicaea and sat on pedestals, which had been placed on both sides of the building. The seats were arranged according to their Ecclesiastical order. When all the Bishops were seated, three officials of the king entered and announced him. He did not use his guard, nor the royal procedures, but his friends, apparently unarmed. Then the emperor entered, dressed in royal purple, with gold and precious stones. An interesting detail is that Constantine was taller than all the royal people present. After passing the first row of Bishops, he sat down on a small but solid gold throne, motioning for the Bishops to sit down as well. Then the first of the Bishops rose from the right pedestal and addressed the emperor. Constantine, in his opening speech in Latin, addressed the Bishops ...
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

THE SHEEP OF CHRIST-AGNES CHRISTI

Εικόνα
The holy martyr Agnes is celebrated on January 21. She was martyred in 304 in Rome during the persecution of Diocletian and was buried in the Christian cemetery outside the city walls. The rest of the cemetery was pagan and owned by the state. That is why in 354 the daughter of Constantine I, Constantina or Costanza, was also buried there, in a magnificent Mausoleum-Rotunda with mosaics. During the reign of Constantine, a large Basilica was built over the Catacombs with the tomb of Saint Agnes and later included the circular Mausoleum of Constantina (photo 2). Because the Basilica collapsed, Pope Honorius rebuilt it in the 7th century and created a magnificent mosaic with the saint in the center and himself to her right holding up the new temple (photo 1). +E. G . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ΤΟ ΠΡΟΒΑΤΟ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ- AGNES CHRISTI Η αγία μάρτυς Agnes εορτάζει στις 21 Ιανουαρίου. «Αγνή» μεταφράζεται στα ελληνικά, αν και agnus στα λατ...
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Διαβάστε περισσότερα

A GIFT FOR THE HEAD / ΕΝΑ ΔΩΡΟ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛΙ

Εικόνα
  In the Greek codex Vat.gr.1613, a magnificent manuscript with miniatures by the best painters of Constantinople of the 10th century, the Menologion of Emperor Basil II, on January 18 the saints celebrated are depicted, the Archbishops of Alexandria Cyril (5th century) and Athanasius (4th century). A very characteristic detail is their light head covering, a “thin screen”, a thinly woven fabric like transparent, which is tied under the neck, as is clearly seen on Cyril’s neck. This is a special privilege of the popes of Alexandria, which later evolved into a tiara. It is considered a gift of the Third Ecumenical Council to the respective Archbishop of this great city in Africa. Until the end of the empire, all hierarchs celebrated the Mass with their heads uncovered, in accordance with the order of the Apostle Paul that men pray uncovered in worship, except for the Alexandrian Hierarch. To this day, when celebrating the Liturgy, the Orthodox Patriarch wears the tiara (like Rom...
Δημοσίευση σχολίου
Διαβάστε περισσότερα