Renaissance: Sculptures, Worship of Man, Perversions, and -isms.

[Maria]

WARNING TO ALL: I initially posted the Aleteia web link below in the Women's Forum so that men would not be tempted by the blasphemous nude 3-D sculpture of Christ shown in the article. Yes, Christ was perfect man, but to glorify His humanity as the Neo-Arians do can easily lead to perversion as we must also never forget His Divinity, which is before all time and is everlasting.

Do not watch the video, which displays this sculpture from all angles. No doubt perverts delighted in making this video. https://aleteia.org/2018/03/28/this-3d- ... 7M.twitter

If I had a choice, I would take a saw and save only the bust of this sculpture.

Not sure what this has to do with me? I have not nor will post any photos on this site.

Dear jdigrande,

I was issuing a general warning to all, not warning you specifically.

This was a strong warning against viewing that Aleteia online magazine nude video of Christ because Aleteia has taken demonic Renaissance liberties in permitting a nude image of Christ to be made and displayed. As you know, the Renaissance led to all sorts of perversion, especially the -isms, including atheism, agnosticism, and Protestantism through the worship of the creature, man, instead of the Creator. Instead of respecting the God-Man Christ at His death, His enemies strip Him anew. These professors should have never taken those demonic Renaissance liberties to take precise measurements and to re-create a statue of the nude Christ at death.

Incidentally, the demons had initially rejoiced over the dead body of Christ thinking that they had destroyed Christ. Yet, in three days, He rose from the death destroying Hades and Death.

Whereas the Orthodox Church has focused on the victory of Christ by depicting the Resurrected Christ in her icons, Roman Catholics have focused on the death of Christ with their use of a cold statue of Christ on the Cross.

Note: I am not attacking the depiction of the Crucified Christ, for we use this very image during Holy Week on Good and Holy Thursday and Friday. Echoing the words of St. John Chrysostom in his Paschal Homily:

Let none fear death;
for death of the Saviour has set us free.

He has destroyed death by undergoing death.
He has despoiled hell by descending into hell.
He vexed it even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he cried:
Hell was filled with bitterness when it met Thee face to face below;
filled with bitterness, for it was brought to nothing;
filled with bitterness, for it was mocked;
filled with bitterness, for it was overthrown;
filled with bitterness, for it was put in chains.
Hell received a body, and encountered God. It received earth, and confronted heaven.
O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen! And you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is risen! And the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is risen! And the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen! And life is liberated!
Christ is risen! And the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power, now and forever, and from all ages to all ages.
Amen!

http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/sermon.htm

In Christ,
Maria

[jdigrande]

Maria:

I agree with you on the horror of the nude photo of Christ you mention.

But lets not forget that it was the nominally Orthodox(heretic) Plethon who brought the Ancient Greek ethos and philosophy to Florence in 1437 from Constantinople. It was Cardinal Bessarion (formerly an Orthodox Metropolitan) who built an educational system in central Italy with Plethon to ensure that the Hellenism thrived and grew in Italy and in effect started one the major current of the Renaissance. Da Medici sponsored the school and took Michelanglo in at a young age.

Plethon was never corrected by either the Tsar or his bishops. He was invited to Florence for the union council by them. Plethon was not worried that the Turks would destroy the Orthodox Church. He was worried that they would destroy Hellenism. The union at Florence was a union to save Hellinism and the physical city of Constantinople itself. The only one who cared about Orthodoxy was St. Mark of Ephesus.

The Renaissance had its beginning in Constantinople, not Italy. It was John Italus in the 11th century who tried to subvert the Orthodox Church in Constantinople. He arrived along with the Venetians who established a large trading ghetto right underneath Hagia Sophia. It was the Comneni and later the Paleologus dynasty (not all of them though) who promoted humanism (Greco-Roman) of the Hellenism. The Empire sold its soul to the Venetians long before 1439 in the main. Dandolo (the leader of the 4th Crusade) who destroyed and raped the city was buried in Hagia Sophia and remained there in honor (like Lenin in Moscow) from 1270-1453 after the Paleologus dynasty took over.

As far as ikonography and the invasion of 3D into ikonography it was Giotto in central Italy who started this. He started to turn his painted figures into sculptural forms (through the shading of the figures) and that can be seen in Assisi to this day. He also broke from Orthodox ikonography in another way: he imbued all his figures with intense, dramatic emotions and destroyed the calmness of Orthodox ikonography.

There are Orthodox churches in the world who have Plato painted either inside or outside of it. This is another indication that Hellenism was overvalued during this period: 1100-1453.

I have to disagree with you about your problem with exact measurements taken during the Renaissance. In the Roman Pieta, Michelangelo's figure of Christ (if he stood up) would be 7 feet tall. He did study dead bodies anatomically (which was forbidden then). Savanarola was burned at the stake for opposing the Medicis, Plethon and Bessarion. Michelangelo was shaking in his boots watching him die.

