Milan Cathedral (Part Five).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated .

English: Milan Cathedral, Milan, Italy.

Italiano: Il Duomo of Milan Italy.

Available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/r6YUEEotp_Q

Poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, read literature inside the Duomo. Alfred, Lord Tennyson enjoyed the view of the Alps from the Duomo roof.

The American writer and journalist, Mark Twain, visited Milan in the summer of 1867. He dedicated Chapter 18 of Innocents Abroad to Milan Cathedral, including many physical and historical details, and a,  now, uncommon visit to the Roof. He describes the Duomo as follows:

"What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet, so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems . . . a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath ! . . The central one of its five great doors is bordered with a bas-relief of birds and fruits and beasts and insects, which have been so ingeniously carved out of the marble that they seem like living creatures - and the figures are so numerous and the design so complex, that one might study it a week without exhausting its interest . . . everywhere that a niche or a perch can be found about the enormous building, from summit to base, there is a marble statue, and every statue is a study in itself . . . Away above, on the lofty Roof, rank on rank of carved and fretted Spires spring high in the air, and through their rich tracery one sees the sky beyond . . . (Up on) the Roof . . . springing from its broad marble flagstones, were the long files of the Spires, looking very tall close at hand, but diminishing in the distance . . . We could see, now, that the statue on the top of each was the size of a large man, though they all looked like dolls from the street . . . They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to Saint Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands".

Milan Cathedral at night.

Photo: 8 February 2011.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luca_volpi/5427848020.

Author: Luca Volpi.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This image is not subject to Freedom Of Panorama restrictions. The subject of this image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years. NOTE: This image must also include a license tag to indicate Copyright restrictions on the image itself.

Oscar Wilde visited Milan in June 1875. In a letter to his mother, he wrote: "The Cathedral is an awful failure. Outside, the design is monstrous and inartistic. The over-elaborated details stuck high up where no one can see them; everything is vile in it; it is, however, imposing and gigantic as a failure, through its great size and elaborate execution."

In Italian Hours, Henry James describes “a certain exhibition that I privately enjoyed of the relics of Saint  Charles Borromeus (sic). This holy man lies at his eternal rest in a small, but gorgeous sepulchral Chapel . . .  and, for the modest sum of five francs, you may have his shrivelled mortality unveiled and gaze at it with whatever reserves occur to you. The Catholic Church never renounces a chance of the sublime for fear of a chance of the ridiculous . . . especially when the chance of the sublime may be the very excellent chance of five francs.

"The performance in question, of which the good San Carlo paid in the first instance the cost, was impressive certainly, but as a monstrous matter or a grim comedy may still be. The little Sacristan, having secured his audience, lighted a couple of extra candles and proceeded to remove from above the Altar, by means of a crank, a sort of sliding shutter, just as you may see a shop-boy do of a morning at his master's window. In this case, too, a large sheet of plate-glass was uncovered, and, to form an idea of the étalage, you must imagine that a jeweller, for reasons of his own, has struck an unnatural partnership with an undertaker.

English: Interior of Milan Cathedral.

Polski: Wnętrze Katedry Duomo (Mediolan - Włochy).

Photo: 25 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Spens03.

(Wikimedia Commons)

"The black mummified corpse of the Saint is stretched out in a glass coffin, clad in his mouldering Canonicals, Mitred, Crosiered and Gloved, glittering with votive jewels. It is an extraordinary mixture of death and life; the desiccated clay, the ashen rags, the hideous little black mask and skull, and the living, glowing, twinkling splendour of diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. 

"The collection is really fine, and many great historic names are attached to the different offerings. Whatever may be the better opinion as to the future of the Church, I can't help thinking she will make a figure in the world so long as she retains this great fund of precious "properties," this prodigious capital decoratively invested and scintillating throughout Christendom at effectively-scattered points.”

IN POPULAR CULTURE.

The 1934 song, "O mia bela Madunina", by Giovanni d'Anzi, about the golden Madonna statue on the Spire, can be considered today an unofficial "city anthem" of Milan.

Luchino Visconti's 1960 film, Rocco e i suoi fratelli, set in Milan, has a scene which takes place on the Roof of the Cathedral.

Polski: Mediolan - katedra.

English: Milan Cathedral.

Italiano: Milano - Duomo.

Photo: 31 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Andrzej Otrębski.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Many Milanese-dialect speakers, reminded by the centuries needed to complete the Duomo, use the "Fabbrica del Duomo" ("Fabrica del Dom" in the dialect) as an adjective (sometimes humorously, sometimes not) to describe an extremely long, too complex task, maybe even impossible to complete. The Italian phrase, "mangiare a ufo", stemming from the Milanese dialect, mangià a uf, meaning "being paid for a job not done", comes from the fact that the goods used to build the Duomo wore the inscription "A.U.F.", shorthand for Latin "Ad Usum Fabricae" (to be used for the construction) and were exempt from taxation.

A souvenir model of the Cathedral was thrown at the nose of Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, during an attack on 13 December, 2009.

In the song, "In Every Age", from the musical, Titanic, the building (Milan Cathedral) is compared with the Pyramids and the Titanic, as one of the greatest feats of architecture.

Several lavish shots of the Duomo are featured in the Italian film, I Am Love, (2009).

In the novel, "The Wary Transgressor", by James Hadley Chase, the main protagonist is seen working as an unofficial guide at the Duomo.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON MILAN CATHEDRAL.

Milan Cathedral (Part Four).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

English: Milan Cathedral at night.

