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Artemis I Path to the Pad: The Most Powerful Rocket NASA Has Ever Built

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NASA
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Artemis I Path to the Pad: The Most Powerful Rocket NASA Has Ever Built

Have you ever wondered what it takes to assemble the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built? Watch documentary footage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s transformation into the over-300-foot-tall launch vehicle that will return humanity to the Moon.

Starting with manufacturing and ending with stacking operations inside NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building, this is only the beginning of SLS’s path to the launch pad.

Video Transcript:

NASA is preparing for a journey back to the Moon, and after that, we’re setting our sights on Mars.


To get there, we need tons of rocket power, coming from our Space Launch System.

When it comes to how much power this thing can push out, this thing is massive. It’s going to be mesmerizing to stand next to this massive vehicle.

The immensity of it, knowing that this thing is going to be propelling a rocket into space and around the moon.

Hang on, it’s probably best to start back at the beginning.


It all started in Promontory, Utah, where Northrop Grumman manufactured each of the segments that make up the rocket’s boosters.

After a 10-day, cross-country journey, the booster segments were delivered to Kennedy Space Center’s Rotation, Processing, and Surge Facility, or RPSF. If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the same facility that was used to process shuttle booster segments, which all came from Utah.

Then, they’re ready to go into the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, where the rest of the motor segments are assembled and stacked on top of the mobile launcher.

The one thing about this vehicle, of course, it’s produced all across the country. The components all come here. They may be built around the country, but they all come together right here in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Our SLS rocket will generate 8.8 million pounds of thrust to break through Earth’s gravitational pull. That’s more power than the Space Shuttle and the Saturn V rocket used.

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems are responsible for assembling the boosters that will house the majority of that power. The twin solid rocket boosters, made up of 10 total motor segments, will stand nearly 17 stories tall when fully stacked.

First, teams inspect and prep the hardware. Next, they’re ready to start stacking the segments – a process that takes time, patience, and a steady hand.

Once we have everything done in High Bay 4, we pick up the segment with a 325 foot crane, pick it up over the 16th-floor crossover to where you see it now, and we begin stacking the segments. Each segment we lift over the 16th-floor crossover and stack it. Once we stack it, we put it on top of the segment below, and we put about 177 pins all the way around the whole thing to attach each segment.



And, the pressure to perform the operation flawlessly can test the team’s nerves.

There’s a tremendous responsibility involved with processing flight hardware like this. It’s nerve-racking at times, but it’s exciting. There’s zero appetite for risk in a program like this.

We have a bunch of shuttle guys that are here to show us along the way. If we get stuck, they’re there to guide us. At the beginning of stacking, it was very of nerve-racking. With each segment that we stacked, a little bit of the nerve comes off. By the third or fourth one, it’s easy-peasy. We’re pushing through, all the jitters are gone, and we’re just excited to get finished with it.

With all 10 booster segments now fully stacked on the mobile launcher, there’s just one final piece of the puzzle to round out the power needed to get SLS off the ground and send it to space: core stage.


After a 900-mile voyage aboard NASA’s Pegasus barge, the SLS core stage – the
largest rocket stage NASA has ever built – has made it to Kennedy Space Center.
Today is a huge day. This is the last piece of big hardware that we need for Artemis 1 hard processing. And we’ve just been waiting a long time for this part of the vehicle to arrive so that we can get going on the next steps of our stacking operations.

Standing an impressive 212 feet tall, and weighing a whopping 188,000 pounds, the core stage came all the way from Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The core stage went through round after round of rigorous testing, including what’s called its Green Run series, truly putting its performance to the test.

The series involved eight rounds that looked at systems individually before culminating in pure power. With over 700,000 gallons of propellant flowing through the core stage, and its RS-25 engines firing for eight minutes straight, the successful final test resulted in some big emotions from the team.

We cried, we laughed, and we cheered because it was so emotional to see
the years of culmination coming through.


And, that victory did not come without overcoming a few challenges, proving why at NASA we test as frequently and as hard as we do.

We actually did a one-minute test on the first hot-fire test and then we learned a lot from that. We understood the vehicle more, we made a few changes, and then we got back into our second hot-fire test.

There was a lot of joy and workmanship and ownership of being able to work that process and be able to get it done. When we went for the second hot fire, and we went for the 500 seconds, that was just pure exhilaration.

Following its arrival at Kennedy, teams moved the core stage into the VAB, where it was lifted by crane and placed in between the twin solid rocket boosters.



Serving as the backbone of the rocket, the core stage will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help send the Orion spacecraft on its trip around the Moon.

Essentially, we have these two massive cranes that are located inside of the VAB, where we go ahead and we pick two points at the end of the core stage – one on the back portion of it and on the front portion of it – we lift it up to the point where we’re able to transition it from a horizontal position over into a vertical position, and then essentially bring it way up to the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building and cross it over into High Bay 3, in which we ensure that we don’t damage any part of the vehicle as it’s incoming into its position.

NASA’s largest rocket stage, now fully integrated with the twin boosters, is ready to get Orion off the Earth. But, it will take one more critical component to give the capsule that extra push it needs to journey tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon.

With just a single RL10 engine, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, or ICPS, will provide over 20,000 pounds of thrust to send Orion on the ride of a lifetime.

To connect the ICPS with the rocket stack, teams next added the launch vehicle stage adapter to the core stage, followed by the ICPS.


The ICPS is the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and essentially, it’s somewhat of the upper stage of the entire SLS vehicle. And what that will do is propel the Orion capsule along with the service module over to its destination, which at this point in time will be the Moon.

But, before the spacecraft can be attached to the rocket, teams will conduct a series of tests to ensure all of SLS’s components communicate properly with one another, plus the ground systems equipment, the Launch Control System, and its software.

Adding to the challenge, those methods for testing have changed significantly since the days of the Apollo Program.

Initially built in the 1960s to house the assembly of the Saturn V, the largest rocket made by humans at the time for Apollo missions to the Moon, the VAB has undergone some major modifications to support several different kinds of rockets and spacecraft, whether they’re going into low-Earth orbit or venturing to deep space.

This high bay was Shuttle heritage. Before that it was Apollo heritage. There’s upgrades that are still occurring today to include upgrades that will support Artemis II and Artemis III.


When SLS blasts off from Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B, Orion isn’t the only thing it will be sending to space. Hitching a ride with Orion are tiny, shoe-box sized satellites – called CubeSats – that were loaded into the Orion stage adapter in Kennedy’s Space Station Processing Facility.

The extra room in the stage adapter provides a rare opportunity to send those CubeSats to deep space to conduct science and research of their own.

And, these CubeSats are on tap to study a range of topics – from the Moon, to asteroids, to the effect of space radiation on living organisms.

At this point, the stack is nearly complete – all that’s missing is the spacecraft itself, which has been in the Launch Abort System Facility getting outfitted with one of the spacecraft’s most crucial pieces.

The launch abort system is kind of that pointy solid rocket motor that’s at the top of Orion, and it’s there to protect the crew in the event of an emergency so it’s a very important system. Fully integrated with its launch abort system, the Orion spacecraft slowly makes its way to the VAB in the overnight hours.


