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#Emperor Constantine I The Great
didoofcarthage · 4 months
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The Triumph of Rome: The Youthful Emperor Constantine Honoring Rome by Peter Paul Rubens, unused design for a series of tapestries about Constantine commissioned by King Louis XIII of France
Flemish, c. 1622-1623
oil on panel
Mauritshuis, The Hague
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In 325, at the Council of Nicea, Constantine the Great created the Catholic Church after a genocide of 45,000 Christians, where he tortured them to renounce Reincarnation. At the same time the religious books of all the villages of the empire are collected and thus create THE BIBLE.
In 327, Constantine, known as the emperor of Rome, ordered Jerome to translate the Vulgate version in Latin, changing the Hebrew proper names and adulterating the scriptures.
In 431, the cult of the VIRGIN was invented.
In 594, PURGATORY was invented.
In 610, the title of the POPE was invented.
In 788, worship of pagan deities was imposed.
In 995, the meaning of kadosh (set aside) was changed to saint.
In 1079, the celibacy of priests is imposed >> a totally Catholic word.
In 1090, the Rosary was imposed.
In 1184, the Inquisition was perpetrated.
In 1190, indulgences are sold.
In 1215, confession was imposed on the priests.
In 1216, Pope Innocent III's tale of the terror of bread (a god in Greek mythology), which turns into human flesh, was invented.
In 1311, the batesimo prevailed.
In 1439, the non-existent PURGATORY was dogmatized.
In 1854, the immaculate Conception was invented.
In 1870, the absurdity of an infallible pope was imposed, in which the concept of Contracting was invented
There are more than 2,500 things invented by this religion to enslave human beings to Christianity ...
Religions and their Gods were created as a means of MANIPULATION and BUSINESS. As part of the EVOLUTION of the human being is the FREEDOM of these means of manipulation. Although little by little the human being is in the era of AWAKENING, young people are LESS RELIGIOUS every day for two more generations and the Catholic religion will be in its decline. (I wish to see that moment)
Everything will be part of our EVOLUTION.
It is up to you to continue believing what you now believe to be the absolute truth, because you have not questioned things, yourself ... question them yourself and you will see that all religions are an invention ... of man
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church-history · 1 year
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Geological and Historical Evidence for Jesus’ Crucifixion Account
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At Jesus’ crucifixion, Matthew (27:45-54) reported “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (cf., Psalm 22)…And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the son of God!’”
Matthew’s passage includes two events that can be historically and geologically confirmed: (1) Darkness covered the land for three hours (c.f., Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45) and (2) An earthquake occurred.
“At that same moment about noontide, the day was withdrawn; and they, who knew not that this was foretold concerning Christ, thought it was an eclipse. But this you have in your archives; you can read it there. Yet nailed upon the cross, Christ exhibited many notable signs, by which his death was distinguished from all others. At his own free-will, he with a word dismissed from him his spirit, anticipating the executioners’ work. In the same hour, too, the light of day was withdrawn, when the sun at the very time was in his meridian blaze. Those who were not aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it was an eclipse.” 
-  Tertullian (197 AD), Jewish Consul
“In the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was a great eclipse of the sun, greater than had ever been known before, for at the 6th hour the day was changed into night and the stars were seen in the heavens. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nicaea.”
- Phlegon (2nd century AD) Greek historian, “Olympiads”
“With regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place, Phlegon too I think has written in the 13th or 14th book of his Chronicles…Celsus imagines also that both the earthquake and darkness were an invention, but regarding these, we have in the preceding pages made our defense, according to our ability, adducing the testimony of Phlegon, who relates that these events took place at the time when our Savior suffered.” 
- Origen (184 – 253 AD), Greek scholar and early Christian father who confirmed Phlegon’s writings
“Jesus Christ underwent his passion in the 18th year of Tiberius [33 AD]. Also at that time in another Greek compendium we find an event recorded in these words: ‘the sun was eclipsed, Bithynia was struck by an earthquake, and in the city of Nicaea many buildings fell.”
- Eusebius (315 AD), Historian of the Emperor Constantine.
What Caused the Three-hour Period of Darkness?
Before determining that the three-hour period of darkness is due to supernatural causes, we must rule out the natural possibilities. We have experienced natural events that have caused darkness during the daylight hours. These include when volcanoes erupt and emit dark clouds and when storms occur and cover the sky with clouds. Yet no Biblical or secular sources indicate any support for a volcanic explosion or storms, so we can rule out those two natural events.
What about an eclipse? The positioning of the sun and moon is required to answer this question. We have much support for the dating of Jesus’ crucifixion on Friday the 14th of Nissan in the year 33 (April 3, 33). This date was further predicted in the book of Daniel (9). Passovers only occurred during a full moon, so an eclipse would not have been possible due to the moon’s location on the far side of the earth away from the sun. Even if the positioning were conducive to an eclipse, eclipses only darken the earth for short moments, not for three hours, so we have another reason to rule out that natural option.
Is the Best Explanation to Explain this Event a Supernatural Explanation?
I will let readers answer that question for themselves.
Geological Support for the Earthquake                                     
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Scholars have reported that devastating earthquakes occurred in Jerusalem during Christ’s death (Mallet, 1853; Rigg, 1941). This occurred in a region that includes the Dead Sea fault, which is a plate boundary that separates the Arabian plate and the Sinai sub-plate (Garfunkel, 1981). This fault has been active since the Miocene (Kagan, Stein, Agnon, & Neuman, 2011) and the fault is still active today (De Liso & Fidani, 2014). The fault extends from the Red Sea in the south to the Taurus Mountains in the north.
