Yuliya wanted to show us this church for several reasons– firstly, she was baptized here, and secondly, it was ecumenical in character, being both Catholic and Orthodox, as the iconography will show. Interestingly, they don’t baptize infants! Weird. The Jerusalem Brotherhood was probably an offshoot of the Knights Templars, which King Louis of France tried to get rid of (see the novel reviewed earlier on this blog– Realm of Darkness). But this group of brethren who came from Jerusalem to Paris, founded a church which still exists today, and is well worth a visit.
I challenge you to find another high altar like this one– with Catholic images, and Orthodox icons, not to mention a menorah!!
There are beautiful stained glass windows and more icons….
Yes in the Orthodox tradition John the Baptizer is turned into a Christian. And below we have Mary, called ‘the theotokos’ or God-bearer in the Greek Orthodox tradition.
I like the mixture of modern and traditional stained glass windows.
A traditional high pulpit. Notice no icon screen before the high altar. There only a few sculptures…
I’m not sure what to make of this last window, but I’ll guess it has to do with the Jerusalem brothers who founded this church.
But the window above is interesting, in medieval Latin it quotes Jesus– ‘Amen I say to you, you will be with me in Paradise.’
Let’s once more look down the central aisle from the back, and get some perspective.
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