Saturday, December 24, 2016

inSPIRED Sunday Murals




December 2016 - St. Augustine FL

This hidden gem was found in the heart of the historic district the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, an institution of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, is dedicated to the first colony of Greek people who came to America in 1768. The Shrine consists of exhibits depicting the life of early Greeks in America and the development of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, and the St. Photios Chapel.


The magnificent St. Photios Chapel is unique in the Western Hemisphere. It is filled with exquisite Byzantine style frescoes of many apostles and saints of the Christian church. Adding vibrant luster to these extraordinary examples of the centuries old Byzantine art is an abundant use of 22 Karat gold leaf on the highlights of the frescoes.





I was curious who Photios was, patron saint of photography??? Just kidding...
So, of course, one must head to Wikipedia.


Photios I c.  810 – c. 893), also spelled Photius or Fotios, was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 858 to 867 and from 877 to 886; He is recognized in the Eastern Orthodox Church as St. Photios the Great.

Photios is widely regarded as the most powerful and influential church leader of Constantinople subsequent to John Chrysostom's archbishopric in the late fourth century. He is also viewed as the most important intellectual of his time – "the leading light of the ninth-century renaissance". He was a central figure in both the conversion of the Slavs to Christianity and the Photian schism, and is considered "[t]he great systematic compiler of the Eastern Church, who occupies a similar position to that of Gratian in the West," and whose "collection in two parts...formed and still forms the classic source of ancient Church Law for the Greek Church."













7 comments:

This blog does not allow anonymous comments.