Upon its arrival, teams carefully lift and lower it onto the Orion stage adapter. With this operation, stacking the most powerful rocket the world has ever seen is complete – and, what a sight to behold.

We’re trying to decide what does exploration look like in the future when we retire Shuttle? You know, what does our nation want to do? Where do we want to go? How do we want to explore?

To see it go from those days of words and ideas in people’s heads to the three programs we have today and the Artemis mission and all the hardware that’s been produced in factories ranging from, big aerospace companies to little mom and pop shops all over the country and the world, it’s unbelievable. I’m just really proud.

Before SLS and Orion can launch our nation into a new era of space exploration, a series of tests need to take place inside the VAB, validating the rocket and spacecraft as an integrated system and paving the way for one, final milestone: wet dress rehearsal.

The 322-foot-tall, fully integrated rocket will roll out to Launch Pad 39B for a full test, allowing the launch team to run through a full launch countdown but stopping just short of firing the engines.


I think we’re going to be so proud when it rolls out of the VAB. I will personally be probably crying a little bit because it’s such a big event. We worked so hard to get us to the day of rolling out. I’m probably going to be bawling when we launch it, see it through my tears, because it’s just a culmination of so much work from everybody.

We owe the advancement of science and research and technology to what we’re doing here. And, this is a big opportunity for us as a nation to reclaim our spot at the forefront of human space flight and exploration.

Artemis is going to be a major part of history. It most definitely is going to rock the space industry when it flies.

This program is going to go to the Moon. It’s going to go to Mars. We need that. This country needs that. This world needs that.

I’m so excited. It’s going to be a lot of work, a lot of work ahead of us, but Artemis I is going to surprise everybody.

Ukraine: More than one million tonnes of grain exported under Black Sea Grain Initiative

By
United Nations News
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Ukraine: More than one million tonnes of grain and food items exported under Black Sea deal
Exports of Ukrainian grain and other foodstuffs under a landmark agreement amid the ongoing war, have surpassed one million metric tonnes, the UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Amir Abdulla, reported on Saturday.

This “remarkable achievement” was made possible through the collective efforts and hard work of the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), he said, referring to the Istanbul-based mechanism that monitors ships’ movements to ensure their compliance with the Initiative.

The JCC brings together representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye and the UN – the signatories of the landmark agreement.

An important initiative

Operations began on 1 August, and the JCC has already enabled dozens of voyages through the Black Sea. On Saturday, teams conducted the 100th inspection on board approved cargo vessels.  UN Secretary-General António Guterres oversaw the departure of two ships involved in the operation when he was in the region last week.

“As the world grapples with food insecurity and high prices, the importance of this Initiative is clear. As increased volumes of Ukraine’s agricultural production are now heading to market by sea, confidence has grown in the food and shipping industries, driving down prices and reducing risk,” said Mr. Abdulla.

He recalled that while the agreement covers commercial operations for the resumption of exports, the World Food Programme (WFP) has also been able to restart purchasing Ukrainian wheat for its humanitarian operations in countries such as Ethiopia and Yemen.

“These are all important first steps but much more needs to be done,” he stressed. “Across the world, high prices in fuel and fertilizer, climate change and conflict are placing immense pressure on farmers and consumers alike and driving millions more into poverty and hunger.”

Silos still full

The Black Sea Grain Initiative has created some space in Ukrainian silos stocked with millions of tonnes of produce from previous harvests. Yet, much more grain needs to be exported to accommodate the new harvest, he added.

“Equally important and urgent is the export of fertilizer, including ammonia, under this Initiative, so that farmers across the world can continue food production for next year at an affordable cost,” said Mr. Abdulla.

He described the million tonnes that have been shipped so far as just a beginning.

“The world cannot afford to have food and fertilizer held up by anything. Every shipment cleared through this route helps to calm markets, boost food supplies and keep farmers producing.” 

The Science of Beards

By
SciTechDaily.com
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0
The Science of Beards



As World Beard Day (September 3) comes around again, and the planet gets ready to celebrate fabulous facial hair, here are a few things that scientists have discovered about beards.


Beards are undeniably manly

Multiple studies[1] have[2] found[3] that men look more masculine, dominant, aggressive, and strong when they wear a beard. Indeed, men also report feeling[4] more masculine when they have facial hair.

Research has also shown that men who choose to be bearded[5] tend to have higher testosterone levels than those who choose to be clean-shaven, and they are more likely to be hostile sexists,[6] in other words, to favor the patriarchy and male dominance, and to think that women belong in the kitchen. These men may be using beards (and muscles) to reinforce gender roles.


Beards may be used to intimidate rivals

In his 1970s book, “Evolution of human threat display organs,” Professor R. D. Guthrie theorized that beards could be used to intimidate male rivals by increasing perceptions of the size of the jaw and enhancing aggressive and threatening jaw-thrusting behaviors. Additionally, research has revealed that people can recognize expressions of anger faster[7] on a bearded face than on a clean-shaven face, but are slower to recognize expressions like happiness or sadness.

The knowledge that beards serve as a signal of formidability may help to explain why men like a beard on themselves, but not on other men.[8] They need not worry. Although some researchers[9] have suggested that beards evolved to protect a man’s face by absorbing and dispersing the force of any blows he might get on the chin, others[10] have found that bearded men are no more likely to win a fight than their clean-shaven peers.

Beards add maturity (and employability)

Beards often make men look older, more mature,[11] of higher social status,[12] and more credible.[13] This can be especially useful for job-seeking men who look young for their age.[14] In fact, while past research[15] has found that men with beards are less likely to be offered a job than their clean-shaven counterparts, times change, and more recent research[16] shows that men with beards are perceived as having more expertise than clean-shaven men and, as such, are more likely to be invited to a job interview.


Beards are especially useful to those working in advice-giving roles. In 2020, assistant professor of marketing Dr. Sarah Mittal was inspired to look into[17] beards by her husband, the boyish-faced co-owner of an IT company who didn’t think that his clients took him seriously without whiskers. In one experiment, she and her marketing colleague, David Silvera, asked 127 people to imagine that they were shopping for a tablet or laptop. Each person was shown a randomly selected image of a “salesman” with one of four types of facial hair — clean-shaven, a standard mustache, a handlebar mustache, or a full beard — and asked to rate the man’s expertise and trustworthiness. The bearded version was always rated the best: 11.6% higher for trustworthiness than the clean-shaven version, and 10.6% higher for expertise.

In another experiment, the researchers placed a Facebook ad for a real business and used a photo of either a bearded or a clean-shaven sales representative. The bearded representative produced a much higher click-through rate — 2.66% — than the clean-shaven version. Higher, indeed, than the industry averages of about 1.04% (technology) and 0.71% (industrial services). The study also revealed that customers view bearded salesmen as being more expert and trustworthy than their stubbled, mustached, or clean-shaven counterparts, regardless of the salesman’s age, race, ethnicity, attractiveness, or likability.

