As a non-denominational Christian, and as an individual who simply loves to study Abrahamic religions, I’ve studied the general impact of Catholicism on the pre-Industrial Western World prior to coming to Venice. However, reading about something is completely different from experiencing something. I experienced St. Mark’s Basilica. While walking through the church, self-evident in its splendor, I truly began to understand why it was important for Catholic powers to have immaculate churches. It seems to me that most churches—including St. Mark’s Basilica—were not built for the pure worship of the Christian God, but rather more so for praise of human capability, human beings in general and as a showcase of power. I came to this conclusion after reflecting first on purely biblical evidence, then on the overall historical humanistic application specifically in Venice.
Historically humans have had tendencies to worship themselves or varying images. This is what made the God of the Abrahamic religions different. The God of the Old Testament, YHWH, and of the New Testament, Jesus, never sought the worship of their likeness. This is evidenced through the first three of the Judaic Ten Commandments, which emphasize the worship of YHWH and YHWH alone as well as “not to make any graven image of YHWH nor any other gods.” In addition, the Jesus portrayed in the Gospels is often found telling those who “knew his identity as God” to not worship him nor publicly speak of him in that manner. Interestingly, the closest authentic descriptions we have of Jesus come first from the Christian theological interpretation of Isaiah 53:2 “…he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” and secondly from the horrid illustrations of Jesus’ crucifixion in which his appearance is described by the Gospels of Matthew and John as “so appalling that people looked upon him in bewilderment.” But even if we were to assume the Jesus of the Christian Bible was real, the closest and conclusive biological description is derived from the knowledge of the area he was born and raised in. Historical Nazareth is a place known to produce men and women of dark skin, eyes and hair. Although this vague description is simplistic it suffices because it means the historical Jesus was not and could not look like the popularized Jesus seen in both European-influenced Catholic and Protestant traditions—whom is a Jesus portrayed with light hair, skin and eyes. Regardless, within the Christian Bible there are Old and New Testament accounts of YHWH and Jesus’ followers worshiping other gods, images and the general essence of human beings. From as early as the Mosites of the book of Exodus worshiping a golden calf—a noted pagan form of worship—before Moses had even revealed the Ten Commandments, to the Christians of 1st century Corinth, who were divided in their allegation choosing instead to worship the men who were sharing the gospel of Jesus rather than Jesus himself, as noted by the historical figure Paul through a letter. Furthermore, Jewish traditions forbid the creation of images of God within synagogues and other Jewish-affiliated places. This is the same tradition subscribed by the historical Jesus and his 1st century Christian followers. In other words, from a purely biblical standpoint the worship of humans and images is greatly frown upon in the Christian Bible and many theologians argue it denotes these practices as sinful or rebellious against God. However, Catholic tradition openly emphasizes the worshipping images of God, Mary the mother of Jesus and other biblical, historical and then contemporary Christian figures. And St. Mark’s Basilica, both inside and outside, is plastered with detailed images of saints and Venetians. Therefore St. Mark’s Basilica appears to represent two things: acknowledgement of Catholic tradition in Venice and the boasting of Venetian influence. In the context of Venice, St. Mark’s Basilica was originally completed around the turn of 12th century. Modeled after the Byzantine Hapia Sophia of old Constantinople, the church was dedicated to the Catholic figure St. Mark the Evangelist who is the patron saint of Venice. Marvelous is St. Mark’s Basilica, wrapped in its gold and grandeur. As I aesthetically admired St. Mark’s Basilica I imagined how many visitors of Venice—persons from around the world throughout history—have also stopped in admiration of this wonder. It clearly catches your eye. However, it also makes me question if something this outwardly glorious was solely built with explicit purpose of worshipping of God. Jesus preached in fields and on boats, his 1st century followers preached wherever they could. During their times it was about the message not the glamour. In contrast, during the time of the Venetian Republic, the wondrous and massive St. Mark’s Basilica was the private chapel of the Doge of Venice and not a public church. And its location was strategic. Attached to the Ducal Palace, across from Venetian mint known as La Zecca, and overlooking the largest plaza in the city, St. Mark’s Basilica can be viewed as the tangible embodiment of religious power in Venice. Merchants from across the world, Muslims, Christians and pagans, had to pass the wondrous St. Mark’s Church when entering the political center of the city as if the Venetians were forcing all their visitors to be subjected to their subtle boastfulness. The Venetians controlled Mediterranean between Europe and Asia and they wanted the world to know it during the 15th and 16th centuries through wonders like the basilica. In essence, as I reflect on the Christian bible, consider Catholic tradition, and admit my awe of St. Mark’s Basilica, I find myself believing St. Mark’s Basilica was constructed more for the praise of Venetians than for the worship of the Christian God.
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