Monday, August 31, 2009

BAROQUE RUBY

From the visit in St. Mary's Church neighbor city Bergen. The church became Lutheran with the rest of the Norwegian churches in year 1537. The pulpit, or "sermon stool" we call it,stool, as in chair, dear John C, was central in Lutheran churches till the 1970ies.
The pulpit of St. Mary's Church was made in 1676. It has so many interesting details and is so skillfully made, it's worth a visit to Norway in itself. The baroque joy of life and surplus in decoration and colors is no less than breath- taking. The smiling poster at the entrance door, "Yes, you may take pictures", made us stay in the church for a long, long time.

The stairway to heaven.
These are cherubs, not angels. They have genitalia and bellybuttons. They angels have neither, according to my theological guru, brother Ole.
People must have had other ways of thinking and judging than we have. I hardly can imagine a new church with a bare-breasted woman. None has ever been offended by this one.
The heaven over the pulpit. I haven't studied that closely, but the figures shall be the twelve of the Zodiac. The round brass globe is then the sun.
A closeup of a sunflower on the pulpit.
Originated by MaryT, check hers for today.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very colorful photos; lots of red!

EG CameraGirl said...

I'm surprised at how ornate the church is. I see there's a lot about Norway that I do not know!

Plus I never knew the difference between cherubs and angels. Thanks for the education. ;-)

Norm said...

they are so pretty and very attractive, good shots..

Patti said...

The ornate artwork in that church is magnificent. I can see how it would be hard to stop taking photos there.

Like EG I also never knew the difference between cherubs and angels. Interesting! I'll have to go "check" my cherub figurine.

Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Rona Michelson said...

Fabulous pictures! Thanks so much for the tour.

Auntie E said...

I just love visiting the old churches. They have such beautiful hand work. Great photos and history.

Carletta said...

Wow - very impressive! Love the ornate architecture. So much to see and take in. I can understand you're staying awhile.
The colors are wonderful and somewhat Christmasy looking.
Lovely post!

Ralph said...

The complete view is one of a forgotten work ethic and stonework. Whether cherub or angel, these beings are doing the work of honoring the Lord. The red is stunning and the sun sits prominently as a testament to the heavens. A fine, spiritual capture!

Miranda said...

That's a beautiful church. Love the work that was put in it.

Unknown said...

That is a place I would love to visit. The details in the exquisite craftsmanship are amazing.

You are right. A newly-built church would not have statues of women with breasts. But it all perhaps had to do with religion. Those look like virgins and maidens in your photograph. They were perhaps so pure that they were beyond sexual reproach. Just a thought.

You gave me a lot to think about!

Dimple said...

Thank you for posting these very interesting photos!

passing-thru said...

Yes Felisol --------- thankyou for your many many prayers and kind words and thoughts for this "wayfaring" stranger ------ been looking thru your blog ---
Your daughter is beautiful and how I remember the times "we" prayed for her -----
I liked your post on the Mine Field -- lol ,, U have always told it like it was and is --------- :-)
Am reminded of that verse in scripture "Words fitly spoken are like apples of gold on trees of silver" how words spoken aright, for Christ's sake thru His Love and for lost souls can do so much good for GOD is in them ---
Blessings to U my dearest Felisol and hello to Gunnar ---

storyteller said...

What LOVELY photos of this beautiful church ... lots of ruby red too ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Dora said...

Old but very well-preserved! Happy RT.

Jim said...

This is a very pretty church you found, Felisol. We like Bergen from the literature we have been reading.
Thank you for explaining the difference between the 'cherubs and the angels.' That is a little different than the 'birds and the bees.'

Happy RT! I have the new kid on again for mine.
..

John Cowart said...

I think these are your best photos yet. You get better and better.

And I've never heard the term "Sermon Stool" before. Appropriate.

Were there more women like that in our church, I might go more often.

Amrita said...

This is fantastic Felisol, really transported me into another world. the ancient world i am so fond of.

Found the display of body parts so funny.Certainly the artists and church goers did not have qualms about them.

In many of our old churches we have "pulpits or sermon stools"

They have Biblical themes and art work on them.

