CHRIST FLORENSIAN PHOTOPHOR by PASQUALE LOPETRONE by Pas. Lopetrone

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Pasquale Lopetrone, born in S. Giovanni in Fiore (CS) Italy in 1956, is an architect, author of numerous publications, monographs and essays, regarding the history and the architecture of the monuments he has studied and restored as a public official of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture. He has also published several biographies of religious men and artists. He collaborates with the International Center for Studies of Joachim of Fiore as a scholar and as a member of the Executive Council and Assembly; furthermore with different professors and departments of Italian universities.

Purify the mindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye from the dust of the earth. Give up the tumultuous crowds and clatter of words. Follow the spirit of the angel in the desert. Ascend with him the great and high mountain, and then you will understand the deep patterns that are hidden from the ancient of times to the generation of centuries. (Joachim of Fiore)

Patrocinio:

Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Calabria

Christ florensian photophor by Pasquale Lopetrone

English version translation by Rino D’Amato

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P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3

CHRIST Florensian PhOTOphOR Patronage:

Ministero per i Beni e le Attivitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Culturali Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Calabria (authorization n. 8977 of 22/11/2012)

Copyright ÂŠ , 2012 e 2013 owner Pasquale Lopetrone Pasquale Lopetrone Editore Property rights owned by Pasquale Lopetrone Via Monte Gimmella, 60 87055 San Giovanni in Fiore (CS) Italy Tel. (+39) 0984 990578 All rights reserved, all violations will be prosecuted by the terms of the Law, it is prohibited any form of reproduction and or marketing. First translated English edition

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P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

Patronage and Copyright Iconographic Reference Prologue

pag.

“

2 4

“

INDEX

Christ florensian photophor “ 9 Pasquale Lopetrone 1. The Light of transfiguration “ 11 2. The rigor of orthodoxy “ 17 3. Allegory of a spiritual projection “ 23 4. Other literal, allegorical, tropological and anagogical aspects “ 29 5. Conclusions “ 51 Notes 3

“ 69

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

ICONOGRAPHIC REFERENCE

First edition images Photos by Pasquale Lopetrone: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37. Digital

archives of pictures and

Pasquale Lopetrone: 13, 16, 17, 18, 34.

graphics by

Repertoire immages photos squale Lopetrone: 28, 30. Digital

P a-

archives of pictures and

Pasquale Lopetrone: 26, 27, 29, 31. graphics by

photos of unknown different artists:

5, 6, 7.

Xilography by Giacomo Greco: 14. Cover Photo: fig. 0 - Hall of the florense abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore illuminated by the morning light.

Center for international of Joachim: 11, 12, 20.

studies

G. Luca Potesta’ Il Tempo dell’Apocalisse (2004): 10, 15, 19. 4

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

After about ten years from the monograph dedicated to the Florensian Abbey Church of San Giovanni in Fiore, stimulated by Joachim’s International Center for Studies in occasion of the eighth centenary of the death of the abbot, I felt the need to go back and write about the architecture of this unique building, victim, for the past four hundred eighty years of repeated and serious tampering, made by misguided and reckless initiatives, unrespectful of the history and the sanctity of these places originated from the Theology of History of the Abbot Joachim of Fiore. The professional experience gained with the daily activities of an architect restorer-preserver of monuments, led me to explore, restore and study a variety of architectural styles, then evaluate the proper characteristics of each building, connected to the main reason for its construction, activity of the client and the functionality assigned to the bu5

Prologue

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

ilding. Among the different types of monuments, rise to notice those that have a prevailing public service, such as civic, military and religious architectures, because each of these aims to meet multiple needs, far more complex than those required in the private civil architecture. Religious buildings, characterized by transcendental aspects, rise over the rest; their foundation which is the result of an intellectual processes harnessed by theology, are the result of a proper true ‘creation’, which originates from the union of the spirit of divine dictation, technology and manual work. The Florensian Abbey Church is one of this type of sensitive buildings that meet a pre-coded size and function, linked to the four meanings of the Holy Scriptures: the literal sense indicates the facts, the allegory is the belief, the moral- tropology is that what must be understood and the anagogy is that to which we must strive. In the religious architecture the first two senses of the Holy Scriptures are usually technically and functionally easily intelligible, however, less simple is the definition of the hermeneutic-tropological-moral framework, and 6

still more complex, due to the difficult access, is the anagogical exploration. The study explained in the following pages relates only to the architecture of the apse wall of the Florensian Abbey Church of San Giovanni in Fiore, already partly treated on pages 62 and 63 of the aforementioned monograph. The present study proves once again that Joachim has packed his communication at three different levels: literally, by writing texts, graphically, through the draft of drawings or graphs and substantially through the construction of monuments; From the idea he passed to the preparation of the project, and then, from 1188 A.D onwards, the building of Florensian settlements, without interruption, repeating continuously in every work always the same convictions. This paper derives from a conversation I had with an international university professor, a fervent Communist-Marxist-libertarian, who wanted to report in that circumstance his opinions on some ideas glimpsed in an article of mine published in the magazine of the Province of Cosenza dedicated to Joachim of Fiore. The Professor on that oc7

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

casion, in presenting some of his thoughts derived in observing one of my photographs which shows the Florensian church nave, brought the opportunity to explore and develop new and different paths, such as the multifaceted concept of the Apocalypse and the theoretical comparisons between spirituality and Marxist psychoanalysis; also the opposition to Marx’s nihilism and Catholic orthodoxy inherent in Joachim, spelled out very clearly in his works and also in the churches of Jure Vetere and San Giovanni in Fiore. Back home, I thought about this unusual, occasional and unexpected encounter, then, I also began to look with new eyes that photograph, until I opened my ‘mind’s eye’ (to put it in Joachim’s words) and that figure has become more ‘luminous’, after having taken the very essence of the architecture which characterizes the image, now placed on the cover. All the rest came by itself, as presented in this publication. San Giovanni in Fiore, October 26, 2012

Pasquale Lopetrone

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

Pasquale Lopetrone

Christ florensian photophor

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 1 - Jesus Christ photophor in majesty.

