Enough thinking, especially about the coronavirus crisis.
This is especially true for those of us who are Eastern Orthodox. Today is our Easter — Pascha — on the ancient Christian calendar.
So rather than a lengthy “think piece” to read on this Sunday — as is the norm at this blog — I would like to give readers a chance to do something relaxing and a bit inspiring.
My colleague Clemente Lisi of The King’s College in New York City has created a small collection of Internet links to virtual tours of several important religious sites and regions around the world. Thus, he writes, in a feature for Religion Unplugged:
With most of the world’s population stuck at home in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, travel has come to a standstill. Springtime, and the approaching summer, are typically a time to take a flight and explore another part of the world.
Since most of us are inside and waiting for this pandemic to subside, you can still visit places virtually — with the help of your computer — from the comforts of home. Religious sites and museums, popular with pilgrims and tourists alike, are very popular this time of year.
Staying home doesn’t mean you can’t travel digitally. It is also a chance to research places you’d like to visit once normalcy resumes.
Amen. How else are you going to get to visit the Vatican, the Middle East, important mosques around the world and Westminster Abbey.
But since this is Pascha, allow me to start Lisi’s virutal here — in Hagia Sophia. I have been able to visit this grand sanctuary twice and it is both glorious and sad. I must confess that I offered some private, and illegal, prayers under one of the icons that survived this cathedral’s conversion to a mosque (some icons were covered with paint and not totally destroyed).
Located in the Turkish capitol Istanbul, the former Greek Orthodox cathedral, and later converted into an Ottoman mosque, is now a museum.
It was built in the years between 532 and 537 on the orders of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. The site is most-famous for the mosaics that decorate its interior walls. It has been a museum since 1935.
Obviously, as a Catholic with strong Italian roots, Lisi is also headed — with a click of his mouse — to you know where:
Vatican City, one of the most sacred places in Christianity, contains a unique collection of artistic and architectural masterpieces.
A city state located in the city of Rome, St. Peter’s Basilica — with its double colonnade and a circular piazza — remains a breathtaking site.
Enjoy the tours. And be safe and careful in your solitude.