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Kagan and colleagues (2011) analyzed seismites in the Holocene Dead Sea basin by constructing two age-depth chronological models based on atmospheric radiocarbon ages of short-lived organic debris with a Bayesian model. Seismites are sedimentary beds and structures, which are deformed by seismic shaking. The scholars analyzed seismites in different areas of the basin, finding that several synchronous seismites appeared in all sections during particular years, including 33 AD (+/- 2 sigma; 95% confidence interval). Other years in which earthquakes occurred as evidenced by seismites are (AD unless otherwise noted): 1927, 1293, 1202/1212, 749, 551, 419, 33, 31 BC, and mid-century B.C.
After analyzing laminated sedimentary cores recovered at the shores of the Dead Sea, Migowski, Agnon, Bookman, Negendank, and Stein (2004) also confirmed an earthquake in 33 AD with a magnitude of 5.5. They documented earthquakes around 33 AD in 31 BC and 76 AD. The scholars analyzed seismites using radiocarbon dating.
Ben-Menahem (2014) conducted a literature review of empirical studies over 4,000 years of seismicity along the Dead Sea Rift. The scholar referenced the aforementioned studies along with one by Enzel, Kadan, and Eyal (2000) before concluding that earthquakes occurred in Masada in 31 BC, Jerusalem in 33 AD, and near Nablus in 64 AD.
In summary, the literature on seismicity along the Dead Sea basin supports the assertion that an earthquake occurred either in or very close to the year 33 AD.
We can pinpoint the date even closer – to April 3, 33. A United States government federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has documented the major earthquakes throughout history. According to their website (NOAA.gov), in 33 AD, an earthquake occurred at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Bithynia and Palestine and Palestine, Jerusalem.
Conclusion
In summary, we have extensive extra-biblical support for the accounts of darkness and the earthquake during Jesus’ crucifixion. Taken together, these events support the historicity of the account of Jesus’ crucifixion.
source: abbreviated from  https://christian-apologist.com/2019/01/05/geological-and-historical-evidence-for-jesus-crucifixion-account/
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graceofromanovs · 7 months
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GODPARENTS OF NICHOLAS II
Born during his grandfather's reign on 18 May (New Style) 1868 at the Alexander Palace, Tsarkoe Selo in Saint Petersburg. He was the eldest son of Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna (then, the Tsarevich and Tsarina of Russia). He was christened on 1 June at the  Chapel of the Resurrection of the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoe Selo, by the confessor of the imperial family, protopresbyter Vasily Borisovich Bazhanov. His godparents were: 
ALEXANDER II, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA - his paternal grandfather, the Russian Emperor stood as one of the godparents. He became the Emperor of All Russia in 1855. Alexander’s most significant reform as emperor was the emancipation of Russia’s serfs in 1861, for which he is known as Alexander the Liberator. He was assassinated in 1881 when the young Nicholas was only 12 years-old, to which he became the heir apparent upon his death.
PRINCESS MARIE OF HESSE AND BY RHINE, EMPRESS MARIA ALEXANDROVNA OF RUSSIA - his paternal grandmother, the consort of Emperor Alexander II, was another of his godparents. Known for her intellect, she was one of the founders of the Russian Red Cross Society. However, she suffered from tuberculosis from 1863 and spent long stays in southern Europe to avoid harsh winters. Although she and her husband were unofficially separated sometime after the death of their eldest son, Maria was treated with respect and love by her surviving family. Maria passed away from illness when the young Nicholas was still a child.
PRINCESS LOUISE OF HESSE-KASSEL, QUEEN CONSORT OF DENMARK - his maternal grandmother was listed as one of his godparents. Louise became the Queen consort of Denmark upon her husband's - King Christian IX - accession in 1863, just few years before her grandson Nicholas' birth. She, herself, was a niece of another King of Denmark (Christian VIII). The great dynastic success of Louise's six children was to a great extent a result of Louise's own ambitions - through them, she was a grandmother of not only the future Tsar of Russia (Nicholas II), but also that of King George V of the United Kingdom; King Constantine I of Greece; King Christian X of Denmark, and King Harken VII of Norway.
GRAND DUCHESS ELENA PAVLOVNA OF RUSSIA - his great-great-aunt, the wife of the late Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, was one of his godparents. Born as Princess Charlotte of Württemberg, she became a close friend of his grandmother the Empress Maria Alexandrovna, and was known as an intellectual. She was also considered the most exceptional woman in the imperial family since Catherine the Great.
KING FREDERICK VIII OF DENMARK - then, the Crown Prince, his maternal uncle stood as one of his godparents. During the long reign of his father, he was largely excluded from influence and political power. Upon his father's death in 1906, he acceded to the throne at the advanced age of 62. In many ways, Frederick VIII was a liberal monarch who was much more favorable to the new parliamentary system introduced in 1901 than his father had been, being reform-minded and democratically inclined. 
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phoenixcatch7 · 1 year
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Thinking about a 'sqq transmigrates (reincarnates) into dc' (specifically the jl because I don't know much about the rest), and who do you think would be funniest? I have narrowed it down to One but if anyone has anything better I'd love to hear it - Constantine, cap marvel and Manhunter were my top choices until:
Batman. Of course. Mainly because of the adoption problem and dozen kids with attachment issues, but also sqq spending his entire time internally shrieking I AM NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS I AM NOT PREPARED SYSTEM WHY DID YOU CHOOSE BATMAN. Trying so hard to fit the theme. Over preparing and stressing over every detail. A bit autism coded. 'I don't fall in love with anyone unless I choose to' wrong. 'You want me??? To?? Share my emotions?? My troubles??? I want to be a good parental figure but I would RATHER DIE'.