Beards may add sex appeal

Beards not only cover the signs of aging, but they also slow down the aging process in the skin by protecting the wearer from the sun.[18] As well as protecting men from wrinkles, age spots, and shaving-induced acne, beards can hide the signs of disease[19] and enhance the sex appeal of men with small, weak-looking jaws.[20]

Like most of our optional accessories, facial hair goes in and out of fashion. Although beards may have been incredibly unpopular[21] in the past, they are much more well-liked now. However, research on whether women find bearded men attractive is mixed. Some studies[22] suggest[11] that women find a face displaying the ability to grow facial hair more attractive than a face with a full beard, but that men with full beards are preferred for long-term relationships.[23] Some research[24] finds that women prefer men whose beardedness matches that of their fathers (and that homosexual men prefer men whose beardedness matches their own). In the end, what is appealing to one person is not to another.[25]

Population trends in facial hair have been shown to increase when there are more single men than single women, suggesting that beards are being used to display masculinity[26] to prospective mates. Some people[28] also believe that the recent rise in beardedness may be due to the tough financial conditions: men seeking to attract mates in today’s harsh economy may be dialing their masculinity up to 11. However, research[27] has also found that the more beards there are, the less attractive they become. The scientific term for this is “negative frequency-dependent sexual selection,” which, simply put, means that we tend to prefer mates who are rare or unique because they are thought to have a genetic advantage. In a society that has reached peak beard, one more man with facial hair is nothing to write home about.

Beards are not popular with young children

Although research has revealed that people think that men with full beards look trustworthy[29] and good,[30] and that women think that they would make better fathers[22] than clean-shaven men, especially when they have children of their own,[31] children as young as 21 months seem to think that men with beards look strong but very unattractive,[32] and their dislike only grows stronger with age. However, around the age of puberty, their views changed and they start to like them more. Personal experience counts, too: children with bearded fathers generally judge facial hair more positively.



Still, to a child, a man with a beard is not to be trusted. Further research has shown that kids are more likely to pick a bearded man to help them with feats of strength, like fighting a dragon,[33] but prefer a clean-shaven ally when they need someone reliable to help them hide a treasure map.

Beards are good for your health

A well-groomed beard can provide a man with several health benefits. For a start, beards can fight allergies.[34] They also keep the wearer warm. So efficiently, in fact, that there is a theory[35] that male pattern baldness has developed among humans in an attempt to compensate for the growth of a beard by promoting heat loss through the scalp.

That said, beards tend to have a bad rep when it comes to cleanliness. According to one small 2019 study,[36] you can find more germs in a beard than in a dog’s fur. It pays to remember, however, that the vast majority of bacteria are not harmful, and quite a few are actually beneficial. In fact, research has found that beard bacteria could be developed into antibiotics,[37] something that would actually be very handy since our current stock is rapidly becoming ineffective.


Additionally, research[38] has also found that clean-shaven men are more than 10 percent more likely to be harboring colonies of Staphylococcus aureus — a bacterium that causes skin infections, respiratory infections, and food poisoning — on their faces than their whiskered counterparts, and more than three times as likely to be carrying MRSA around on their freshly shaven cheeks.

A recent survey[39] of 919 women found that those who were repulsed by creatures like lice and fleas were less likely to find bearded men attractive. Interestingly, however, those who were worried about picking up harmful bacteria or viruses were more likely to find bearded men attractive. The researchers surmised that facial hair was either being used as a marker of health by those women or that it covered up the areas of the face that could communicate ill health.

According to U.S. psychologist Robert Pellegrini, “Inside every clean-shaven man, there is a beard screaming to be let out.”[1] Those men who choose to listen to their inner beard can definitely look forward to a feeling of enhanced masculinity and fewer facial bacteria.

References:

  1. psycnet.apa.org/record/1974-00999-001
  2. pms.sagepub.com/content/68/3/921.full.pdf
  3. doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(95)00130-1
  4. doi.org/10.2466/pms.1986.62.3.769
  5. doi.org/10.1080/03014468800009551
  6. doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0637-7
  7. doi.org/10.1177/0956797619834876
  8. doi.org/10.1177/1474704920961728
  9. doi.org/10.1093/iob/obaa005
  10. doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.11.004
  11. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.05.007
  12. doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arr214
  13. doi.org/10.1080/13527260903157383
  14. metro.co.uk/2014/01/09/having-a-beard-will-make-you-more-employable-and-heres-the-proof-4256788/
  15. doi.org/10.2466/pr0.2003.92.1.201
  16. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07293-7_25
  17. doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.11.031
  18. doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncr418
  19. wayback.archive-it.org/16107/20210313063918/https://blog.wellcomelibrary.org/2015/11/facial-hair-in-disguise/
  20. doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.08.004
  21. doi.org/10.2466/pms.1977.44.2.533
  22. doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2013.02.003
  23. doi.org/10.1111/jeb.12958
  24. doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.10.007
  25. doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ars211
  26. doi.org/10.1023/A:1012515505895
  27. doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0958
  28. bbc.com/news/science-environment-27023992
  29. doi.org/10.4236/psych.2014.53029
  30. doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420240606
  31. doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.04.005
  32. doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.06.002
  33. npr.org/2019/07/30/746616246/kids-see-bearded-men-as-strong-but-unattractive-study-finds
  34. yorktest.com/blog/can-having-a-beard-or-moustache-affect-my-allergies/
  35. doi.org/10.1007/BF00636601
  36. doi.org/10.1007/s00330-018-5648-z
  37. medicalnewstoday.com/articles/306321
  38. doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2014.02.010
  39. doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191209


Pakistan: Deadly and devastating floods

By
EuropeanTimes
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0
Pakistan: Deadly and devastating floods

The Minister of Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, who on Wednesday spoke of a disaster of “rare magnitude”, announced a state of emergency on Friday and appealed for international assistance.

Summer monsoons are a seasonal rainfall phenomenon that affects various countries in the Asian continent, including Pakistan. The rains last throughout the summer, often until September.

Since June, Pakistan has been affected by unusually heavy monsoon rains. More than 900 people have been killed and 33 million people have been “severely affected” by the flooding caused by the rains.

Monster floods have killed more than 900 people and affected more than 33 million people, the government announced Friday.
Nearly 220,000 homes have been completely destroyed, and 500,000 severely damaged, the national disaster management agency said.

There are numerous videos showing the extent of the phenomenon and the heavy flooding that accompanied it. Videos posted on social networks on Friday showed buildings, installed near rivers in flood, and bridges destroyed by the floods. The regions of Balochistan (West) and Sindh (South) are the most affected, although the torrential rains have affected almost the entire country.

EU allocates €1.8 million in humanitarian assistance for flood victims

The EU is providing €1,800,000 humanitarian aid to families affected by flash floods across large parts of Pakistan. The aid funding will assist affected people in some of the hardest-hit districts of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, said: “Unusually heavy monsoon rains led to deadly flash floods in Pakistan. While the assessment on the ground is ongoing, we expect more than one million people having lost their homes and in need of direct assistance.  The EU contribution underlines our commitment to the people of Pakistan and enables our partners to provide life-saving aid to those most affected.”  

The funding is allocated to EU humanitarian partners operating on the ground to meet immediate needs of flood stricken families, including through the provision of temporary emergency shelter, food and clean water, cash transfers and primary healthcare services. This latest funding comes in addition to last week’s allocation of €350,000 in aid to help people in Pakistan’s flood-affected province of Balochistan.

