Light a Candle
CHURCH OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE
(click on the candle)
Picture: Chebishev |
(c) Daniel Amarilio |
GOD,
Please give Humanity wisdom
To eliminate the Poverty in the World.
So that the rich become richer.
So that no Poverty exists.
So that no Parent bury his Child.
So that our wonderful Planet is safe.
So that we to live with Joy, in Peace and surrounded by
Love.
So that we will glorify You through our short lives,
finished even before
being conceived.
So that to hear New prayers coming from every humans
heart,
Which is the same for every Human in this World,
independently rich or
poor, white or colored, Abraham or Buddhas children.
Because I believe only in Goodness..
(Amarilio's Prayer)
Built on the slopes of
the Mount of Olives by Alexander III of Russia, the Church of St.
Mary Magdalene is probably the most conspicuous house of worship in
Jerusalem. It owes its prominence to the presence of seven gilded,
onion-shaped domes jutting out from a monumental Muscovite-style
body that stands proudly against the sky.
While the church was dedicated to Alexander's mother Maria, it was
called the Church of St. Mary Magdalene after her name- saint.
From a distance what you see of St. Mary Magdalene are its memorable
bulb-like cupolas. But if you enter the closure in which it is found
and climb the steps to the church, you discover that the building is
as remarkable as its domes. Indeed, the palatial exterior features a
mind-boggling variety of styles and decorations that is fascinating
to behold.
Inside a beautiful, hand-carved wooden frame is a unique
sixteenth-century icon of the Virgin Mary holding her infant son.
Believed to have miraculous powers of healing, the painting stood in
a Lebanese church for several hundred years.
One of Russia's most extraordinary saints lies in state within the
church. She was Russian Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, wife of
the Czar's brother Sergei and sister to the Czar's wife Alexandra.
During the lavish inauguration ceremony in 1888, the 24-year-old
Elizabeth told several onlookers that she wanted to be buried within
its walls. One of her projects was the Jerusalem Church of St. Mary
Magdalene, initiated by her brother-in-law but very much her own
creation. It was Elizabeth who supervised the artwork, emphasizing a
style from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Natalia Staikova
Copyright Povertyvision and Daniel
Amarilio © 2001-2003 |