*internal sarcasm at local iq* *encyclopedic knowledge* *forgets he's not supposed to know everyone's identity*. "HOW DID YOH EVEN KNOW THAT??!!" 'oh I uh figured it out lol *bluffs sherlock style deduction*'. *repressed* 'Trauma? What trauma? I'm doing Great.'
Alfred is best man but sqq has been fundamentally a rich kid for THREE lifetimes now. He is unsavagable. Acts all high and mighty for the show but self esteem is garbage. UTTER COMMITMENT TO THE BIT at this point (way post svsss canon) I think sqq would genuinely implode if he didn't have a mask to show the public.
System has followed him of course and has him by the scruff of his neck every time he thinks about a more peaceful life. It has very high ooc standards as always until he first puts on the mask.
I can see superman taking over lqgs role a little. Casual friend and bestie. Always ready to help (and occasionally sky uber). Brawn to his brain but smarter than people give him credit for. Ultimate power team. Romantic tension through the roof but never wants anything more (and Bruce is completely oblivious anyway). Everyone sees it though.
Everyone assuming Bruce spent a huge amount of time training in some ultra secret Chinese mountain range (technically they're not wrong!) but no system sent him to the league of assassins he's just using the excuse to work on his cultivation. (talia tried SO HARD to seduce him but it failed utterly so she gave up and stole his dna while he was asleep (he woke up the next morning to a mission success notification and freaked)).
Unlike what his kids except, is fully caught up with memes. They hate it but that just makes him use them more. On the plus side he is susceptible to rickroll. Peak 'my darling child would NEVER how dare' at events. The only ones who know he had (has???) a husband pre reveal.
He teaches them all cultivation like a little qj peak but without the proper environment, which doesn't exist here, they're never going to reach immortality like him. He's fine about that, really :). He's accepted it. Either way that means pit influence doesn't stick, whoo!
Would like nothing more than to kill the joker :). System won't let him. He can't explain that to anyone :).
Meanwhile an lbh centuries old is Missing His Husband and Its Been MONTHS Where are his kisses from shizun??? But seriously WHERE IS HIS HUSBAND BLOOD WILL BE SPILT THE ONE WHO TOOK HIM WILL BE WIPED FROM THE FACE OF THE REALMS THEIR LIGAMENTS STREWN ACROSS THE NORTHERN DESERT AND THEIR ENTRAILS FED TO HYDRA VULTURES WHERE IS HE
Cue an enraged ancient demon emperor breaking through the walls of reality on a universe shattering rampage only for him to be batmans husband :). Who wants kisses.
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So I know my homoiousios vs. homoousios, and my monophysite vs. dyophysite, and my monothelite vs. dyothelite, and how it all led to the Arab caliphates getting a decent navy and winning the Battle of the Masts.
I don't, and I'd love to! (If you feel like it, obviously.) I'm pretty sure the homoiousios one is about, like, the Trinity or something, but beyond that it's all Greek to me.
(At this point, I feel like I owe @apocrypals royalties or something, but I'm getting a weird kick from doing this on Saint Patrick's Day, so let's do this).
I covered the impact of the monophysite vs. dyophysite split and the Battle of the Masts here, so I'll start from the top.
You are quite correct that the homoiousios vs. homoousios split was, like most of the heresies of the early Church, a Cristological controversy over the nature of Christ and the Trinity. This is perhaps better known as the Arian Heresy, and it's arguably the great-granddaddy of all heresies.
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The Arian heresy was the subject of the very first Council of the early Church, the Council of Nicea, convoked by Emperor Constantine the Great in order to end all disputes within the Church forever. (Clearly this worked out well.) In part because the Church hadn't really sat down and attempted to establish orthodoxy before, this debate got very heated. Famously, at one point the future Saint Nicholas supposedly punched Presbyter Arius in the face.
What got a room of men devoted to the "Prince of Peace" heated to the point of physical violence was that Arius argued that, while Christ was the son of God and thus clearly divine, because he was created by God the Father and thus came after the Father, he couldn't be of the same essence (homoousios) as the Father, but rather of similar essence (homoiousios). Eustathias of Antioch and Alexander of Alexandria took the opposing position, which got formulated into the Nicean Creed. As this might suggest, Arius lost both the debate and the succeeding vote that followed, as roughly 298 of 300 bishops attending signed onto the Creed. This got very bad for Arius indeed, because Emperor Constantine enforced the new policy by ordering his writings burned, and Arius and two of his supporters were exiled to Illyricum. Game over, right?
But something odd happened: the dispute kept going, as new followers of Arius popped up and showed themselves to be much better at the Byzantine knife-fighting of Church politics. About ten years later, the ever-unpredictable Constantine turned against Athanasius of Alexandria (who had been Alexander's campaign manager, in essence) and banished him for intruiging against Arius, while Arius was allowed to return to the church (this time in Jerusalem) - although this turned out to be mostly a symbolic victory as Arius died on the journey and didn't live to see his readmission.
....and then it turned out that Constantine the Great's son Constantius II was an Arian and he reversed policy completely, adopting the Arian position and exiling anyone who disagreed with him, up to and including Pope Liberius. While the Niceans eventually triumphed during the reign of Theodosius the Great, Arianism unexpectedly became a major geopolitical issue within the Empire.
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See, both during their exile and during their brief period of ascendancy within the Church, one of the major projects of the Arians was to send out missionaries into the west to preach their version of Christianity. Unexpectedly, Arianism proved to be a big hit among the formerly pagan Goths (thanks in no small part to the missionary Ulfilas translating the Bible into Gothic), who were perhaps more familiar with pantheons in which patriarchal gods were considered senior to their sons.
