Hymn to All Saints

The Congregation of all the Saints of the Pecherskaya Lavra (Monastery of the Caves)
Late 17th-early 18th century Workshop of the Kiyev Percherskya Lavra

Anyone who has read my blog with any regularity knows that I love the rituals, words and music of the church - any church. Though my background is decidedly Protestant - first surplice-and-stole Anglican then Presbyterian - I always had a leaning towards the more formal worship of the Anglo-Catholic form, the pre-Vatican II Roman rites and the mysticism of the Orthodox Church.  And another things that my faithful reader may recall that I have a few Feast Days which I am rather fond off - chief amongst them Epiphany, Maundy Thursday, All Souls and the preceding day All Saints.

Today being the Feast of All Saints I thought I would combine that favoured feast with a lovely piece of liturgical music from the Orthodox Church.  This piece comes from the Serbian Orthodox tradition and hymns all the Saints.

The cantor in this piece, recorded by Melodi Ensemble, is Divna Ljubojevic.  Born in Belgrade in 1970 the talent of this remarkable singer was nurtured by Mother Agnija, Abbess of Vavedenje Monastery.   From an early age she was tutored in a tradition Karlovatz chants and Byzantine and Russian modalities that have been lovingly preserved by the sisters of the Monastery.  Founded in 1991 Melodi dedicates itself to a repertoire of Orthodox sacred music, from the ancient monadic and polyphonic Byzantine, Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian chant, to contemporary works.

And in an effort to combine my Irish heritage, my Anglican background and my love of Orthodox Icons:
this modern Icon of All Saints of the British Isles and Ireland.

01 November - 1512: The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time.

Birds of the Air and Beasts of the Field

Most people know that St Francis of Assisi, along with Saint Anthony of Padua, is the Patron of Animals in the Western Church but I defy anyone to tell me - without Google or a similar search - who the Patron Saint of God's Creatures Great and Small is in the Orthodox church. Here's a hint:

Give up? It's Saint Modestus of Jerusalem, one of the several patrons of animals in the Eastern Church.

I had seen this beautiful icon at Koukos when we were in Athens last November - when I bought the very unusual icon of the Child Christ, the Virgin and her mother Saint Anna. But at the time I just didn't have the money to spend on it. However my very thoughtful spouse decided that as we seemed to be calling on several saints name while attempting to train the deadly duo that it would be good to have one of those saints represented in our house.

It was "written" by the same artist from Thessaloniki as the previous one and bears his signature characteristics if not his actually name. It is painted on canvas and attached to the wood rather than on the wood itself. The figure is decidedly Eastern in appearance but scene that surrounds him could almost come out of an early Medieval manuscript. It is this combination of Western and Eastern influences that appeals to me most in this artist's work.

So it now falls to Saint Modestus to become our helpmate in bringing Nick and Nora into line. If that fails we may just have to call upon a higher power. But then I've already done that in a very loud voice on several occasions.

19 luglio - San Pietro Crisci da Foligno

For My Orthodox Friends

Wishing my friends in Serbia and Greece and all my Orthodox friends a Happy Easter.

Христос Bоскресе - Χριστός ανέστη

19 aprile - Pascha

Things - An Icon

In his highly readable Byzantium, The Early Centuries, John Julius Norwich introduces the first age of iconoclasm:

Ever since the dawn of history, when man first became a religious animal and almost simultaneously - give or take a millennium or two- made his first clumsy attempts at adorning the walls of his cave, he has had to face one fundamental question: is art the ally of religion, or its most insidious enemy?

Byzantium, The Early Centuries - John Julius Norwich
Penguin Books

The Iconoclasts came down heavily on the later view for two extended periods in the history of Byzantium. Iconoclasm literally means "the smashing of icons" and some of the great works of Eastern Christian art were destroyed when they had the upper hand. Fortunately, for the art world at least, the Iconodules won out and icon painting spread throughout various parts of the Christian world and they are still being created today.

Last week in Athens we saw icons on display in shops everywhere. Some were strictly for the tourist trade - fine iconographic art from Chinese workshops, some were silver and gold encrusted meant for church use or private devotion and others were being sold as fine art in high end shops.

One such shop was across from our hotel on the Plaka. Koukos displayed some wonderful jewelry and beautiful art work in its windows. There was one piece that caught our attention immediately. For five days we went past it, looked at it, discussed it and even photographed it. Finally Friday morning I went in and asked the price. A quick exchange of text messages with Laurent, who was in Patras and we became the owners of this beautiful icon:
I don't pretend that I have any great knowledge of the styles, schools or symbols of icon painting but several things had struck me. The borders are decidedly unconventional, almost like the decorations on a medieval manuscript. But more important the grouping is very unusual: Jesus with the Virgin Mary and her mother Saint Anna. These three figures seldom appear together in any type of Christian art. And though they have that slightly distant spiritual look you associate with Eastern religious art I also sense a warmth in the women's faces that drew me to it immediately. And I find the drape of St Anna's arm around her daughter's shoulder a particularly lovely detail.

The artist, as with most Icon painters his name is not provided and the piece is unsigned, is from Salonika in the north of Greece and he is known for his unusual subjects and decoration. His central figures always follow the icon traditions but what surrounds them is often taken from other sources. He also follows a very old tradition of painting on canvas and attaching it to the wood rather than painting on the wood direct.

After I made the purchase the two shopkeepers showed me another of his works which again had an unusual appeal - a very traditional figure of St Mamas, the patron of Animals in a lovely miniature farmyard right out of a medieval book of hours. It was a struggle but I decide the family fortunes just couldn't afford it. But who knows it may still be there on our next trip back in the spring.

Addendum: I received a comment from djedushka who tells me that icons are "written" not painted. As I look at our Icon and think about it, that is a wonderful way of describing its creation. Many thanks.

03 dicembre - San Francesco Saverio

Observations

Western Easter Sunday this year falls on an uncommonly early date. The last time this occurred was in 1913 and the next time will be in 2160. The earliest possible date, 22 March, is even more rare: the last time was 1818 and the next time will be 2285. Until 1582 the date of Easter was identical in both the Western and Eastern church, after that point the different methods of calculation at times led to wide variations. This year there is over a month difference between the Western and Eastern observations of Easter.

Of course the differences between the two rites extended far beyond the dates of Easter and are best left to theological minds. But this past month in visiting the 12th century Duomo in Spoleto, the 9th century Basilica of Santa Prassede in Rome and various churches in Athens I was struck by how close they were artistically in earlier times.

This life-size crucifix by Alberto Soszi dating from 1178 once stood behind the alter of the Duomo in Spoleto. It is parchment mounted on wood and is now conserved in a glass case elsewhere in the Duomo.

A window display in Athens of vestments and vessels for Good Friday though modern reflects the iconic tradition of the Orthodox Church.

There is very little difference between the painting style of this 13th crucifix from Spoleto and the one in the window above.

The Basilica di Santa Prassede here in Rome is filled with stunning examples of 9th century mosaics. This apse mosaic of Christ the Redeemer is very much in the Byzantine style that was to be replaced by a more realistic style in the West but remain central to the Eastern Church.

This fresco of the Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Stephen in the Capella Eroli in the Duomo at Spoleto is by the 15th century artist Pinturicchio. It shows the change in style that was evolving in the Western Church during the Renaissance.

Whereas this beautiful Madonna and Child is a modern continuation of the Eastern tradition of icon painting from the 11th century.

23 marzo - Pasqua di Risurrezione