Book Review—Maria Cristina Carile, The Vision of the Palace of the Byzantine Emperors as a Heavenly Jerusalem

In this inspiring book, The Vision of the Palace of the Byzantine Emperors as a Heavenly Jerusalem, which is based on her doctoral dissertation (joint doctorate Università degli Studi di Bologna and the University of Birmingham, 2007), art historian Maria Cristina Carile provides an interdisciplinary study about the relationship between the Imperial Palace and the Heavenly Jerusalem

Philosophical Criticism of Genealogical Claims and Stoic Depoliticization of Politics: Greco-Roman Strategies in Paul's Allegorical Interpretation of Hagar and Sarah (Gal 4:21-31)

George H. van Kooten, “Philosophical Criticism of Genealogical Claims and Stoic Depoliticization of Politics: Greco-Roman Strategies in Paul’s Allegorical Interpretation of Hagar and Sarah (Gal 4:21-31),” in Abraham, the Nations, and the Hagarites: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives on Kinship with Abraham (ed. Martin Goodman, George H. van Kooten, and Jacques T.A.G.M. van Ruiten; Themes in Biblical Narrative 13; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010), 361-385.

Heaven-on-Earth and the Heavenly Jerusalem in Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Muscovite Church Architecture in the Uspensky Sobor (Assumption Cathedral) and Pokrovsky Sobor (Cathedral of the Intercession)

Russian Orthodoxy considered the church building to be an icon of heaven that portrayed Heaven-on-Earth and provided a glimpse of the Heavenly Jerusalem. Symbolism was used in church architecture to express these themes. This thesis explores the representation of Heaven-on-Earth and the Heavenly Jerusalem in the Uspensky Sobor (Cathedral of the Assumption), in the Moscow Kremlin and the Pokrovsky Sobor (Cathedral of the Intercession) in Red Square in Moscow. Fifteenth and sixteenth Muscovite church symbolism is best interpreted through a theological lens to provide insight into the mindset of those times. It is more accurate than a purely political, historical, or cultural approach. Biblical imagery relating to the themes of Heaven-on-Earth and the Heavenly Jerusalem will be the starting point. The meaning of the Old Testament tabernacle and the temple is significant because symbolism from these structures was later transferred into church structures. The Russian inheritance of Christianity from the Byzantine church is addressed. The Mongol occupation and the subsequent defeat of their descendants, the Tatars, affected Russian theological symbolism and interpretation. The outcome was that Russian Church architecture took a different course to that of its Byzantine predecessor. The highlight of the Heavenly Jerusalem theme was reached in the sixteenth century with Moscow’s image as a “chosen city,” which was an extension of the “chosen people” concept of Kievan Rus a few centuries earlier. The background context of the theological, historical and political situation of Russia is used as a framework to examine the art and architecture of the two cathedrals. The rise of Moscow was related to the relocation of the centre of Orthodoxy from the city of Vladimir to Moscow. The symbolism relating to the theme of Heaven-on-Earth is examined in the Uspensky’s exterior and interior architecture along with a comparative study of its prototype church in Vladimir. The Heavenly Jerusalem theme was understated in the Uspensky Sobor, although an appraisal of its relics and icons suggests that there was considerable thought about it emerging in the middle of the sixteenth century. The Heavenly Jerusalem concept was most exemplified in the Pokrovsky Sobor. The antecedents (zions, votive churches and kokoshniki) that pre-dated the Heavenly Jerusalem theme shed light on the development of the theme itself. Similarly, the role reversal between the theological proclamation in the exteriors and interiors of Russian churches is significant because it reflected the shift from the Heaven-on-Earth theme towards the Heavenly Jerusalem theme which dominated the sixteenth century. Consideration is given to the numerical symbolism and the church domes of this period because they are often regarded as a cipher to sixteenth century Russian churches. While the background influences on the construction of the Pokrovsky are examined, the overall conclusion is that its construction was for theological reasons. The second major finding was that there was a shift in Moscow’s theological role from asking for intercession towards a self-assurance that Moscow was divinely protected. Three of the Pokrovsky Churches are discussed in more detail than the others because their architecture more fully anticipated the Heavenly Jerusalem