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

The Jesus Christ photophor in majesty (fig. 1), not pictured but transfigured by the light passing through the ordered traceries on the eastern wall of the apse of the Florensian abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore, alludes to the presence of God, in heaven and on earth. Those illuminated traceries (consisting of a large circular rose window, with three tiny rosettes arranged around the large circle, forming a triangle, and of three lancet windows below), a part from offering a unique symbolic framework, they build a sensitive composition, which together adapt in vague anthropomorphic forms ‘in dissolution’, connected with the description given in the Gospel where it is said that Jesus, gone up the mountain, was transfigured into light1. In particular, through a combination of light/shade, the composition gives the believer a suggestive spectacle of light, similar to what was experienced by the three Apo11

1. The Light of the Transfiguration

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

stles on Mount Tabor. The scene, divided into seven traceries, appears to condense the moment when the light ‘dissolves’ the human features of Christ, when “his face changed in appearance”2, “became like the sun, and his garments became white as the light”3, manifesting the divine nature of Jesus made man, as the voice said,” This is my beloved Son; listen to him!”4. fig. 2 - A view from the front door of the nave. 2

The scene of the Florensian apse (figg. 2 and 3), alluding to the Trinity, sublimates the theophany of the Transfiguration, an event in which Christ was able to reveal to the three chosen Apostles and to the world, his Glory, announce the resurrection of Easter, and proclaim the kingdom of heaven, through the Father, even the glory of men who listen to His Word. The exaltation of the warning that we find in the allegoric composition of the apse traceries reflects the prophetic theology expressed by Joachim at the opening of the Book of Concord Novi ac Veteris Testamenti, his main work: “For us, that do not have in this world an everlasting inheritance, but we seek one to come, nothing can be more healthy and useful to remind us of the judgments of the Lord, that emerge from the history, and based upon their comparison and lesson, consider the limits of things and think about how much nothing is worth anything that with pleasure we possess but with time we must leave behind.5” The composition of light, then, in addition of recalling the presence of God, it renews the eschatological questions related to the ultimate expecta13

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

tions of man: the Judgments of the Lord to which depends life after death. The same, therefore, that can transfuse in the person the light of spiritual conversion, therefore create an opportunity to repent acknowledging his sinfulness, proposing a new opportunity to take the path of salvation, living the experience of the immaterial light, that is transcendental and illuminates the way for the access to Paradise. He who chooses the beginning of penance starts, consciously, the transit phase, to switch ‘from the darkness of death into the light of the redemption of Christ photophor (generator of light)’, and in doing so, aspires for a strong bond with the Eternal Father, welcoming definitely in the soul the spiritual light, which opens the doors to Christ and triggers a conscious receptivity towards the divine will. That same light, with the strengthening of the Creed and Faith, helps to elevate the person’s will to be reborn, the desire to empty (kenosis6), free, undress, evolve oneself, enabling him to walk the path of hope, which rises towards the summit of the Mount of Transfiguration. The goal is reached when the state of being conscious of the spiritual 14

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 3 - Bottom view of the apse traceries.

man is the same for the incarnate man, since he, acknowledging the apocalyptic end of history, is no longer at the mercy of the physical body, ‘victim of the world’, but goes freely, with a shiny face7 and his light spreads over his surroundings, for that man pursues the rejection of all earthly goods, even of life itself, for man does not live for this life but for another, not for this world but for 15

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

the Kingdom to come at the end of the world. In this eschatological projection the light that crosses Joachim’s wall is light directed towards the soul willing to be transformed in the light of Christ who is the light of the Trinity (“The Light is none other than His Son Jesus, who said: I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”.8), so that the Trinity becomes a living experience of the person and helps to set aside definitely the need to look for other evidence on the existence of God, for His presence is light, the same light as metaphor of the connection between heaven and earth9, that vivifies, sanctifies and guides spiritually all those who desire to conquer the Kingdom of Heaven. ---o---

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

florisÂŽ ÂŠ 2013

The Christ photophor in Majesty, not pictured but transfigured by the light, originates from an architectural composition developed in the vertical plane of the apse wall; the traceries, arranged in the space of the plane wall that hosts them, do not generate images, anthropomorphic figures or idols, but shape light beams that go through the wall thickness without portraying God. The prototype composition relative to the light show proves the Florensian orthodoxy, namely the unconditional adherence to the original teachings (fig. 4). The same archetype rejects idolatry and explicitly manifests respect for the divine dictation, reaffirming, like Judaism, the condemnation of all images for the impossibility of depicting God10, the Trinity, the Three persons together individually or separately. In the scene, in fact, there is no evidence of the 17

first edition english version-march 2013-protected by copyright ÂŠ 2013 by P. Lopetrone

2. The rigor of orthodoxy

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 4 - The chamber is illuminated by sunlight that passes through the apse traceries. 18

divine transcendence lowering to the human level, showing characteristics of ‘humanization’ such as the unconditional expressive manifestations typical of the figurative art that had characterized until that time the Catholic and Byzantine iconography. In the scene there is no perception, no evidence that in the person beholding arouses a feeling of immanentism. Despite the denial of any anthropomorphic form on the wall of the Florensian apse, it is clear the intention to remember and express an historical event, which concerns the theophany of the Transfiguration, perceivable only if you light up, as Joachim says, “The Mind’s Eye”, trained to understand a unique and unusual art that can show us the details and emotions of the biblical event characterized by light, without making manifest the human features of the transfigured Christ. The theme of the aniconic traceries that characterizes Joachim’s apse, therefore delineates the human and divine natures of Christ, although not explicitly since they are presented dissolved at the time of their metamorphic merger through flashes of light that outline the subsistence11 of His two 19

