Faith · Books · Education · Society
The Russian Orthodox Church proposes adding sacred texts to the school literature curriculum. Moreover, in the view of the Church's representatives, the foundational texts of "traditional" religions should carry no age rating.
Faith · Books · Museums · People
Francesco Morosini, famed above all for his military successes in the name of Venice and remembered in history as the man who destroyed the Parthenon in Athens, was terribly afraid of assassination and hid weapons for self-defence everywhere. Here is his Bible, whose bookmark served as the trigger of
Faith · Society · Rome
On 30 October the Secretariat of State of the Vatican sent bishops around the world this letter on the Pope's words about civil unions for same-sex couples. The text states outright that the statement as presented in Afineevsky's film is, firstly, stitched together from two
Archaeology · Faith · Museums · Ethnography
The Taman Archaeological Museum holds many such Jewish gravestones of the Khazars, dating from the second half of the 1st millennium AD. On the spread of Judaism in the Khazar Khaganate there is, in general, no consensus: not on whether it was Rabbinic or Karaite Judaism, nor on how it
Faith · Art
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
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
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
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 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. 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
NB! · Faith · Books · Society · People
Faith · Mores · Society · People
The most remarkable part of Benjamin Lay's biography is his literal adherence to his theoretical ideals: first he left Barbados, where he could not reconcile himself to the condition of the slaves, then he resolved to renounce the fruits of slavery's exploitation, ceasing entirely to acquire