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Quest for Joy-4. An Hour in St. Paul’s Within the Walls, Rome. Pre-Raphaelite Art

By Anita Mathias

Today was a glorious day. We visited the little known but glorious American Episcopal Church, St. Paul Within the Walls, with Byzantine inspired mosaics by Burne-Jones, and tiles from William Morris. 


I first read about it in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s introduction to the gorgeous exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite paintings from his private collection. On a school trip to Rome, he slipped away, and spent the day in this American Church, getting into trouble for returning with little knowledge of Classical Rome, but much of the Pre-Raphaelites. How English!!–and arguably, how sane!


I next saw Burne-Jones paintings from this project in a wonderful exhibition in the Ashmolean I’ve reviewed here http://wanderingbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.com/2010/11/pre-raphaelites-in-italy-ashmolean.html.


And today, I saw the real thing. Pictures from the Victorian Web. My iPhone couldn’t do justice to it. 


mosaic by Burne-Jones


“The great mosiac of the rear wall represents Christ the Lord in glory. At the very top against the blue of the sky is glimpsed a glittering vision of angels. Below sits the majestic figure of Christ, enthroned upon the cherubim and seraphim. In Christ’s left hand he holds the orb of the earth and His right hand is upraised in blessing. From his feet issue the streams of living water and a rainbow is ’round about the Throne’ (Revelation 4).  (St. Paul’s within the Walls, pp. 2-3).

mosaic by Burne-Jones
The Tree of Forgiveness
“On the second arch over the choir, Burne-Jones has represented the Tree of Forgiveness. Christ, hands outstretched powerfully, is supended before the green-leaved Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. On one side stands Adam and the other Eve with her firstborn. The thistles from which spring the lily symbolize the hardness of man’s labor from which springs his divine possibilities, concretized in the story of the Annunciation. Under the scene is written in Latin: ‘In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33).” (St. Paul’s within the Walls, p. 2)





mosaic by Burne-Jones
The Heavenly Choir





mosaic by Burne-Jones
The Angels and the Waters of Life




mosaic by Burne-Jones

mosaic by Burne-Jones
Living Waters Flowing from the Throne




We had the church to ourselves, and it was glorious. What a gift. What peace and glittering beauty.


I found myself praying to have my soul flushed out and then filled with those rivers from the throne of life.


See also Quest for Joy–3 Fireflies. 




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Comments

  1. Anita Mathias says

    February 21, 2011 at 10:47 pm

    Hi Ray, I love Burne-Jones and the Pre-Raphaelites too. There are some lovely Burne-Jones paintings at Buscot Park, Oxfordshire, a National Trust Property. Lovely!!

  2. Ray Barnes says

    February 21, 2011 at 9:30 pm

    Absolutely breathtaking. Thanks so much. I love Burne-Jones, but have never seen this before. Truly gorgeous.

  3. Anita Mathias says

    February 21, 2011 at 9:25 pm

    Thanks Penny. The American Episcopal Church, St Paul's within the Walls, only get a paragraph in most guidebooks, but it is well worth a visit. What beauty!!

  4. Penelopepiscopal says

    February 21, 2011 at 8:51 pm

    Thanks so much for the post! A beautiful place – I will put it on my list of must-sees if I visit Rome….

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Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
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https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
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For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
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As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
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And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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