The historical info with your photos is very interesting.
Yes now I know what is the difference between angels and cherubs. Ask Bro Ole about seraphins too.

Amrita said...

John Cowart, you are very funny.Can 't help commenting on your comment.

Annie Jeffries said...

In a word - DIVINE!!!!!!!!

The Cunning Runt said...

Wonderfully creative shots, with the first setting the tone for freely experiencing the rest!

The Cunning Runt said...

BTW, love your headder! ;)

John Cowart said...

Dear Felisol,

In response to your question on my Sept. 1st blog post:

I'm so sorry your friend lives in such pain. Blessings on her in such torment.

I don't want to be flippant, so please give me a day to think about her deep question before I try to answer.

Let Christ love her through you.

John, on Wednesday, Sept 2nd.

Debbie Petras said...

Such an ornate and yet beautiful church. You take great photos, Felisol.

Thank you for each one of your comments on Heart Choices. You always have something relevant and worthwhile to add to the discussion and I love that about you.

Love you,
Debbie

Robin said...

St. Mary's is such a beautiful church, with a new feast for the eyes wherever they glance, and Bergen of course is in itself such a wonderous city. I still remember taking the night train to Bergen one summer and walking its streets in the rainy dawn.

Unknown said...

Kjære Terry og Elise,

Takk deg begge derfor mye for alle din bønner, tanker og godt ønsker ! Det har betudt mye til min kone og I. Jeg er trist for utsettelsen i min å skriving til deg begge. Det har vært en travle få måneder.

Julie gjør bedre, men behandle enda smerte fra diagnosen av Endometriose. Hun har også toughing det ut gjennom tannsmerte for en par måned og som vi akkurat finne ut hun trenger en rotkanal !

Ungene er i deres andre uke av skole nå (vi drar tilbake tidlig i NC). Min datter, Breonna er i 7 grad og min sønn, er Tristin i 5 dette år. Mitt hvordan tid flyr.

Jeg håper at din familier gjør det bra !

Og ja har voktet Elise, vi

Takk igjen for all din vennlighet. Jeg vil prøve til å besøke deg begge til ofte.

Kjærlighet,

Justin







Dear Terry and Elise,


Thank you both so much for all your prayers, thoughts and well wishes! It has meant a lot to my wife and I. I am sorry for the delay in my writing to you both. It has been a busy few months.

Julie is doing better, but still dealing with pain from the diagnosis of Endometriosis. She has also been toughing it out through tooth pain for a couple months and we just found out she needs a root canal!

The kids are in their second week of school now (we go back early in NC). My daughter, Breonna is in 7th grade and my son, Tristin is in 5th this year. My how time flies.

I hope your families are doing well!

And yes, Elise, we have watched Fantasia:-)


Thanks again for all your kindness. I’ll try to visit you both more often.

Love,

Justin

Raven said...

Sorry I'm such a bad visitor these days. I can see why you could spend hours here. Interesting information about cherubs vs. angels. Who knew?

Hope all is well with you. I will visit for a while and try to catch up.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Would so much love to see this. Managed a small window of opportunity through your post. Thank-you!

John Cowart said...

Hi Felisol,
I posted a response to your question on my blog, "Don't Let" Prayers, this morning. Hope it helps.

Terry said...

dear felisol...my favourite picture here is the sunflower.
manitoba is known for their beautiful sunflowers but bernie and i saw very few this year.
ha!..had to wait until we got back to ontario to see a lovely field of them!
just to think that they placed that sun flower right at the pulpit where the preacher would be telling the people about jesus who is the light of the world...even brighter than the sun!
it is three thirty in the morning in norway felisol but only nine pm here in southern ontario and so i thought i had better get caught up with a bit of blogging.
my back feels so good!
god bless you and the whole family....love terry

Saija said...

your pictures are always wonderful and you always teach me something!

Crown of Beauty said...

Thank you for thinking of me and Obedient One. I got back from Baguio City early Saturday evening (Philippine time).

It was a tiring trip down winding mountain roads, and my head seems to be spinning up to now, but it was worth it all.

Have a blessed week ahead of you.

Love
Lidj