When I copied a scene of Christ's death from an ikon from Novgorod: I made sure to use a ruler. There is no heresy involved in using a ruler or exact measurements.

This same Greco-Roman problem existed in Moscow: instead of asking the Georgians to help them build their stone churches, the Russians invited northern Italians to help them: heretics. The heretics brought venereal disease, vodka ( a medicine developed in Genoa to be taken by the drop and not by the bucket) and the Renaissance.

One of the charges against the Romanovs by the Old Believers in the 1650's was that Alexi Romanov was bringing in Greco-Roman statues of demons which Alexi wanted to do in aping Constantinople which was full of bronze and stone Greco-Roman demons during its whole existence.

To the Turks credit they did destroy the hundreds of Greco Roman marble and bronze demons when they arrived in 1453. But of course they destroyed most of the Orthodox Churches, the statue of St. Constantine etc along with them.

Ivan the Terrible offered to marry Elizabeth I of England(a heretic) and modeled his reign on that of Phillip II of Spain (another heretic). He modeled his secret police on the Inquisition of Spain. Peter the Horrible in Russia aped the Renaissance too.

So it is absurd to lay the blame solely on the Italian heretics. 2nd Rome supplied them with the weapons, the translations and the foundation for all that occurred in Italy.

I am against destroying statues of the demon Athena. The early Church transformed ancient temples into churches. They scheduled the major feast days to coincide with pagan feasts. They took the pagan halo and transformed it into Christian sanctity.

It is a waste of God's creation to just destroy. Why not take the bronze and stone and transform them into sculptures of Orthodox saints like St. Constantine was depicted and St. Vladimir is to this day. If the Church hates 3d- then bas relief will do the job. Or turn the stone and bronze into columns in churches.

[jdigrande]

Barbara:

My father was from the island of Sicily according to the invading Romans and Magnia Graecia according to the invading Greeks in the 8th century BC.
What the island was called by the ancient Sikels and Sicans- no one knows. The language of these people was destroyed by the Greeks.

[Maria]

Maria:

I agree with you on the horror of the nude photo of Christ you mention.

But lets not forget that it was the nominally Orthodox(heretic) Plethon who brought the Ancient Greek ethos and philosophy to Florence in 1437 from Constantinople. It was Cardinal Bessarion (formerly an Orthodox Metropolitan) who built an educational system in central Italy with Plethon to ensure that the Hellenism thrived and grew in Italy and in effect started one the major current of the Renaissance. Da Medici sponsored the school and took Michelanglo in at a young age.

Plethon was never corrected by either the Tsar or his bishops. He was invited to Florence for the union council by them. Plethon was not worried that the Turks would destroy the Orthodox Church. He was worried that they would destroy Hellenism. The union at Florence was a union to save Hellinism and the physical city of Constantinople itself. The only one who cared about Orthodoxy was St. Mark of Ephesus.

The Renaissance had its beginning in Constantinople, not Italy. It was John Italus in the 11th century who tried to subvert the Orthodox Church in Constantinople. He arrived along with the Venetians who established a large trading ghetto right underneath Hagia Sophia. It was the Comneni and later the Paleologus dynasty (not all of them though) who promoted humanism (Greco-Roman) of the Hellenism. The Empire sold its soul to the Venetians long before 1439 in the main. Dandolo (the leader of the 4th Crusade) who destroyed and raped the city was buried in Hagia Sophia and remained there in honor (like Lenin in Moscow) from 1270-1453 after the Paleologus dynasty took over.

As far as ikonography and the invasion of 3D into ikonography it was Giotto in central Italy who started this. He started to turn his painted figures into sculptural forms (through the shading of the figures) and that can be seen in Assisi to this day. He also broke from Orthodox ikonography in another way: he imbued all his figures with intense, dramatic emotions and destroyed the calmness of Orthodox ikonography.

There are Orthodox churches in the world who have Plato painted either inside or outside of it. This is another indication that Hellenism was overvalued during this period: 1100-1453.

I have to disagree with you about your problem with exact measurements taken during the Renaissance. In the Roman Pieta, Michelangelo's figure of Christ (if he stood up) would be 7 feet tall. He did study dead bodies anatomically (which was forbidden then). Savanarola was burned at the stake for opposing the Medicis, Plethon and Bessarion. Michelangelo was shaking in his boots watching him die.

Yes, The Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, wrote his Divine Comedy, which was begun in 1308 and was completed one year before he died in 1321. He lived in the post-schism era (after 1054), but one has to admire him for exposing the political and religious errors in the Italian Roman Catholic Church. The most celebrated part of his Divine Comedy is the Inferno where he consigns to hell many of the Italian political and Church leaders, bishops and popes, who lived immoral lives and who allowed for the sculptures and paintings of nudes which prepared the way for the Renaissance. Dante is also famous for quoting St. John Chrysostom that the roads in hell are paved with the skulls of priests, and the bishops are the lampposts.

