Among the hierarchs who have condemned the blasphemy that was on display for the entire world to see, is Metropolitan Theologos of Serres of the Greek Orthodox Church. Preaching at the Holy Monastery of St. Paraskevi on Sunday, he said:
Unfortunately, we see that for some decades now in supposedly Christian Europe, conditions are being created that promote a model of life without God, without values, without rules and principles, without respect, without measure, without the fragrance of life, without beauty—principles and values that Greece taught to the world.
Unfortunately, a way of life is systematically promoted today, where the self-referential and passionate human becomes self-worth, an idol, a poor imitation of himself. Lawlessness is called freedom and disrespect is termed a right of expression. Today, from the dark abyss of human passions, a world emerges where moral decline, stark self-interest, materialism, trampling of the Divine and even the laws of nature, delinquency, amoralism, nihilism, the leveling of everything, and lack of basic respect dominate. All these create and consolidate in contemporary reality a deep decadence that exudes decay and death. What happened the day before yesterday, during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, in a specific performance, was deeply provocative, disrespectful, tasteless, offensive to the faith of millions of people around the world, to aesthetics, and to the very spirit of the Olympic Games.
I wonder, would these specific “artists” and the host country dare to behave in this unacceptable way towards the Jewish or Muslim, or any other religion? Unfortunately, Europe, for decades now, has been ostentatiously and with excessive ingratitude, turning its back on Christ. Behold the modern “Gadarenes”…
(The Gadarenes are the people who pleaded with Jesus to leave them after he casted out demons in their town in Matthew 8).
Today, however, the world needs so much, primarily integral and balanced role models, who will be illuminated by the light of Christ, who will be inspired by quality and respectful ethos, by pure soul and word, by a disposition of sincere repentance, empathy, and mutual understanding. Humanity needs such healthy role models, especially today. From the highest principles of love for God and love for humanity.
Imagine getting bent out of shape over fairy tales.
It wasn’t about the last supper. It was depicting the feast of Dionysus. As you may recall, the Olympics originated in ancient Greece, of which Dionysus was the god of sport, iirc.
Also, the last supper painting was a riff off of the feast of Dionysus painting.
Dionysus was obviously there and part of it, but there is a zooming out which clearly is intended to reenact the Last Supper - they stage it carefully, check it out (It’s a tweet vid).
I cannot imagine them “accidentally” making it look like the Last Supper.
… What Feast of Dionysus painting…? The 1635 van Biljert painting that nobody really knows about…? And if you knew about that, you would know that you were exceptionally close to reenacting the 1498 Last Supper of Davinci…?
I also would find it hard to believe that Dionysus has such a stranglehold on feasts that 13 people sitting around a table in the 1st century AD is a ripoof of a classic Bacchanalia.
dude, the Last Supper is just a bunch of dudes sitting on one side of a table. the only way you could change it up is by having people sit on both sides of the table, which would have their backs to the camera.
There’s only one person with halo-esque headgear, and just like in DaVinci’s last supper, various people are mid-action to her side while she is looking toward the viewer.
IDK, if you don’t see it, you don’t see it.
and as you can see, there are absolutely no halos in the painting. did you take a still shot from a video?
I apologize - in the Orthodox paintings of the Last Supper which I most often see, Christ always has a halo. I have made a mistake.
I also am incorrect that Christ only has the halo - sometimes, the apostles have it as well (minus Judas, of course), while other times it is just Christ (as I stated).
The Olympic opening was bad and needs to be condemned but not for blasphemy. There was no concept - just a collection of nice ideas without a clear silver lining. The rain didn’t help on top of that.
