Faith · Books

Blaise Pascal in “Pensées” on the path to faith through restraining the passions

At least try to understand that if reason itself pushes you towards faith, and you are still unable to believe, then the cause of such inability lies in your own passions. Strive to overcome yourself, but not by multiplying proofs of the existence of God; rather, by curbing your passions.

NB! · Archive · Faith

Jews in the German Army on a Frosty Hanukkah, 1916

British officers walk on foot by the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, a mounted rider nearby, with crowds and spectators on balconies and walls.

NB! · Faith · The East · People

General Allenby entered Jerusalem on foot through the Jaffa Gate in December 1917

When the British General Allenby accepted the surrender of Jerusalem in December 1917, he entered the city on foot through the Jaffa Gate, saying that he would not ride his horse into a city into which the Lord had ridden on a donkey. Allenby was the first Christian to capture

Faith · Art · Books

Dante on a dream of a golden eagle carrying him to the fire in Canto IX of “Purgatorio”

In the hour when the swallow sings, greeting the dawn, and her song is mournful, as if she remembered some former grief,. And our mind, freed from thoughts and having cast off its perishable coverings, is at times, as it were, prophetically clear-sighted, I dreamed that above me a

Medieval miniature in an initial: Christ in a blue cloak rises above the tomb while helmeted guards with weapons sleep around it.

Archive · Faith · Art · Books

Risen Christ leaves the tomb past sleeping guards in a medieval miniature

The Resurrection of Christ from the Sherborne Missal, 1399–1407. Christ leaves the tomb while the guards set over it sleep

Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Paris

A cross blessed by Benedictine monks is placed on the restored spire of Notre-Dame

Notre-Dame de Paris is once more beneath the sign of the Cross. Today a cross, blessed by Benedictine monks, was set atop the restored spire. Formerly the tip of the spire bore a metal casket in the form of a cockerel, which held three important relics of Notre-Dame:

Architecture · Faith · Art

Joachim and Anna meeting at the Golden Gate in Giotto's fresco in Padua

The Meeting of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne. Scenes from the Life of Joachim: the Meeting at the Golden Gate, 1304–1306. Giotto di Bondone. The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, built on the site of an ancient Roman arena, houses the first cycle of frescoes indisputably attributed to Giotto. In

NB! · Faith · Books

And God said, Let there be light

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Paris

Jesus in the Parisian sky before installation on the south transept of Notre-Dame

Page of an old book with a black and white gridded embroidery pattern showing the Adoration of the Magi, with a French caption above it.

NB! · Archive · Faith · Ethnography

Embroidery pattern “The Adoration of the Magi” of 1603, 150 by 117 stitches

The Adoration of the Magi. Embroidery pattern of 1603

Faith · London · Mores · Society

The General Synod of the Church of England Discussed Prayers for the Blessing of Same-Sex Couples

The subject is not new to the Church of England, but until now matters had never gone as far as publishing a proposed collection of prayers and Bible readings connected with same-sex services. The Archbishop of Canterbury, however, chose to abstain in the vote on the prayers, explaining that

Icon detail: a large hand on a red ground, with five small figures in white garments standing in its palm.

NB! · Faith · Art · Museums

Souls of the Righteous in the Hand of God on a 16th-Century “Last Judgement” Icon from Solvychegodsk

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Icon of the Last Judgement, 16th century, from the Annunciation Cathedral in the town of Solvychegodsk.