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

natures, thus confirming the orthodoxy of the unconditional distinctiveness and indivisibility of the Savior. It should also be noted that the combination of the traceries are not cause for any particular distractions that lead to the worship or adoration of God through manifestations of religious practices completely illicit and contrary to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. The light show displayed on the Florensian wall marks, however, a deeply spiritual religious context, that incites transcendental feelings of love towards the light of God which does not leave out experiences of mystical or ecstatic type. What effect can that light, controlled and related with orthodoxy, have in human religious sensibility but to keep alive in the person the eschatological aspiration to the life after death; therefore the hope of transfiguring into that light the resurrection of the spiritual body that S. Paul, in the XV chapter of the First Letter to the Corinthians12, opposed to the earthly physical body13. ---o--20

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 5 - The representation of the Transfiguration in a Byzantine icon. Note the exaltation of triangular form, obtained with the green of the mountain, and three concentric circles of light, obtained with the shades of sky blue and blue. 21

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 6 - S. Catherine of Sinai, Transfiguration, detail of the apse (http:// mat1968.wordpress.com/). 22

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

It is important to notice that in the Byzantine artistic tradition, the new iconographer was put to the test by making him portray the Transfiguration as his first work (figg. 5 and 6). This test was to verify if the artist was able to see the world with the eyes of the apostles just as they had witnessed on mount Tabor. The Byzantines asked, therefore, their artists that the icons were to witness the light of the catholic mindset and that the same light, manifested through colors and images, triggered a reawakening of the soul of the spectator so as to make the viewer sympathetic and witness of that same light. In other words, they asked to carry out the making of icons with the ‘intelligent material’ illuminated by the Spirit, to help see that which is invisible, comprehend that which is incomprehensible, and live that which belongs to God, but also to man. The Icon intended as image of the image (fig.7), 23

3. Allegory of a spiritual projection

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

however, in spite of the luminous statements of the Byzantines, notifies its iconoclast weakness, since generated in a religion that prohibits to circumscribe or portray God, and that which is transcendentally hidden cannot be represented in any way. The light spectacle visible on the apse of the Florensian Abbey, to the contrary of the byzantine icons, manifests a semantic faithful to the orthodox postulate and proposes a contemplative model fig. 7 - Copy of the Transfiguration of Raphael. 7

mediated through an exclusive “spiritual projection”. Joachim’s work has origin in the authorcreator that was invested certainly by a sensible interior experience, and the desire of presenting to the faithful that luminous spectacle, which renders detectable a ‘spiritual projection’, not defined in reality, since, in this case, it belongs mainly to the invisible transcendental World. The allegory built with light, beyond hiding rhetorical figures, for the desire to express certain concepts through particular exemplifications, it has also a symbolic imprint. In consistency, the Florensian work, can be allocated on a superior level in respect of what is visible at first hand, since it regards an allegory expressed to the maximum level of complexity, which discloses even subjective interpretations based on the level of perception of the viewer. Even in this allegory, therefore, the relationship between piece of worksignificance and composition-signification is fluctuating, swaying between the real intention of the author and the free perception of the viewer. On the contrary, the variable characteristics typical of the allegorical communication are not valid in 25

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

the symbolic communication, which is based on exclusive codes, unique and of conventional type. In the symbol, in fact, the meaning is declared, while in the allegory, since never absolute, rarely can it be intuitively and immediately decoded, but it needs a complex personal intellectual elaboration, of ‘relative type’, since it is subject to deep discussions in the interpretation, bringing different meanings, as we will have way to explain later. All these variables, present in our case, as we will get to illustrate afterward, recompose on a anagogical level, since the light spectacle is biblically fitting to the deep meaning of the Sacred Scriptures. The composition of the traceries on the apse of the Florensian abbey, valued with the considerations above, establish it on a higher level in respect to the other recurring archetypes in the Christian figurative art of all times. This work, first and only of its kind, soaked and crossed by the light, in one way it sends you back to a reality revealed by the Gospels, on the other hand it incorporates that intimate contemplation nourished by the religious faith which, through the Spirit, reveals ‘the 26

presence of God’, that in any case, remains invisible. The figure non-figured, conceived by the Florensian monks, which does not correspond to the icon non-icon, establishes a totally new unexplored subject in the art of western history. This allegorical ‘spiritual projection’, in fact, needs a deep critical review completely different from the anthropomorphic religious icons, professed by over two thousand years of history. ---o---

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 8 - The traceries of the apse of the florensian church seen from outside. 28

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

At this point there is an obligation to ascertain to whom this type of complex communication is pointed to, which, devoid of anthropomorphic representations, adopts the mimesis of suggestion, connected to the windows logically distributed in a spatial context animated by light, so modulated by an architectural prototype, which builds on a limited vertical plane a sensitive composition, having intention to devise a real ‘spiritual projection’. This non-conventional intrigue requires a broader understanding of communication, to discern its complex function and the attitude to be taken by the spectator’s sensitivity in front of the visible manifestation, which certainly invokes transcendental goals. This framework requires, therefore, further reflections on the pragmatic context of the symbolic, wanting to enter into the meaning of the utterance and the intention of the ‘speaking com29