While they weren't particularly given to persecuting Niceans in the West, the Ostrogothic, Visigothic, Burgundian, and Vandal Kings weren't about to let themselves be pushed around by some Roman prick in Constantinople either - which added an interesting religious component to Justinian's attempt to reconquer the West.
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yeltumpar · 1 year
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This is most cool, I've visited the original pieces in Rome and they are mind blowing, sad I can't see this in person
"The Colossus of Constantine was an early 4th-century monumental statue depicting emperor Constantine the Great. It is believed a pagan statue was repurposed to celebrate Constantine's reign and the recognition of Christianity as a legal religion within the empire. The statue was later broken and pillaged for bronze, before its re-discovery in the 15th century following an excavation at the Basilica of Maxentius. Michelangelo placed and arranged the remaining marble fragments of the Colossus on display inside the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori (today part of the Musei Capitolini in Rome), including an additional right hand.
At the end of March 2022, Pedro Miró, Otto Lowe and Imran Khan travelled to the Musei Capitolini to record the ten fragments in high-resolution using photogrammetry and LiDAR. Some of the fragments were placed up against the walls of the courtyard, making their recording challenging. However, all data was implemented with great accuracy during the 3D modelling phase.
Another recording carried out by Osama Dawod acquired the data of an additional fragment from the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo. A gypsum copy of a statue of Emperor Claudius as Jupiter, inside the Ara Pacis Museum, was also recorded to be used as a reference for the general posing of the sculpture."
Source with more images, cool graphics and info about the exhibition and recreation https://www.factumfoundation.org/pag/1890/re-creating-the-colossus-of-constantine
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tgrailwar-zero · 3 months
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Look, Rider, I have been listening, I just feel guilty about summoning someone only to drive them out. Yes, we shouldn't have summoned her in the first place, but we did.
Also, I am starting to feel worse every time she acts like a kid if I am honest...
Are we really doing the right thing by killing her? I mean it's probably in part because she looks like a little kid that I am having such trouble. It's hard when it's directly in front of you.
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CONSTANTINE: "…Right. The Beast has bewitched you with it's appearance, and you deign to pity it. I understand. Heroic Spirits cannot be children. Nor is the Whore of Babylon a mere child. That thing does not deserve 'guilt', we must…"
He stopped, before crossing his arms with a sigh.
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CONSTANTINE: "…Nevermind. Continue your talks with the Beast."
A moment of long, dejected silence hung before PRETENDER sidled up to him, watching as the Emperor gave another attempt to tug his blade free from the sheath to run through DRACO, only to be met with the resistance of the Command Spell.
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PRETENDER: "Oho. With that sigh, I'm sure that means you've heard a lot of apologies and not much agreement. Now, I get that we're technically enemies- as you're the Rider of Red..."
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PRETENDER: "...Though you're not much of a 'Rider of Red' anymore, are you? Your allies are now your enemies, and everything you say gets brushed off by your current allies. You want to be a hero, but you're tasked with a different part. I mean, if I were you, I'd be furious. I mean, if my enemy openly wished to behead me, I'd want my Masters to do everything to support me- and yet here they are now, with nothing but excuses..."
CONSTANTINE: "There's no reason to be furious. Besides..."
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PRETENDER: "Ooh. Want to mark that ego blow, or should I? I'm sure you expected your Masters to rally behind you against evil, not saddle you with performance art and baby the demon, right?"
With an airy laugh, PRETENDER leaned in closer.
PRETENDER: "Listen, you seem like a stand-up guy. But that still doesn't change the fact that your Masters are giving more courtesy to a Beast than to you. Maybe they're already enthralled by it. The power, the opportunity… I can understand you're the type to 'turn the other cheek', but sometimes you need to just do the right thing. You know… like slaying a dragon."
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The PRETENDER-Class snapped his fingers, as CONSTANTINE felt a surge of magical energy rush through his body. Compounding his innate magical ability, the resistance to magic blessed upon him increasing exponentially.
He drew his sword. Smoothly, simply, easily. His eyes widened, as he turned back to look at the PRETENDER- who returned the Emperor's surprise with a coy smile and a wink. CONSTANTINE turned to look at the Beast.
Slay a dragon. Like the great Saint Georgios.
He began to walk forward, slowly. The Beast wasn't paying him any mind. Arrogance, made manifest. He felt a myriad of things- guilt, anger, frustration… mostly towards himself. He was given an order, and he was disobeying. Even if it was the right thing, he made an agreement. This was treachery, but…
He began quietly praying to himself.
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CONSTANTINE: "Remit, pardon and forgive, O God, our sins committed voluntarily and involuntarily…"
This was the right thing. He could ask forgiveness later, if needed. He shook his head- why feel shame for enacting justice?
By Saint Mary. Saint Martha. Saint Peter. Saint Paul. Saint Michael, who had boldly fought the Dragon in order to bring peace to the world, as prophesied by Saint John. This Beast must be laid low. Destroyed, completely and utterly.
He continued quietly praying to himself as he marched silently onward.
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CONSTANTINE: "…By word and deed, knowingly and in ignorance, by thought and purpose, by day and night…"
Closer. Closer. Step by step. Moment by moment.
He raised his blade.
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CONSTANTINE: "…forgive all these... for You are gracious and love mankind."
