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Message 1 of 11 on the subject |
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Mary Called Magdalene
Interest in the Mary "called Magdalene" in the canonical Christian Gospels of the Greek New Testament has blossomed in the last decades. Who was this Mary, this "other Mary" who was so devoted to Jesus that her presence is reported in all four Gospels at the cross and at the tomb. Who was she, and why was she called "the Magdalene" (h Magdalhnh in Greek). This distinctive epithet of Mary Magdalene is found in all four of the canonical Gospels and in the Gnostic Gospel of Philip discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945.
Until recently the traditional reply asserts that this "other Mary" was a prostitute from Magdala, a small fishing town located on the western shore to the Sea of Galilee, a town that the Hebrew Talmud says was "destroyed for prostitution." It seems incredible that the most beloved and loyal disciple of Jesus should be said to be from a town with a reputation for loose morals! I would like to discuss here the actual source of Mary Magdalene's extraordinary epithet.
The Aramaic word Magdala means "tower" or "fortress." In Hebrew, the word is spelled mgdl and migdol. The title "Magdalene" implies greatness, exaltation, elevation, and pre-eminence. And in fact, on seven of the eight lists in the New Testament that mention women who followed Jesus, Mary "the Magdalene" is mentioned first. In Matthew 28 we read that on the morning after the Sabbath Mary Magdalene and the "other Mary" went to see the sepulcher. Who is "First Lady" here? Clearly it is Mary Magdalene who has pre-eminence in the early community whose stories are recorded in the Gospels.
For several historical reasons, I do not believe that Mary was from the town of Magdala. In the period of Greek and Roman hegemony in Galilee, the town now known as "Magdala" was called "Taricheae," a Greek name meaning "place of dried fish." According to Josephus, writing in his books about Jewish history, the town was strongly influenced by Hellenistic culture and mores and even sported a hippodrome for chariot races during Biblical times, until its total destruction by the Romans in AD 67. A new town was later built over the ruins of Taricheae, and was called "Magdala Nunnayah," a name mean "Tower of the Fishes" in Aramaic. But during the lifetime of the woman named Mary who anointed Jesus at a banquet and Bethany and later met him resurrected in the Garden on Easter morning, the town was called Taricheae. This is attested in numerous Roman and Jewish records, including several mentions in Josephus.
It appears probable that in trying to discover the source of Mary's distinctive epithet, enthusiastic converts went looking for a town for Mary to have been born in. Not realizing the first century history of the town of Magdala Nunnayah, they decided that she must have come from this town in Galilee which was destroyed for "prostitution." In Jewish tradition, "prostitution" was often ascribed to communities that worshipped foreign gods and was synonymous with "idolatry." But Greek and Latin speaking converts would not have understood that the town they knew as "Magdala" had a history of adopting Hellenistic mores during the period of Greek hegemony over the region, beginning in about 300 BC, prompting the Jews to attribute "prostitution" to the town's reputation prior to its destruction.
Adding to the confusion of the meaning of Magdalene's title is the conflation of Mary Magdalene with the Mary who anointed Jesus at the banquet at the house of Simon in Bethany, just a few days before the Crucifixion. All four Gospels of the New Testament tell the story of the anointing of Jesus by a woman, a literal re-enactment of nuptial rites of ancient pagan fertility cults of "Sacred Marriage" celebrated throughout the Mediterranean Basin. Only Luke transplants this story from Bethany, located on the prophetically significant Mount of Olives, to an unnamed town in Galilee, calling the woman who anointed Jesus "a sinner from the town." Luke does not use the word for prostitute in his indictment of the woman, but her loose hair, with which she dries her tears from his feet, implied that her sin was one of loose behavior. Ignoring the testimony of the other three Gospels, the Church has allowed Mary Magdalene to be slandered as a prostitute for nearly two millennia, thereby stealing her power and silencing her voice. In 1969 the Roman Catholic calendar of Saints' feast days was revised, separating Mary of Bethany from Mary "Magdalene"--thereby splitting the role of the anointing woman in two.