Levinas and the symbol of the Temple of Jerusalem for the whole of humanity

Levinas no suele hablar del Templo, pero en sus comentarios talmúdicos, dice algunas cosas muy impresionantes acerca del templo y de su imagen. Así, al comentar el Tratado Yoma 10a del Talmud, dice que «El templo de Jerusalén, según el pensamiento judío, es un símbolo, que significa para la humanidad entera». Esta ponencia se centra en clarificar esta tesis de Levinas y en la universalidad de un sólo templo, que según su comentario al Rabbi Hayyin Volozhiner «es una réplica exacta del Templo celestial, el orden de la santidad absoluta»Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Muzeum Libeskina w Berlinie jako wieża, która runęła

In the article the author will attempt to interpret the architectural structure of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, designed in 1989 by Daniel Libeskind. The context of deliberations presented here will rely on a broadly understood idea of tower, an entity identical with the Judaic as well as Christian vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem. However, the key to the metaphor is the assumption that the structure symbolizes a toppled tower, which in its turn is a meaningful analogy to the concepts derived from the issues of the Holocaust.In the article the author will attempt to interpret the architectural structure of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, designed in 1989 by Daniel Libeskind. The context of deliberations presented here will rely on a broadly understood idea of tower, an entity identical with the Judaic as well as Christian vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem. However, the key to the metaphor is the assumption that the structure symbolizes a toppled tower, which in its turn is a meaningful analogy to the concepts derived from the issues of the Holocaust

Celestial Choirmaster: The Liturgical Role of Enoch-Metatron in 2 Enoch and Merkabah Tradition

This article investigates the roots of Enoch-Metatron’s liturgical office of celestial choirmaster which plays a prominent role in the Merkabah tradition. Although references to this office of the exalted patriarch are absent in 1 Enoch, Jubilees, Genesis Apocryphon, and the Book of Giants, this article argues that the roots of Enoch-Metatron’s liturgical imagery can be traced to the Second Temple Enochic lore, namely to 2 Enoch, the Jewish apocalypse, apparently written in the first century CE. This article investigates a tradition found in 2 Enoch 18 where the translated patriarch encourages the celestial Watchers to start liturgy ‘before the Face of the Lord’, that is, in front of the divine Kabod, the exact location where Metatron will later conduct heavenly worship of angelic hosts in the Shi‘ur Qomah and Hekhalot accounts

Mosaic of Israel’s landscapes as an expression of geographical, cultural, and religious diversity

Dorot Ruth, Mosaic of Israel’s landscapes as an expression of geographical, cultural, and religious diversity. “Images” vol. XXV, no. 34. Poznań 2019. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. 87–113. ISSN 1731-450X. DOI 10.14746/i.2019.34.06. Israel is tiny in its dimensions, yet huge in the spectrum of its landscapes. It is ancient in its history, yet young as a state. In honor of the 70th independence day of the State of Israel, celebrated in 2018, this paper presents a mosaic of 12 landscape paintings, from the country’s most southern point to the most northern one, by Israeli artists who represent, in diverse styles, the state’s geographic and historic wealth in a visual-artistic sense.Dorot Ruth, Mosaic of Israel’s landscapes as an expression of geographical, cultural, and religious diversity. “Images” vol. XXV, no. 34. Poznań 2019. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. Pp. 87–113. ISSN 1731-450X. DOI 10.14746/i.2019.34.06. Israel is tiny in its dimensions, yet huge in the spectrum of its landscapes. It is ancient in its history, yet young as a state. In honor of the 70th independence day of the State of Israel, celebrated in 2018, this paper presents a mosaic of 12 landscape paintings, from the country’s most southern point to the most northern one, by Israeli artists who represent, in diverse styles, the state’s geographic and historic wealth in a visual-artistic sense