4. Other literal, allegorical, tropological and analogical aspects

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

position’, trying to explain the most obvious features of the code of communication. The exercise to decipher and understand the communication on one hand it helps to go over with the translation of the language expressed, on the other hand it favors the perception of the spiritual level required to the user it is facing, so that he may access ‘easily’ and penetrate the dictates of the historical allegory and the symbolic context. In this particular case that we are dealing with, easy access to the communication is unsustainable, such a thing is justified by the fact that the Florensian church space was kind of exclusive, reserved only for the monks, certainly subject to the spirituality of the religious congregation. The communication of the symbolic context, as such built in a Abbey that was originally ‘closed to the world’, therefore ‘inaccessible’ to the laic public, that was in any case, ill-equipped to fully understand the theological matters. Access to the communication of the historical allegory and the symbolic context, we find solace in the same Joachim of Fiore, who unequivocally instructs us in this way through one passage: “If forced by neces30

sity and having to resort to a sensitive image, we take at least that which is most noble in the reality without reason, that is our light, which as we have acknowledged, is a symbol of the true Light, which does not much illuminate the external eyes of the wicked, but the hearts of the elect.”14. We are in front, therefore, to a confidential communication, but in no way exclusive; selective only because it requires a high level of spirituality, in fact: “which does not much illuminate the external eyes of the wicked, but the hearts of the elect”. This particular spiritual connotation requested from the observer justifies, in some way, the silence that has surrounded the issue of the apse windows of the Florensian church of San Giovanni in Fiore, to the actual difficulty of grasping the very essence of the sensitive composition which refers to a historical biblical event and, inevitably, Joachim’s symbolic analysis. It’s obvious regarding hermeneutics (where the subject has already been partly treated) that no interpretation is legitimate, if the exegesis is not based on concrete intuitions and if the same cannot be sustained in a process that would justify the 31

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

close linkage between the intuitive and the sensible manifestation. The meaning is best explained by the Abbot Joachim, who comes to the rescue with his well-known step on the Trinity: “From this light, we call the sun, has its origin the beam that proceeds without interruption incessantly heat, which reaches the Earth without ever separating from the source from which it comes from, without doubt from the image of the Son, who has descended to bring us the light from the Father, and the image of the Holy Spirit who was given to us along with the Son to light us up with the fire of his love. You will then find symbolized in the unique sun the mystery of the Trinity.”15. In this context and from Joachim’s point of view, the apse windows can also play a function of ‘spiritual connection’ between the outside and the inside, between the sky and the earth.From the anagogical point of view, the sensitive composition of the apse windows (fig. 8) present, among other things, additional evidence in some of Joachim’s diagrams in the Liber Figurarum, on which we will successfully refer to, and in the biography of the abbot, in particular, when the Anonymous 32

says, “Our Moses (referring Joachim), having received the revelation of the dual Law (from witch sprang the concord of the Testaments), he descended from the mountain,”16 (mount Tabor). The architectural composition formed by three small circular windows arranged in triangle around the larger circular window (fig. 9) underlines the explicit reference to “the explanation of the Tetragrammaton (IEVE) offered by Pietro Alfonsi”17 (fig. 10), a very intriguing pattern to Joachim, who developed the idea conceived by the converted Jew “bringing exciting changes.”18. «The description given in his Expositio easily corresponds, in fact, to the triangle at the top adorned by three circles in the form of a button »19. The same divine triangle is reproduced in a letter of Pope Innocent III, who expressed «the theological meaning of the words of the apocalyptic commentary of Joachim»20. As written by Gian Luca Potestà21. The three small circular windows, arranged in a triangle around the larger circular window, are therefore, the material trace of the diagrammatic model developed by Joachim about the Divine Tetragrammaton, which alludes to the Trinity. Illuminating in this 33

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

regard is the explanation of the Trinity provided by Joachim in the De articulis fidei: “tres sunt unum et unum tres”22 (tree is one and one tree), to the point that the issue of the circular windows seems to be the ideogram, figural transposition of the assertion. The same Trinitarian pattern is described by the monk in Psalterium, both in the text and in the corresponding diagrammatic figure known as Table XIII of the Reggiano Code (figg. 12 and 13), where after the Father (IE), located fig. 9 - Pietro Alfonsi, Trinity Diagram (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France Cliché, Lat. 5080, f.187v), (from G. L. Potestà, 2004, fig. 8). 9

at the top of the triangle, proceeds the Son (EV), located at the top bottom left, and the Holy Spirit (VE), located at the top of the bottom right. The great circle at the center of gravity, inscribed in the ‘triangle’ (the novelty introduced by Joachim), defines the “Lord God Almighty, IEVE, one God and the Holy Trinity” in unity. The triangle with the apex directed upwards, which is achieved by connecting the three small circles, symbolizes the Divine nature. The scheme of the Expositio can fig. 10 - The theme of the circular traceries visible on the wall of the apse of the florensian abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore. 10

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

11-12

fig. 11 - Table XIII of Liber-Figura- fig. 12 - Diagram with translations rum Code of Reggio Emilia of Table XIII of Liber Figurarum Code of Reggio Emilia.

be added also with the figure of the psaltery (Table XIII)23, the Jewish musical instrument, which for Joachim was an illuminating symbol of divinity24, since “It combines the triangulation of the vertices, which represent the Trinity of Persons, and the roundness of the central aperture, which represents the Unity of the Divine Essence.”25. The triangular pattern of small rosettes that enclose the great circle (fig. 13), is conform to the figure of the psaltery (fig. 11), to the diagram of the Tri36

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 13 - The scheme of Table XIII of Liber Figurarum (Psalter) superimposed on the apse traceries. 13

Padre

IEVE VE

EV Figlio

Spirito Santo

nity triangle (fig. 15 and 16) depicted in the Padua code26, it also appears as a ‘logos’ in miniature of the true image of Joachim, represented on the lily petal that generates the ‘spiral’ at the top of the pastoral held by the Abbot with the right hand (fig. 14 and 34). In the first part of the Expositio, Joachim handles extensively the Tetragrammaton (IEVE), placing

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

it at the base of his history of theology. At the same time he comments the verse of Revelation, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God”27 (fig. 17 and 19), in an attempt to understand the deeper meaning of the word of God. The triangle diagram of the apse windows, in addition to being compliant to the Trinity Triangle (fig. 15 and 16) and to the ten corded Psaltery (fig. 11 and 12), it also proposes parallels with the fig. 14 - The triangular pattern of small rosettes that inscribe the large circle shown in the true image of Joachim, as a ‘logos’ in miniature, on the petal of the lily that generates the ‘spiral’ on top of the pastoral. 14

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 15 - The Trinitarian triangle represented in the Psalterium of the patavino code, (by G. L. Potestà, 2004, fig. 4). fig. 16 - Apse traceries overlaid by the Trinitarian triangle represented in the Psaltery of the Padua code.