It is my personal conviction that the woman who anointed Jesus at the banquet at Bethany and "wiped his feet with her hair"--Mary of Bethany in John 12--was the same woman who went to anoint his corpse on Easter morning and met him resurrected--Mary Magdalene in John 20. In ancient mythologies of the hieros gamos, it is the Bride who anoints the Bridegroom King, and it is again the Bride who meets him three days later resurrected in the garden. A similar archetypal story celebrating the eternal return of the Life Force is ubiquitous throughout the Middle East in the cults of Inanna, Ishtar, Isis, Aphrodite, Cybele. In the Gospels, Jesus and Mary Magdalene incarnate this "never-ending story" on the physical/historical plane.
Ignoring for a moment the syncretism of these pagan cults, I suggest we look to the Hebrew Bible for the source of Mary Magdalene's distinctive honorific. In about 700 BC, the Hebrew prophet Micah recorded an amazing prophecy for the "Magdal-eder" (Micah 4:8-11).
The Hebrew word Magdal-eder literally means "Tower of the Flock" and refers to a hill near Bethlehem often used as a vantage point by shepherds to survey the surrounding fields. In this prophecy of Micah, the "Magdal-eder" is equated with the Daughter of Sion, the people of Israel, personified as "Jerusalem." This prophecy sums up the fate of Mary Magdalene in four short lines and was, I am convinced, the passage that inspired the person who coined her epithet.
"And you, O Magdal-eder ("Watchtower of the Flock")
Stronghold of the Daughter of Sion,
Unto you shall the former dominion be restored,
the kingdom of Daughter Jerusalem.
Now why do you cry?
Have you no king? Has your counselor perished,
that you cry aloud like a woman in labor?....
For now you shall go out and dwell in the open fields.
To Babylon shall you go,
and from there you shall be rescued....
Now also many nations are gathered against you.
They defile you (call you "unclean").
This prophecy of the "Magdal-eder" provides the image of a woman, the personification of the nation of Israel, crying over her deceased king and counselor (rabbi, teacher), and then sent, defiled and defamed, into foreign exile, eventually to be rescued. Perhaps that time is now! The scenario is repeated in John's Gospel, chapter 20, when Mary is crying at the tomb and Jesus asks her, "Woman, why are you crying." The Greek word gune can mean either "woman" or "wife." Was Jesus actually addressing his WIFE in this familiar passage? When she finally recognizes him, Mary calls him "Rabboni"--a term that expresses greater intimacy and tenderness than the traditional "Rabbi," and then she embraces him. Saint Jerome's translation of the Greek sentence, "Do not touch me," does not convey the true meaning of the the original text. It actually says something closer to, "Do not keep clinging to me" or "embracing me." The Greek word haptou can mean anything from barely touching someone to having sexual relations. Why could Jerome not have chosen a Latin verb that would have conveyed the greater intimacy implied by the Greek. Instead, we've received a tradition of an untouchable "phantom" Jesus rather than that of Jesus who was a husband and lover.
One further argument supports Mary Magdalene as Bride of the Archetypal Bridegroom. In Hebrew and in Greek, each alphabet letter has a numeric value. In coining the Greek phrase "H Magdalhnh," the architects of the New Testament gave this "other Mary" a title whose numeric value (153) reflects powerful associations with the Feminine principle and the Goddesses of the ancient world. The subject of symbolic numbers encoded by gematria into the Christian Gospels is discussed at length in my 2003 book Magdalene's Lost Legacy. Magdalene's sacred number 153 is associated with the vesica piscis -- () or yoni--a symbol universally associated with the Feminine. Ancient Greeks called the vesica piscis the "matrix," the "doorway to life," the "bridal chamber" and even the "Holy of Holies." There is no mistaking the sexual associations of this shape and its feminine nature, deliberately coined into the significant epithet of the Mary called "the Magdalene."