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More of me running my mouth about music as inspiration except this time its just Dear Wormwood
Prelude. Prelude. PRELUDE. This is probably just a music nerd thing but its so perfect. Despite my horrible understanding of music theory, a prelude is usually the first piece of music that is meant to represent the succeeding and usually longer movements in a single work, but they could also stand alone. The Prelude to Dear Wormwood works as both. It starts out quiet before building up with just absolutely amazing wordless vocals and its just so great folks. Its a summary of the whole album in a minute and nine seconds its amazing folks
Okay Bitter Water. The first time I heard this one I thought oh, its a metaphor for alcoholism. Yes, it can be a metaphor for alcoholism, but it is also so much more. In the broader context of Dear Wormwood its an acknowledgement of how bad a relationship is and that the singer, the victim, feels like they can never escape it, but it can be so much more folks. It can be a about a love lost, with the one who lost the love pining and wasting away without their soulmate. Said soulmate could be a part of the griever themself. It can be so much. Its also a banger but thats a given for the whole album. “terrible fire of old regret is honey on my tongue” is also eternally amazing this whole thing is poetry mates
There Beneath. Calm and flowy and existential kind of but I make a lot of things existential and where were we? But also the line “I saw the morning lead a cavalcade” is bloody amazing. Its such a great and poetic way to describe the breaking dawn, the rising sun, the beginning of a new day and so many other things mates its amazing. Like a veteran adventurer recalling the times when their friends got them out of hard scrapes or something idk
In the Blue Hours of the Morning. It’s a nice waypoint, a chance to catch your breath before the next song which I will go off about but this bit is really just like its title. The time before the cavalcade, when theres still enough light to see by yet its so calm and still and not quite awake yet
Exeunt, which is. It is. Well, exactly what it says on the tin, an exeunt, which is a stage direction for when an actor goes off stage, but its also the most poetry ever. Everyone loves “Fluttering your lashes like ashes and ember” and rightfully so but everything in that song is so bloody strong. “Crocodile eyes I have seen how you hunger”???? “No I cannot trust what you say when youre grieving”????? Like its such a powerful song with all the musicians going ham on the everything and then the lyrics and then the context? Its great its just great
Caesar. A calm follow-up to the headbanger that is Exeunt, but its no less amazing. Im just drowning in symbolism for this one mates. Not only is the morning back and breaking over a palisade but also historical references!?! The backlogs of random anecdotes and stories are tickled awake by the “Look to the sky where the sign will be shown” bit so much like it aint even funny. Its a reference to Constantine the Great, who saw the symbol of the Chi Rho and went on to become roman emperor with it painted on his shields and its so much potential in just three stanzas
This Will End. Fellows this one just hurts. Its so bloody sad and yet such a strangely jaunty tune like the singer has just accepted their sad life and Im always like no! It can get better! You just gotta try a bit! Mates! Im bleeding out!
Pale White Horse. Ohhhhhhhhhh I can get so deep about Pale White Horse but so much of it is about WWI and the Spanish Flu Epidemic and other stuff I do not care to dredge from the depths of my historical brain fluids but its so great as a thing about war and trauma and abuse and so much other stuff just like recognizing someone doing something terrible and that can be either interpreted as oh thats conformation that they were always terrible or oh goodness thats not possible why no why are you like this you are not like this right and there’s no in between. And both hurt!
Where Is Your Rider. Enough metaphors to fill a graveyard (hey Crane Wives fans. Hey. Did you get it? Eh? Idk I thought it was funny) and then some but also oooooh the lines just go so hard sometimes. “But these bones never rested while living / So how can they stand to languish in repose”???????? Like mate youre dead but youre still going to push on and keep on fighting mates it hurts it hurts too much there are too many characters and situations and just stray thoughts I can peg to these two lines alone help
Soldier, Poet, King. Need I say more? Yes, I need to say more. Everyone above and below knows how bloody legendary this song is but take this as a sign to listen to it again. Its just that good. Someone once tired and broken who has found support and is coming back to finish the job they couldnt finish on their own is just oooooooooooooogh mates. Also funny ha ha DND party. Two sides of the same polyhedral dice. Probably a d100 with all the nonsense I can drag out of it at this point.
Dear Wormwood. The album namer. UGH I cannot get enough of this one. Just some of the lines in this one mates. “And in my hour of weakness / You were there to see me fail”???????? “I know who I am now / I know who I wanna be / I wanna be more than / That devil inside of me”??????????????????? Its just so perfect and so amazing and it gives you a warn hug and it punches you in the gut and it helps you up and gives you hot tea and the works mates its just so great
Danse Macabre. One last instrumental. A Danse Macabre was usually a piece of art with people dancing next to skeletons, representing the inevitability of death and the equality in the grave and so many other sad and mopey things but also its just such a fun jig. It really does feel like a bunch of spooky scary skeletons jamming on their graves. And that’s a one liner I never thought Id need to write.
Thus Always to Tyrants. Bloody hell this is the perfect ending song. The singer immediately starting off with “Let me die, let me drown, leave my bones in the ground”, proclaiming themselves free of the worries and pains they started the album with, singing as the blazing sun rises that yes, they are, if not happy now, then at least better now, and that anyone who threatens that will face the new and improved them is just ooooooogh. Mates. If theres one song you need to listen to if you somehow made it to the end of this thingie without also being obsessed with the Oh Hellos, its Thus Always to Tyrants. But please listen to the whole of Dear Wormwood first. It makes the impact so much better.