Italiano: Duomo di Milano.

Photo: April 2012.

Source: Flickr: Duomo.

Author: Fernando García.

Permission: This image, which was originally posted to Flickr.com, 

was uploaded to Commons using Flickr upload bot on 20:27, 12 May 2012 (UTC) by Friedrichstrasse (talk). On that date it was licensed under the licence below.

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Duomo di Milano is the Cathedral Church of Milan, in Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is located on the main square (Piazza Duomo di Milano) in the centre of the city. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente (Saint Mary Nascent), it is the Seat of the Archbishop of Milan. The Gothic Cathedral took five centuries to complete. It is the largest Gothic Cathedral and the second largest Catholic Cathedral in the world.

Italiano: Il Duomo di Milano, monumento simbolo del capoluogo lombardo, è dedicato a Santa Maria Nascente ed è situato nell'omonima piazza nel centro della città.

עברית: קתדרלת מילאנו הידועה כדואומו היא קתדרלה גו

The Cathedral was built over several hundred years, in a number of contrasting styles, and the quality of the workmanship varies markedly. Reactions to it have ranged from admiration to disfavour. The Guida d’Italia: Milano 1998 (Touring Club Editore, p. 154) points out that the early Romantics tended to praise it in “the first intense enthusiasms for Gothic.” As the Gothic Revival brought in a purer taste, condemnation was often equally intense.

John Ruskin commented acidly that the Cathedral steals "from every style in the world: And every style spoiled. The Cathedral is a mixture of Perpendicular with Flamboyant, the latter being peculiarly barbarous and angular, owing to its being engrafted, not on a pure, but a very early penetrative, Gothic . . . The rest of the architecture, amongst which this curious Flamboyant is set, is Perpendicular with horizontal bars across: And with the most detestable crocketing, utterly vile. Not a ray of invention in a single form . . . Finally, the statues all over are of the worst possible, common stonemason's yard, species, and look pinned on for show. The only redeeming character, about the whole, being the frequent use of the sharp gable . . . which gives lightness, and the crowding of the spiry pinnacles into the sky.” (Notebooks[M.6L]). The plastered Ceiling, painted to imitate elaborate tracery carved in stone, particularly aroused his contempt as a “gross degradation”.

While appreciating the force of Ruskin’s criticisms, Henry James was more appreciative: “A structure, not supremely interesting, not logical, not . . . commandingly beautiful, but grandly curious and superbly rich . . . If it had no other distinction, it would still have that of impressive, immeasurable achievement . . . a supreme embodiment of vigorous effort.”

English: Milan Cathedral at night.

Italiano: Milano - Duomo.

Photo: March 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Geobia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The interior of the Cathedral includes numerous monuments and artworks. These include:

At the left of the Altar is located the most famous statue of all the Cathedral, the "San Bartolomeo Flayed" (1562), by Marco d'Agrate. The Saint shows the leather thrown over his shoulders like a stole;

The Archbishop Alberto da Intimiano's sarcophagus, which is overlooked by a Crucifix in copper laminae (a replica);

The sarcophagi of the Archbishops Ottone Visconti and Giovanni Visconti, created by a Campionese Master in the 14th-Century;

The sarcophagus of Marco Carelli, who donated 35,000 ducati to accelerate the construction of the Cathedral;

The three magnificent Altars, by Pellegrino Pellegrini, which include the notable Federico Zuccari's "Visit of Saint Peter to Saint Agatha jailed";

English: Plate, celebrating the laying of the first stone in 1386.

Italiano: Lapide dentro il Duomo che commemora l'inizio della costruzione, nel 1386.

This File: 13 May 2005.

Author: Author: Marco Bonavoglia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the Right Transept, the Monument to Gian Giacomo Medici di Marignano, called "Medeghino", by Leone Leoni, and the adjacent Renaissance marble Altar, decorated with gilt bronze statues;

The Presbytery is a Late-Renaissance masterpiece, composing a Choir, a Temple by Pellegrini, two Pulpits with giant atlantes covered in copper and bronze, and two large Organs. Around the Choir, the two Sacristies' Portals, some frescoes and a 15th-Century statue of Pope Martin V, by Jacopino da Tradate, can be seen;

A view at dusk of the facade (and part of the South side) 

of Milan Cathedral, Italy. (OM-4/HP5.)

Photo: November 2001.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ian Spackman.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Transepts house the Trivulzio Candelabrum, which is in two pieces. The Base (attributed to Nicolas of Verdun, 12th-Century), characterised by a fantastic ensemble of vines, vegetables and imaginary animals; and the Stem, of the Mid-16th-Century;

In the Left Aisle, the Arcimboldi Monument, by Alessi, and Romanesque figures, depicting the Apostles, in red marble, and the neo-Classic Baptistry, by Pellegrini;

English: Piazza Duomo, in Milan, during Christmas holidays 2008. 

On the left, a Christmas Tree in front of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Italiano: Piazza Duomo a Milano durante le feste natalizie del 2008. 

Sulla sinistra l'albero.

Photo: 7 December 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Goldmund100.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A small red light bulb, in the Dome above the Apse, marks the spot where one of the Nails, reputedly from the Crucifixion of Christ, has been placed. The Holy Nail is retrieved and exposed to the public every year, during a celebration known as the Rite of the Nivola;

In November–December, in the days surrounding the birthdate of Saint Charles Borromeo, a series of large canvasses, the Quadroni, are exhibited along the Nave;

The Five-Manual, 225-Rank, Pipe-Organ, built jointly by the Tamburini and Mascioni Italian organbuilding firms, on Mussolini's command, is currently the largest Organ in all of Italy.

