{"id":2275,"date":"2014-05-13T07:32:01","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T11:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/?p=2275"},"modified":"2014-05-19T12:09:49","modified_gmt":"2014-05-19T16:09:49","slug":"ukraine-echoes-ravenna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/ukraine-echoes-ravenna\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine And The Echoes of Ravenna"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ravenna's<\/a>

Raven\u00adna\u2019s mag\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcent mosaics were real\u00adized dur\u00ading a time of upheaval that echoes today in Ukraine.<\/p><\/div>\n

There is some\u00adthing odd about how the ancient mosaicist of Raven\u00adna\u2019s church of San Vitale tells the sto\u00adry of Moses receiv\u00ading the Ten Com\u00admand\u00adments.  When God presents him with the law, Moses turns away.  His gaze is fixed on the mosa\u00adic below, in which God pre\u00advents Abra\u00adham from sac\u00adri\u00adfic\u00ading his son Isaac, instruct\u00ading him to offer a ram instead, thus ful\u00adfill\u00ading the patriarch\u2019s expec\u00adta\u00adtion<\/a> that God him\u00adself would pro\u00advide an aton\u00ading sacrifice.<\/p>\n

San Vitale\u2019s mosaics are sixth cen\u00adtu\u00adry mas\u00adter\u00adpieces of light and col\u00ador.  They con\u00advey the Chris\u00adt\u00adian gospel with inef\u00adfa\u00adble elo\u00adquence.  They also express polit\u00adi\u00adcal aspi\u00adra\u00adtions, long-for\u00adgot\u00adten visions of what Europe might be.  Their dis\u00adap\u00adpoint\u00adments rever\u00adber\u00adate today in the streets of Kiev, Odessa and Donetsk.<\/p>\n

The mosa\u00adic of Moses and Abra\u00adham cap\u00adtures the inter\u00adplay of law and grace, jus\u00adtice and mer\u00adcy, redemp\u00adtion and faith that are at the heart of the Chris\u00adt\u00adian gospel.  The artist tells us that while the law can con\u00addemn, it can\u00adnot jus\u00adti\u00adfy.  This real\u00adiza\u00adtion com\u00adpels Moses to look away from the law and turn instead toward redemp\u00adtive sac\u00adri\u00adfice.  In the tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal Chris\u00adt\u00adian under\u00adstand\u00ading, the episode involv\u00ading Abra\u00adham and Isaac pre\u00adfig\u00adures the cross, with God pro\u00advid\u00ading the sac\u00adri\u00adfice that would deliv\u00ader us from the law\u2019s con\u00addem\u00adna\u00adtion.  That is why the mosaicist places a cross above his depic\u00adtion of Abra\u00adham and Isaac.<\/p>\n

Raven\u00adna rose to promi\u00adnence in the ear\u00adly 400s when the west\u00adern emper\u00ador Hon\u00ado\u00adrius fled there to escape the Visig\u00adoths, who had sacked Rome and abduct\u00aded his sis\u00adter.  His father Theo\u00addo\u00adsius, the last emper\u00ador to rule over both East and West, had divid\u00aded gov\u00ader\u00adnance of the empire between his two incom\u00adpe\u00adtent sons, entrust\u00ading admin\u00adis\u00adtra\u00adtion of the East to Galerius and the West to the hap\u00adless Hon\u00ado\u00adrius.  In the arc of just a few years, Hon\u00ado\u00adrius had lost Spain and Gaul (France) to var\u00adi\u00adous Ger\u00adman\u00adic tribes and noti\u00adfied the cities of Britain that Rome would no longer defend them against trib\u00adal invaders.  Hon\u00ado\u00adrius died in 423.  By 476, his suc\u00adces\u00adsor would relin\u00adquish the impe\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal stan\u00addards, send\u00ading them to his coun\u00adter\u00adpart in Con\u00adstan\u00adtino\u00adple.  In the\u00ado\u00adry, the emper\u00ador in the East now also ruled the West, though in prac\u00adtice the west\u00adern half of the Roman Empire had disintegrated.<\/p>\n

But the vision of a unit\u00aded Chris\u00adten\u00addom ruled by a sin\u00adgle emper\u00ador did not die with Hon\u00ado\u00adrius.  Its rebirth came more than a cen\u00adtu\u00adry lat\u00ader when Jus\u00adtin\u00adian assumed the throne in Con\u00adstan\u00adtino\u00adple with hopes of restor\u00ading the Roman Empire to its for\u00admer dimen\u00adsions.  His efforts met with ini\u00adtial suc\u00adcess in North Africa and Italy.  East and West were again united.<\/p>\n