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

‘triangle’ that generates the upper-case letter Alfa (A), which for Joachim “shows how TWO, the Son (EV) and the Holy Spirit (VE), proceed from ONE, the Father (IE).”28 (fig. 17, 19 and 20). This allegory reveals, consequently, even the presence of the letter omega minuscule (ω) through which Joachim “shows how ONE, the Spirit (E), represented by the center shaft, proceeds with TWO, 17-18

IE IEVE EV

IEVE

fig. 17- Overlaid models of “Alpha” fig.18- Overlapping of the“Trinitarian and “Omega” in the apse traceries of Circle” on the great rose window of the the florensian church, according to the florensian apse, according to the models models of the diagrams presented in of the diagrams presented in Table. Table. XI-b-“ Trinity Circle” of the XIb - “ Trinity Circle” of the code of code of Reggio Em. and the code of Reggio Emilia and the code of Paris. Paris. 40

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 19 - Representation of the models “Alpha” and “Omega” and “ Trinitarian Circle” in the code of Paris. “... on the left side, the focus is on biblical verses , those on the right side express the theological significance ...”- see: G. L. Potestà, (2004), p. 114, fig. 5 -. 41

the Father (I) and the Son (V) »29. For Joachim the letter omega is equally subject to the interpretation of IEVE: the minuscule (ω) for the modulation of the concept that, “The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father (I) and the Son (V)”30, the capital (Ω), for the modulation of the Trinity Circle (fig. 18, 19 and 20), an ideogram representing IEVE, the unity of the Trinity.

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

The context of the seven windows of the apse, as a whole, is also tied with the symbolic eschatology arising from the verse of the Apocalypse (1, 8) that involves the circular windows and, inevitably, even the three underlying smaller windows, which may imply the three vertical rods of the letter omega (ω - miniscule), proposing their allegorical stylization (fig. 17). The capital letter Alpha (A), the miniscule omega fig. 20 - The Trinitarian circle, Table XI-b of the Liber-Figurarum - Code of Reggio Emilia. 20

(ω) and the capital Omega (Ω), allegorically represented by the Trinity circle marked by the Tetragrammatons’ (IEVE) were for Joachim source of profound theological reflections, their diagrams appear both in the Psalterium manuscript preserved in Paris31 (fig. 19), and in the tables of the “Looking Trinity” present both in the Reggio Emilia code (fig. 20) and in that of Oxford. The Tetragrammatons’ IEVE, linked to the theology of the letters Alpha and Omega (fig. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20), that Joachim encloses in the Trinity circle, present in the windows of the apse inside the triangle generated by the small roses, becomes in this case a code of identification of the allegory in treatment, such as, for example, the eyes on the plate for St. Lucia. The light composition of the apse wall of is consistent with the Trinitarian theology of Joachim and this indicates the source of the creative work. Among other insights, various church scholars have seen in the Transfiguration first of all the Trinity: “The Father in the voice, the Son in the man and the Spirit in the shining cloud” (Saint Thomas Aquinas). Even the Trinitarian theology develo43

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

ped by Joachim of Fiore refers to the theophany arising from the exegesis of the transfiguration of Christ. The iconography of the apse traceries of the Florensian church, which is focused on the exposure of allegories, it reveals, in fact, issues regarding the Trinity, the central doctrine of the Catholic Church. Consequently, the assembling of the allegorical spectacle of light can assume multiple meanings, including those similarly assigned to the Byzantine Missorium, which, as a ‘sensitive subject matter’, it included a message announcing the opening of a new historical phase, where man and humanity are called to participate, according to the divine plan. The composition of the multi figured apse wall evokes the divine Light, similarly to that which is described literally in the Gospels, here ‘represented allegorically’ by the light of the sun, harnessed in architectural traceries placed to build symbolic (metaphors such as the triangle, the circular rose window and the three-straight lancet windows), forming a set of hermeneutically unequivocal and anagogically unique and revealing, very adherent to the deeper meaning and mystery of the Holy 44

Scriptures. To avoid further complicating the text, we renounce to deal with the symbolic sets that come from numbers three and seven, feeling more than adequate the comparisons already demonstrated. The comparisons conducted so far indicate that the symbolic context of the Florensian apse wall is adherent to different Joachim diagrams and the literal meaning of the hypothesized initial proposition of the Transfiguration of the Lord, that is, when it happened, Jesus showed his divine glory to the three apostles, for a limited time, then returned to the roll of Christ man. It is difficult to determine whether the allegory sets the time when Christ - man was transfigured to Christ-God (resurrection, ascension into heaven), or if it sets the time when Christ was transfigured back again in Christ-man (the second coming of Christ). Presumably, in that twofold ‘metamorphosis’, there have been several figuratively coincidental moments, identical and overlapping, since the shape of the Man that was transfigured into the divine Light and then, vice versa, that same Light transfigured back in the form of 45

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

the same Man. The sensitive Florensian composition refers, therefore, to that historic-biblical event where the Transfiguration is interrupted by the Divine Will; on the other hand, if the Transfiguration had not been, Jesus could not suffer the passion and death, therefore, could not have accomplished the redemption of men. For this reason the Lord has suspended the divine Glory performing a continuous miracle: to prevent the Glory of the soul to overflow in the body. ---o---

fig. 21 - Wooden altar table of the florensian abbey containing the following messages: “Joannes Baptista Altomare A ‘Roblano Hoc suam sculpt. Hoc D.m Year 1740”. Just below the black lettering written in pencil reads: “Nicoletti Salvatore”. Still under there is also written in pencil: “Pasquale Donadeo fu Angelo from Carpanzano newly gilded this altar 1900”. 46