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.

The Greater Litanies (25 April). The Lesser Litanies. Rogation Days. Litany Of The Saints.

Roman Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Station is at Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Violet Vestments.

The Ancient Custom of Blessing the Fields, Rogation Sunday, Hever, Kent , England.

Photo: 9 February 1967.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: Ray Trevena.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church celebrated, yesterday (25 April), two Solemnities, which have nothing in common: The Greater Litanies, so called on account of their Roman origin, and the Feast of Saint Mark, which is of later date. The word "Litany" means "Supplication".

In ancient Rome, on 25 April, used to be celebrated the pagan feast of Robigalia. It consisted, principally, of a Procession, which, leaving the City by the Flaminian Gate, went to the Milvian Bridge and ended in a suburban Sanctuary situated on the Claudian Way.

There, a ewe was sacrificed in honour of a god or goddess of the name Robigo (god or goddess of frost). The Greater Litany was the substitution of a Christian, for a pagan, ceremony. Its itinerary is known to us by a convocation of Saint Gregory the Great. It is, approximately, the same as that of the pagan Procession.

All the Faithful in Rome betook themselves to the Church of Saint Laurence-in-Lucina, the nearest to the Flaminian Gate. Leaving by this Gate, the Procession made a Station at Saint Valentine's, crossed the Milvian Bridge, and branched off to the Left towards the Vatican.

After halting at a Cross, it entered the Basilica of Saint Peter for the celebration of the Holy Mysteries.

This Litany is recited throughout the Church to keep away calamities, and to draw down the Blessing of God on the harvest. "Vouchsafe to grant us to preserve the fruits of the earth, we pray Thee, hear us," is sung by the Procession through the countryside.

The whole Mass shows what assiduous Prayer may obtain, when in the midst of our adversities (Collects, Offertory) we have recourse with confidence to Our Father in Heaven (Epistle, Gospel, Communion).

If the Feast of Saint Mark is transferred, the Litanies are not transferred, unless they fall on Easter Sunday. In which case, they are transferred to the following Tuesday.

Litany of the Saints.

Available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/KiM9uJIN64g

LITANY OF THE SAINTS.

The Litany of the Saints is used in connection with:

Holy Mass on The Greater Litanies (25 April);

The Lesser Litanies (Rogation Days);

Holy Saturday;

The Vigil of Pentecost;

Masses of Ordination , before the conferring of Major Orders.

On Saint Mark's and Rogation Days, if the Procession is held, the Litany is preceded by the Antiphon, "Exurge, Domine," (Psalm xliii. 26), and all invocations are sung by the Cantors and repeated in full by the Choir [i.e., "Doubled"]. 

If the Procession cannot be held, the invocations are not repeated.

On the Vigils of Easter and Pentecost, the invocations marked with an asterisk (*) in the Missal are omitted; all the remaining invocations are repeated, either there be a Font and a Procession from the Baptistry or not.

At Masses of Ordination, only the first five invocations are repeated.

Litany of the Saints

at the Funeral of Pope John Paul II

(start at 1min 45 sec).

Available on YouTube at http://youtu.be/SZ0Cw5LmkDI?t=1m45s

Rogation Days are, in the Calendar of the Western Church, observed on 25 April (the Major Rogation) and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday immediately preceding Ascension Thursday (the Minor Rogations).

The first Rogation, the Greater Litanies, has been compared to the ancient Roman religious festival of the Robigalia, a ritual involving prayer and sacrifice for crops held on 25 April. The first Rogation is also observed on 25 April, and a direct connection has sometimes been asserted, with the "Christian substitute" following the same processional route in Rome. If Easter falls on 24 April or on this day (the latest possible date for Easter), the Rogations are transferred to the following Tuesday.

The second set of Rogation Days, the Lesser Litanies or Rogations, introduced about 470 A.D. by Bishop Mamertus of Vienne and eventually adopted elsewhere, are the three days (Rogation Monday, Rogation Tuesday and Rogation Wednesday) immediately before Ascension Thursday in the Christian Liturgical Calendar.

The word "Rogation" comes from the Latin verb "rogare", meaning "to ask," and was applied to this time of the Liturgical Year because the Gospel reading for the previous Sunday included the passage, "Ask and ye shall receive" (Gospel of John 16:24). The Sunday itself was often called Rogation Sunday, as a result, and marked the start of a three-week period (ending on Trinity Sunday), when Roman Catholic and Anglican Clergy did not solemnise marriages (two other such periods of marital prohibition also formerly existed, one beginning on the first Sunday in Advent and continuing through the Octave of Epiphany, or 13 January, and the other running from Septuagesima until the Octave of Easter, the Sunday after Easter). In England, Rogation Sunday is called "Chestnut Sunday".

The Faithful typically observed the Rogation Days by Fasting in preparation to celebrate the Ascension, and farmers often had their crops blessed by a Priest at this time. Violet Vestments are worn at the Rogation Litany and its associated Mass, regardless of what colour was worn at the ordinary Liturgies of the day. 

A common feature of Rogation Days, in former times, was the ceremony of "Beating the Bounds", in which a Procession of Parishioners, led by the Minister, Churchwarden, and Choirboys, would proceed around the boundary of their Parish and pray for its protection in the forthcoming year. This was also known as 'Gang-Day'.