How can we fail to recognize the Lost Bride of the Christian revelation, crying over her deceased Bridegroom and sent, defiled and defamed, into foreign exile? How can we fail to do all in our power to reclaim her true story? Justice and chivalry require that we honor this woman in the role to which the canonical Gospels themselves attest--as the beloved Queen of the messianic King of Israel.
http://www.margaretstarbird.net/mary_called_magdalene.html
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Message 2 of 11 on the subject |
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It seems that a RLC church type daemon even made its way into 19th century promotional graphics. thanks for the this interesting advertisement Indigo Bovril The first part of the product's name comes from Latin bos meaning "ox" or "cow." Johnston took the -vril suffix from Bulwer-Lytton's then-popular "lost race" novel The Coming Race (1870), whose plot revolves around a superior race of people, the Vril-ya, who derive their powers from an electromagnetic substance named "Vril."[2][3] Bovril holds the unusual position of having been advertised with a Pope. An advertising campaign of the early 20th century in Britain depicted Pope Leo XIII seated on his throne, bearing a mug of Bovril. The campaign slogan read: The Two Infallible Powers - The Pope & Bovril. the Tower on top of the demon Magdalene Tour and the demon resembles Rennes Chateau which even has Leo XIII heraldry Two pieces on a chess board Rook and Bishop ...... In general, rooks are stronger than bishops or knights (which are called minor pieces) and are considered greater in value Rooks and Queens Rooks and queens are called heavy pieces or major pieces, as opposed to bishops and knights, the minor pieces. Rooks are most powerful towards the end of a game Checkmate Formerly the piece was called the castle, tower, marquess, rector, Beef tea Napoleon used it Magdala Tour
but really its a rook from a chess piece ...a Tower ...Migdal....a watch tower...Magdala (Aramaic: מגדלא / Magdala, meaning "elegant", "great", or "tower" (viz. "great place"); Hebrew: מגדל / Migdal, meaning "tower" The Magdala Stone
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Message 3 of 11 on the subject |
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No not a catalogue Sheila but Flammarion had a tower Emma Calve had a tower Sauniere had a tower Renne makes a great point here the Templars like their towers and for good reason and the Temple church in london has a Tower Also the Templars had the Tower in Paris Magdal eder means watchtower Here is the rook on a chess board of black and white like the tiles on Saunieres floors his tower looks like a rook The head of the World Chess Federation believes chess was handed down by possibly extraterrestrials or a Atlantian civilization The Templar church in London has the two riders on one horse just like the Knight stone at Sauniere Museum _________________ Everything is Connected and there are no coincidences
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Message 4 of 11 on the subject |
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FUERTE RELACION DE LA MUERTE DE LADY DY (PRINCESA DIANA /DAN /DENARIO/ JUICIO DE DIOS /DAN BROWN / DA VINCI), CON EL 911, EN EL MARCO DEL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (LEON=SAN MARCOS)
DESDE LA MUERTE DE LADY DY (PRINCESA DIANA), obvio simbolo esoterico a la MUERTE ESPIRITUAL QUE LE PRODIGO LA TRADICION RELIGIOSA A LA ESPOSA DE NUESTRO SEÑOR QUE ES MARIA LA MAGDALENA, el 31 de agosto de 1997 hasta el 11 de febrero del 2001 (VIRGEN DE LOURDES-CONEXION FRANCIA/CODIGO DA VINCI) tenemos 1260 dias exactos. (EL AÑO 2000 FUE BISIESTO=366 DIAS). Y desde el 11 de febrero del 2001 hasta el 25/7 (DIA DE SANTIAGO/CAMINO DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA/ LEON / SAN MARCOS/ SECRETO DEL 11 DEL MARZO EN ESPAÑA, del mismo año 2004) tambien tenemos 1260 dias exactos. ES INCREIBLE. CONCRETAMENTE SUMANDO AMBAS CIFRAS TENEMOS 2520 DIAS. EL SECRETO DE LAS TORRES