Faith · Observations · Heritage · Society
Is it right to connect the passage from the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus speaks of the scribes in long robes and of the poor widow giving the temple her last mite, with the argument about the wealth of the Church against the backdrop of a world economic crisis?
Faith · Observations · Mores
Cardinal Franz Rode in cappa magna. This is not merely a mantle borne aloft by several attendants; it is a kind of embodiment of the splendour of the world and the might of Christian values. Having donned the great mantle, the priest then divests himself of it in public, appearing
Faith · Observations · Rome
One should not suppose that this archaic garment is worn only by the ultra-traditionalist Cardinal Burke, although remarks aimed at him on this score are quite characteristic of how the long cardinalatial cloak is perceived in general. "Burke wears this cloak to spite everyone", "Imagine what
Faith · Mores · Rome · Humour
One of the most conservative bishops in the United States, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, in the traditional sumptuous episcopal vestment, the cappa magna. Most people have seen such attire on Catholic bishops and cardinals only in photographs on the internet. Given the rarity of the moment (this sort of choir
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Archaeology · Museums · Observations · Pop Culture
Found an absolutely brilliant show, Abandoned Mine Explorers: a group of enthusiasts roams North America in search of old mines condemned to destruction, levelling and oblivion. The explorers descend to the very bottom of forgotten tunnels and shafts and hunt for objects left behind by miners a hundred years ago.
Aristocracy · Art · Monarchies · Observations · Mores
That very wedding banquet of Joseph and Isabella, open to the widest public, was held in the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Austrian Habsburgs. At the centre of a table that looks modest beside the expanse of the colossal hall sat the imperial couple, Francis I Stephen and Maria
Aristocracy · Art · Monarchies · Mores
Most of the festivities in honour of the wedding of Archduke Joseph and Infanta Isabella of Parma, naturally, took place in Vienna. One of Van Meytens's paintings captures the entry into the city of a ceremonial procession of 90 carriages. However, in those years Vienna had no square
Aristocracy · Art · Monarchies · Mores
When the heir of the Austrian Habsburgs, Archduke Joseph, married the Spanish Infanta Isabella of the Italian cadet branch of the French Bourbons, his formidable mother, Empress Maria Theresa, commissioned a series of paintings, a sort of reportage from the magnificent wedding festivities, from the court painter Martin van Meytens.
Architecture · Heritage · Pop Culture · Saint Petersburg
Going to the railway station for a symphony concert? What? In nineteenth-century Saint Petersburg this was quite commonplace: society gathered for balls and concerts at the Pavlovsk Music Station, which was built “for the refuge and pleasure of the public” by Franz Anton von Gerstner, the builder of the