The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-01-08
THE COMING OF The WISE MEN
CELEBRATED ON JANU AIRY g.
THE WISE MEN IN ART-EAST.
ERIN AND WESTERN TRADl-
TIoNS - MASS IN ORIENTAL
RITES IN ROME ON EPIPHANY.

ERN AND WESTERN TRAD.
TONS - MASS IN ORIENTAL
RITES IN ROME ON EPIPHANY.
In many European countries it is
not at Christmas that presents are
given but at Epiphany, January 6, the
feast that records the recognition of
Christ as the Saviour of mankind by
the Gentle world. Visitors to Cath.
Ole churches at Christmas time seldom
fail to visit what the children affec-
tionately call the Infant Saviour
Crib" Many a world-stained man and
woman, while viewing the little repre-.
sentation of Bethlehems manager, with
it's Infant Christ nesting close to the
Virgin Mary, and the Wise Men stand
ing reverently by, has been deeply i'm
pressed by the peaceful scene, and has
knelt down and prayed for little of
the true Christian spirit
The Wise Men in Art.
In Rome, and in parts of Europe, es-
pecially Cologne, the, Wise Men oc-
cupy an important place in the feasts
of this period.
In the Catacombs they are seen in
very old ,frescoes. As the one recog.
nized authority on the paintings of the
Catacombs remarks, "The story of the
Magi reaches it's eliminating point in
the Alteration of the Divine Child" II
was the first homage given by pagan.
ism to the newborn Son of God.
In the frescoes of the Catacombs the
Alteration of the Magi was represent
ed by their hurried coming towards
the Mother, who is seated on chair
or throne, with the Infant Christ upon
her lap. Thirteen of such compost
tons still exist in the Catacombs; two
have persisted. The most ancient oil
these dates back to the beginning oil
the second century of the Christian
era, just trif1e over 1900 years ago.
Eastern and Western Traditions.
1t is a long time ago, and yet it ap
peals to the spectator, and interprets
itself as clearly to the Christian of to-
day as it did to the Christian of the
second century of the Roman empire
The oldest of all these pictures of the
Alteration of the Magi is distinguished
from later ones. by one popularity, the
chair on which the Blessed Virgin is
seated is without a back, resembling
the faldstool such as is used in the
Catholic churches of today. Another
difference between this picture and it's
successors is that in this the Mag
carry their gifts in their bare hands;
in later works they are represented as
holding salvers or spoons.
In all the other pictures of which
three belong to the third century and
the rest to the fourth, the chair on
which the Mother is seated has al
ways high and rounded back and the
Magi offer their gifts upon these sal
vers. They are always vested in Orr
entail costumes and are commonly
three in number. This follows the
western tradition. 1t has in a few
cases been departed from for the sake
of symmetry, when four, two on each
side of the Madonna, have been repre-
sented, and in other cases where there
was space only for two.
The Oriental Rite.
The memories of the Orient called
up by the figures of the Magi in the
Cribs or 'spresepi'' which we're built III
in several churches of Rome are still
more forcibly brought to mind by the
celebration of Mass according to the
ceremonial and in the languages of the
several Oriental rites in communion
with the Holy See.
1t is the Church of Saint Andres
Della Vale, built quite near to the spot
where Julius Caesar was assassinated
that these Oriental Bishops and pre-
lates celebrate their strange and un
familiar rites, and appear in, vestments
that the Latin races rarely see. Be
hind the altar great fixtures are placed
representing the Infant Christ seated
in the lap of His Mother, st. JOSEPH
lstanding by, and the three kings pre-
A S~AANAAA9 SA1OAA GlACo+ SlC luGSC 10
very dark negro, which is an innova
ton of later art, for. the great masters
of the fourteenth and fifteenth centur
les, and even later, have no negro
kings in their pictures.
The Masses celebrated here with tho
Accompaniment of the musical chant
ing of the liturgy of each according tt
its own method are celebrated in the
Rufhenian, Greek, Chaldaic, Syrian
and Armenian rites. Strange though
these be to our eyes and ears, the.
possess a great interest and bring tht
thoughts of the western mind back tt
the land where our Lord lived ans
walked and taught eighteen centurie.
lago. The College OF Propaganda ma,
be said to be the home and the refug,
lof these eastern peoples so far as re
lligious customs are concerned: AM
the feast day of the chapel of that col
lege is justly the feast OF the Epiph
Iany.