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orthodoxadventure · 3 months
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The reigning Emperor was named Constantine, son of Leo. Olga came before him, and when he saw that she was very fair of countenance and wise as well, the Emperor wondered at her intellect. He conversed with her and remarked that she was worthy to reign with him in his city. When Olga heard his words, she replied that she was still a pagan, and that if he desired to baptize her, he should perform this function himself; otherwise, she was unwilling to accept baptism. The Emperor, with the assistance of the Patriarch, accordingly baptized her. When Olga was enlightened, she rejoiced in soul and body. The Patriarch, who instructed her in the faith, said to her, "Blessed art thou among the women of Rus', for thou hast loved the light, and quit the darkness. The sons of Rus' shall bless thee to the last generation of thy descendants." He taught her the doctrine of the church, and instructed her in prayer and fasting, in almsgiving, and in the maintenance of chastity. She bowed her head, and like a sponge absorbing water, she eagerly drank in his teachings. The Princess bowed before the Patriarch, saying, "Through thy prayers, Holy Father, may I be preserved from the crafts and assaults of the devil!" At her baptism she was christened Helena, after the ancient Empress, mother of Constantine the Great. The Patriarch then blessed her and dismissed her.
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scotianostra · 10 days
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Head of Constantine, Berat Castle, Berat, Albania
Giant head of Constantine the Great, 272-337 AD, Roman Emperor, at Berat Castle or Kalaja e Beratit, in Berat, South-Central Albania, capital of the District of Berat and the County of Berat. Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity
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cactusspatz · 8 months
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June recs
June was full of Neil Gaiman fandoms: first I rewatched Good Omens S1 (S2 on Friday!!!) and then plowed through my backlog of fic to read, and then I watched The Sandman. So there's six Good Omens recs, two Sandman recs, and one lone but lovely Goblin Emperor rec.
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GOOD OMENS
Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm / @mouseonamoose Amazing story about Crowley going to therapy, from his therapist's POV. The author clearly knows their stuff and Aubrey is a vivid character in her own right with her own journey to go on. This one's been recced all over, but it really is that good.
dearly departed by attheborder / @areyougonnabe In which Crowley gets discorporated and many shenanigans ensue - the London occultist underworld, lust-demons, Hell bureaucracy, Aziraphale vs loopholes, fake marriage, and of course, a happy ending. Slightly morbid at times but a fun hilarious romp.
Temptation by out_there / @out-there-tmblr Lovely look at Crowley tempting Christ (as he mentions to Aziraphale), and the lasting effect it has on him.
the deft, sweet gesture of your hand by deadgreeks / @mortuarybees Post-S1, Crowley turns up injured at the bookshop and Aziraphale takes care of him. Such a tender romance, such warm h/c. Poetry! Knitting! Pining! Ferociously protective Aziraphale!
Hell to Pay by battle_cat / @fuckyeahisawthat "In the midst of the Great Fire of London, Crowley does an emergency good deed too undemonic for Hell to ignore." Wistful h/c.
Lead me to the banquet hall by obstinatrix & wishwellingtons In which Crowley doesn't eat around Aziraphale because he has too many Feelings about it - and then Aziraphale finds out. Creative, delightful, hot, and well-characterized!
You can also find my older Good Omens recs on Pinboard!
SANDMAN
Spite (Is As Good A Reason As Any) by Blue_Sunshine In which Hob doesn't just build an inn and pine after 1989, but hires Johanna Constantine to help him track down Dream. Great AU in many directions, and the Hob-Johanna friendship is a complete scene-stealing delight. (If you like them as much as I did, there's another WIP that just finished: Totus Mundus Agit Histrionem, which kicks off with Johanna rescuing Hob from a demonic possession.)
Passing the Time by Anonymous Dream passes time in the fishbowl by quietly terrorizing his guards. (The author tagged this 'Dream is petty and terrifying' and I couldn't agree more.) Viciously funny but also a little heartbreaking.
GOBLIN EMPEROR
Between the Grave and the Well by Sphragis "In which Iäna Pel-Thenhior catches a fever and Thara Celehar catches feelings." Gorgeous hurt/comfort-y get-together that really captures the characters and the world.
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caesarsaladinn · 6 months
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Byzantine emperors ranked by how I feel about them at 12:30 am this Sunday morning
Constantine VII. a nerd, but the kind of nerd who cared a lot about pageantry and doing things right. left us manuals of court practice that are simply incredible sources
Nikephoros I. live fast, die young, get your skull turned into a tankard by the Khan
Staurakios. the guy got stabbed, was paralyzed and pissing blood, and decided that he could totally hold onto the throne. (he could not.)
John Tzimiskes. a charming little man with his little red boots and his cheerful demeanor and his willingness to assassinate an emperor and comrade because he felt like it
Anastasios. nerd. the only emperor I can think of to leave a budget surplus. underrated.
Basil I. peasant who charmed and fucked his way to the emperor’s bedshamber and murdered him
Nikephoros II. crotchety old ascetic. I just like the guy.
Basiliscus. in the late 400s, the Byzantines spent their entire treasury on a fleet to recapture the lost western empire. nepotism got Basiliscus chosen to lead this fleet, and he bungled it so badly that it was more or less destroyed within a week of coming into port. despite this, he deposed the emperor and held the job for a while!
Constantine VIII. a historian described taking baths as his “special hobby,” so that’s the intellectual caliber we’re dealing with here, and could only muster the praise to say “well he wasn’t *as* bad as I had expected”
Heraclius. great general, badass, hero, lost a huge battle and wasted decades’ worth of excruciating progress on the Eastern front, but it wasn’t really his fault. his real mistake was marrying his cousin.