Other than the fact that Savanarola also lived in the post-schism era, this Dominican priest was correct to point out the immorality of his time in which many Roman clerics and bishops had mistresses for they were forbidden to marry. In addition, these prelates had huge mansions in which they displayed nudes of their mistresses. Thus, Savanarola preached about the immorality, the adultery, and the wickedness that flourished in Italy. He sincerely believed that he was living in the End Times, so wicked were the people everywhere. As his preaching became more forceful and convincing, the wicked started to fear for their very lives and their fortunes. This like St. John the Forerunner, Savanarola was killed by his enemies to silence him. Had he lived, perhaps the people would have returned to Holy Orthodoxy.

When I copied a scene of Christ's death from an ikon from Novgorod: I made sure to use a ruler. There is no heresy involved in using a ruler or exact measurements.

I have no disagreement with taking exact measurements for I too studied art in my quest not only to obtain two undergraduate degrees but also to earn my M.A. in linguistics. My beef is that these modernist perverts have used modern instrumentation to measure and then to display an exact 3-D image of what Christ looked like at his death., thus worshiping man rather than giving honor and glory to God. This is Neo-Arianism spawn from the Renaissance movement.

This same Greco-Roman problem existed in Moscow: instead of asking the Georgians to help them build their stone churches, the Russians invited northern Italians to help them: heretics. The heretics brought venereal disease, vodka ( a medicine developed in Genoa to be taken by the drop and not by the bucket) and the Renaissance.

One of the charges against the Romanovs by the Old Believers in the 1650's was that Alexi Romanov was bringing in Greco-Roman statues of demons which Alexi wanted to do in aping Constantinople which was full of bronze and stone Greco-Roman demons during its whole existence.

To the Turks credit they did destroy the hundreds of Greco Roman marble and bronze demons when they arrived in 1453. But of course they destroyed most of the Orthodox Churches, the statue of St. Constantine etc along with them.

Ivan the Terrible offered to marry Elizabeth I of England(a heretic) and modeled his reign on that of Phillip II of Spain (another heretic). He modeled his secret police on the Inquisition of Spain. Peter the Horrible in Russia aped the Renaissance too.

So it is absurd to lay the blame solely on the Italian heretics. 2nd Rome supplied them with the weapons, the translations and the foundation for all that occurred in Italy.

I am against destroying statues of the demon Athena. The early Church transformed ancient temples into churches. They scheduled the major feast days to coincide with pagan feasts. They took the pagan halo and transformed it into Christian sanctity.

Did you know that it was St. John the Theologian who destroyed several Greek pagan temples during his life? These temples were known as wonders of the modern world at that time, and tributes to man's accomplishments, but they were not of God. St. John the Theologian simply prayed the prayers of exorcism. God answered his prayers and sent huge earthquakes, which destroyed those temples, and also routed the demons that were present in the Roman baths. Had he not done this, the errors of the pagans would have prevented the Christian Good News from spreading throughout the world.

Are you against what St. John and the Apostles did?

It is a waste of God's creation to just destroy. Why not take the bronze and stone and transform them into sculptures of Orthodox saints like St. Constantine was depicted and St. Vladimir is to this day. If the Church hates 3d- then bas relief will do the job. Or turn the stone and bronze into columns in churches.

Waste of time? God will destroy this earth and all that is in it just before the Coming of Christ. I look forward to the glorious coming of Christ. Neither our earth nor our sun is stable. Our sun will not last forever. It is already showing signs that trouble astronomers.

Our world with all its beauty, modern technology, and utter wickedness is also losing it. Witness the Hawaiian volcano, which is now spewing lava and is out of control. Some have said that the Hawaiian volcano was triggered perhaps by a nuclear device similar to that which caused the volcano in North Korea to explode and to destroy the N.K. nuclear base deep underground near that volcano. Cyprian could post a book on this subject. Ask him.

[jdigrande]

The early Church built its first large churches on the ruins and foundations of pagan temples. That is my meaning of not wasting what God has created.
All of these temples were knocked down by God in time or St. John the Theologian (your example). Most of these sites were exercised and then used as foundations of basilicas and churches throughout the Roman world. Stone from ancient pagan temples was brought to Constantinople by St. Justinian to build Hagia Sophia as another example of what I mean.

[Justice]

The Holy Synod of Milan uses statues of the crucified Christ in their churches.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4wpHw ... bhmRh0NyhA

[jdigrande]

They should not use statues in Orthodox Churches. It is against the 6th Council.