GEMELAS, FUERTEMENTE CONECTADAS CON EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (MARCOS 1;19) ES una referencia a la transfiguracion de NUESTRO SEÑOR en el marco de los dos hijos de la MARIA DE SALOME, osea SANTIAGO Y JUAN EL EVANGELISTA, OSEA LOS HIJOS DEL TRUENO. La constelacion del CISNE tiene fuerte relacion con la GUERRA DE TROYA, CON LA CRUZ DEL NORTE Y CON EL PARALELO 33. EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO, INCLUSO, TAMBIEN ESTA CONECTADO CON EL LIBRO DE DAN BROWN, "THE LOST SYMBOL", en el MARCO DE WASHINGTON D.C (DIA DE SANTA CRUZ=257 DIA GREGORIANO E INCLUSO 257 GRADOS DESDE EL MERIDIANO DE CAMBIO DE DIA =77 MERIDIANO OESTE DE GREENWICH. LA RELACION PENTEGONO CON EL 911 TIENE ESTA OBVIA REFERENCIA, OSEA INSISTO, EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA. CUANDO LOS CATOLICOS SE PERSIGNAN ES UNA REFERENCIA, INSISTO, A LA CONSTELACION DEL CISNE. ESTADOS UNIDOS ES ESPAÑA PARA LA TORA. JUSTAMENTE LA VIRGEN DE LOS DOLORES/DOLARES /DOLORES DE PARTO (GENESIS 3:16) TIENE ORIGEN EN ESPAÑA, NUESTRA MADRE PATRIA. Haciendo las matematicas tenemos:
31 de agosto de 1997=243 dia del año (122 DIAS PERIODO 31/8-31/12)
1998=365 dias
1999=365 dias
2000=366 dias (BISIESTO)
11/2/2001=42 DIAS
122+365+365+366+42=1260 DIAS
11 DE FEBRERO DEL 2001=42 dia del año (323 DIAS PERIODO 11/2-31/12)
2002=365 dias
2003=365 dias
25/7/2004 (CAMINO DE SANTIAGO/CONSTELACION DEL CISNE/SYGNO)=207 dias
323+365+365+207=1260 dias
964. Apocalipsis 11:3: Y daré a mis dos testigos que profeticen por mil doscientos sesenta días, vestidos de cilicio. 968. Apocalipsis 12:6: Y la mujer huyó al desierto, donde tiene lugar preparado por Dios, para que allí la sustenten por mil doscientos sesenta días.
Concretamente EL 911 ESOTERICAMENTE ESTA FUERTEMENTE RELACIONADO CON LA MUERTE O ASESINATO DE LADY DY EN EL MARCO DEL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA.
Tenemos también la palabra profética más segura, a la cual hacéis bien en estar atentos como a una antorcha que alumbra en lugar oscuro, hasta que el día esclarezca y el LUCERO de la mañana salga en vuestros corazones;
32. Marcos 1:19: Pasando de allí un poco más adelante, vio a Jacobo hijo de Zebedeo, y a JUAN su hermano, también ellos en la barca, que remendaban las redes. (EL MISMO MARCOS, EN EL VERSICULO 1:19, CONFIRMA LA INTERRELACION DE LAS DOS TORRES GEMELAS CON LOS DOS HIJOS DE MARIA DE SALOME EN EL CONTEXTO A SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA-CAMINO DE SANTIAGO)
279. Apocalipsis 22:16: Yo Jesús he enviado mi ángel para daros testimonio de estas cosas en las iglesias. Yo soy la raíz y el linaje de David, la estrella resplandeciente de la MAÑANA
22:16 tambien es 22:(1+6) o 22:7
ESPAÑA/LEON/ SAN MARCOS/ CAMINO DE SANTIAGO/25 DE JULIO/ CONSTELACION DE LEO/LEO-NARDO DA VINCI/ DOLAR /911/ 311 / COLUMNAS DE HERCULES / ATLANTIDA
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Message 5 of 11 on the subject |
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La Maddalena, Venice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
La Maddalena (Italian: Santa Maria Maddalena in Cannaregio, usually referred to simply as La Maddalena) is a church in Venice, Italy, in the sestiere of Cannaregio.
A religious edifice is known in the site as early as 1222, owned by the Balbo patrician family. When, in the mid-14th century, the Venetian Senate established a public holiday for Mary Magdalene's feast, it was decided to enlarge the church, including a watchtower which was turned into a bell tower.
The church was restored in the early 18th century, but in 1780 it was entirely rebuilt under design by Tommaso Temanza, with a circular plan inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. The bell tower was demolished in 1888. The most notable feature is the portal, with masonic symbols over the door (probably connected to the Balbo's membership in the Knights Templar). The interior has hexagonal plan with four side chapels and a presbytery.
Outside the apse is a 15th-century basrelief of the Madonna with Child.
