Thank you Adam. It truly was a terrible desecration. The more I learn about it, the sadder it gets. King Henry VIII’s schism set so many tragedies in motion. But God has transformed many of them into glory. (English martyrs, Oxford Movement, etc)
This article is fascinating! I saved it and finally have re-read it to get the fullness of what you have conveyed here. I'm sharing this with some people who were just recently discussing the need for greatness in artists, as artistic greatness has the effect of reaching up toward the ideal. Your graphics really bring home the point, and now I want to see graphics for so many other hierarchies of value! When we democratize everything, we flatten, but when we lift up the 'highests' we open up a whole spectrum of value. I love the moment the priest lifts up that chalice receptively (might he also be signifying the eternal lifting up of the soul over the temporal body) with the power of a man consecrated to dare reaching up to touch the Divine Presence. Awesome! You should find those who make chalices for new priests and share this post with them.
A thought: the bowl of a chalice generally quite is wide relative to its height, which means it requires more care to handle it without spilling. In other words, it's not the most practical or utilitarian design. You see them used almost exclusively for ceremonial beverage consumption, whether liturgically or in a secular context (think of old style trophies.) To eliminate the expressly ceremonial form of a cup and impose a goblet sends a pretty clear message about the contents of the cup.
I think you are spot on Patricius. The move from chalice to cup is a move from ritual impracticality to mundane utilitarian minimalism. The reason is exactly what you said: the contents of the vessel have changed accordingly.
And of course there's the depressingly venal reason for the change: the state wants the silver for its own use. A naked money-grab dressed up as theology. La plus ça change, la plus la même chose...
Too true! I think the 'financial incentive' of this and the suppression of monasteries was the main secular reason why the Reformation in England was so firmly and widely established (unlike other schisms throughout time which restored communion with Rome). The English financed their schism by plundering the churches... and that made the noble beneficiaries very invested in keeping the schism going. One of the saddest chapters of history.
I really appreciated your original graphics.I haven’t before considered the effects of symbolic vacuums so I hope to learn more about it. And I want to hear more about Doctor Dee and the rise of the occult!
Thanks Kristen. I often find myself making diagrams first and then trying to write to explain them. I’m glad it was well received.
And oh boy… Doctor Dee was one weird fellow indeed. I would write about him and the occult in general in relation to CS Lewis’s framework of 16th Century literature. (The book he said was his magnum opus.) Basically Lewis (and Pageau) sees the rise of the occult as the western world’s attempt to reclaim ritual and supernatural meaning in the wake of the Enlightnment’s divorce from Catholicism.
Thank you for writing this article Miguel! I had no idea there was such a desecrating reform. Great that you are making this known more.
Thank you Adam. It truly was a terrible desecration. The more I learn about it, the sadder it gets. King Henry VIII’s schism set so many tragedies in motion. But God has transformed many of them into glory. (English martyrs, Oxford Movement, etc)
This article is fascinating! I saved it and finally have re-read it to get the fullness of what you have conveyed here. I'm sharing this with some people who were just recently discussing the need for greatness in artists, as artistic greatness has the effect of reaching up toward the ideal. Your graphics really bring home the point, and now I want to see graphics for so many other hierarchies of value! When we democratize everything, we flatten, but when we lift up the 'highests' we open up a whole spectrum of value. I love the moment the priest lifts up that chalice receptively (might he also be signifying the eternal lifting up of the soul over the temporal body) with the power of a man consecrated to dare reaching up to touch the Divine Presence. Awesome! You should find those who make chalices for new priests and share this post with them.
This is great Miguel.
A thought: the bowl of a chalice generally quite is wide relative to its height, which means it requires more care to handle it without spilling. In other words, it's not the most practical or utilitarian design. You see them used almost exclusively for ceremonial beverage consumption, whether liturgically or in a secular context (think of old style trophies.) To eliminate the expressly ceremonial form of a cup and impose a goblet sends a pretty clear message about the contents of the cup.
I think you are spot on Patricius. The move from chalice to cup is a move from ritual impracticality to mundane utilitarian minimalism. The reason is exactly what you said: the contents of the vessel have changed accordingly.
And of course there's the depressingly venal reason for the change: the state wants the silver for its own use. A naked money-grab dressed up as theology. La plus ça change, la plus la même chose...
Too true! I think the 'financial incentive' of this and the suppression of monasteries was the main secular reason why the Reformation in England was so firmly and widely established (unlike other schisms throughout time which restored communion with Rome). The English financed their schism by plundering the churches... and that made the noble beneficiaries very invested in keeping the schism going. One of the saddest chapters of history.
I really appreciated your original graphics.I haven’t before considered the effects of symbolic vacuums so I hope to learn more about it. And I want to hear more about Doctor Dee and the rise of the occult!
Thanks Kristen. I often find myself making diagrams first and then trying to write to explain them. I’m glad it was well received.
And oh boy… Doctor Dee was one weird fellow indeed. I would write about him and the occult in general in relation to CS Lewis’s framework of 16th Century literature. (The book he said was his magnum opus.) Basically Lewis (and Pageau) sees the rise of the occult as the western world’s attempt to reclaim ritual and supernatural meaning in the wake of the Enlightnment’s divorce from Catholicism.