Indian parliamentarians to seek Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama

By
Shyamal Sinha
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0
Indian parliamentarians to seek Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama
Tibetan MPs hosted a dinner reception at New Delhi for their Indian counterparts in December2021 (Photo/TPiE)
The Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India) is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex

By  Shyamal Sinha

The All Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet (APIPFT) will urge the Indian government to confer the prestigious Bharat Ratna award for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama, along with a Parliament session to be addressed by him. Sikkim Democratic Front’s Rajya Sabha MP Hishey Lachungpa proposed a petition by the MPs seeking the Bharat Ratna for Dalai Lama. The forum has decided to also urge all the MPs to address and resolve the ongoing issues faced by Tibetans living in India.

The forum met earlier this month where convener Sujeet Kumar expressed his objection to “the intervention of the Chinese Communist regime in the reincarnation of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,” highlighting that only the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people have the right to choose in the matter. According to the minutes of the meeting acquired by the Indian Express, senior BJP leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi proposed a bill on the lines of the ‘Tibetan Policy Support Act’ that was passed in the US.

Most importantly, MP Kumar has prepared a Private Member’s Bill seeking a Tibet Policy Act, which requests the government to appoint a special coordinator within the Ministry of External Affairs for Tibet-related issues, in order to promote “substantive dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama and his representatives or democratically-elected leaders of the Tibetan community, among other things”, according to the Indian Express report.

The bill opposes any move made by the Chinese government to interfere in succession of any Buddhist leaders; the Tibetans are entitled to “select, educate, and venerate Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders in a manner inconsistent with Tibetan Buddhism in which the succession or identification of Tibetan Buddhist lamas, including the Dalai Lama.” The bill also seeks government funding, not less than 3 million, in the Union Budget to assist Tibetans with the democratic governance undertaking in India.

APIPFT was revived last year and attended a dinner hosted by the Dharamshala-based Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile in December, which the Chinese embassy denounced as colluding with “Tibetan independent forces”. At the Time, BJP MP Kumar responded by citing democratic values, “Let them react… The Chinese Embassy has no locus standi to oppose, because we are MPs in a democratic country. We have every right to pass resolutions and the Chinese Embassy does not have to tell us what to do.” The members of the forum also have plans to participate in the Tibetan Democracy Day celebrations next month.

The forum has 10 members consisting of lawmakers from India’s ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Janata Dal (United), among others.

Apart from the APIPFT, India’s former Union minister Chanderesh Kumari, former Himachal Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister Nitesh Kumar, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, the Tibet Support Group of Arunachal Pradesh, (TSGAP) Indian Parliamentary Forum of Tibet and the Rashtriya Syawamsevak Sangh (RSS) among others have all urged New Delhi to honour the Dalai Lama with Bharat Ratna.

To date, the highest civilian award in India has been conferred to only two non-Indians, Baloch leader Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan(1987) and Nelson Mandela(1990).

Orange has amazing benefits that we don’t even know about

By
Gaston de Persigny
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0

In a time of ocean voyages and rare medical advances, sailors feared scurvy, a disease that affected them most. Today we know that scurvy is nothing more than a vitamin C deficiency in our body and that if you just eat an orange a day, it can be cured.

Check out all the benefits that eating an orange a day can offer your body to keep you healthy:

1. Helps gut health

According to some studies, daily consumption of oranges can have a positive effect on our gut microbiota. It also causes a drop in glucose, insulin sensitivity and LDL (bad cholesterol). Orange juice acts as a prebiotic and promotes the growth of intestinal bacteria, which is important for our health.

2. It can help you lose weight

To achieve our weight loss goals, we need to exercise and eat a balanced diet, which means eating all the nutrients our bodies need to function properly. Fortunately for us, oranges are very rich in essential nutrients; by eating just one orange a day, we can cover some of them.

An average-sized orange provides the body with only 60 calories. The fruit also has 3 grams of fiber, which provides benefits such as better gut health, good cholesterol and a lower risk of heart disease, and it also slows down the way our body digests sugar. Fiber can also help us feel fuller for longer. A diet rich in it can help reduce appetite and calorie intake, leading to weight loss. When eating an orange, be sure to consume not only the juice, but also the orange peel, as this is where most of the fiber is found.

3. Assists your body in creating collagen.

One orange provides about 70 milligrams of vitamin C. This vital nutrient also has amazing benefits, such as improving iron absorption, fighting inflammation and lowering blood pressure, and it also helps build collagen in our bones.

Collagen is a protein that our body produces. It provides structural support to tissues and aids in important processes such as tissue repair and immune response. As we age, collagen production slows down and elastin is lost, resulting in aging and our skin looking saggy and dry.

It’s not possible to completely stop collagen loss because it’s part of aging, but we can try to slow down the process, and eating an orange a day can make a difference.

4. May be helpful in maintaining good vision.

Researchers say that if you eat an orange a day, you’re more likely to have a 60% reduced risk of developing macular degeneration, an eye disease that can blur your central vision to the point where even glasses won’t help you. to see. This condition can form due to the natural aging process.

Vitamin C is very important for our vision as it contributes to healthy blood vessels in our eyes and can help fight cataracts. If we want to have good vision in the future, it might be a good idea to start monitoring our daily intake of vitamin C.

5. Protects important organs, such as the heart and brain

According to a study, normal levels of vitamin C in our blood are associated with improved focus, memory and attention. Oranges can help our minds stay sharp as we age, and one medium-sized orange provides the recommended daily intake of vitamin C that our bodies need to stay healthy. This essential vitamin is also a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals that can cause damage to our brain cells.

A review of 10 studies found that consumption of orange juice may be helpful in improving certain risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This means that this delicious juice can help prevent heart disease, which is the number one cause of premature death.

Some symptoms of scurvy or vitamin C deficiency

Scurvy is a condition that is very rare because most of us get enough vitamin C from our daily diet, but it has happened before. Vitamin C helps our body produce collagen, and if not enough collagen is produced in our body, the tissue begins to break down.

Some of the symptoms of scurvy are fatigue, lethargy, anemia, gum disease, tooth loss, poor wound healing, depression, swelling and bone pain.

Photo by Pixabay:

Notes on the Council of Florence, 1438-39

By
Petar Gramatikov
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From Anonimous Byzantine Chronicle #104:

The translation is based on the edition of P. Schreiner – “Short Byzantine Chronicles” (Peter Schreiner. Die byzantinischen Kleinchroniken. Teil I-III. Wien. 1977-79) – item 1 p.661-663 (Greek text) and item 3 page 135 (German translation).

Manuscripts: Athen, Benaki-Museum, 19, 417V.

Editions: Lambros, Siloge Nr. 115 (S.156-157).

Text:

1. In the year 6946 — 1437 — December 21, arrived the Patriarch of Constantinople, Joseph1, of Modon, and 29 metropolitans and bishops, and with them also other priests from the clergy of “Holy Sophia”, abbots and laymen and despot Dimitar2. They all arrived with one imperial galley and 3 of the Pope’s. They stayed 14 days in Modon.