The reform of the Liturgical Calendar for Latin Roman Catholics, in 1969, delegated the establishment of Rogation Days, along with Ember Days, to the Episcopal Conferences.Their observance in the Latin Church subsequently declined, but the observance has revived somewhat, since 1988, (when Pope John Paul II issued his decree Ecclesia Dei Adflicta) and especially since 2007 (when Pope Benedict XVI issued his Motu Proprio, called "Summorum Pontificum"), when the use of older Rites was encouraged. Churches of the Anglican Communion reformed their Liturgical Calendar in 1976, but continue to recognise the three days before Ascension as an optional observance.

Chevetogne Abbey (Monastery Of The Holy Cross). Benedictine Monastery In Belgium. Dedicated To Christian Unity.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Français: Chevetogne (Belgique), l'abbaye bénedictine.

English: Chevetogne (Belgium), the Benedictine Abbey.

Deutsch: Chevetogne (Belgien), Benediktiner-Abtei.

Nederlands: Chevetogne (België), de benedictijner abdij.

Photo: 2012-05-28 16:54 (UTC).

Source: This file was derived from: 0_Chevetogne_-_Abbaye_(1).JPG.

Author: 0_Chevetogne_-_Abbaye_(1).JPG: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, 

derivative work: Rabanus Flavus.

This is a retouched picture, which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. Modifications: shifted, cropped. The original can be viewed here:0_Chevetogne_-_Abbaye_(1).JPG. Modifications made by Rabanus Flavus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Chevetogne Abbey, also known as the Monastery of the Holy Cross, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine Monastery, dedicated to Christian unity, located in the Belgian village of Chevetogne in the municipality of Ciney, Province of Namur, halfway between Brussels and Luxembourg. Currently, the Monastery has twenty-seven Monks.

In 1924, Pope Pius XI addressed the Apostolic Letter, "Equidem verba", to the Benedictine Order, encouraging them to work for the reunion of the Catholic and Eastern Churches, with particular emphasis on the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Monks of Chevetogne Abbey chant "The Beatitudes" from the Slavonic Liturgy.

Available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSmqGNl2MH4

The following year, a Community was established by Dom Lambert Beauduin (1873 – 1960) at Amay, on the river Meuse. Because of Beauduin's close friendship with Cardinal Mercier and Pope John XXIII, as well as his relations with Eastern Christians, he became a pioneer of the Catholic Ecumenical movement. His initial focus was on unity with Orthodox and Anglicans, but was eventually extended to all those who bear the name of Christ.

In 1939, the Community of Amay Priory moved to its current location at Chevetogne, occupying a former Jesuit Novitiate. Since then, an Eastern Church was built in 1957 and painted with frescoes by Rhallis Kopsidis and Georges Chochlidakis, and a Western Church was completed with a Library in its Basement. The Library has, approximately, 100,000 volumes and subscribes to about 500 specialised Journals and Periodicals. Chevetogne Priory was raised to the status of an Abbey on 11 December 1990.

The Monks of Chevetogne Abbey chant the Good Friday Liturgy.

Available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TVLyTImz5A.

The Monks of Chevetogne Abbey chant the Grand Prokeimenon.

Available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjVlWovadU0

In order to live a life of Christian unity, the Monastery has both Western (Latin Rite) and Eastern (Byzantine Rite) Churches, which hold Services every day. While the Canonical Hours of the daily Monastic Office are served separately, the Monks share their meals together and are united under one Abbot.

Along with Prayer, the Monks engage in publishing a Journal, Irénikon, since 1926, making recordings of Church Music, and producing Incense, all of which can be bought in the Monastery shop.

The official Web-Site of the Abbey is http://www.monasterechevetogne.com/, where a full introduction to the Abbey can be found and, also, CDs of the Abbey Choir can be purchased.

Interior of the Eastern Church at the Monastery of Chevetogne. 

Photo taken before Compline, 16 August, 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Daniel Galadza.

Current File: 17 April 2007.

User: Danielgaladza.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Milan Cathedral (Part Three).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

English: The famous "Madonnina" atop the main Spire of the Cathedral.

A Baroque Gilded-bronze Statue, it is 108 metres (340 feet) from the ground.

Italiano: La guglia principale del tiburio del Duomo di Milano (opera dell'architetto barocco Francesco Croce), sovrastata dalla celebre "Madonnina", 

statua barocca in rame dorato, modellata da Giuseppe Bini. 

Foto di Marco Bonavoglia.

Released to public domain by Eugenio45 in it.wikipedia.org (file "Madonnina.jpg").

This File: 10 December 2005.

User: Attilios.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the following years, most of the missing Arches and Spires were constructed. The Statues on the Southern Wall were also finished, while in 1829 - 1858, new Stained Glass Windows replaced the old ones, though with less aesthetically significant results. The last details of the Cathedral were finished only in the 20th-Century: The last Gate was inaugurated on 6 January, 1965.

This date is considered the very end of a process which had proceeded for generations, although, even now, some uncarved blocks remain to be completed as Statues. The Duomo's main façade went under renovation from 2003 to early 2009: As of February 2009, it has been completely uncovered, showing again the colours of the Candoglia marble.

Italiano: Interno del Duomo di Milano. 

Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto, 28-1-2007.

English: Inside the Cathedral in Milan, Italy. 

Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 28 January 2007.

Current File: 31 January 2007.

User: G.dallorto.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In November 2012, officials announced a campaign to raise funds for the Cathedral's preservation by asking patrons to adopt the building's Gargoyles. The effects of pollution on the 14th-Century building entail regular maintenance, and recent austerity cuts to Italy's Culture Budget has left less money for upkeep of cultural institutions, including the Cathedral. 