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 22 - The Florensian Abbey in relationship to the historic center of San Giovanni in Fiore. 48

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 23 - Florensian Abbey, the east side of the former monastery. 49

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 24 - Florensian Abbey, the low wall of the apse covered by wooden stalls of the choir. 50

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

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The images accompanying this work prove for the moment, that the light show made in the first half of the XIII century, through the construction of seven apse traceries, is not completely visible. The wooden altar (figg. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 21), located between the aisle and the apse in 174032 (fig.21), stands and covers sometimes, depending on your point of view, the central lancet and gradually as we approach the altar, the rest of the traceries. The inside of the same wall of the apse is not totally visible: the wooden choir, installed in 168533 (fig. 24), hides the walls behind, preventing the reading of the architectural features of the hidden portions. It should be added, moreover, that the present condition of perception of volumes and light the interior of the church, compared to the roots, greatly altered for the demolition of the large cruise of the opposite arch, at one time, together defined the spatial structures of the summit of 51

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5. Conclusions

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 25 - Current roof of the presbytery.

the presbytery34 (fig. 25), originally culminating with the lantern35. Returning to the main discussion, the claim that the Christ photophor in Majesty, not figuratively but transfigured by the light, is a work linked to the exegesis and to the History of Theology of the abbot Joachim of Fiore; on the other hand who else could have conceived a sensitive composition impregnated with literal, allegorical, moralfigurative and anagogical meaning. Historical documentation and studies on the monument clarify, however, that the abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore rises on pre-existing buildings on which was initiated in 1194 a construction site, then suspended in 1202, with the death of the abbot Joachim. The construction of the building resumed in 1215, when the Pope authorized the displacement of the monastic dwelling after the fire of 1213 which destroyed the proto monastery of Jure Vetere, and lasted until 1234, when the work was completed. The monastic complex was, therefore, still under construction when, towards 1226, the abbot Joachim’s bones were moved from San Martino in Canale Pietrafitta to the 53

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

tomb built in the Chapel of the Virgin of the abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore. The data demonstrates, therefore, that the assembling of the sensitive composition of the apse is due to the patronage of the abbot Matthew, who succeeded Joachim and completed the building of the great church and monastic dwelling, with the help in the last phase of Brother Julianus (archtect). The dichotomy on the paternity for the composition of the work, however, breaks down if we consider that the abbot Matthew was a faithful follower of Joachim. The posthumous luck of Joachim is due, in fact, to the activity of his successor, Matthew, who continued and replicated many times the works of the great Abbot, striving to let circulate in Italy and in Europe, so to make the exegetical and theological commentary product of the Florensian Abbot survive their time and ‘properly’ reach everywhere, down to us in the form of texts, pictures and material. To all of this we must add that the archaeological excavations conducted on the Domus religionis Jure Vetere Sottano, localized by me36, brought in evidence many artifacts, which have 54

allowed us to hypothesize that the abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore, apart from the size, but from a spatial, typological and aesthetic point of view, depends completely from that found in Jure Vetere, which is certainly a work founded by the Abbot Joachim (figg. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31). To this ‘parallel’ reality, also comparable through the reconstruction hypothesis of the ceiling that were destroyed37, must be added, of course, the anagogical hermeneutical analysis made in the previous paragraphs, which more than anything make manifest the theological imprint of the Abbot in the traceries on the apse wall of the Florensian Abbey Church, a compound church/convent designed by Joachim (oratory of St. John the Baptist), initiated in 1194 and completed by 1234 by the abbot Matthew, his successor. A few considerations lead, therefore, not to exclude, as already suggested elsewhere, that the composition of light of the apse is a replica, perhaps more refined, of the composition of traceries that was observed at one time in the apse of the church of Jure Vetere (fig. 31), which was founded by the Abbot Joachim in 1191 and remained active until 55

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 26 - (P. Lopetrone) Plan of the first monastery of Jure Vetere 1215.

fig. 27 - (P. Lopetrone) Plan of the Florensian Abbey Church of San Giovanni in Fiore 56

the summer of 1213. Beyond the paternity of the Florensian allegory, it is indisputable that the composition of light, on one side offers comparisons between the projection induced from the architecture composed by the aisle traceries and the role of leisure that the icons have in the East, and on the other it underlines the differences, since the iconic image stops only at what is apparent, while the semantics of the archetype realized by Joachim is a spiritual projection, supported by a sensible event that has really occurred. This reality puts in evidence the orthodox attitude of the Florense Order to refuse the anthropomorphic images, physically detectable, with the prohibition to assign physical form and human feelings to God. This predetermined behavior, assumed unconditionally by the Florensians, is also confirmed by the elaboration of the diagrams in the Liber Figurarum, the most important ‘figurative theology’ code of the Middle Ages, in which in origin the figures were certainly free of anthropomorphisms. The Florensian architecture reflects, therefore, the characterization of a religious 57

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 28- Remains of the first Florensian monastery of Jure Vetere, the Western Front (2005). fig. 29 - (P. Lopetrone), reconstruction of the western front of the first Florensian monastery of Jure Vetere done according to the artifacts found on site and using the method of the golden section. 58

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 30 - Remains of the first Florensian monastery of Jure Vetere, Eastern Front (2005). fig. 31 - (P. Lopetrone), reconstruction of the eastern front of the first monastery of Jure Vetere, done according to the artifacts found on site and using the method of the golden section. 59

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

community obedient, faithful to rigor. The same ecclesiastical architecture, aniconic, free of any commandment tears, is shown through a summation of composition of archetypes pure and quiet,

fig. 32 - Former Chapel of the Holy Spirit with the sarcophagus of the Abbot Joachim of Fiore, here arranged in 2002 in celebration of the eighth centenary of his death. 60