2. In the same month, on the 28th, the emperor Cyrus John3 came from Pylos with an army. And on January 3, the patriarch left and all the members of the synod went to Pylos, where Emperor John was.

3. In 1439, November 16, arrived in Modon on the ship Gabriel Barbarigo, Emperor John and all the members of the synod. And he moved the emperor and his brother by land to Mantene.

4. And on November 23, the same year, the Latin (Frankish)4 bishop with his priests celebrated mass. And the Roman5 bishop and clergy did not arrange any mass on that very day; the Latins (Franks) and the Romans make only a hug in the Latin meat. And on the 24th of this month, in the church of Saint John the Theologian, the Roman bishop Josephus, with the secular name Kontaratos, celebrated mass, and all the clergy and the whole city, who live inside and from the surrounding area, Latins and Romans. And they also took consecrated bread – the commandant of the fortress and all the servants and their wives, in the same way as the Romans.

5. The reconciliation of the churches took place in the year 14396, during the happy Pope of Rome, Eugenius.

6. The Patriarch of Constantinople died in Florence,

7. and Metropolitan of Sardis.

8. The Latins separated from us and were excommunicated in the year 62867.

Notes:

1. Patriarch Joseph II Shishman (1416-1439).

2. Brother of the Byzantine Emperor John VIII.

3. Emperor John VIII Paleologus (1425-1448).

4. In the Greek text the Latins are called Franks.

5. Schreiner has Roman, which creates some confusion. During the Middle Ages, foreign authors (including Bulgarian) usually called the Byzantines “Greeks”. The Byzantines themselves, who were considered the successors of the Eastern Roman Empire, were called Romans. To avoid confusion in the Bulgarian language, the Byzantines are usually referred to as Romai instead of Romans.

6. It is about the concluded ecclesiastical union of the Ferrero-Florentine Council (ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church, 1438–45).

7. We are talking about the Great Schism that occurred in 1054, during which the Eastern and Western churches split.

Photo: Icon of the 70 Apostles

Traveling with your best friend – where in Europe are the most dog-friendly?

By
Gaston de Persigny
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0

As part of the family, the dog deserves a vacation no less than we do. Instead of searching for the best pet-friendly hotels, plan your trip so that your friend is part of the adventure. There are many opportunities, and some that are a great opportunity to discover a new destination.

Europe is the best and closest choice, whether by car, camper or by plane, you can always experience memorable emotions.

Remember that your pet must be vaccinated, dewormed, microchipped and have a passport. This is quite enough to carelessly indulge in the journey. Keep in mind that if you’ve decided to visit museums and cultural centers, this can’t happen with your dog, but you’ll find so many other different ways to entertain yourself.

Ireland and Scotland

The Irish don’t just love dogs – they adore them. It is no coincidence that they also have a breed – the Irish Wolfhound. The blissfully gentle giant is an ancient breed that existed in Ireland as far back as the 4th century. Even just this short canine reference can give you an idea of ​​what to expect in terms of treatment for your furry pet. There are even tour operators here that specialize in finding the best for your dog. Special insurances are also available. Everywhere you will be well received and appreciate the Irish spirit. The Scots also offer excellent opportunities. Besides hotels and restaurants, you can even visit the castles with your dog. Mandatory with a leash, and if it is of a larger breed, with a muzzle. In Norway, you can enjoy endless expanses and routes worthy of any adventurer

Switzerland

It is among the most dog-friendly. Most of the owners of the hotels and apartments for rent do not mind having a four-legged guest. The only requirement is that you have made a reservation in advance. Restaurants, except those with a Michelin star, will also welcome you. If you choose Bern, you will enjoy opportunities for long walks around the city and its surroundings. Lake Yoshinen is 66 kilometers from the capital. It is mesmerizingly beautiful and worth a visit. Every other city in Switzerland will also offer you its hospitality.

Norway

There isn’t a dog or a person here that doesn’t feel at home wherever they come from. Norwegians value our friends and want them to be as well as we do. If the dog is on a leash, you have followed all the important regulations for deworming and vaccination, you can be together almost anywhere. In Norway, your dog will be the ruler of the forest. Endless expanses and routes worthy of any adventurer.

Italy and France

They are always the perfect travel option. And when you head out with your pet, there’s nothing to worry about. Italians are not as affectionate towards dogs as the Irish, but they are wonderful companions, even on four legs. This means they will enjoy your dog as much as they welcome you. And if you decide to leave him for an hour or two at the hotel, they’ll make sure he’s not bored. The Abruzzo region, for example, is the perfect destination for you and your dog. It’s only a little over an hour’s drive from Rome, and it’s not that well known to tourists. There are three national parks in the region. The trails are great for long walks and you can enjoy the architecture of the small Italian villages. If you don’t have a car, the train is the most convenient transport, and dogs are allowed. Local hotels don’t mind accommodating you and your dog. In Italy, there is also a culinary surprise for your pet that will not be offered anywhere else – ice cream for dogs. In almost all gelaterias, he can try different flavors. In France, you can even take your dog to the beach and try specialties together at one of the chic restaurants along the Seine if you choose Paris. The Abruzzo region is the perfect destination for you and your pet

 Germany and Austria

Both countries have excellent options for dogs, in every city. You can travel in public transport, visit the parks and gardens of some of the palaces. Every restaurant and bar will take care of your pet by giving you a bowl of water, others also offer food. In Austria, dogs are equal citizens. Once they have documents, they also have rights. They can enter stores, even some of the big grocery chains. If you use the subway, your dog must be muzzled.

Spain

Barcelona is one of the dog friendly cities. Your dog can safely travel on public transport, be with you on the beach and swim freely without being penalized. Dogs are welcome in the restaurants.

Photo by Ivan Babydov:

Sergei Rachmaninov: “My Motherland determined my temperament and worldview”

By
News desk
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Recognized already in pre-revolutionary Russia, Rachmaninov and in the West after emigration quickly became popular and in demand: tour, big fees, attention of the public and the press. But if you get to know his fate closer, it becomes clear: behind this external success story lies a completely different story, full of pain of parting with his native land, loneliness among strangers and at the same time – inexhaustible faith. To God and Russia.

“I am a Russian composer,” Rachmaninov said about himself, “my Motherland determined my temperament and worldview. My music is the brainchild of my temperament, so it is Russian.”

Condensed milk from the maestro

Early twenties of the twentieth century. In the USSR, devastation and famine. Composer Mikhail Slonov asked his friend to pick up a parcel at the post office: 49 pounds of flour (1 pound is almost half a kilo), 25 pounds of rice, 3 pounds of tea, 10 pounds of fat, 10 pounds of sugar, 20 cans of condensed milk … In total, about 53 kilograms. The post office clerk was surprised: “Who is this Rachmaninoff? Is he going to feed half of Moscow?!

Pianist Elena Gnesina recalled: “Rakhmaninov began to help Moscow musicians through the American organization APA, sending food parcels. Some of them came to my address for transfer to other persons, including A.T. Grechaninov and others whom I do not remember. But one day a double package arrived for me personally. I was very pleased with Sergey Vasilievich’s attention to me and I was happy that I could treat the entire staff of our school to a satisfying meal. I remember that we drank coffee with condensed milk, ate white pies and sweet buns. Everyone was happy and infinitely grateful to Rachmaninov.”

