Architecture · The East · Observations · Heritage

"A Turkish fortress, far from first-class but politically most pernicious, Anapa demanded of the Russian state such a number of military campaigns, by army and fleet alike, as no other enemy fortress, even of stronger construction, ever called forth…

"A Turkish fortress, far from first-class but politically most pernicious, Anapa demanded of the Russian state such a number of military campaigns, by army and fleet alike, as no other enemy fortress, even of stronger construction, ever called forth. Some four times it was blown up until completely

Faith · Art

Andrea Mantegna's Crucifixion, central panel of the San Zeno altarpiece in Verona

The central panel of the altarpiece of the Basilica of San Zeno, Verona. Crucifixion, Andrea Mantegna, 1457-1459. In the foreground we see the mottled, lifeless summit of Golgotha, somewhat like marble, or perhaps bone, as though it represented the top of a skull with its sutures and sparse blades

Faith · Cinema · Observations · Society

Pope Francis I and civil unions for same-sex couples in 2010, 2014 and 2017

Should the Pontiff's remark in the documentary really be considered so sensational? It is at least the third such statement of his. And note that on each occasion the Pope draws a clear distinction between marriage and a union recognised by the authorities, which we too should take

Faith · Cinema · Observations · Society · People · Rome

Pope Francis backs civil unions in a documentary film but does not speak of marriage

I see that many media outlets have run headlines along the lines of "Pope recognises gay marriage" or "Pope calls for legalisation of gay marriage". Let us clarify at once. First, today's statement is of a quite different nature, as I wrote earlier; second,

Faith · Books · Society · People

The British Catholic journalist, writer, commentator and biographer of Pope Francis, Austen Ivereigh, gives an exhaustive account of Cardinal Bergoglio's position as of 2010 on same-sex marriage and civil unions, which in…

File on Telegram The British Catholic journalist, writer, commentator and biographer of Pope Francis, Austen Ivereigh, gives an exhaustive account of Cardinal Bergoglio's position as of 2010 on same-sex marriage and civil unions, which are not, in fact, one and the same, in his 2014 book The

Faith · Society · Rome

For the sake of clarity, it is fair to note that the position on same-sex civil unions voiced today by Pope Francis I goes somewhat beyond the documents of 1986 and 1994 against the legal recognition of gay couples, addressed…

For the sake of clarity, it is fair to note that the position on same-sex civil unions voiced today by Pope Francis I goes somewhat beyond the documents of 1986 and 1994 against the legal recognition of gay couples, addressed to the bishops of the Catholic Church and formally

Faith · Cinema · Society · People · Rome

Today the Rome Film Festival premiered "Francesco", a documentary about Pope Francis I

Today the Rome Film Festival premiered "Francesco", a documentary about Pope Francis I. And in this film words of papal support for same-sex unions were heard. "Homosexuals are children of God and have a right to a family. We must create a civil union law [for

Archive · Books · Museums · Society · People · Saint Petersburg

Pasted-over pages in books at the Akhmatova Museum and her poems about Stalin

In the Akhmatova Museum at the Fountain House there are poetry collections with pages pasted shut. It is reported that Akhmatova herself pasted these pages shut. What is on them? Akhmatova's poems about Stalin. It is believed that Anna Andreyevna was compelled to write them in order to

Architecture · Heritage · Society

Two rather stale but dispiriting items of news: open letters from professional communities in defence of the restoration sector

The first is addressed to the Minister of Culture, Olga Lyubimova, and to the presidential adviser on culture, Vladimir Tolstoy. In it, specialists in the preservation of cultural heritage report (though this is common knowledge anyway) the catastrophic, critical state of the sector, which they describe as "in essence

NB! · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

A whole subculture has grown up around the Union of Salvation, and it is most entertaining to observe

A whole subculture has grown up around the Union of Salvation, and it is most entertaining to observe. And the jokes are good, as they say

NB! · Palaeontology · Nature · Humour

"Goodness, how lovely!" "Those are the fossilised droppings of a giant sloth"

NB! · Faith · Books · Society · People

The life of this hero of the 17th and 18th centuries can be read about in Marcus Rediker's book "The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist"

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