References[edit]
The Churches of Venice website
www.venipedia.org wiki page
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Message 6 of 11 on the subject |
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Avalon or Ynys Afallon in Welsh (probably from the Welsh word afal, meaning apple) is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae ("The History of the Kings of Britain") as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur (Caliburnus) was forged and later where Arthur was taken to recover from his wounds after the Battle of Camlann. Avalon was associated from an early date with mystical practices and people such as Morgan le Fay.Geoffrey of Monmouth called it in Latin Insula Avallonis in the Historia. In the later Vita Merlini he called it Insula Pomorum the "isle of apples". The name is generally considered to be of Welsh origin (though an Old Cornish or Old Breton origin is also possible), derived from Old Welsh abal, "apple", or aball, "apple tree" (in later Middle Welsh spelled aval, avall; now Modern Welsh afal, afall).[1][2][3][4] In Breton, apple is spelled "aval"/ "avaloù" in plural. It is also possible that the tradition of an "apple" island among the British was influenced by Irish legends concerning the otherworld island home of Manannán mac Lir and Lugh, Emain Ablach (also the Old Irish poetic name for the Isle of Man),[1] where Ablach means "Having Apple Trees"[5] – derived from Old Irish aball ("apple")—and is similar to the Middle Welsh name Afallach, which was used to replace the name Avalon in medieval Welsh translations of French and Latin Arthurian tales).there was Boudica and her daughters who were warriors and Medbwarriors allMedb insisted that she be equal in wealth with her husband, and started the Cattle Raid of Cooley when she discovered that Ailill was one powerful stud bull richer than her. She discovered that the only rival to Ailill's bull, Finnbennach, was Donn Cúailnge, owned by Dáire mac Fiachna, a vassal of Conchobar's. She sent messengers to Dáire, offering wealth, land and sexual favours in return for the loan of the bull, and Dáire initially agreed. But when a drunken messenger declared that, if he had not agreed, the bull would have been taken by force, Dáire withdrew his consent, and Medb prepared for war.Medb cairn Meabh's Cairn, though by far the largest, is only one of a number of monuments on the summit of Knocknarea. In general the tombs are lined up North-South, and they may have been constructed to face Carrowmore in the lowlandsLimestone makes up the CairnKnocknarea seems to have been a major place of ritual and meeting in the Neolithic eraSome historians suggest that she was probably originally a "sovereignty goddess", whom a king would ritually marry as part of his inaugurationMedb Lethderg, who performs a similar function in Tara is probably identical with or the inspiration for this Medb.[10][11] Her name is said to mean 'she who intoxicates', and is cognate with the English word 'mead'; it is likely that the sacred marriage ceremony between the king and the goddess would involve a shared drink.
one more thing
Around 1190, Avalon became associated with Glastonbury, when monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have discovered the bones of Arthur and his queen. It is in the work of Gerald of Wales we find this connection made for the first time and it clearly draws on Geoffrey:
What is now known as Glastonbury was, in ancient times, called the Isle of Avalon. It is virtually an island, for it is completely surrounded by marshlands. In Welsh it is called Ynys Afallach, which means the Island of Apples and this fruit once grew in great abundance. After the Battle of Camlann, a noblewoman called Morgan, later the ruler and patroness of these parts as well as being a close blood-relation of King Arthur, carried him off to the island, now known as Glastonbury, so that his wounds could be cared for. Years ago the district had also been called Ynys Gutrin in Welsh, that is the Island of Glass, and from these words the invading Saxons later coined the place-name 'Glastingebury'.[12]
at Glastonbury there is the vescia piscis
the Chalice well
the Tor which is a big watchtowerthey call it Saint Michael's chapel ....but then its a watchtower ...Migdalwatchtower and holy cup ....Magdalene comes to mindWomen warriors and queens ....were not so rareeven in these times
_________________ Everything is Connected and there are no coincidences
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Message 7 of 11 on the subject |
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Message 8 of 11 on the subject |
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Message 9 of 11 on the subject |
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LA TORRE DE BABEL, OSEA LA UNION ENTRE EL CIELO Y LA TIERRA, ES UN "AGUJERO DE GUSANO". EN ESTE MARCO ES EL GRIAL MISMO. SIMBOLIZA LA UNION ENTRE EL CIELO Y LA TIERRA, O LA CUADRATURA DEL CIRCULO (CIRCULO=CIELO; CUADRADO=TIERRA) O LA ESCUADRA Y EL COMPAS MASONICO. ES OBVIA LA CONNOTACION CON LA "ESCALERA DE JACOB". MAGDALENA TIENE CONNOTACION CON EL MISMO TERMINO TORRE EN HEBREO.