Sergey Vasilievich sent 20-30 such parcels monthly. He fed and provided money for poets and writers, musicians and artists. Stanislavsky, before the 1922 tour of the Moscow Art Theater began in Europe and America, like everyone who was starving in Moscow, signed for receiving humanitarian assistance from Rachmaninov: “I certify that the products I received will be used by me personally and will not be sold or exchanged.”

“I lost myself”

Parting with Russia became a bleeding wound for Sergei Rachmaninov, from which he could not recover until his last days.

By nature, closed, sensitive, prone to depression, at first he did not communicate with foreigners abroad, he surrounded himself exclusively with Russian people and practically did not come into contact with the “outside world”. He was in pain and hard.

The departure divided his life into two halves not only geographically, but also creatively: in 25 years in Russia, the composer created 3 concerts, 3 operas, 2 symphonies, 80 romances, the poems “The Bells” and “Isle of the Dead”, “The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom”, “All-Night Vigil” and much more. And when he left, he was silent for many years. In total, in exile, he wrote 6 works, and 4 were started in Russia.

“Having lost my homeland, I lost myself. The exile, who has lost his musical roots, the traditions of his native soil, has no desire to create, no other consolation remains, except for the indestructible silence … memories, ”he wrote.

What was Russia for him? What was his heart aching about? Of course, about the places where he grew up, where he received the most vivid and deep impressions in his childhood and youth. About loved ones. About language and culture… But not only. Russia for Rachmaninoff was inextricably linked with the Orthodox faith. It is no coincidence that he considered the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” and “All-Night Vigil”.

Four silver weeping notes

“For the strongest musical impressions, I have to thank my grandmother,” Sergei Vasilyevich recalled. At the age of nine, Seryozha Rachmaninov entered the junior department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In the capital, he lived in a strange family, but for the holidays, his grandmother-godmother Sofya Alexandrovna Butakova took him to Veliky Novgorod.

She was a deeply religious woman, she took her grandson to church, gave communion, took her to the monastery, where there was a good choir. There, the boy, most likely, first heard about the canons of osmosis – “angelic singing”, as they called it in Russia.

In his grandmother’s house, he often heard old songs and chants, which she knew by heart. Seryozha also met the collector of Russian epics, the harpist Trofim Ryabinin. And in the mornings, the shepherd drove the flock past the grandmother’s house, playing on the birch bark.

And, of course, bells. Not far from the grandmother’s house was the temple of Theodore Stratilates, and a familiar sexton allowed Serezha to climb the bell tower. The future composer soon began to understand the ringing, the names of bells, distinguished them by their voices.

He especially remembered the chime of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral. “The bell ringers were artists,” he recalled, “four notes formed a repeating theme again and again, four weeping silver notes surrounded by an incessantly changing accompaniment … A few years later I composed a suite for two pianos … – the Sofiysky bell again sang to me cathedral.”

For the rest of his life, the composer kept in his memory the ancient Novgorod znamenny chant. And the four bell tones of Novgorod Sophia – gentle, cheerful, plaintive, formidable – sounded in his piano sonata No. 2 and the symphony-poem “The Bells”.

Rachmaninoff’s friend, composer Alexander Gedike, wrote: “He was very fond of church singing and often, even in winter, got up at seven o’clock in the morning and left for the Andronikov Monastery, where he stood in the dim huge church for a whole mass, listening to the ancient, stern chants from Oktoikh, performed by parallel monks. fifths. It made a strong impression on him.”

In 1910, Sergei Rachmaninov wrote music for the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. And five years later he completed the All-Night Vigil, his greatest creation on the themes of ancient chants of the Znamenny chant.

The first performance of the All-Night Vigil by the Synodal Choir under the direction of Nikolai Danilin took place in March 1915 in Moscow. The success was stunning. The well-known critic Florestan (Vladimir Derzhanovsky) wrote: “Perhaps never before has Rachmaninoff come so close to the people, their style, their soul, as in this work. Or maybe it is this work that speaks of the expansion of his creative flight, of the capture of new areas of the spirit by him and, consequently, of the true evolution of his strong talent.

And the Japanese pianist Sadakatsu Tsuchida, who converted to Orthodoxy, said: “Rakhmaninov is a huge wealth. In his work there is the spirit of Orthodoxy, there is the power of the Resurrection, Russia, kindness, a merciful view of the world, the memory of eternity.

Ivanovka and its inhabitants

The fatherland of Rachmaninov is, first of all, Holy Russia, believing, prayerful. But this is also a specific place, about which Sergei Vasilyevich himself wrote in exile: “Living in Russia, I constantly strove for Ivanovka. Hand on heart, I must say that I still aspire to go there.

We are talking about the estate in the Tambov province, which belonged to Rachmaninov’s aunt and mother-in-law, Varvara Satina. In his youth, having quarreled with his teacher, Professor Zverev, with whom he lived on a full board, he found refuge in the Satin family, and later married his cousin Natalia Satin and became the de facto owner of the estate.

Until 1917, all the funds that he earned from concerts and received from the publication of his works, Sergei Vasilyevich invested in Ivanovka: he built new cowsheds there, repaired the horse yard, barns, brought equipment and new breeds of livestock … More than once he helped the peasants with the housework built a local school in the village.

And in 1913, when both daughters of Rachmaninov fell ill and the doctors were already preparing their parents for the fact that the girls would not survive, a miracle happened: Ira and Tanya suddenly recovered. And in gratitude for the fact that God gave children life, the gentlemen gave the peasants of Ivanovka 209 acres of land.

The last time Rachmaninoff visited Ivanovka was in 1917.

“Leave, master, from sin!”

It was spring. The Provisional Government for the first time introduced firm, directive prices for bread when purchasing it for army needs. And fermentation was already going on among the peasants: deserters incited them to plunder, the seeds were stolen, the sowing campaign was practically disrupted.

When they came to Sergei Vasilyevich from the village, he answered questions about the land for a long time, about who now controls Russia. Then everyone dispersed peacefully. But soon several old men returned and began to persuade the master not to linger in Ivanovka, they say, they often come here “some, Lord knows who, stir up the people, get drunk”: “Go away, master, from sin!”

But he spent so much energy, invested so much money in Ivanovka, helped local residents for years! Where does this cruelty come from?

He was never on the estate again. I wanted to give it to the peasants, but there were big debts on Ivanovka … And after the October Revolution, the estate was simply expropriated.

“Now the word ‘freedom’ sounds like a mockery!”

Rachmaninoff, like many thinking creative people in Russia, greeted the February Revolution with restrained optimism – like a wind of change … He transferred all the funds from the very first concert to the needs of the army. And then he gave two more concerts in favor of the front.

However, enthusiasm soon gave way to confusion: something clearly went wrong and in the wrong direction … Rachmaninov did not categorically accept the Second Revolution. “Even under Nicholas II, I felt freer than now, but now the word “freedom” sounds like a mockery!” he wrote. Back in March, the composer tried to go abroad. Then it didn’t work out. And in December, he suddenly received permission to leave and six months later, with his wife and two daughters, he left Russia.