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djemsostylist · 1 month
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Needed More (+ weird things) (The End and the Death, Part 3d)
Needed More
Rogal Dorn: We have spent the past 7 novels watching Rogal defend Terra. He has spent the past 7 years defending Terra. We have seen him at his breaking point, losing brothers and sons and nephews, watching the world he has defended for so long becoming a graveyard. He’s watched the palace he helped to raise be turned into an ugly fortress from behind whose walls he was forced to watch the destruction of his brothers, sons, and nephews. We’ve watched him at the edge of despair, and we’ve seen his resolve. We spent the last book watching him be tempted for eternity and not lose the core of who he is—a man who doesn’t give in, who fights to the very last. We watched him go with his father and his brother, agree to leave the defense at the very last, and go with them to stand beside them at the end of all things. To choose not to be alone, to choose not to leave them alone, when the end was here. And then we get nothing. Not at his father’s death, or his brother’s death, not at the knowledge that he has, in the end, failed at the one thing he has spent the past 7 years preparing for—saving Terra, his father, and the brothers who remain to him. He loses everything and we are treated to nothing more than Malacador commenting that he sees tears in his eyes. We needed to see his pain. We needed to see his grief, his rage, his loss—I wanted Eomer running across Pellanor to drop to his knees to pull Eowyn into his arms, I wanted him to break his sword, to yell and scream, to cry—I wanted SOMETHING. The Siege has shown that Dorn is capable of great depth of feeling, and I wanted to feel it.
Constantin Valdor: His story ties closely with Rogal, because like Dorn, Constantin has spent the past 7 years defending his Lord and Terra. He, like Dorn, has had a singular purpose—to preserve the Emperor, and the work of his life. And, like Dorn, Constantin fails. He fails to join him in the journey, in the fight, fails to save his life, fails to prevent the loss of his sons. He fails, and like Dorn we get nothing. Deadened emotion and a bare acknowledgement of loss. Interestingly, Dorn and Constantin are thrown together in a journey to find the Emperor, to make it to his side to stand with him at the last, and rather than take the time for them to talk together, to reflect on what their work has wrought over 7 years, on the changing nature of their relationship from barely civil coworkers to, if not friends, than at the least respected comrades in arms, we are instead treated to a never-ending slaughter of yet more beasts, that do little more than prolong a walk that has long since ceased to have meaning. I wanted them to connect, I wanted their scenes to breathe—they are, after all, the two who have been at this the longest, and they have seen so much loss. To have the chance to reflect, and then to come too late—I think it could have made for a beautiful ending for both of them. Instead, we get nothing, and their stories trail off into a future defined in lexicanum paragraphs.  
The Ultramarines: look, I know they don’t come until it’s too late. I know Roboute comes too late to save his father, his brother, Terra, the Empire. I know. I also know that not having them, literally at all, interact with any of the fighters on Terra felt—weird. Off. Like there wasn’t enough room and the story had to roll on without them. Again, we need that emotional catharsis. They came too late. They fought and died and ran and rushed and doubted and believed and it was all for nothing. Sangiunius is dead, the Emperor is all but, and Terra is shattered. I needed to see at least a little of it. Something. Not…nothing.
Weird Things
The Astronomican: I feel like all the people who died screaming to light the Astronomican was…weird. It was weird. The people who died should have given their lives willingly, gone peacefully to oneness with the Light of the Emperor—not you know, died screaming in pain. And before everyone says “but is the GRIM DARKNESS” yeah I know but also like, there is some light in the darkness, and one lone candle is enough to hold it back (and love is more than a candle, love can ignite the stars), so maybe we lay off the grim grimness and perhaps like…let there be light.
The Centaurs: I know the whole Horus Sagittarius thing, but it was weird. Loken fighting centaurs was just weird. He needed to face his brothers. He needed to set Tarik’s soul free. Not fight Narnians.
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graceofromanovs · 6 months
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GODPARENTS OF GRAND DUCHESS OLGA ALEXANDROVNA
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III of Russia, was born on 13 June 1882 at Peterhof Palace in Saint, Petersburg, Russia. She was christened on 23 July (Saint Olga's Day) in the Grand Palace Church, Peterhof by the Confessor of Their Imperial Majesties archpriest Bazhanov. Her godparents as listed:
KING CHRISTIAN IX OF DENMARK - her maternal grandfather, the Danish King was among her godparents. His initial unpopularity at the start of his reign, and the many years of political strife, where the king was in conflict with large parts of the population, his popularity recovered towards the end of his reign, and he eventually became a national icon due to the length of his reign. He was absent at the christening of his Russian grandchild.
PRINCESS LOUISE OF HESSE-KASSEL, QUEEN CONSORT OF DENMARK - his maternal grandmother was another of her godparents. Louise became the Queen consort of Denmark upon her husband’s - King Christian IX - accession in 1863. Through her six children, she was a grandmother of not only the future Tsar of Russia (Nicholas II, Olga's eldest brother), but also that of King George V of the United Kingdom; King Constantine I of Greece; King Christian X of Denmark, and King Harken VII of Norway. Like her husband, Louise was also absent at the christening.
GRAND DUCHESS OLGA NIKOLAEVNA OF RUSSIA, QUEEN CONSORT OF WÜRTTEMBERG - her great-aunt was one of her godparents. She was the younger sister of her late grandfather, Alexander II. Attractive, cultured and intelligent, she had been considered to be one of the most eligible princesses in Europe. In 1846, she married Crown Prince Karl of Württemberg. She was absent at the christening of her namesake.
GRAND DUCHESS OLGA KONSTANTINOVNA OF RUSSIA, QUEEN CONSORT OF GREECE - her aunt and namesake was named as one of her godparents. Olga Konstantinovna was the first cousin of her father Alexander III, being the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich of Russia. At 16, she married King George I of Greece, the brother of her mother Maria Feodorovna. Queen Olga was a popular figure in Russia, and in Greece. She was present at the christening.