That achieve\u00adment is cel\u00ade\u00adbrat\u00aded in the mosaics of Ravenna\u2019s San Vitale, a church that Jus\u00adtin\u00adian com\u00admis\u00adsioned.   The emper\u00ador appears in a mosa\u00adic in the apse, just a few feet away from the one of Moses receiv\u00ading the Ten Com\u00admand\u00adments.  It shows the emper\u00ador and his ret\u00adinue pre\u00adsent\u00ading gifts at the altar.  The fac\u00ading wall por\u00adtrays the empress Theodo\u00adra and her entourage doing the same.  The mes\u00adsage is unmis\u00adtak\u00adable: the emper\u00ador rules in sub\u00admis\u00adsion to God and in con\u00adcert with his church.  His job was to defend the faith, the clergy\u2019s to nour\u00adish it.<\/p>\n

The emper\u00ador proved unable to pro\u00adtect the church in the West for very long.  The Lom\u00adbard inva\u00adsion of Italy reversed most of Justinian\u2019s gains and his suc\u00adces\u00adsors nev\u00ader seri\u00adous\u00adly returned to the West\u00adern project, being pre\u00adoc\u00adcu\u00adpied by the inva\u00adsions of Arab Mus\u00adlims that began in the 600s and that would even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly trans\u00adform Chris\u00adt\u00adian Con\u00adstan\u00adtino\u00adple into Mus\u00adlim Istanbul.<\/p>\n

The Lom\u00adbard depre\u00adda\u00adtions in Italy prompt\u00aded Pope Stephen to cross the Alps in 753 to appeal to the Franks for mil\u00adi\u00adtary assis\u00adtance.  If the emper\u00ador in Con\u00adstan\u00adtino\u00adple couldn\u2019t pro\u00advide him relief, per\u00adhaps a Frank\u00adish king could.  King Pip\u00adpin came to the church\u2019s aid.  By 800, Pope Leo had crowned Pip\u00adpin\u2019s suc\u00adces\u00adsor Charle\u00admagne \u201cEmper\u00ador of the Romans.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was acclaimed in the West \u2013 the union of much of West\u00adern Europe under the rule of Charle\u00admagne \u2013 was con\u00addemned in the East.  The Pope, it was argued, had no author\u00adi\u00adty to name Charle\u00admagne emper\u00ador of the Romans.  There was but one emper\u00ador, and he ruled from Con\u00adstan\u00adtino\u00adple.  The polit\u00adi\u00adcal rup\u00adture between East and West was complete.<\/p>\n

That breach would widen over the cen\u00adturies, as the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal, cul\u00adtur\u00adal and lin\u00adguis\u00adtic dif\u00adfer\u00adences proved irrec\u00adon\u00adcil\u00adable.  The West pur\u00adsued the ide\u00adal of Charle\u00admagne long after his empire had frag\u00adment\u00aded.  That ide\u00adal came to very dif\u00adfer\u00adent expres\u00adsions in such fig\u00adures as Napoleon and Hitler and in diverse polit\u00adi\u00adcal insti\u00adtu\u00adtions like the Holy Roman Empire and the Euro\u00adpean Union.<\/p>\n

The East moved in a dif\u00adfer\u00adent direc\u00adtion.  A new seed was plant\u00aded in 987 when the ruler of Kievan Rus con\u00advert\u00aded to the east\u00adern ver\u00adsion of Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty.  Kiev even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly was eclipsed by Moscow as the cen\u00adter of Russ\u00adian ortho\u00addoxy, though the Ukrain\u00adian city still is regard\u00aded as Rus\u00adsi\u00ada\u2019s cra\u00addle.  When Con\u00adstan\u00adtino\u00adple fell to the Turks in 1453, Moscow came to be regard\u00aded as the Third Rome.  Its rulers called them\u00adselves \u201cczars\u201d \u2014 Cae\u00adsar, a title used by Roman emper\u00adors \u2014 and hewed to an east\u00adern under\u00adstand\u00ading of the emper\u00ador as pro\u00adtec\u00adtor of the church.<\/p>\n

In many ways, Ger\u00adman Chan\u00adcel\u00adlor Angela Merkel can be said to stand in the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Charle\u00admagne; Russ\u00adian Pres\u00adi\u00addent Vladimir Putin in the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of the czars.  She is emphat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly sec\u00adu\u00adlar, hop\u00ading to build a unit\u00aded Europe gov\u00aderned accord\u00ading post-mod\u00adern West\u00adern sen\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties.  The EU<\/span> now extends from the Unit\u00aded King\u00addom, through\u00adout almost all West\u00adern Europe, and into ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adries for\u00admer\u00adly with\u00adin Russia\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n