1. Josué 15:37 Zenán, HADASA, Migdal-gad,
2. Ester 2:7 Y había criado a HADASA, es decir, Ester, hija de su tío, porque era húerfana; y la joven era de hermosa figura y de buen parecer. Cuando su padre y su madre murieron, Mardoqueo la adoptó como hija suya.
ESTHER=ISHTAR=STAR GATE=PUERTA ESTELAR
BABEL=PUERTA DE DIOS
1 Pedro 5:13: La iglesia que está en Babilonia, elegida juntamente con vosotros, y Marcos mi HIJO, os saludan.
HECHOS 12:12 / 33 / JUAN MARCOS
ESTRELLA DE 6 PUNTAS = 33 = 2 TRIANGULOS CRUZADOS =ALQUIMIA
BABILONIA ESTABA EN EL PARALELO 33 Y ERA UNA CIUDAD DE 7 COLINAS.
BABEL/ BABY / BEBE /
milky way in Simple Gematria Equals: 119 |
( |
m 13 |
i9 |
l 12 |
k 11 |
y 25 |
0 |
w 23 |
a1 |
y 25 |
) |
queen mary in Simple Gematria Equals: 119 |
( |
q 17 |
u 21 |
e5 |
e5 |
n 14 |
0 |
m 13 |
a1 |
r 18 |
y 25 |
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hebrew calendar in Simple Gematria Equals: 119 |
( |
h8 |
e5 |
b2 |
r 18 |
e5 |
w 23 |
0 |
c3 |
a1 |
l 12 |
e5 |
n 14 |
d4 |
a1 |
r 18 |
mary magdalene in Simple Gematria Equals: 119 |
( |
m 13 |
a1 |
r 18 |
y 25 |
0 |
m 13 |
a1 |
g7 |
d4 |
a1 |
l 12 |
e5 |
n 14 |
e5 |
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Message 10 of 11 on the subject |
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Message 11 of 11 on the subject |
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La Maddalena and Masonic Symbolism
La Maddalena and Masonic Symbolism. This small church in Cannaregio, is notable for its unusual round form and masonic symbolism.
Designed by Tommaso Temanza, with a circular plan inspired by the Pantheon in Rome; the current small church of Santa Maria Maddalena, was begun in 1763 and completed in 1780.
It is rarely open for visits, except during occasional exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale. To some, it appears to amplify the mysteries of this church.
It is located in a small campo, that opens out on to the main pedestrian “Strada Nuova” through-route; linking Rialto with the Railway Station.
Location
History
Links to Freemasonry
Brief development of Freemasonry in Venice
Links (internal-external)
Santa Maria Maddalena in the district of Cannaregio, usually referred to simply as “La Maddalena”.
LOCATION
Santa Maria Maddalena in the district of Cannaregio, usually referred to simply as “La Maddalena”. It is located in the small Campo di Maddalena, which opens onto the main “Strada Nuova” through route; linking Rialto with the Railway Station.
This section of the Strada Nuova, is called the “Rio Terra Maddalena” and was originally a filled-up canal (or Rio Terra).
The closest waterbus stop is “San Marcuola” on the Grand Canal, just a few minutes walk to the south-west.
La Maddalena and Masonic Symbolism – History
The first church here was built in 1220, by the patrician Balbo family; probably on the site of a fortified house-castle. There is some evidence of the family’s association with the Knights Templar. Traces of the path left by the Templars’, are still visible today. In fact, they were still in existence in Venice, until the order was disbanded in 1312. Legend has it, that their fabled treasure was hidden for some time, on the Venetian island of St. Giorgio in Alga.
Above: Note the Bell-Tower, that was demolished in 1888, features in an old print.
After the end of the four wars, that led Venice against Genoa and ended in 1356; the Senate decided each year to hold public celebrations, in honour of St Mary Magdalene.
