Arseny and Andrei Tarkovsky

The dominance of Christianity in the medieval world gave birth to all of modern culture, in the space within which we exist from birth to death – this is exactly what Paola Dmitrievna Volkova discusses in her series of lectures dedicated to the late Middle Ages and the Proto-Renaissance. It is impossible to view this era as the conditional "Dark Ages," as something mediocre – this period is no less significant than the Renaissance itself. The geniuses of this time – Saint Francis of Assisi and Bonaventure, Giotto di Bondone and Dante Alighieri, Andrei Rublev and Theophanes the Greek – continue to hold a dialogue with us through the centuries. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, upon being elected Pope, takes the name in honor of the saint from Assisi, resurrecting Franciscan humility and inviting us to cross another bridge over the abyss of epochs. This publication presents a revised cycle "Bridge over the Abyss" in the form in which it was conceived by Paola Dmitrievna – in historical-chronological order. It will also include previously unpublished lectures from her personal archive.