Medieval miniature of knights seated at a large round table with a radiant chalice above its centre.

Faith · Observations

The Holy Grail as the chalice of Orthodox communion and the Catholic use of the wafer

Strip away all the mystical footnotes, and the Holy Grail is the chalice of Orthodox communion. In the Catholic Church there is no communion from the chalice. The Catholic Church communicates with a wafer. And whenever the Grail is spoken of, Catholic priests are not what is meant 📖 Parnassian Mockingbird

Painted dome of a church with Byzantine-style icons, stained glass in arched windows and organ pipes on both sides.

Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage

Fire destroys St Anne's Church in Toronto, the 33rd century-old church in Canada lost since 2021

Fire has destroyed the historic St Anne's Church in Toronto. It is already the 33rd century-old church in Canada to be lost to fire since 2021. What do you suppose lies behind such statistics? 📖 Parnassian Mockingbird

Architecture · Faith · Cinema · Heritage

Fire at Saint Theodosius of Chernigov Cathedral in Cleveland, where “The Deer Hunter” was filmed

Built in 1913 on the initiative of the St Nicholas Society, the Cathedral of St Theodosius of Chernigov in Cleveland is rightly counted among the finest examples of Russian church architecture in the United States. Among the donors to its construction was Nicholas II. The prototype for the church was

Faith · Monarchies · Humour

“God Is with Us

«С НАМИ Б҃ГЪ. РАЗУМѢЙТЕ ЯЗЫЦЫ И ПОКОРѦЙТЕСѦ», that is, “God is with us. Understand, O nations, and submit yourselves”. The quotation, in Church Slavonic, is from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and is inscribed on the obverse of the medal “For the Pacification of Hungary and Transylvania”. The

Faith · Books

“I have four sons in the army, and I do not grieve”

“I have four sons in the army, and I do not grieve. It is all as God wills: a man may die lying on the stove, and in battle God may spare him,” came, without the slightest effort, from the other end of the table, the deep voice of Marya

Faith · Books · Observations

Greet one another with an holy kiss

Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.

Architecture · Faith · Books · Heritage

Alexander the Great was well known in Rus', and if we are to believe the texts of Mavro Orbini's "The Kingdom of the Slavs", "The Tale of Slovene and Rus and the City of Slovensk" and Nizami Ganjavi's "Iskandar-nama", Alexander the Great knew Rus' too and

These legendary reports find reflection in Old Russian architecture. The subject of the Ascension of Alexander the Great is widely known. One example is the relief of Alexander the Great's ascension, in which he holds two sceptres and is borne aloft by griffins, on the façade of the

Faith · Observations

Gerondissa as the English word for the Russian staritsa

"Starista" in English is "gerondissa". A lovely word

Aerial view of a round stone tower with a tiled roof and a terrace among old buildings

NB! · Faith · Observations · Rome · Humour

The Institute for Religious Affairs as the official name of the Vatican bank

Officially, the Vatican Bank is called the Institute for the Works of Religion. Ingenious

Excerpt of printed English text quoting Padmasambhava on the past, the future and responsibility for one's actions.

Faith · The East · Observations

Padmasambhava advises judging one's future by one's present actions

If you want to know your past, look at your present form and condition. If you want to know your future, look at your actions in the present. Padmasambhava, the eighth-century Indian teacher of Buddhist tantra.

Architecture · Faith · Monarchies · Heritage · Saint Petersburg

Church at Borki near Kharkiv built in memory of the rescue of Alexander III's family in 1888

Near Kharkiv, at the site of the terrorist derailment of Emperor Alexander III's train, returning from the Crimea on 17 October 1888, from which he escaped with his entire family, a hermitage was founded, and in 1894 a magnificent church was built. The Church of Christ the Saviour

Faith · Art · Books

Maximilian Voloshin's poem “Our Lady of Vladimir”, 1929

Not on a throne, but on Her arm, His left little hand embracing Her neck, Gaze to gaze, cheek pressed to cheek, He makes his insistent demand… I am struck dumb, No strength, no words on my tongue… Gathered in a beast's tension, The Lion-cub Sphinx has