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Agnusków zapoznana moc, sława i piękno – rzecz o papieskim agnus dei

100%

Nowiński J.

Seminare. Poszukiwania naukowe

2011

vol. 30

245-267

An Agnus Dei is an oval or round wax medallion (between 2,5 and 25 cm). It features Paschal Lamb and the inscription reading: Ecce Agnus Dei qui tollit peccata mundi on the obverse, as well as representation of a saint on the reverse. It is signed with the name and in some cases the coat-of-arms of the pope who blessed the medallion. The history of the wax Agnus Dei stared together with the custom of handing pieces of the Paschal candle preserved form the year before to the participants of the Easter liturgy in Roman basilicas. With time, the wax was being formed into plates with the picture of lamb pressed in it. These were given to the pilgrims who came to Rome to celebrate Easter there. The custom is recorded by Amalarius of Metz (d. 850) and Ordo Romanus from the turn of the ninth century. Starting from the 12th century, the Agnus Dei medallions were handed by the pope himself on the Saturday following Easter. Pope Clement VI (1342-1352) initiated the routine of the popes editing Agnus Dei medallions every 7 years, beginning from their first year in office. From the 15th century onwards, the popes solemnly blessed the “Agnuses” by immersing them in holy water and saying special prayers. The rite was called “Christening of the Agnus Dei”. A wax medallion featuring the Paschal Lamb and blessed by the pope was considered a panacea for all ailments of the soul and body, as well as a protection against any powerful natural forces and evil spiritual powers. It was treated as a brandeum (substitute relics), since starting from the 16th century, the wax was mixed with ashes from the Roman catacombs. In order to avoid any abuse, especially selling of the Agnus Dei, Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) commissioned the Roman Cistercians from Santa Croce Abbey to make the wax medallions. They were regarded as a special form of the papal gift and a sign of his blessing. Beginning from the 16th century, the pope, adhering to the rules defined in Caeremoniale Romanum, distributed the “Agnuses” every seven years on the Saturday preceding White Sunday (Dominica in Albis) during the Mass said at the Sistine Chapel by one of the cardinals. Agnus Dei medallions were displayed in reliquaries together with relics, in peace-reliquaries (pacificale, instrumentum pacis), or in the predella of the altar-piece; they were worn as pendants or, exquisitely framed, they were hanged on walls to protect houses; placed in special spheres at the top of spires, they were to protect against lightening striking. The almost entire millennium of the presence of the Agnus Dei medallions in the religious life of Europe began to come to a close with the reform of the Catholic Church initiated at the Vatican Council II. The last of them were blessed and distributed by Pope Paul VI in 1964 in the first year of his pontificate.

Ad ornatum templorum loci Pere erant. Ewakuacja dzieł sztuki z łacińskich kościołów Pery po 1453 roku

100%

Quirini-Popławski R.

Terminus

2018

vol. 20

issue 1 (46)

31-61

Pera-a Genoese colony located on the north shore of the Golden Horn was seized by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, that is at the same time when Constantinople fell. There were numerous Latin churches there at that time, 18 of which we can list by names. Significant parts of two of them have survived, namely of the Dominican church of St. Paul and a Benedictine one. The Genoese almost immediately began to evacuate the elements of the decorations of the Latin churches. This took place usually at the initiative of the families of the original donors and the maintainers of Pera monastic churches. At least partially, it was the result of the papal bull issued by Nicholas V on 8 October 1453, in which the Pope called the clergy and laity, under penalty of excommunication, to save objects and liturgical books from Turkish hands. However, it pointed out that they should return to Pera if the Christians regain control over the colony. One example of such activity was the transfer of items from the church of Santa Chiara in Pera to St. Dominic’s church in Genoa that was carried out in early 1456 by Marietta di Pagana, who came directly from Pera. Another one took place at the same time when descendants of Tommaso Spinola, a wealthy Genoese merchant, donated liturgical vestments to the same church that Tommaso originally founded for the Dominicans in Pera. Dominicans themselves evacuated relics and the most valuable elements of the church equipment to Chios and later to Genoa, while a similar attempt made by the Benedictines failed. In unknown circumstances, however, a much larger number of items from the churches of Pera arrived on the Genoese island of Chios and from there, in early 1461, were transported to Genoa. On 23 January 1461, the Genoese Signoria authorized six officiales from the finest families to carry out a large-scale operation to transfer the items, including many relics and books, to the churches of the metropolis. The authorities of Genoa asked Pope Pius II for help in conducting this project. Consequently, more than 20 churches of Genoa received valuable fittings. What is particularly important, donations to individual churches needed to be documented in an appropriate detailed inventory, including the estimated value of individual objects. Unfortunately, these documents did not record any information about specific churches from which the items originally came. They enable us to reconstruct the course of this action, and partly characterize the works of art that were brought to Genoa. They thus provide us with partial knowledge about the character of the equipment of the Pera churches. A few of them are still in Genoa. It is worth noting that this transport was preceded by a number of other works of art from the East that reached the Ligurian metropolis even as early as in the 13th century. This action was also one of the major shipments of works of art into the Latin West, which occurred immediately after the fall of the capital of the Eastern Empire in 1453.

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Agnusków zapoznana moc, sława i piękno – rzecz o papieskim agnus dei

Ad ornatum templorum loci Pere erant. Ewakuacja dzieł sztuki z łacińskich kościołów Pery po 1453 roku