To help make up funds, Duomo Management launched a campaign offering its one hundred and thirty-five Gargoyles for "adoption." Donors, who contribute €100,000 (about Canadian $128,000) or more, will have their name engraved under one of the grotesque figures perched on the Cathedral's rooftop. The figures serve as drainage pipes.

Italiano: Interno del Duomo di Milano. Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13-1-2007.

English: Interior view of the Cathedral in Milan, Italy. 

Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, January 13 2007.

This File: 20 January 2007.

User: G.dallorto.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Plan of the Cathedral consists of a Nave, with four Side-Aisles, crossed by a Transept, and then followed by Choir and Apse. The height of the Nave is about 45 metres (140 feet), the highest Gothic Vaults of a complete Church (less than the 48 metres of Beauvais Cathedral, which was never completed).

The Roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows a close-up view of some spectacular Sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated. The Roof of the Cathedral is renowned for the forest of openwork Pinnacles and Spires, set upon delicate Flying Buttresses.

English: The Organ in Milan Cathedral.

Polski: Wnętrze Katedry Duomo (Mediolan - Włochy)

Photo: 25 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Spens03.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral's five broad Naves, divided by forty Pillars, are reflected in the hierarchic openings of the façade. Even the Transepts have Aisles. The Nave Columns are 24.5 metres (80 feet) high, and the Apsidal Windows are 20.7 x 8.5 metres (68 x 28 feet). 

The huge building is of brick construction, faced with marble from the quarries which Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated in perpetuity to the Cathedral Chapter. Its maintenance and repairs are very complicated.

Milan’s Cathedral has recently developed a new lighting system, based on LED lights.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

Tertullian (Part Three).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

A woodcut illustration depicting Tertullian.

Quintus Florens Tertullian 

(Anglicised to Tertullian).

160 A.D. - 220 A.D.

Church Father and Theologian.

Source: http://www.higherpraise.com/preachers/tertullian.htm.

This File: August 2011.

User: Serge Lachinov.

(Wikimedia Commons)

God, Who made the world out of nothing through His Son, the Word, has corporeity, though He is a spirit (De praescriptione, vii.; Adv. Praxeam, vii.). However, Tertullian used 'corporeal' only in the Stoic sense, to mean something with actual existence, rather than the later idea of flesh. 

In the statement of the Trinity, Tertullian was a forerunner of the Nicene doctrine, approaching the subject from the standpoint of the Logos doctrine, though he did not state the immanent Trinity. His use of Trinitas (Latin: 'Threeness'), emphasised the manifold character of God. In his treatise against Praxeas, who taught patripassianism in Rome, he used the words, " Trinity and economy, persons and substance." The Son is distinct from the Father, and the Spirit from both the Father and the Son (Adv. Praxeam, xxv). "These three are one substance, not one person; and it is said, 'I and my Father are one' in respect not of the singularity of number but the unity of the substance." 

The very names "Father" and "Son" indicate the distinction of personality. The Father is one, the Son is one, and the Spirit is one (Adv. Praxeam, ix). As regards the question whether the Son was co-eternal with the Father, many believe that Tertullian did not teach that. The Catholic Encyclopedia comments that, for Tertullian: "There was a time when there was no Son and no sin, when God was neither Father nor Judge".

Similarly,  J.N.D. Kelly has stated: "Tertullian followed the Apologists in dating his “perfect generation” from his extrapolation for the work of creation; prior to that moment, God could not strictly be said to have had a Son, while, after it, the term, “Father”, which, for earlier theologians, generally connoted God as author of reality, began to acquire the specialised meaning of Father and Son.".

Ichthys (also Ichthus or Ikhthus /ˈɪkθəs/), from the Koine Greek word for fish: ἰχθύς, (capitalized ΙΧΘΥΣ or ΙΧΘΥϹ) is a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish, used by early Christians as a secret Christian symbol and now known colloquially as the "sign of the fish" or the "Jesus fish."

This Fish symbol was used in the early Church, when the Christians were being persecuted by the Romans. Christians then needed to be careful, when dealing with strangers, for fear of identification as a Christian and persecution. 

When you encountered someone, you would draw an arc on the ground. If the other person drew a reverse arc over yours, it would form the Fish symbol. 

Both people would then know that they could safely talk about being a Christian.

Español: Dibujada por Fibonacci, modificando un poco el 

código fuente de dominio público de Lupin.

English: Drawn by Fibonacci, modifying Lupin's PD source code a bit.

(Wikimedia Commons)

As regards the subjects of subordination of the Son to the Father, the New Catholic Encyclopedia has commented: "In not a few areas of theology, Tertullian’s views are, of course, completely unacceptable. Thus, for example, his teaching on the Trinity reveals a subordination of Son to Father that, in the later crass form of Arianism, the Church rejected as heretical."

In soteriology, Tertullian does not dogmatise; he prefers to keep silence at the mystery of the Cross (De Patientia, iii). The sufferings of Christ's life, as well as of the Crucifixion, are efficacious to redemption. In the water of Baptism, which (upon a partial quotation of John 3:5) is made necessary (De baptismo, vi.), humans are born again; the Baptised does not receive the Holy Spirit in the water, but is prepared for the Holy Spirit. Humans are little fishes — after the example of the ichthys (fish), Jesus Christ — are born in water (De baptismo, i). In discussing whether sins committed subsequent to Baptism may be forgiven, Tertullian calls Baptism and Penance "two planks" on which the sinner may be saved from shipwreck — language which he gave to the Church (De penitentia, xii).

