(East) Orthodox Church visit part 1｜2021.01.23
More than a year ago (2019.11) we visited
#TaipeiMosque, have a preliminary and direct understanding of #Islam
Religion affects our lives the most
Maybe many people haven’t noticed yet…
But since the previous presidential candidate said that Mazu Tuo Meng wanted him to run for election to Dajia Zhenlan Palace, should he cancel the detour because of the epidemic?
In fact, it is the influence of religion on daily life
The mainstream in Taiwan is Taoism
In Europe and America it is Christianity
But Islam, which has grown in influence, has repeatedly appeared in international news over the past decade.
In theory, everyone has the freedom to choose their beliefs
But when we only know one kind, and we don’t even know much, it’s right to follow everyone
Or when you see something negative on the news, you just think that religion is bad
These blindly following or criticizing are inappropriate.
Lara’s class is an introduction to #internationalculture
And religion – is a very important factor in culture
Therefore, I hope to bring children to learn more about diverse religious cultures
In addition to giving them a better understanding of their environment
Maybe in the future because of this understanding
more inclusiveness and empathy
,WORLD PEACE is no longer just a slogan for beauty pageants…..
Father Kirill from Russia used his fluent Chinese to gently introduce to us what is
#ChristianOrthodox I have always used the name #Orthodox in class to introduce
But Father Kirill said that “Eastern” Orthodoxy is a way of translation before.
In 395 AD the Roman Empire split into the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire
East and West here are relative concepts
And the church we visit today belongs to the ORTHODOX CHURCH inherited from the “Eastern Roman Empire”
Generally speaking, Catholicism and Christianity (Protestantism), which are common in Taiwan, are inherited from the Western Roman Empire. And ORTHODOX means orthodox
The icon ICON in the middle will change according to the festival of the month. This month (January) is the Epiphany, so I put the icon of this festival. (Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River)
Speaking of “Orthodox”
I think there is a very interesting phenomenon to observe from the language
The two sides in Chinese are “right, left”
These two words have no special meaning
simply represents the direction
But in English the right is RIGHT
correct meaning
In Russian, German, and even Taiwanese, “right” and “right” are the same word.
Is it because the ancients thought right-handed people were the mainstream?
How many right things can be done with the right hand?
so uncommon in a language
But there is still the same logic in different language families
I find it very interesting~
And this principle is also directly reflected in the order in which (Eastern) Orthodox Christians draw the cross: up, down, right, left
The Orthodox Church emphasizes the concept of the Trinity, which represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when making a cross, be sure to fold the three fingers together to represent the meaning of the three. The ring finger and the little finger are to be attached to the palm together. The two fingers represent that Jesus is both a god and a man. Attaching to the palm is equivalent to coming into the world. Therefore, the rituals and gestures of each religion have their own meaning behind it.
Besides, have you noticed that the (Eastern) Orthodox crosses look different from what we usually see?
Yes ~ Father Kirill mentioned that there are many kinds of crosses. There are Latin, Byzantine, and Crusades that are different….
The family is too numerous to be loaded… Then why do we see more than one line here, or on the Onion Church?
At this time, you can look at the picture stories on the top row of the “Icon Wall” ~ maybe you can find clues ^^
There is a “Imperial Gate” in the middle of the icon wall
Symbolizing Jesus or the church, there is a smaller “deacon gate” on each side
That’s where the clergy go in and out
Here I have a question about why women cannot enter and exit through the “Imperial Gate”
The priest said no, said no
But that door only the highest clergy can go in and out
And then women won’t be able to take up the position of priest…so…the top row of the “icon wall” has 12/16/18…
(There is no hard and fast rule, most of the standard is 12) paintings
Basically, it will represent the twelve most important festivals of the Orthodox Church except for Easter (this festival is too important, so look at it separately)
Annunciation from the Virgin (angels come to announce to the Virgin Mary and say you’re chosen)
Christmas to Epiphany (Baptism of Jesus) to Passion
there will be a painting to represent
Check out this crucifixion painting
Have you found out why the cross has an extra line on the top and bottom?
It turns out that when the Romans put criminals on the cross
Will write the crime of that prisoner on a short board and nail it above his head
So the incrimination board on the head of Jesus in the painting says
“Proclaims himself the king of the Jews” and has a plank under his feet because when one’s arms are opened
The nails in the palm cannot actually support all the weight of the human body
Therefore, there must be a place where the feet can be supported
Otherwise, the whole person will fall down…(The picture is too cruel…I can’t bear to imagine…)
Our children also discovered that some people in the icon paintings have halos on their heads~
that represents the light of a saint or an angel
But after watching one round, you can observe
Only the halo on Jesus’ head is different from that of others!
(Now you can quickly open the photo above and ask the children at home if they find anything different~)
The three Greek letters ΟΩΝ can only be seen in the halo on Jesus’ head
The representative means “I exist” (later I checked several articles and wanted to confirm the meaning of these three letters
But a lot of religious-related explanations are really too esoteric… “I exist” is a relatively simplified but easy-to-understand concept)
The icon painting on the upper left is relatively rare
There is usually no presence of Jesus’ “family”
This painting is estimated to have been made by painters in the later period of comparison
The Virgin Mary can be seen holding the baby Jesus in the lower left corner
There is also a halo with these three Greek letters on the head of baby Jesus
The ICON in the upper right corner is a very standard icon painting
The figure on the lower right also feels like a more modern painting method
In fact, our visit did not have any religious purpose.
But through the introduction of the priest and the witness of the
Let us have more knowledge and observation of this religion and the icon paintings we have seen with our own eyes
It’s like going to a museum with a good guide
Will not be reduced to the simplicity of walking around and looking at flowers
It’s about having a better understanding of things in the world
I think it’s very interesting
Given the deeper content of the church
I decided to divide the article into 2-3 times to write
Everyone will not be too tired to read~To be continue…..