GRAND DUKE ALEXEI ALEXANDROVICH OF RUSSIA - her uncle was another listed godparent of the young grand duchess. A naval officer for most of his life, he had a significant contribution in the equipment of the Russian navy with new ships and in modernizing the naval ports. He was present at the christening of his niece.
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qqueenofhades · 1 year
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One of the great tragedies of human history, in my humble opinion, is how Christianity was originally good before Constantine got ahold of it. In its early years of 33 CE-313 CE, it was a good and kind and just religion built around uplifting the marginalised peoples of the world and the New Testament is explicitly a socialist text. Yet I look at the Christian churches of today and see nothing about them any of the First Christians would even remotely recognise.
There are a lot of complex and delicate arguments to be had (and indeed, scholars have spent several literal millennia having them) about whether Christianity was totally good before the corrupting influence of those bad Romans aligned it with one of the largest and most culturally significant empires in history -- in which case, of course, its interests became about imposing and maintaining imperial control, often brutally, rather than any fidelity to founding precepts about love and care for others etc etc. In my opinion, this is a considerable oversimplification. From its founding, Christianity was subject to major internal crises and schisms, bitter arguments over what counted as "orthodox" (literally, "true") and what was describable as a heresy and for what reasons. The first few centuries of Christianity pre-Roman Catholicism are hardly a picture of peaceful coexistence, and Christianity was also unusual in the ancient world for its intolerance of competing theologies. The Romans were fairly lax about which local gods their subjects worshiped, as long as they also made sacrifices to Roma, Jupiter, and the other Roman pantheon, as that was felt to be an essential civic duty for the welfare of the Roman state. Thus, the Christians' refusal to honor any gods but their own was viewed not just as a religious defiance, but as a threat to public order and Homeland Security, and of course, it's always easy to scapegoat those kinds of people.
Even before the Romans, however, groups of Christians were viciously attacking other Christians, heretics, Jews, "pagans," Greeks or Hellenes (this was before medieval scholars such as Aquinas embarked on a valiant project to "Christianize" Aristotle and otherwise make the Greek philosophers acceptable to the Catholic canon) and definitely not constantly engaged in pure neighborly philanthropy. There are many options for how it could have developed, whether as a local sect in opposition to the Romans, a religion originally specific to a group of people and geographic region like Judaism, or just merely fractured into competing groups that all viewed each other as the enemy and eventually died out. However, it was additionally unusual in antiquity for its aggressive focus on conversion, and its spread beyond traditional tribal and ethnic groups. It was previously felt that each racial or national group of people had their own gods and those were the ones they were expected to stick with, but since the first few generations of Christians were all converts rather than being born into an established tradition, they were seen as "relinquishing" their previous gods, and this was unusual and possibly dangerous.
Constantine is often positioned as the establisher of Christianity in the Roman Empire, but this is also not quite true. He officially decriminalized Christianity after the increased persecutions of the late second and early third century CE, and may have personally been baptized on his deathbed, but this was also debated and he remained cagey about it during his lifetime. It was also not a straight line of uncontroversially Christian emperors from there; there was a guy named Julian the Apostate in the 360s, who rebuked institutional Christianity and tried to make a return to the Roman gods. However, the tide was generally moving toward Christianity, and in the 430s, the emperor Theodosius II issued the Theodosian Code, one of the original comprehensive legal-civic codes that mandated Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire and viewed non-Christians as the same kind of civic threat that Christians themselves had once been. Eventually, after the breakup of the western Roman Empire in 476, Rome -- while no longer the seat of major secular power -- was retained as the seat of religious authority, and became home to the Pope.
As I have written about many times, the legacy of medieval Christianity and medieval Catholicism is very complicated, and takes that reduce it to "the all-powerful church brainwashed everyone everywhere and they always did what it said" are wildly incorrect. It is a deeply flawed institution embedded into deeply flawed human society, and its control was never universal or complete. Indeed, the Catholics would love you to think it was, but the Great Schism of 1054 formalized the split between Greek Eastern Orthodox and Latin Western Catholic rites after centuries of acrimony, and the thirteenth century in particular was a hotbed for challenging and questioning the church (and the growth of new "heresies") in a way not really seen since the original first few centuries. Even in Europe, conversion was slow and patchwork and happened in different regions at different rates, and was always syncretic with local beliefs and magic/folklore traditions. So yes, even as one of the major inheritances of Rome, as Chris Wickham would put it, Christianity was not automatically or unquestioningly superior in medieval Europe. Though of course, it did become so, and allied itself with projects of institutional and generational religious warfare such as the crusades.
Anyway, the minutiae of the early church notwithstanding, it's true that almost invariably, the institutional Catholic church has found itself on the wrong side of history for the past 1700 years or so, and like all religions whose claim to universal and permanent truth means that any attempt to change or modulate its teaching is an existential threat, it has resisted any attempts to scrutinize, analyze, or acknowledge that. Because of Christianity's eventual permanent supremacy in European legal and religious worlds, and its violent exportation to the rest of the world via colonialism and imperialism, its truth-claims have been used to inflict immense systemic and individual suffering. The archconservative elements in the church (of which the recently late Benedict XVI was one), have doubled down on those claims and taken their refusal to modernize as a point of pride, and this is only in regard to Catholics. The churches that I suspect you're talking about, i.e. American evangelical/fundamental churches, owe their intellectual genealogy to Protestantism, and that is a whole OTHER can of worms.
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