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

with large square stones, embedded in the walls of hewn stone, and space modulated by structures built with simple geometries38, subjugated to the respect of divine mysteries, together with

fig. 33 - Former Chapel of the Virgin of the Florensian abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore . To the left the former staircase leading to the dormitories, in the rear the access door to the cloister. 61

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

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external/internal very distant and dissimilar from those ecclesial contexts overloaded with figurative ornaments typical of the most common Romanesque churches. The bare architecture of the Florensian church, with its essentiality (figg. 4, 8, 22, 23, 24, 25, 32, 33, 35, 36 and 37), affirms its adherence to the Immaterial Christian Art, obtained from and faithful to that theological science that is rising from the speculation sensitive to the spiritual relationships coherent with the dictates of divine origin. Pursuing the path of rigorous orthodoxy, the abbot Joachim (fig. 34) connotes, in doing so, the psychology behind the architecture and his ideal model of the Church, confining it in compliance with the theological codes intrinsic to the Holy Scriptures. The church of San Giovanni in Fiore embraces the ‘light’ of the Gospel, to direct it towards ‘Florensian spiritual man’, who is committed to mature time after time in a state of awareness, sustained by faith and projected into a new age of the world, attentive in increasing that spirituality stretched to live as soon as possible the greatest transcendental experience by the side of God Almighty. 63

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fig. 35 - The north wall of the nave of the Florensian abbey church.

From the point of view of its construction, the abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore39 was built using the construction techniques typical of the late Romanesque, while from a anagogical the point of view, it expresses an absolute unique, establishing in fact, a very original example of ‘Christian Spiritual Architecture’. The whole church complies with an emblematic place where “it does not illuminates the external eyes of the 64

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

fig. 36 -The hall of the Florensian abbey church seen from the altar, with the cascade of light from the traceries that radiates the benches and the presbytery.

wicked, but the hearts of the elect,” eager to ‘cultivate the resurrection’ to transform, day after day, action after action, the physical earthly body into a spiritual body. Theologians argue that everything that has to do with God is imbued with supernatural light. Christ photophor florense, not figured but transfigured in the light, is an ‘entrance’ to the luminous sacred, permeable to those who contemplate Him 65

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

only through the spiritual light, which is irradiation from God. In the composition of the tunnels apse there is no perspective: the light is immense, radiates created, and the man is in its immateriality and its depth omnidirectional infinite, then by any of his points of view captures the meaning prospective. Against the background of this interpretation, the prevailing architectural and art-historical echoes the prologue of St. John the Evangelist, owner of the Monastery of the origins florense: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”40. St. John is the figure with which Joachim, a man of the Word (Logos)41, «is ideally compared with, thanks to the common experience of the Spirit on the day of the Lord.»42. The apse traceries, which bear witness to the light evoked in John’s prologue and in the light of the 66

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

Transfiguration, refer to the Trinity, acknowledging, beside the Resurrection, the new coming of Christ, “who will transfigure our lowly body to be like his glorious body”43, and also remind us that “we must pass through much tribulation in order to enter into the kingdom of God”44. ---o---

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

Matthew (17. 1-9) [1] And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,[2] And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.[3] And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.[4] Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here 1

three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.[5] While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. [6] And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. [7] And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. [8] And when they had lif-

Notes

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

ted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. [9] And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. Mark (9, 1-9): ([1] And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.[2] And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. [3] And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.[4] And there appeared unto

them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.[5] And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.[6] For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.[7] And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.[8] And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.[9] And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

Luca (9, 28-36): )[28] And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. [29] And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. [30] And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:[31] Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. [32] But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.[33] And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here:

and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.[34] While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.[35] And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. [36] And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. 2 (Lu 9, 29). 3 (Mt 17, 2). 4 (Mc 9, 35). 5 Abot Joachim of Fiore, Liber de Concordia Noui ac Veteris Testamenti, The American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia 1983, p. 19, edit Randolph Da-

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

niel. 6 One of the traditional prayers associated with the kenosis is the famous prayer of the heart, also called simple prayer: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The recognition of his status as a creature in need of reestablishing a relationship with his Creator, would be in fact, for the Christian, the first step towards conversion. 7 (1 Cor 3, 1-3). 8 (Gv 8, 12). 9 Gioacchino da Fiore, Psalterio, f.229 a-c.: «If forced by necessity and having to resort to a sensitive image, we take at least that which is most noble in the reality without reason, that is our light, which as we have acknowledged, is a symbol of the true Light,

which does not much illuminate the external eyes of the wicked, but the hearts of the elect. From this light, we call the sun, has its origin the beam that proceeds without interruption incessantly heat, which reaches the Earth without ever separating from the source from which it comes from, without doubt from the image of the Son, who has descended to bring us the light from the Father, and the image of the Holy Spirit who was given to us along with the Son to light us up with the fire of his love. You will then find symbolized in the unique sun the mystery of the Trinity.», in the AA.VV., Gioacchino da Fiore, Librare, S. Giov. in Fiore 2006, p. 58. 10 Exodus (20, 4 -5 ) [4] Thou shalt not make unto

thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me… Deuteronomy (4, 15–19) [15] Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:[16] Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,[17] The likeness of any beast

that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,[18] The likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:[19] And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. 11 V. De Fraja, De articulis fidei ad fratem Iohannem- Confessio fidei, Roma 2012, p. LXI-LXV. 12 1 Corinthians (15, 5153) [51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 13 V. De Fraja, De articulis …, p. XLVIII. 14 Gioacchino da Fiore, Psalterio, f.229 a-c.: see note n. 8. 15 Gioacchino da Fiore, Psalterio, f.229 a-c.: see note n. 8. 16 S. Oliverio, La vita del beato abate Gioacchino, in AA.VV., Gioacchino da Fiore, Librare, S. Giov. in Fiore 2006, cit. p. 27; idem a p. 23, in the life of the Beato Joachim of Celico, written by Domenico Martire we read: “Then he climbed mount Taborre (Mount

