In the Space of Christian Culture

The dominance of Christianity in the medieval world gave rise to all of modern culture, in the space of which we exist from birth to death – this is 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 merely the so-called "Dark Ages," as something mediocre – this period is as significant in its own right as the Renaissance. The geniuses of this time – Saint Francis of Assisi and Bonaventure, Giotto di Bondone and Dante Alighieri, Andre Rublev and Theophanes the Greek – still engage in dialogue with us across the centuries. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, upon being elected Pope, takes his name in honor of the saint from Assisi, reviving Franciscan humility and inviting us to cross yet another bridge over the abyss of epochs.