The Empress Theodora

And her past

A comment at VFR comparing the 6th century Byzantine Empress Theodora with the Spitzer escort girl prompted me to write this post, especially since I had just finished reading - coincidentally - a short excerpt on Theodora in Daniel Boorstin's The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination. Theodora started off with lowly beginnings as the daughter of a bear keeper, followed her mother's profession as an actress, and eventually became a prostitute. Here is an excerpt from Boorstin's account of her:

[A]ccording to Procopius "As soon as she was old enough and fully developed, she joined the women on the stage and promptly became a courtesan." Who would have predicted that she would become an emperor's faithful wife, a passionate Christian theologian, and the most powerful empress in the history of the Roman Empire?

Boorstin continues to say that this all happened after:

Suddenly and unaccountably, [she] abandoned her lascivious ways, settled in a modest house near the palace, and earned her living by spinning wool. Attracted by Theodora's beauty, wit, intelligence, and youth, Justinian determined to marry her.

The mysterious word is "unaccountably."

I will venture to say that this change wasn't unaccountable. By gleaning through various written and internet sources, it appears that in her early twenties, she briefly stayed in Alexandria and converted to Christianity. Although no source I have reviewed makes this association, where inference follows logic, it would surely be her Christian conversion that led her to abandon her previous life, and live modestly as a wool spinner.

Her extraordinary life with Justinian is immortalized in the mosaics at the San Vitale Basilica in Italy, where she stands with her cohort of women on the south wall of the apse, facing her husband Emperor Justinian, who is on the north wall. Justinian had made her joint ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

With great contrition at putting Theodora's name together with Spitzer's call girl, here's a headline from Times online entitled: Prostitute Ashley Alexandra Dupre behind Eliot Spitzer sex scandal cashes in.

One can never accuse the expiated Theodora of cashing in. In fact, her legacy lives on as one can only hope, after renouncing sin and attempting to live an exemplary life.

Mosaic of Justinian in San Vitale
[Click image to see larger version]

Mosaic of Theodora in San Vitale
[Click image to see larger version]

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Priez Pour Nous et Pour les Musulmans

Notre Dame d'Afrique

Notre Dame d'Afrique across the Mediterranean from
Notre Dame de la Garde

During their colonization period in Algeria, the French built the Basilica Notre Dame d'Afrique in Algiers. Miraculously, the place still stands, and is still used as a place of worship for Catholic Algerians. The Church lies at the northern coastline of Algiers, and is thought to be a complement to the Notre Dame de la Garde across the Mediterranean in Marseilles.

Religion is a combination of tradition, architecture, geography and symbolism. And the French Catholics were susceptible to all of them when transferring their Catholicism to Algeria.

The statue of Mary in Notre Dame d'Afrique has fine Caucasian features, but is ebony black. The reasoning has to be that this metaphorically black Madonna would be a gateway into the rest of Africa at this point of entry, and act as an incentive for and a familiar guard over her new converts. It is also a clear indication that Algerian and French Catholics are two different peoples.

The positioning of the Basilica is also very important. As a new church, facing the hill-top Notre Dame de la Garde across the Mediterranean would give Notre Dame d'Afrique the support and the protection (and the prayers) from her mature brethren in Christ from across the sea.

Finally, the French modeled the Basilica after the Byzantine Eastern churches, which influenced the great domed mosques of the Ottoman period, who took their example from Constantinople's Hagia Sophia. Mosaics, also a feature borrowed by mosques from the Byzantines, figures both inside and outside Notre Dame d'Afrique. Thus this north African church, in the land of the Muslims, who wished to draw them into her interior, wouldn't be so strange and alien in her Islamic surroundings.

And what an interior, with the prayer: "Notre Dame d'Afrique pray for us and the Muslims" written across nave facing the alter. And what a difference from Constantinople's Hagia Sophia, which after being converted into a Mosque by the Ottomans, now bears Islamic calligraphy plates which cover Christian images.

God helped the French to build the perfect church in Notre Dame d'Afrique. The proof is that it she still standing and performing her rites.

The Interior of Notre Dame d'Afrique with the mosaics,
the Black Madonna and the inscription "Prier pour nous
et pour les Musulmans"

[Click images to see a larger versions]

To get more information on the French presence in Algeria, Gallia Watch covers it along with several posts on Sarkozy's trip to Algeria, and also mentions Notre Dame d'Afrique at this post.

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The Holy as Transparent

Like a gemstone



The Holy is transparent, whereas the unholy is opaque.

And that which is in the middle, which can go either way, is neutral.

This is the discussion of a couple of Rabbis at this weekly show.

I think the idea of gemstones (or stones in general) wonderfully explains this concept.

A beautifully cut gem, like a diamond or an aquamarine, gives so much pleasure to our eyes because it is so transparent. The more transparent, the more expensive. What gives it this transparency is the work that went into making it so faceted. Holiness requires work to achieve its perfect transparency.

Those uncut gemstones, which have the potential to be worked on to be transparent (cabochons for the precious stones, and others like turquoise or lapis lazuli) are less attractive to us because of their middle-ground. But, we still desire them because we see the potential in them.

Yet, sometimes what looks like a potential turquoise can end up looking like an opaque pebble. We are least attracted to this pebble, and most likely to discard it at some point.

And that is exactly what the judicious Rabbis say. The opaque requires no judgment. They call it evil at one point, but prefer in the end to describe it as something which wouldn't bring us closer to God, and therefore something to be discarded.

On a more practical level, evil (the opaque) always leaves us questioning and probing (why, how what, etc...) whereas we marvel at the clarity of Holiness.

But, rather than judge it with our limited capacity, it is better to leave the opaque aside, and concentrate instead on the Holiness that is in front of us.

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Foundations

I Corinthians 3:11-17


A message for all walks of life.

11For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

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The Synthesis of Beauty

From Strength and Kindness

Excerpt from The Death of Jacob by Rabbi Ari Kahn, via BadEagle.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not merely three highly accomplished spiritual individuals. They formed a dynasty, in Hebrew shalshelet, which is derived from shalosh, meaning "three." According to Kabbalistic thought, each of the three patriarchs created a different spiritual awareness in the world, each becoming one of the three pillars necessary to support the establishment of the nation. Abraham is identified with chesed or "kindness." Isaac is identified with the opposites of kindness, namely gevurah or "strength" and din or "justice." And Jacob is identified with the merging of the above -- tiferet or "beauty." Thus, the patriarchs represent (to borrow the Hegalian model) thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Once synthesis is achieved, the nation can emerge.

In this descriptive explanation of Jacob’s death, and his revelation to his sons of their roles in the future (as the twelve tribes of Israel), the author talks about the three patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - and how they connect with each other.

Abraham is identified with kindness, Isaac with the opposite strength, and Jacob with beauty.

In fact, Jacob is the synthesis of the two (thesis and antithesis).

That beauty is a synthesis of kindness and strength makes perfect sense.

Any work of art that is too strong will come off as harsh and unconnected

Any work that is too kind will appear weak and sentimental.

Beautiful works of art need to combine harshness and sentimentality to bring us closer to an authentic feeling, that is neither too cold nor too mawkish, in reaction to the work.

So, Jacob as beauty (work of art) must have been just the right combination of strength and kindness to produce the authentic tribes of Israel.

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