The Entombment of Christ
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
1602-03
The Vatican Museums are going to loan this piece to Russia for exhibition during the Year of Italian Culture and Language in Russia.
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President Dmitri Medvedev will make a working visit to the Vatican on 17 February; he will meet with Benedict XVI Ratzinger, the Pope of Rome, and Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. Sergei Prikhodko, an aide to President Medvedev, said, “This is the first-ever visit by a Russian head of state to the Vatican after the establishment of full diplomatic relations between our countries”. Prikhodko said that Russia and the Vatican instituted full diplomatic relations in December 2009 after Medvedev decided to raise the status of the Russian diplomatic mission to the Vatican to that of a full embassy. Furthermore, Prikhodko said that Medvedev and Benedict would compare notes on foreign policy issues, discuss the architecture of European security, and confer on what shape the cooperation between Russia and the Holy See would take within the framework of international organisations such as the UN, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE. “Russia and the Holy See have similar positions on many foreign policy issues based on the priority of moral principles in international legal and interstate relations”, Prikhodko said.
He thinks that Medvedev and the Pope may touch on the topic of interfaith dialogue. He didn’t rule out that the interaction between the MP and the Roman Curia could affect the tone of the meeting. Prikhodko pointed up that Benedict consistently “favours dialogue with the [MP] and recently made some generous gestures towards it”. In particular, he reminded us that the Russian state regained control of the St Nicholas Pilgrimage Centre in the Italian city of Bari. In his words, Benedict XVI “is open-minded towards dialogue between the two churches”. Prikhodko went on to note that an example of coordination between Russia and the Vatican on cultural, civilisational and moral issues was their joint work on the court case “Lautsi vs Italy”, in which Russia put itself forward as a third party supporting the Italian government in this suit. In turn, the Vatican has made this suit a very important part of its foreign policy. In this regard, the parties will discuss the situation in light of the decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights and its verdict in the case, said Prikhodko. According to information that Prikhodko released, the meeting at the Vatican will also focus on the interaction between educational institutions, cooperation in historical research, cooperation in humanitarian and social matters, and in cultural and artistic endeavours. Amongst other things, the pope and president will discuss initiatives in the cultural exchanges to be held during the Year of Russian Culture and Language in Italy and the Year of Italian Culture and Language in Russia. These activities will start the day before the Vatican visit, jointly opened by President Medvedev and President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy. The Vatican intends to send for exhibition in Moscow Caravaggio’s The Entombment of Christ from the collection of the Vatican Museums, as well as hosting a Russian exhibition, Faberge: Sacred Images, Interfax reported.
15 February 2011
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2011/02/15/44544855.html
Editor’s Note:
Much of what this middle-level bureaucrat said is identical to what the “anonymous source” told the Reuters reporter… in short, an underling shooting off his mouth, nothing more. Asia News gets the soggy cardboard box, again, they’re hobbled by their preconceptions, ergo, their reportage on Russia is crank and suspect. There’s going to be a meeting of the pope and patriarch? Don’t hold your breath… it’s not only undignified, it’s funny as all hell to everyone around you. Pass the jug and wryly smile… it’s still the same ol’ fallen world out there. Prosit!
BMD
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