ASIMOV
November 27th, 2004, 01:32 AM
This year is the 800th anniversary of the Fourth Crusade (1204) in which Catholic Christians (under the command of Venice) invaded Constantinople (Istanbul) and took most of the important books/statues back home with them (which contributed to the establishment of the "Venetian School" in fine arts and later to the Renaissance)
Among the important items which the Venetians took home with them were the Holy Relics belonging to Christian Apostles and Saints. The Byzantines managed to hide some of them (like the hand and skull of St. John The Baptist, which is at the Topkapi Palace Museum today) but a great deal of them were taken to Italy between 1204 and 1261.
The Venetians later gave these items to the Vatican.
After exactly 800 years, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I is in Rome to take these Holy Relics back to Istanbul, as part of the recent improvement of relations between the Western (Roman) Catholic and Eastern (Greek) Orthodox churches, which were separated since 1054.
Among the important items which the Venetians took home with them were the Holy Relics belonging to Christian Apostles and Saints. The Byzantines managed to hide some of them (like the hand and skull of St. John The Baptist, which is at the Topkapi Palace Museum today) but a great deal of them were taken to Italy between 1204 and 1261.
The Venetians later gave these items to the Vatican.
After exactly 800 years, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos I is in Rome to take these Holy Relics back to Istanbul, as part of the recent improvement of relations between the Western (Roman) Catholic and Eastern (Greek) Orthodox churches, which were separated since 1054.