Formally, it was a tour – he had scheduled performances in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm. There he received several offers from America and emigrated to the United States. He was 44 years old. Rachmaninov never returned home, but all his later life in a foreign land passed with an eye on Russia.

New life

In America, he was offered the position of chief conductor of two of the best American orchestras, but Rachmaninoff decided to give up his career as a conductor. But America applauded him as a virtuoso pianist. He played great! At first, he was paid fees like ordinary guest performers – $ 500 per performance. But soon they began to pay 1000, 2000, 3000 dollars…

In 1922, Rachmaninov was able to buy a mansion on the banks of the Hudson. And he began to give about a third of his earnings to charity. And it all started with those same parcels with flour and condensed milk for friends and strangers – everyone who asks. Only a very narrow circle of people knew about the scale of assistance that Rakhmaninov provided: the personal secretary who transferred money, the person who compiled the lists of those in need, and family members. To the rest, the maestro seemed to be a closed snob, not shy about raising the bar of fees by signing new contracts. Who knows where these fees went …

“I believe in you and your plane”

Rachmaninoff performed at charity concerts both in the USA and in Europe, paid for the studies of personal scholarship holders, helped compatriots get jobs, provided orders for artists and sculptors, and bought Russian paintings. He was a member of charitable organizations helping Russian emigrant students in France and Germany, donated the proceeds from concerts to help needy Russian musicians, and transferred money to specific addresses. For example, the inventor Igor Sikorsky.

Sikorsky lived in New York and actually begged. There was little interest in airplanes at that time: there was a crisis in America. Igor Ivanovich designed his first planes literally in a chicken coop. There was no money at all.

Once Sikorsky was at a Rachmaninoff concert at Carnegie Hall. After the concert, he ran backstage with flowers in delight and … asked for help. Rachmaninov recognized him, was deeply moved: “I believe in you and your plane and I want to help!” And, without hesitation, he gave him the entire fee for his performance – $ 5,000 in an envelope: “Return when you can!” (According to another version, the composer simply bought shares of Sikorsky’s company for $5,000 and agreed to become its vice president. The risky financial transaction eventually paid off: Sikorsky’s design bureau soon gained momentum, and the inventor was able to return the money even with interest).

Another illustrative example of targeted assistance is associated with the Committee for Assistance to Russian Students in Emigration. Rachmaninoff regularly helped the Committee, and once wrote a letter there: “I heard that in France there are boarding houses in which the maintenance of one child a year costs 150 dollars. If the information is correct, then I would like to take care of one child and would be grateful if you would choose him for me and send information – his name, age and a short biography. After that, I will send you a check.”

The French immediately sent Sergey Vasilyevich a photo of Pavel Milovanov, a student of the Faculty of Chemistry at Sofia University. A capable young man became the first Rachmaninoff scholarship holder. Sergei Vasilievich annually transferred $150 to him and then, during his internship in France, he was interested in his fate. Rachmaninov also had other scholarship holders.

“Leave me alone!”

Rachmaninoff was able to provide for his family: he bought houses, rented a summer house near New York, at the end of his life he acquired land in Switzerland near Lucerne and built a villa there. The new estate was named “Senar” – Sergei and Natalia Rachmaninoff. But in his habits he was modest.

When he first moved to the US, a music critic asked him why he dresses so modestly. Sergei Vasilievich shrugged his shoulders: “No one here knows me anyway…” Years passed. Glory came, fees increased. The same critic asked why the maestro did not dress better. “Why? Rachmaninoff was surprised. “Everyone knows me anyway…”

All his life, the composer was worried that his piano playing interfered with his neighbors and in hotels he always booked exclusively corner rooms.

Intelligent and punctual to the extreme, he was never late for anything. A principled opponent of self-promotion, he refused to communicate with journalists and critics, did not go to pompous banquets and receptions. Once, on tour in a small American town, an ubiquitous photojournalist literally stuck to him at the station, but Rakhmaninov ran away from the paparazzi. During lunch in a restaurant, he was again nearby. The composer, in despair, covered his face with his hands: “Please, leave me alone!” The evening paper came out with a photograph accompanied by the caption: “Hands That Worth a Million.”

Bullying

For fourteen years in exile, Sergei Vasilievich avoided politics – his mother and brother remained in Soviet Russia, and he did not want trouble for them.

But in 1931 Rabindranath Tagore visited the Soviet Union. Impressed by the “Soviet experiment”, he shared his observations in an interview with the American press. The Russian emigration reacted violently: a collective letter was drawn up, which was signed by many celebrities, including Rachmaninov. True to himself, he could not accept the praise of a system that grinds human destinies in the millstones of repression.

The letter, published in The New York Times, was blunt. At first, the Soviet Union did not react in any way. But then Rachmaninov’s symphonic poem “The Bells” was performed in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and it began … The magazine “For Proletarian Music” published an accusatory article “Let’s repulse the sortie of reaction”, where Rachmaninov and Balmont (the author of the translation of Edgar Poe’s poem “The Bells” ) were called “sworn enemies of the Soviet regime” and “fascist white émigrés”.

Further – more: articles, statements, minutes of meetings poured in as if from a cornucopia. “An attempt to rally and organize the hostile forces of reaction”, “a hardened enemy of the Soviet government”, “White Guard Rakhmaninov”, “counter-revolutionary speech” … The logical conclusion of the persecution was the ban on performing and publishing the works of “the singer of Russian merchants, wholesalers and bourgeois”. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Odessa conservatories called for a boycott of Rachmaninov’s music… The only one who did not participate in the general hysteria was the conductor of the Bolshoi Theater Nikolai Golovanov: at his own peril and risk, he continued to perform Rachmaninov’s works.

“From one of the Russians”

And then the war began. And Rachmaninoff stepped over himself: he still did not like the Bolsheviks and did not accept Soviet power, but decided that the fate of his country was more important than ideological differences. It was important for him to help the Russian people defeat Nazism, which he hated with all his heart.

When the Nazis invaded the USSR, Rachmaninov set a condition: the entire collection from every third concert goes to the fund for helping the Soviet Union.

On June 28, 1941, the composer addressed the Russian emigrants: “Regardless of their attitude to Bolshevism and Stalin, true patriots of Russia must help their Fatherland defeat the aggressors.” In certain circles, he was even nicknamed “Red”.

One of the first checks sent to the Soviet consul in New York, Rachmaninov accompanied by a letter: “This is the only way I can express my sympathy for the suffering of the people of my native land over the past few months.” And he commented on another donation as follows: “From one of the Russians – all possible assistance to the Russian people in their struggle against the enemy. I want to believe, I believe in complete victory.

He traveled with concerts throughout the United States and Canada, transferring tens of thousands of dollars to the American Fund for Relief of the Soviet Union. Rachmaninov’s money was used to purchase medicines for the Soviet army. The Soviet authorities also softened in their attitude towards the composer. They even thanked “for what you are doing for our common Motherland.” And they assured that “true patriots will always be provided with freedom of life and creativity in our country.”