With reference to the 'Rule of Faith', it may be said that Tertullian is constantly using this expression, and, by it, means now the authoritative tradition handed down in the Church, now the Scriptures themselves, and, perhaps, a definite doctrinal formula. While he nowhere gives a list of the books of Scripture, he divides them into two parts and calls them the instrumentum and testamentum (Adv. Marcionem, iv.1). 

He distinguishes between the four Gospels and insists upon their Apostolic origin as accrediting their authority (De praescriptione, xxxvi; Adv. Marcionem, iv.1–5); in trying to account for Marcion's treatment of the Lucan Gospel and the Pauline writings, he sarcastically queries whether the "shipmaster from Pontus" (Marcion) had ever been guilty of taking on contraband goods or tampering with them after they were aboard (Adv. Marcionem, v.1).

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

After Flying Bishops, We Now Have Sailing Nuns From The Rooster Church, Da Nang, Vietnam.

This Article can be found on NAVY.mil, the official website of the United States Navy, 

at http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=147520

The purpose of the above website is to provide information and news about the United States Navy to the general public.

130424-N-YU572-003 DA NANG, Vietnam (April 23, 2013) Cmdr. Justin Orlich, commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93), gives a tour of the ship to nuns from the Con Ga Church in Da Nang, Vietnam. 

Chung-Hoon is currently supporting a Naval Exchange Activity (NEA) in Da Nang. The NEA provides opportunities for U.S. and Vietnamese naval professionals to share best practices and exchange maritime skills. 

Maritime skill exchanges between the two navies are non-combatant events, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, medical training, fire-fighting and damage control, search and rescue, diving and salvage, sports and community service projects. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jay C. Pugh/Released).

Da Nang Cathedral, otherwise known as the "Chicken Church" 

(or "Rooster Church") (Nhà thờ Con Gà).

[Editor: See the Rooster atop the Spire.]

Photo: 30 January 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dragfyre.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A view outside Da Nang Cathedral, Vietnam, during a Tet service.

[Editor: This is the Con Ga Church (Rooster Church), mentioned, above. 

Isn't it good to see a Church full to overflowing, 

with the congregation having to sit outside.]

Photo: 30 January 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dragfyre.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The front of Da Nang Cathedral, Vietnam, during a pre-Tet service.

Photo: 30 January 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dragfyre.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text can be found on the LONELY PLANET WEBSITE.

Known to locals as Con Ga Church (Rooster Church) because of the weathercock on top of the steeple, the candy-pink Da Nang Cathedral was built for the city’s French residents in 1923. Today, it serves a Catholic community of 4000 – it’s standing room only if you arrive late.

The following Text can be found on the VISIT-MEKONG.COM website.

Mass is held from Monday to Saturday at 05:00 and at 17:30, and on Sunday at 05:00, 06:15, 07:30, 15:30 and at 17:00.

Milan Cathedral (Part Two).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

English: Milan Cathedral, dated 18 May 1856.

Italian: Milano, Il Duomo.

Anonymous etching, colourised. Dated 18 May 1856.

This File: 9 February 2006.

User: AndreasPraefcke.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1500 to 1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal Cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series, of fifteen statues each, portraying Saints, Prophets, Sibyls and other characters of the Bible. The exterior long remained without any decoration, except for the Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"), constructed 1507-1510. This is a Renaissance masterwork, which nevertheless harmonised well with the general Gothic appearance of the Church.

During the subsequent Spanish domination, the new Church proved usable, even though the interior remained largely unfinished, and some Bays of the Nave and the Transepts were still missing. In 1552, Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large Organ for the North side of the Choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen Pales which were to decorate the Altar area (the programme was completed by Federico Borromeo). In 1562, Marco d' Agrate's Saint Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio Candelabrum (12th-Century) were added.

After the accession of Carlo Borromeo to the Archbishop's Throne, all Lay Monuments were removed from the Duomo. These included the tombs of Giovanni, Barnabò and Filippo Maria Visconti, Francesco I and his wife, Bianca, Galeazzo Maria and Lodovico Sforza, which were taken to unknown destinations. However, Borromeo's main intervention was the appointment, in 1571, of Pellegrino Pellegrini as Chief Engineer, a contentious move, since, to appoint Pellegrino, who was not a Lay Brother of the Duomo, required a revision of the Fabbrica's statutes.

Portrait of Carlo Borromeo (Saint Charles Borromeo), Archbishop of Milan.

Artist: Giovanni Ambrogio Figino (1548–1608).

Source/Photographer: http://www.arteecarte.it/archivio/arteecarte_n.13/diocesano.php

(Uploaded by User:Lupo to en.wikipedia)

This File: 7 December 2009.

User: Thomas Gun.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Borromeo and Pellegrini strove for a new, Renaissance, appearance for the Cathedral, that would emphasise its Roman / Italian nature, and subdue the Gothic style, which was now seen as foreign. As the façade still was largely incomplete, Pellegrini designed a "Roman" style, with Columns, Obelisks and a large Tympanum. When Pellegrini's design was revealed, a competition for the design of the façade was announced, and this elicited nearly a dozen entries, including one by Antonio Barca. This design was never carried out, but the interior decoration continued. In 1575-1585, the Presbytery was rebuilt, while new Altars and the Baptistry were added. Wooden Choir Stalls were constructed by 1614, for the High Altar, by Francesco Brambilla.