Putin regards the spread of the EU<\/span> and NATO<\/span> into Rus\u00adsi\u00ada\u2019s tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal sphere of influ\u00adence as an encroach\u00adment.  He dreams of a Russ\u00adian-dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded Eurasian Union<\/a> that would stretch from Siberia to Poland\u2019s east\u00adern edge and rival the US<\/span>, EU<\/span> and Chi\u00adna as an eco\u00adnom\u00adic and polit\u00adi\u00adcal pow\u00ader.  Like Stal\u00adin, who enlarged the Sovi\u00adet Union\u2019s bor\u00adders by recov\u00ader\u00ading regions that had been ruled by the czars, Putin is said to seek to recon\u00adsti\u00adtute the Russ\u00adian empire<\/a> to its pre-1917 dimensions.<\/p>\n

Unlike Stal\u00adin, Putin styles him\u00adself as the defend\u00ader of the Ortho\u00addox church.  The Patri\u00adarch of Moscow has called Putin a \u201cmir\u00ada\u00adcle from God<\/a>.\u201d  Putin has been known to seek spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal refresh\u00adment at an ortho\u00addox monastery<\/a>.   Whether his piety is authen\u00adtic, staged or a bit of both is imma\u00adte\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal.  It sym\u00adbol\u00adizes, in any case, his inten\u00adtion to restore Rus\u00adsia to impe\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal great\u00adness and its his\u00adtoric East\u00adern under\u00adstand\u00ading of the rela\u00adtion\u00adship between church and state.<\/p>\n

The roots of today\u2019s cri\u00adsis in Ukraine run deep.  It is no mere con\u00adflict over ter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal sov\u00ader\u00adeign\u00adty and self-deter\u00admi\u00adna\u00adtion or over the rel\u00ada\u00adtive mer\u00adits of mil\u00adi\u00adtary inter\u00adven\u00adtion and eco\u00adnom\u00adic sanc\u00adtions.  It rep\u00adre\u00adsents a clash of visions that pits a West\u00adern Europe devot\u00aded to sec\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adism, mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal com\u00adfort, income redis\u00adtri\u00adb\u00adu\u00adtion and demil\u00adi\u00adta\u00adriza\u00adtion against a Russ\u00adian gov\u00adern\u00adment that cel\u00ade\u00adbrates its reli\u00adgious tra\u00addi\u00adtions and appears increas\u00ading\u00adly will\u00ading to employ force in pur\u00adsuit of its objectives.<\/p>\n

One gets the sense that Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma is intrud\u00ading into an argu\u00adment between peo\u00adple whose lan\u00adguage he doesn\u2019t speak.  While oth\u00ader world lead\u00aders pur\u00adsue dreams \u2013 of a unit\u00aded and sec\u00adu\u00adlar Europe, a resur\u00adgent Russ\u00adian empire, Chi\u00adnese hege\u00admo\u00adny, or the impo\u00adsi\u00adtion of sharia law \u2013 Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma labors under the illu\u00adsion of his own inerran\u00adcy.  As he said recent\u00adly in Mani\u00adla, his for\u00adeign pol\u00adi\u00adcy \u201cavoids errors<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is good rea\u00adson to dis\u00adpute that.  But how\u00adev\u00ader one assess\u00ades the Pres\u00adi\u00adden\u00adt\u2019s record, his for\u00adeign pol\u00adi\u00adcy is increas\u00ading\u00adly regard\u00aded by allies and foes alike as dimin\u00adish\u00ading Amer\u00adi\u00adcan influ\u00adence on world affairs.  The Pres\u00adi\u00addent seems to aspire to a US<\/span> that humbly takes its place in the com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty of nations, even as promi\u00adnent mem\u00adbers of that com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty seek to engen\u00adder, has\u00adten and shape a post-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan era.<\/p>\n

The mosaics of Raven\u00adna were craft\u00aded in an age when Europe was dra\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly and irre\u00adversibly remade.  The upheaval cap\u00adtured in its mag\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcent art and archi\u00adtec\u00adture still is felt in our own age.  It is far too soon to know whether the crises of our era will bear sim\u00adi\u00adlar his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal significance.<\/p>\n

But it would help to know that the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan leader has at least some sense of where he is tak\u00ading us and what may be at stake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is some\u00adthing odd about how the ancient mosaicist of Raven\u00adna\u2019s church of San Vitale tells the sto\u00adry of Moses receiv\u00ading the Ten Com\u00admand\u00adments.  When God presents him with the law, Moses turns away.  His gaze is fixed on the \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"nfd_image_url":"","nfd_onboarding_generated":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[621,75,159,845],"tags":[891,846,886,897,898,889,885,894,892,895,887,1190,884,890,893,888,1205,896,847],"class_list":["post-2275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-pope","category-president-obama","category-ukraine","tag-abraham","tag-angela-merkel","tag-charlemagne","tag-constantinople","tag-czar","tag-galla-placidia","tag-justinian","tag-lombards","tag-moses","tag-ostrogoths","tag-pippin","tag-president-obama","tag-ravenna","tag-san-vitale","tag-ten-commandments","tag-theodosius","tag-ukraine","tag-visigoths","tag-vladimir-putin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t