It was decided to enlarge the church, including a watchtower; which was turned into a bell tower. The bell tower was demolished in 1888.
The church was restored in the early 18th century, but by 1780, it was entirely rebuilt in a neoclassical design by Tommaso Temanza, with a circular plan inspired by the Pantheon and Santo Stefano Rotondo, in Rome. Temanza, was better known as a theorist and historian and this is one of his few completed buildings.
This makes it the last religious building undertaken, under an independent Venetian Republic. The only other round churches in Venice are La Salute and San Simeon Piccolo.
During French rule, the church lost its status in 1810 as a parish church, in 1820 it was closed; to again serve as an oratory. The bell tower was demolished in 1888. Today, the church belongs to the municipality of San Marcuola.
The present interior has a compact form that is dodecagonal. with four side chapels and a presbytery. Twelve ionic pillars that symbolise the apostles, support the dome. Four Ionic half-columns support the tympanum and attic.
In the lunette of the portal, is an allegorical representation of the Solomon Islands and divine wisdom. Right next to the entrance in the interior, is a painting by Giandomenico Tiepolo, of “The Last Supper”.
Outside the apse, is a 15th-century bas relief of the Madonna with Child.
La Maddalena and Masonic Symbolism – Links to Freemasonry
The most notable feature is the flat portal, with probable masonic symbolism of “the eye within the triangle” over the doorway.
Obviously round churches have existed since antiquity and the “eye within the triangle”, has long been a Christian symbol. However, there is further strong associations with Freemasonry here.
Thomas Temanza, frequented the circle of Andrea Memmo, a procurator of San Marco, who, together with his brothers Bernardo and Lorenzo; were amongst the first most well-known Freemasons in Venice. They were initiated by non-other than Casanova!
Also, on the pediment is the inscription “Sapienta aedificavit sibi domun”, which might be translated to read ”Wisdom built this House Herself” – a motto that appears to deny the role of God.
Further evidence of Freemasonry can be seen inside.
Temanza’s church originally, had only a single altar, “for a single Supreme Being”; as the Masonic creed urged. Contrary to custom in other Venetian churches, there were no altars to the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, or any other saint. Two additional altars were later added, to erase this Masonic influence.
Another piece of evidence, is that inside is the tombstone of Tomasso Temanza, bearing the date of his death (1789), a compass, ruler and set-square. Admittedly, the tools of his architectural profession; they are also well-known Masonic symbols.
Brief development of Freemasonry in Venice
It was the “Age of the Enlightenment” and the rationalism associated with the Masons, was in vogue. In the 18th century, Venice had an influential fraternity of freemasons.
In 1746, a lodge was founded in Venice, which became associated with Giacomo Casanova, Carlo Goldoni, and Francesco Griselini. It survived until 1755, when the intervention of the “Inquisition”; led to the arrest of Casanova and the dissolution of the lodge.
Above: The tombstone of Tomasso Temanza, bearing the date of his death (1789), a compass, ruler and set-square.
New lodges were founded in 1772, with warrants from the Premier Grand Lodge of England, in Venice and Verona, on the initiative of the Secretary of the Senate, Peter Gratarol; which remained active until 1777.
The Rite of Strict Observance established a chapter in Padua in 1781, which opened another in Vicenza shortly afterwards.
All Freemasonry was suppressed in 1785.
The start of the unification process in 1859, saw a revival in Freemasonry. Giuseppe Garibaldi, a leader of Italian unification, was an active mason and a keen supporter of the craft. In the 1920’s, Freemasonry was again suppressed under Fascism; but revived again after the fall of Benito Mussolini.
Links (internal–external)
Please see my other related posts, in the category of: History and Architecture
For those interested in the mysterious, mythical or dark side of Venetian history and culture; I have put together a list of links below to those posts that include elements of Christian Symbolism, Sacred Geometry, Kabbalah, Freemasonry and Alchemy, which I hope to expand.
Eye of the Triangle
Sacred Geometry
St Mark’s Basilica
The Lion of St Mark
Santa Maria della Salute
Symbolism of the Venetian Cross
Palazzo Lezze and Alchemic Symbolism
Kabbalah and San Francesco della Vigna
https://imagesofvenice.com/la-maddalena-and-masonic-symbolism/ |
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