In 1577, Borromeo finally consecrated the whole edifice as a new Church, distinct from the old Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla (which had been unified in 1549 after heavy disputes).

At the beginning of the 17th-Century, Federico Borromeo had the foundations of the new façade laid by Francesco Maria Richini and Fabio Mangone. Work continued until 1638 with the construction of five Portals and two Middle Windows. In 1649, however, the new Chief Architect, Carlo Buzzi, introduced a striking revolution: The façade was to revert to original Gothic style, including the already finished details within big Gothic Pilasters and two giant Belfries. Other designs were provided by, among others, Filippo Juvarra (1733) and Luigi Vanvitelli (1745), but all remained unapplied. In 1682, the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore was demolished and the Cathedral's roof covering completed.

The Emperor Napoleon in his Study at The Tuileries, Paris.

Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in Milan Cathedral.

Artist: Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825).

Date: 1812.

Current location: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 

United States of America.

Source/Photographer: Google Art Project: Home - pic.

This File: 18 October 2012.

User: DcoetzeeBot.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1762, one of the main features of the Cathedral, the Madonnina's Spire, was erected at the dizzying height of 108.5 metres. The Spire was designed by Carlo Pellicani and sports, at the top, a famous polychrome Madonnina Statue, designed by Giuseppe Perego, that befits the original stature of the Cathedral. Given Milan's notoriously damp and foggy climate, the Milanese consider it a fair-weather day when the Madonnina is visible from a distance, as it is so often covered by mist.

On May 20, 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy, ordered the façade to be finished by Carlo Pellicani. In his enthusiasm, he assured that all expenses would fall to the French Treasurer, who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell. Even though this reimbursement was never paid, it still meant that, finally, within only seven years, the Cathedral had its façade completed. The new architect, Carlo Pellicani Junior, largely followed Buzzi's project, adding some Neo-Gothic details to the Upper Windows. As a form of thanksgiving, a statue of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of the Spires. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy at the Duomo.

PART THREE FOLLOWS.

Milan Cathedral (Part One).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

English: Milan Cathedral.

Italiano: Milano - Duomo.

Photo: February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: MarkusMark.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano; Lombard: Domm de Milan) is the Cathedral Church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente (Saint Mary Nascent), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola.

The Gothic Cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the fifth largest Cathedral in the world and the largest in the Italian state territory.

Milan's layout, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo occupies what was the most central site in Roman Mediolanum, that of the public Basilica facing the Forum. Saint Ambrose's 'New Basilica' was built on this site at the beginning of the 5th-Century, with an adjoining Basilica added in 836 A.D. The old Baptistery (Battistero Paleocristiano, constructed in 335 A.D.) still can be visited under Milan Cathedral. It is one of the oldest Christian buildings in Europe. When a fire damaged the Cathedral and Basilica in 1075, they were later rebuilt as the Duomo.

English: Inside the Duomo (Cathedral) in Milan.

Italiano: Interno del Duomo di Milano.

Photo: December 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Paolo da Reggio.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1386, Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction of the Cathedral. Start of the construction coincided with the accession to power in Milan of the Archbishop's cousin, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and was meant as a reward to the noble and working classes, who had suffered under his tyrannical Visconti predecessor, Barnabò. Before actual work began, three main buildings were demolished, the palace of the Archbishop, the Ordinari Palace and the Baptistry of Saint Stephen at the Spring, while the old Church of Santa Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry.

Enthusiasm for the immense new building soon spread among the population, and the shrewd Gian Galeazzo, together with his cousin, the Archbishop, collected large donations for the work-in-progress. The construction programme was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo", which had 300 employees led by First Chief Engineer, Simone da Orsenigo. Orsenigo initially planned to build the Cathedral from brick in Lombard Gothic style.

Visconti had ambitions to follow the newest trends in European architecture. In 1389, a French Chief Engineer, Nicolas de Bonaventure, was appointed, adding to the Church its Rayonnant Gothic, a French style not typical for Italy. He decided that the brick structure should be panelled with marble. Galeazzo gave the Fabbrica del Duomo exclusive use of the marble from the Candoglia quarry and exempted it from taxes. 

English: The Duomo (Cathedral) in Milan.

Italiano: Il Duomo di Milano.

Photo: 31 December 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mikko Virtaperko.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Ten years later, another French architect, Jean Mignot, was called from Paris to judge and improve upon the work done, as the masons needed new technical aid to lift stones to an unprecedented height. Mignot declared all the work done up till then as in pericolo di ruina ("peril of ruin"), as it had been done sine scienzia ("without science"). 

In the following years, Mignot's forecasts proved untrue, but, anyway, they spurred Galeazzo's engineers to improve their instruments and techniques. Work proceeded quickly, and at the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402, almost half the Cathedral was complete. Construction, however, stalled almost totally until 1480, for lack of money and ideas. The most notable works of this period were the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin V (1424) and the windows of the Apse (1470s), of which, those extant portray Saint John the Evangelist, by Cristoforo de' Mottis, and Saint Eligius and Saint John of Damascus, both by Niccolò da Varallo. In 1452, under Francesco Sforza, the Nave and the Aisles were completed, up to the Sixth Bay.

PART TWO FOLLOWS.

Tertullian (Part Two).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

A woodcut illustration depicting Tertullian.

Quintus Florens Tertullian 

(Anglicised to Tertullian).

160 A.D. - 220 A.D.

Church Father and Theologian.

