Rafail's Cross is a famous wooden crucifix at Rila Monastery in Bulgaria.
The crucifix is a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood (81 х 43 cm). It was whittled down by a monk named Rafail using fine burins and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures. Work on this piece of art lasted not less than 12 years before it was completed in 1802 when the monk lost his sight.
A crucifix is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the corpus. The crucifix emphasizes Jesus' sacrifice, including his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind. Most crucifixes portray Jesus on a Latin cross, rather than a Tau cross or a Coptic cross.
A wooden fish, also known as a Chinese temple block, wooden bell, or muyu, is a type of woodblock that originated from East Asia that is used by monks and lay people in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism. They are used in Buddhist ceremonies in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other Asian countries. They may be referred to as a Chinese block, Korean block or, rarely, as a skull.
A monk is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy.
The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery ("Sveti Ivan Rilski", is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m above sea level, inside of Rila Monastery Nature Park. The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Saint Ivan of Rila, and houses approximately 60 monks. The monastery is a popular pilgrimage site for many Orthodox Christians.
A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.
Hedalen Stave Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Sør-Aurdal Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The stave church is located in the Hedalen valley. It is the church for the Hedalen parish which is part of the Valdres prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Hamar. The brown, wooden stave church was built in a cruciform design around the year 1160 using plans drawn up by an unknown architect. The church seats about 210 people.
Spearhafoc was an eleventh-century Anglo-Saxon artist and Benedictine monk, whose artistic talent was apparently the cause of his rapid elevation to Abbot of Abingdon in 1047–48 and Bishop-Elect of London in 1051. After his consecration as bishop was thwarted, he vanished with the gold and jewels he had been given to make into a crown for King Edward the Confessor, and was never seen again. He was also famous for a miracle which impacted his career.
Two different crucifixes, or strictly, wooden corpus sculptures for crucifixes, are attributed to the High Renaissance master Michelangelo, although neither is universally accepted as his. Both are relatively small sculptures that would have been produced during Michelangelo's youth.
A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform style.
Vepriai is the largest town in Ukmergė district, Lithuania, situated south-west of Ukmergė with population of about 549 (2011). The capital of Vepriai elderate.
The Gero Cross or Gero Crucifix, of around 965–970, is the oldest large sculpture of the crucified Christ north of the Alps, and has always been displayed in Cologne Cathedral in Germany. It was commissioned by Gero, Archbishop of Cologne, who died in 976, thus providing a terminus ante quem for the work. It is carved in oak, and painted and partially gilded – both have been renewed. The halo and cross-pieces are original, but the Baroque surround was added in 1683. The figure is 187 cm high, and the span of its arms is 165 cm. It is the earliest known Western depiction of Christ on the cross while dead; earlier depictions had Christ appearing alive.
The degrees of Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodox monk or nun passes through in their religious vocation.
A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according to Bede. Other sources suggest that all churches were expected to possess one. They became detachable from their staffs, so that the earliest altar crosses were processional crosses placed on a stand at the end of the procession. In large churches the "crux gemmata", or richly jewelled cross in precious metal, was the preferred style. Notable early examples include the Cross of Justin II, Cross of Lothair, and Cross of Cong.
An altar crucifix or altar cross is a cross placed upon an altar, and is often the principal ornament of the altar.
The Batlló Majesty is a large 12th-century Romanesque wooden crucifix, now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. It is one of the most elaborate examples in Catalonia of an image of Christ on the Cross, symbolizing his triumph over death.
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus on a large wooden cross, is a symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix and to the more general family of cross symbols, the term cross itself being detached from the original specifically Christian meaning in modern English.
The Crucifix by Cimabue at Santa Croce is a very large wooden crucifix, painted in distemper, attributed to the Florentine painter and mosaicist Cimabue, one of two large crucifixes attributed to him. The work was commissioned by the Franciscan friars of Santa Croce and is built from a complex arrangement of five main and eight ancillary timber boards. It is one of the first Italian artworks to break from the late medieval Byzantine style and is renowned for its technical innovations and humanistic iconography.
The Monteripido Altarpiece is a double-sided altarpiece by Perugino, completed in 1502 for San Francesco al Monte church in Monteripido near Perugia. It is now in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in Perugia.
The Brunelleschi Crucifix is a polychrome painted wooden sculpture by the Italian artist Filippo Brunelleschi, made from pearwood around 1410-1415, and displayed since 1572 in the Gondi Chapel at the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. This idealised depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus measures around 170 cm × 170 cm. It is the only surviving wooden sculpture by Brunelleschi: the only other known example, a wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene at the church of Santo Spirito, was destroyed in a fire in 1471. In his 2002 book, Masaccio e le origini del Rinascimento, the art historian Luciano Bellosi described Brunelleschi's crucifix as "probably the first Renaissance work in the history of art", representing a definitive turn away from the stylised postures of Gothic sculpture and a return to the naturalism of classical sculpture.
Andonije Rafail Epaktit and Andonije Rafail Epaktit of Lepanto was a Serbian author of Slovo o svetom knezu Lazaru written in either 1419 or 1420. The specific purpose of Andonije Rafail Epaktit's discourse is to celebrate and glorify Lazar Hrebeljanović, it does not deal succinctly in detail with the Battle of Kosovo itself. Other authors' texts are no different because they all have a religious aura about them, being written by monk-scribes or by Princess Milica of Serbia herself.