Tabor), and found there a deep old cistern, lowered himself inside, and for forty days remained inside, praying and fasting. And during the days, came that happy night, in which Jesus stripped from hell, resurrected, behold we saw him surrounded by much splendor and all the mysteries of the Old and New Testament were manifested, and particularly those of the sacred Book of Revelation. “. 17 G. L. Potestà, Il tempo dell’Apocalisse, vita e opere di Gioacchino da Fiore, Laterza, Bari 2004, p. 130. 18 G. L. Potestà, Il tempo …, pp. 130. 19 G. L. Potestà, Il tempo …, p. 130, check also note 15: Expositio, 35va-36rb. 20 G. L. Potestà, Il tempo…, pp. 131. 21 G. L. Potestà, Il tempo

…, pp. 130-134. 22 De articulis fidei, 1, p.4, cfr. V. De Fraja, De articulis …, p. XIX-XXI. 23 P. Lopetrone, La chiesa abbaziale florense di San Giovanni in Fiore, Edizioni Librare, San Giovanni in Fiore (CS) 2002, p. 62-63. 24 G. L. Potestà, Il tempo ..., pp. 14, 34o-347. 25 S. Oliverio, Lo specchio del Mistero, Exhibition Catalogue Liber Figurarum di Gioacchino da Fiore, S. Giov. in Fiore, Pubblisfera, 2000, pp. 16-17. 26 Psalterium decem chordarum, I Padova, Biblioteca Antoniana, ms. 322, f.1va. 27 Apocalisse 1, 8. 28 S. Oliverio, Lo specchio ..., pp. 12-13. 29 S. Oliverio, Lo specchio ..., pp. 12-13. 30 S. Oliverio, Lo specchio

..., pp. 12-13. 31 Psalterium, II, ms. Paris, Cliché Bibliotèque Nationale de France, 427, f.27r. 32 P. Lopetrone, La chiesa abbaziale florense di San Giovanni in Fiore, Edizioni Librare, San Giovanni in Fiore (CS) 2002, pp. 56-59; 33 P. Lopetrone, La chiesa ..., pp. 64-65. 34 P. Lopetrone, La chiesa ..., pp. 51-53. 35 P. Lopetrone, La chiesa ..., pp. 54-55. 36 P. Lopetrone, La localizzazione del protomonastero di Fiore – cronaca dell’attività ricognitiva marzo 1997/luglio 2003, in «Florensia», Bollettino del Centro Internazionale Studi Gioachimiti, n. 16-17, anno 2002-2003, Edizioni Dedalo, Bari 2003, pp. 251-256. 37 P. Lopetrone, La «Do-

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

mus, que dicitur mater omnium» - Genesi Architettonica del proto Tempio del «Monasterium» florense, in (a cura di) C. D. Fonseca, D. Roubis e F. Sogliani, Jure Vetere. Ricerche archeologiche nella prima fondazione monastica di Gioacchino da Fiore (Indagini 2001-2005), Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli (CZ), 2007, pp. 295-331; P. Lopetrone, (a cura di), Atlante delle Fondazioni florensi- Schede iconografia storia – vol. I, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli (CZ) 2006. pp. 36-44. 38 P. Lopetrone, La chiesa abbaziale florense di San

Giovanni in Fiore, Edizioni Librare, San Giovanni in Fiore (CS) 2002. 39 P. Lopetrone, L’architettura florense delle origini, in AA.VV., Gioacchino da Fiore, Librare, S. Giov. in F. (CS) 2006, pp. 73-87. 40 Giovanni (1, 1-5). 41 A. Ruini, Gioacchino è l’uomo del Logos, in «La provincia di Cosenza» A.A. V.V., Gioacchino da Fiore “Il calavrese di spirito profetico dotato”, Stabilimento Tipografico le Rose, Cosenza 2011, p. 108. 42 G. L. Potestà, Il tempo ..., p. 347. 43 (Fil 3, 21). 44 (At 14, 22).

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fig. 37 - Main front of the Florensian abbey church. 77

P. Lopetrone, Christ photophor florense -ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3 e.BOOK

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editing march 2013 by e.BOOK

floris®

This essay has already been published: - In the first edition, italian version, in December 2012, in print on paper 21 cm x 26 cm - only in 1000 (one thousand) copies printed in 2012, by a grant made by Pasquale Lopetrone, owner of the literary work, to Pubblisfera Editions, owner of ISBN 978-88-97632-11-5 - and the distribution of the printed volume; - In the second edition, italian version, in January 2013, in e-book format digital file. PDF 1.7 MB (minimum size) on the initiative of Lopetrone Pasquale, owner of the literary work, owner of ISBN 97888-908377-0-8 and the distribution free on-line , with complimentary copy not for sale. - In the third edition, italian version, in february 2013, in e-book format digital file. PDF 1.9 MB (minimum size) on the initiative of Lopetrone Pasquale, owner of the literary work, owner of ISBN 978-88-9083775-3 and the distribution free on-line , with complimentary copy not for sale.

Pasquale Lopetrone CHRIST FLORENSIAN PHotOPHor This work concerns a study of the apse wall of the abbey church of San Giovanni in Fiore. The purpose of the publication is to illustrate the aniconic symbols designed by the abbot Joachim of Fiore for his model of the Church, permeated by the Theophany of the Transfiguration condensed on the wall of the apse of the abbey through a spiritual work of art, which is certainly a first and unique of its kind respect to the architecture, figurative art and artifacts of Christian production. The book covers Trinitarian topics applied to the Florensian architecture through the use of geometries associated with the light radiated into the space of the Church, in this case dominated by Christ photophor (Generator of Light). P. Lopetrone

ISBN 978-88-908377-5-3

editing by e.BOOK floris速 http//:paslopetrone.altervista.org http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ebookfloris/100147043494321?fref=ts

e.book for free - copy not for sale