In the Middle Ages, both in the Orthodox East and the Catholic West, a church was considered as a sacred space where heaven was joined to earth, where Christ in his heavenly existence made his earthly disciples one body with him in heaven, where we are lifted up into communion with Our Lady. the angels and the saints, where Christians on earth are transfigured by the heavenly Divine Light. Several Orthodox theologians, anxious to put a distance between Orthodox and Catholic mysticism, contrast falsely the mysticism of East and West. They contrast the light of Easter, experienced in the East, and the stigmata of the crucifixion experienced by Western mystics like St Francis of Assisi. They ignore, because they do not know, the story of the meeting of St Francis with St Clare and their companions. When the Spirit fell upon them, they engendered so much light that neighbours thought the house was on fire and rushed there with buckets of water to quench the flames. These Orthodox theologians know nothing of the testimony of mystics like Hildegarde of Bingen who saw everything and everybody bathed in light.
In the orthodox East, the way to portray this was by countless icons dominated by the colour gold. In the Catholic West, once they had developed a technology to do this, portrayed the whole church as a space bathed in light. One of the most beautiful sights in the world is a Byzantine church, shining with its mosaics and icons. Another sight which rivals it is the sight of light entering the churches of Chartres or Sainte Chapelle. Both East and West portray the same mystery by different means. Chartres Cathedral expresses the Mysticism of Light in stone
Ukraine: parliamentary replies on bringing the aggressor to justice:
Government quizzed on steps they are taking for the creation of a special
tribunal on the crime of aggression following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine;
ensuring that it has sufficient legitimacy and is international in
character; and whether it is their policy that the issue of personal
immunities should to be decided by judges in line with international law
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary
questio...
8 hours ago
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In my own testimony I have had the privilege to experience many different kinds of spiritualities. Sometimes there is a temptation to say one is the best kind or the only right one. Also, I have noticed a false dichotomy that arises sometimes between Christians of the East and West in terms of spirituality. In the Church all things belong to us! There are so many riches to draw from and there are no isolated wells. However, I might go in a different direction then you have and say that there are significant differences in the Byzantine tradition and Roman. I believe there really are spiritualities that each tradition went on to develop uniquely. For example, the transfiguration spirituality of the Byzantine tradition and the Stigmata spirituality of the Latin tradition. This does not mean there isolated but rather different gifts each tradition developed in its own way for the good of the whole Church.
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