(REVIEW) Erwin Blumenfeld was the perfect fashion photographer. The Museum of the Art and History of Judaism in Paris is showcasing this work in over 180 photographs with the temporary exhibit “The Trials and Tribulations of Erwin Blumenfeld, 1930-1950.” It spans Blumenfeld’s most active and influential period.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Taha A.-J. “purchased” and enslaved a five-year-old Yazidi girl named Reda and her mother. Taha’s wife was implicated as well. Taha and his wife held Reda and her mother as captives at their residence in Fallujah and forced them to practice Islam, work as slaves and deprived them of sufficient food.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Ambrogio A. Caiani, in his book “To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII,” tells the story of how Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII tussled over church versus state superiority and eventually ironed out a foundation of religious freedom whose effects Europe still enjoys today.
Read MoreAn eastern Ukrainian family traveled 760 miles from their home in Zaporizhzhia, where they worship with a Church of Christ and work with Program for Humanitarian Aid, a nonprofit that, before the war, served primarily orphans and at-risk youths. Now, all Ukrainians are at risk. So the ministry has become one of relief, support and, on occasion, evacuation.
Read MorePope Francis joined tens of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday at a funeral Mass for Benedict XVI, an unusual gathering for a dead pontiff presided by a living one. The Vatican, enveloped in a thick fog, featured heads of state and bishops from around the world who came to Rome to mourn Benedict’s death and remember his papacy.
Read MoreRomanian evangelicals hid their faith during communist rule, but the Eastern European country now ranks as the most religious in Europe. Some evangelical magazine publishers, like Eugenia Rosian, never stopped creating and distributing religious materials.
Read MoreRegardless of one's religious affiliation, Prague’s Church of Our Lady Victorious’ breathtaking architecture and rich history make the church an irresistible attraction for travelers. While most can find this to be a unique spiritual experience, locals of Prague have a rather interesting relationship with the church.
Read MorePope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who served as head of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 until his surprise resignation in 2013, was a theologian known for his writings and defense of traditional values to counter the increased secularization of the West.
Read MoreAlthough the Czech Republic is the most atheist country in the world, people still practice religious traditions today. Simultaneously, there are many factors contributing to the change of religious food culture in the Czech Republic, like globalization, tourism and immigration.
Read MoreMuslim tourists and locals in Prague find solace in their accessibility to Middle Eastern, halal food along with tourist hot spots. What’s special about such accessibility is that digital media now promotes “halal tripping” or “halal tourism.”
Read MoreOld Prague’s Jewish quarter was once a walled-off ghetto where the bulk of Bohemia’s Jewish community resided apart from the Christian majority, partly for their own protection. It is now little more than an open-air museum.
Read MoreAs I researched media content, it became quite clear to me that churches find their place in the news primarily (if not only) when the subject is business or economics related — church properties and estates — as if shaking away the communist past; political and/or financial correlations. Looking at the local religious life — it barely ever is a subject of media focus.
Read MoreAlmost all of the pieces are religious, taken from churches, basilicas and private chapels. They are echoes of a glorious religious past — one that contrasts with the fact that most of the Czech Republic’s population today is religiously unaffiliated.
Read MoreBeing born in the final decades of the Communist Czech government, Mašková feels lucky. By that time, its hold had already weakened, she recalls. Just a couple of decades ago, her parents and grandparents were risking a lot more than being expelled from school by practicing their religion.
Read More’Tis the season when Santa Claus is nearly everywhere. Most people know that jolly old St. Nick hails from the North Pole. But many might not realize that the real St. Nicholas, a fourth century Christian bishop, lived and worked in what is now the country of Turkey.
Read More(OPINION) Russia’s war on Ukraine and its attempt to destroy the very identity of Ukrainians is an unmitigated disaster. If there is any silver lining in this present nightmare it is the army of angels of mercy that has stepped forward to comfort and care for millions of Ukrainian refugees.
Read More(OPINION) So far, Hindutva’s overseas influence is limited. It is usually manifest in seeking political influence in diaspora countries and support, financial and otherwise, for Hindutva activities in India itself. However, there are increasing threats to academics and others critical of the Sangh Parivar agenda. Finally, in the last two years, there have been incidents of violence. The situation is likely to worsen.
Read MoreThe tradition of a man bringing gifts to children is traced to stories about the early Greek bishop, St. Nicholas of Myra, a small city in modern day Turkey. Santa Claus today goes by different names around the world and is linked to various folktales and cultural practices. Here are the lesser-known variations of Santa, from the beaches of Aruba to the snow-capped mountains of Finland.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The World Cup in Qatar continues to roll along into the semifinals. So far, the premier soccer tournament — and arguably the planet’s biggest sporting event — has showcased skill, drama and even some upsets. Aside from all that, what the World Cup has also generated are plenty of different kinds of storylines to focus on.
Read More(ESSAY) What is now the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, has become a pilgrimage destination for some and an enigma to others. Mark Rothko has long been the mid-century artist whose work I thought had the most to say about the human condition. As a reader of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, Rothko often said that tragedy was at the heart of human experience — that in solitude our deep loneliness was palpable.
Read More
