To be continued…

I decided to go from Minsk to Vilnius. Surprisingly, it turned out that it was not a tourist trip as I had expected, but a pilgrimage tour.

Firstly, when I passed through the Sharp Gate or Ostra Brama and entered the old part of the city, it dawned on me that there are a lot of churches in Vilnius. Suffice it to say that while walking from the Gate to the Vilnia River I visited Roman Catholic Church of St. Teresa in Baroque style, Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Neo-Byzantine style, Roman Catholic Church of St. Anna in Flamboyant Gothic and Brick Gothic styles and even Choral Synagogue in Moorish style, etc.

Moreover, there is a marvelous Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on the other bank of the Vilnia River. Built in Baroque style, the church is richly decorated with sculptures and stucco reliefs inside and outside and thus it looks like a gorgeous porcelain casket. Needless to say, it completely took my breath away.

Secondly, despite the fact that the Memorial Museum of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis is a little off the beaten track, it is definitely worth visiting. To cut a long story short, Čiurlionis’ Mysterious Paintings complemented by his Music which was being performed at the Museum made a strong impression on me.

Finally, when I returned to Minsk, I saw everything in a different light. Pardon me for mentioning it, but in spite of the fact that I had been studying in Minsk for about six years, I had never been in most of its churches until then. Wandering around the Church of Saints Simon and Helena, I realized that it bears striking resemblance to the Church of St. Anna in Vilnius. Furthermore, one day my friend took me to the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul and showed the place where the choir is standing during the service. I will never forget how enchanting it was.

To sum it up, it seems to me that nothing happens accidentally; on the contrary, everything has its purpose. All you need to do is believe in yourself and you will live happily ever after, I presume.

Now when most parts of the world are on lockdown because of the virus and I have to work from home, my flat reminds me of Monastic Cell and I imagine myself being a Medieval Scholar who describes historical events and ponders the future.

As we all know, religious issues were of utmost importance in those days. Suffice it to mention “The Confessions” of Saint Augustine in which he is examining his own life, talking about his yearning for truth and his struggle with worldly desires, discussing the nature of sin and telling us about his conversion to Christianity.

At the same time, Chivalric Romances describing adventures of knight-errant and praising Courtly Love for idealized lady were extremely popular in the Middle Ages. For instance, “Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart” by Chrétien de Troyes or “Roman de la Rose” two parts of which were written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun respectively. When I saw highly detailed miniature from illuminated manuscript depicting the Lover entering the walled garden in search of the Rose symbolizing his lady’s love, I was dazzled by its refined Beauty.

As for love, it is said that there were the so-called “Lovers of Teruel” who lived in the 13^>th century and died young since the farther of the bride-to-be was against their marriage and made his daughter marry another man. One can find their tombs in the Mausoleum of the Amantes in Teruel – a city in Aragon where, by the way, there are a lot of buildings designed in the Mudéjar style bearing traces of Islamic Art. Rumor has it that William Shakespeare may have been inspired by this story of forbidden love when writing “Romeo and Juliet”.