Articles
On the Symbolic Meaning of Domes, part three
This is the third part of a five-part article. The remaining two parts will be published weekly on the next two Fridays. The Plan of the Article:((I call this kind of structure a “ksiasmus.” It is related to the chiasmus, but whereas chiasmus is named after the Greek...
At the Feet of Saint Ambrose; Reappropriating Symbolic Interpretation of the Old Testament
Texts are ubiquitous in our lives. We almost constantly receive written communication from our friends, family, coworkers, and even various unknown sources. With the advent of e-books, it is easier than ever for individuals to build a massive personal library. Yet,...
On the Symbolic Meaning of Domes, parts one and two
It began as Temple Israel, constructed in the early 1900s at 602 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, designed as the home for a growing community of Reformed Jews. In the 1960s…
Bridging the Ancient and Medieval Worlds: Pagan and Christian Symbolism in the Little Metropolis Church (Panagia Gorgoepikoos) in Athens, Greece
Preamble The Byzantine period of Greece’s history lasted from 330 AD—when St Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman empire to Byzantium in Thrace and renamed the city after himself, i.e. Constantinople—to the 29th of May, 1453 when the city fell to the...
The Meaning of Plants
“That which resumes all under a unity is a Principle in which all things exist together and the single thing is All. From this Principle, which remains internally unmoved, particular things push forth as from a single root which never itself emerges. They are a...
The Human Person as the Pattern of “Is” and “Could Be”
No poem or painting could ever capture the fullness of what it means to be the variable, entangled, conscious, powerful, powerless, material, transcendent being that is a human. We might be tempted to leave the project of capturing the essence of human nature to the...
Religious Symbolism and the Modern City, Part One: From the Reformation to Today
Preamble Mircea Eliade famously argued that ancient cities were envisaged by their makers and inhabitants as intersecting and encompassing the three basic cosmic tiers of heaven, earth, and the underworld. This intersection would often take place at hierophanic or...
Zombies and the Eucharist
Jonathan and JP explain how the zombie is a symbol of the materialism and nihilism of our society. Further, they explain how the Eucharist is the solution to the zombie problem.
A Logos Runs Through It: Heraclitus Reveals A Symbolic Framework for Psychological Identity
The presocratic philosophers recognized the world is diverse, dynamic, and that human beings were prone to illusions. At the same time, they at least tried to understand the world in a coherent manner. The context of the presocratic, ancient world was one suffused...
The Mandalorian, the Nativity, and the Seed of Hope
The arrival of a mysterious green child a long time ago in a galaxy far far away has a surprising correlation to the events surrounding the advent of a child born in Bethlehem 2,000 years in the past…