Source: http://www.higherpraise.com/preachers/tertullian.htm.

This File: August 2011.

User: Serge Lachinov.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The chronology of Tertullian's writings is difficult to fix with certainty. It is, in part, determined by the Montanistic views that are set forth in some of them, by the author's own allusions to this writing, or that, as ante-dating others (cf. Harnack, Litteratur ii.260–262), and by definite historic data (e.g., the reference to the death of Septimius Severus, Ad Scapulam, iv). In his work against Marcion, which he calls his third composition on the Marcionite heresy, he gives its date as the fifteenth year of the reign of Severus (Adv. Marcionem, i.1, 15)—which would be approximately the year 208 A.D.

The writings may be divided with reference to the two periods of Tertullian's Christian activity, the Catholic and the Montanist (cf. Harnack, ii.262 sqq.), or according to their subject-matter. The object of the former mode of division is to show, if possible, the change of views Tertullian's mind underwent. Following the latter mode, which is of a more practical interest, the writings fall into two groups. Apologetic and polemic writings, like Apologeticus, De testimonio animae, Adv. Judaeos, Adv. Marcionem, Adv. Praxeam, Adv. Hermogenem, De praescriptione hereticorum, and Scorpiace were written to counteract Gnosticism and other religious or philosophical doctrines. The other group consists of practical and disciplinary writings, e.g., De monogamia, Ad uxorem, De virginibus velandis, De cultu feminarum, De patientia, De pudicitia, De oratione, and Ad martyras.

Among his apologetic writings, the Apologeticus, addressed to the Roman magistrates, is a most pungent defence of Christianity and the Christians against the reproaches of the pagans, and an important legacy of the ancient Church, proclaiming the principle of freedom of religion as an inalienable human right and demands a fair trial for Christians before they are condemned to death.

Tertullian was the first to break the force of such charges as that the Christians sacrificed infants at the celebration of the Lord's Supper and committed incest. He pointed to the commission of such crimes in the pagan world and then proved by the testimony of Pliny that Christians pledged themselves not to commit murder, adultery, or other crimes. He adduced also the inhumanity of pagan customs such as feeding the flesh of gladiators to beasts. He argued that the gods have no existence and thus there is no pagan religion against which Christians may offend. Christians do not engage in the foolish worship of the emperors. They do better: they pray for them. Christians can afford to be put to torture and to death, and the more they are cast down the more they grow; "the blood of the martyrs is seed" (Apologeticum, 50). In the De Praescriptione, he develops as its fundamental idea that, in a dispute between the Church and a separating party, the whole burden of proof lies with the latter, as the Church, in possession of the unbroken tradition, is, by its very existence, a guarantee of its truth.

The five books against Marcion, written 207 A.D. or 208 A.D., are the most comprehensive and elaborate of his polemical works, invaluable for gauging the early Christian view of Gnosticism. Of the moral and ascetic treatises, the De patientia and De spectaculis are among the most interesting, and the De pudicitia and De virginibus velandis among the most characteristic.

Theology

Though thoroughly conversant with the Greek theology, Tertullian was independent of its metaphysical speculation. He had learned from the Greek apologies, and forms a direct contrast to Origen of Alexandria, who drew much of his theories regarding creation from middle platonism. Tertullian, the prince of realists and practical theologian, carried his realism to the verge of materialism. This is evident from his ascription to God of corporeity and his acceptance of the traducian theory of the origin of the soul. 

He despised Greek philosophy, and, far from looking at Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek thinkers whom he quotes as forerunners of Christ and the Gospel, he pronounces them the patriarchal forefathers of the heretics (De anima, iii.). He held up to scorn their inconsistency when he referred to the fact that Socrates in dying ordered a cock to be sacrificed to Aesculapius (De anima, i). 

Tertullian always wrote under stress of a felt necessity. He was never so happy as when he had opponents like Marcion and Praxeas, and, however abstract the ideas may be which he treated, he was always moved by practical considerations to make his case clear and irresistible. It was partly this element which gave to his writings a formative influence upon the theology of the post-Nicene period in the West and has rendered them fresh reading to this day. He was a born disputant. It is true that during the 3rd-Century no mention is made of his name by other authors. Lactantius, at the opening of the 4th-Century, is the first to do this, but Augustine treats him openly with respect. Cyprian, Tertullian's North African compatriot, though he nowhere mentions his name, was well read in his writings, as Cyprian's secretary told Jerome.

Specific teachings

Tertullian's main doctrinal teachings are as follows:

The Soul was not pre-existent, as Plato affirmed, nor subject to metempsychosis or reincarnation, as the Pythagoreans held. In each individual it is a new product, proceeding equally with the body from the parents, and not created later and associated with the body (De anima, xxvii). This position is called traducianism in opposition to 'creationism', or the idea that each soul is a fresh creation of God. For Tertullian, the Soul is, however, a distinct entity and a certain corporeity and as such it may be tormented in Hell (De anima, lviii).

The Soul's sinfulness is easily explained by its traducian origin (De anima, xxxix). It is in bondage to Satan (whose works it renounces in Baptism), but has seeds of good (De anima, xli), and, when awakened, it passes to health and at once calls upon God (Apol., xvii.) and is naturally Christian. It exists in all men alike; it is a culprit and yet an unconscious witness by its impulse to worship, its fear of demons, and its musings on death to the power, benignity, and judgment of God as revealed in the Christian's Scriptures (De testimonio, v-vi).

PART THREE FOLLOWS