Evidence remained that Rachmaninov wanted to attend charity concerts in Leningrad, Stalingrad and Moscow. He began to write the Stalingrad Symphony, was going to announce his return to the USSR, and even met with the Soviet ambassador to the United States, asked for a visa, and supposedly Molotov himself, while on a visit to the United States in the summer of 1942, approved his request. A year later, on his seventieth birthday, the composer received a congratulatory telegram from ten Soviet composers.

Maybe everything would work out. But … In 1943, the state of health of Sergei Vasilyevich deteriorated sharply, doctors discovered cancer.

In recent days, Rachmaninoff, rarely regaining consciousness, asked his wife to read him reports from the Russian front. And, having learned about the victory at Stalingrad, he whispered: “Thank God!”

A few days before his seventieth birthday, on March 27, 1943, he took communion in the morning and at night, without regaining consciousness, quietly died.

Materials in Russian used in the article:

• Ekaterina Kuznetsova “Rakhmaninov’s charitable activities in exile: touches on the composer’s portrait” (“Scientific Bulletin of the Moscow Conservatory”), https://nv.mosconsv.ru/sites/default/files/pdf/kuznetsova_2014_2.pdf;

• “Geniuses. Sergei Rachmaninov” (documentary film by Andrey Konchalovsky, TV channel “Culture”);

• Denis Khalfin “Sergei Rachmaninoff: Gold in the Heart”, https://pravoslavie.ru/127821.html;

• Serey Fedyakin “Rakhmaninov” (ZhZL series, publishing house “Young Guard”, 2014);

• Memoirs of N.A. Rakhmaninova, https://senar.ru/memoirs/Rachmaninova/.

Photo: Sergei Rachmaninoff at the piano, early 1900s

The icon – an image of the prototype

By
Newsdesk
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Written by Yuriy Pushtaev for Foma.ru

The word “icon” has a primarily sacred meaning for us today. This is what we call a pictorial representation of the Holy Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Mother of God, the angels and saints, and also the events of sacred history, drawn in accordance with church canons and consecrated.

By the way, in the ancient Greek language the word ἡ εἰκών (eikōn), from which our word “icon” is derived, did not denote sacred objects. In Russian (and also in Bulgarian – note translation) it is translated as “image”, “image”, “similarity”, “comparison”.

This was the name given to any painting or artistic image, even statues. This ancient Greek word is cognate with the verb ἔοικα (eoika) – “I am similar”, “resemble”, “suitable”, “suitable”. In Byzantium, after the adoption of Christianity, the ancient Greek word ἡ εἰκών (eikōn) was transformed into ἡ εἰκόνα (ikona), and this word began to designate the church’s sacred images, i.e. the icons.

In the second century, the images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints and the events of sacred history appeared. And already by the fourth century, the walls of many of the temples were painted with picturesque images.

However, as is known, icon veneration in the Church is not easily established. In the 8th – 9th centuries in Byzantium, the heresy of iconoclasm – ἡ εἰκονομαχία (ikonomahia) became widespread.

Her followers, among whom there are also Byzantine emperors and even patriarchs, believe that the worship of icons violates the Second Commandment of God: “You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on earth below or that is in the water underground; do not bow down to them and do not serve them…” (Ex. 20:4-5).

We should mention that the heresy of iconoclasm arose partly as a response to the extremes of popular icon veneration, which by this time was beginning to degenerate into superstition. I.e. like many other heresies, iconoclasm was actually a completely wrong way out of the wrong situation that was created at the time. In this period, for example, the custom of taking icons as children’s adopters (godparents), mixing icon paint into wine for Holy Communion, etc. was widespread.

Iconoclasts justify their fight against icons by saying that we should not worship “something made by hands”. In the course of the theological disputes on this topic, the defenders of icon veneration formulate that we should worship icons and kiss them, but not serve them, because only God is fit to serve: “We can worship not only God, because worship is an expression of respect, but we should serve no one but God”.

We may also worship the Cross, the Gospel, other holy places, but not serve them. The icon is an image of the First Image, and “the honor which is given to the image ascends to the First Image; and he who worships the icon, in fact worships the person (hypostasis) of what is depicted on it”.

Interestingly, the heresy of iconoclasm combines two extremes: extreme spiritualism and prosaic worldly interests. On the one hand, in the words of the iconoclasts, the Deity is completely indescribable and it should not be “insulted by wordless and dead matter”. On the other hand, the heresy of iconoclasm also received support for state-political, purely secular reasons, under the conditions of the Byzantine Empire’s struggle against monasticism. The monks had no intention of abandoning icon veneration, and the emperors Leo III Isaurus (717-741) and Constantine V Copronymus (718-775) thought that the monasteries attracted too many material resources and people who could serve the empire in her many wars against the barbarians.

And perhaps there would not be such ferocity in the fight against the icons if the question about them was not related to material and state interests. The iconoclast emperors, fighting against monasticism, simultaneously became fierce against icons. By the way, the real support in the fight against the “iconoclasts” the iconoclasts receive precisely from the Byzantine army and the military.

It got to the point where the most zealous and cruel iconoclasts destroyed the monasteries and killed the monks who refused to “put on white clothes and marry immediately”.

Under Emperor Constantine Kopronimus in Constantinople, “no trace of monastic robes can be seen, they all hid.” This causes a huge monastic emigration. According to historians’ calculations, no less than 50,000 monks fled to Italy alone.

However, the fierce struggle against icons, which in many ways is being waged because of the secularization of public life and culture and because of worldly interests, leads to a significant impoverishment of culture. Icons representing remarkable works of art were destroyed, and the walls of churches were painted with images of birds and plants, the artistic value of which was immeasurably lower.

A.V. Kartashev in “History of the Ecumenical Councils” writes about the “hypocritical and false argument of the iconoclasts”, which calls “to leave all knowledge and art, given by God for His glory”. The iconoclasts reject “in principle all knowledge, all theology, and all human thought and word – as tools for expressing dogmas. This is not only hypocritical, feigned barbarism, but also simply dualism, denying the sanctity of all material things. The Seventh Ecumenical Council orthodoxly rises against this hidden heresy of monophysitism and dualism, and defends together with art “all knowledge and art as given by God for His glory”. In this way, the enlightened liberalism of the iconoclasts turns out to be obscurantism, and the theology of the Seventh Ecumenical Council – the deepest and indisputable blessing of science and culture”.

In 754, an iconoclast council was held, which condemned the veneration of icons. This council anathematized the Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople and the Venerable John Damascene, who were staunch supporters of icon veneration. Although the council claimed ecumenical status, its decisions were later rejected by the Church.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council held in 787 confirmed the dogma of icon veneration. And in 843, another church council took place, which confirmed all the creeds of the Seventh Ecumenical Council and established an order of proclamation of eternal memory of the zealots of Orthodoxy and anathematization of heretics. This rite is still performed in our Church on Orthodox Sunday (the First Sunday of Great Lent).

Note about the author: Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, senior researcher of the Philosophy Department of the Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INION RAN), researcher of the “Information Systems in Humanities Education” Laboratory of the Philosophical Faculty of Moscow State University, researcher of the magazine “Questions of Philosophy”.

Photo: Icon of Ever-Virgin Mother of God / Ikoni Mahnevi, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057324623799

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