Behold the monstrance, like a golden sun, Hung in the air: a magnificent moment

Behold the monstrance, like a golden sun,
Hung in the air: a magnificent moment.
Here only the Greek language should be heard:
A whole world is taken into the hands, like a simple apple.
The solemn zenith of the divine service,
Light in the round chamber beneath the dome in July,
So that with full breast we might breathe, outside time,
Of that meadow where time does not run.
And the Eucharist, like an eternal noon, goes on:
All partake of communion, play and sing,
And in full view of everyone the divine vessel
Streams with inexhaustible gladness.

Literal translation

Osip Mandelstam, 1915.

Illustration: a medieval golden monstrance with two angels, Musée de Cluny

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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Behold the monstrance, like a golden sun, Hung in the air: a magnificent moment

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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