Russian Orthodox Icon painter in the service of the Freemasons
Those who watched the April 29, 2011 broadcast of the "wedding of the century" - the wedding of the heir to the British throne, Prince William and Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey ( see video ), probably could not help but notice that on the columns of St. Peter, in front of the temple lamps, there are two Orthodox icons of the Savior and the Mother of God ( see ill .).
These images ( Christ, Blessed Virgin Mary with the Christ Child) , which appeared in Westminster Abbey in 1994, were painted by the artist Sergei Fyodorov ( see illustration ) from Russia ( Sergei Fyodorov, rarely Fedorov ).
He was born in 1959 in Pskov and learned the basics of icon painting from Fr. Zinona (Theodora). Among his works in Moscow are the painting of the Church of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, the iconostasis of the Intercession Church in the Danilov Monastery, and the iconostasis ( see illustration ) of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord on Nikitskaya ("Small Ascension").
In 1996 Sergei Fedorov performed the nine-figure Deesis ( see illustration ) in the crypt of Winchester Cathedral ( Hampshire, England). Among the saints he depicted St. Swithun , patron saint of Winchester Cathedral , and St. Birinus , first missionarybishop of Winchester .
2001 - 2004 Sergei Fedorov worked on a fresco in Rochester Cathedral, which was dedicated to the 2000th anniversary of Christianity. According to the icon painter, it was "the first fresco painted in the British Isles in 800 years." The fresco ( see illustration ), located above the entrance to the cathedral, is dedicated to the theme of baptism.
Below the upper composition depicting the Baptism of the Lord, there are scenes of the baptism of King Kent St. Ethelbert (Ethelbert or Æthelbert) of St. Augustine of Canterbury after his arrival in the kingdom in 597. It was St.Ethelbert granted the land on which Rochester Cathedral was built. If you follow where the male figure points with the finger on the left side of the lower composition, then the right scene of the baptism of 2 thousand Anglo-Saxons of St. Ethelbert ( see illustration ).
In one of his interviews, Sergei Fedorov did not consider it necessary to hide the fact that he also depicted on this fresco a group of Freemasons ( see illustration ), who can only be recognized by the initiated “brothers”. This overwhelming confession of the icon painter could have raised a lot of questions, had it not been for the information published in the English press about the financing of the " Rochester Cathedral " project by the Masons of the county of Kent. This, in particular, is reported by the magazine " Masonic Quarterly " ( see illustration), which is the official publication of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).
In 2006, Sergei Fedorov painted an icon of the Savior with Pope Gregory the Great and St. Augustine of Canterbury ( see illustration ) . This image (66 x 46) was intended as a gift to Pope Benedict XVI from Archbishop Rowan Douglas Williams during his visit to the Holy See in November 2006 . On the back of the icon is the inscription : “ Presented by Rowan, Archbishop of Canterbury to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI with fraternal love and esteem as a sign of my prayer for your apostolic ministry and of the shared goal of our two communions - the full visibility of the one holyChurch on earth . "
Let us recall that before his enthronement at the beginning of 2003, Bishop. Rowan Williams ( Bishop of Monmouth ) declared that Freemasonry and Christianity were "incompatible" and refused to place clerics in Masonic lodges in leading positions in the Church of England. According to him, over the past 50 years, Freemasons have infiltrated the upper echelons of the Church, and thousands of clerics are among the 350,000 British "brothers". So , the former archbishop . Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher , who chaired the Church of England from 1945 to 1961 , was also Chief Chaplain . " United Grand Lodge of England "(Grand Chaplain for the United Grand Lodge of England).
However, soon under strong pressure from Archbishop. Rowan Williams was forced to give in to the Freemasons and even apologize to them in a letter addressed to Robert Morrow ( the Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England ) . In this letter, he explained his act with the outbreak of disappointment at the news that his own father was in the ranks of "free masons". It is hardly accidental that on the eve of a visit to the Roman high priest, Archbishop. Rowan Williams was "advised" to place an order with an icon painter from Russia, who has been working in Great Britain for a long time on orders from Masons.
Most likely, Sergei Fyodorov's "conversion" took place back in 1994, during his work at Westminster Abbey, which is their "chair" for the English Masons. See: Westminster Abbey - the history of a Masonic cathedral As you know, as early as 1376, the "Freemasons" (Freemasons) included in the London company became known as "Freemasons". And in 1388-1395. Henry de Yeveley was the head of the royal works and Master Mason at Westminster Abbey. In 1479, at the same place, in Westminster Abbey, Robert Stowell was ordained as a Masonic Master.
In the XX century. the monarchy in England turned out to be closely connected with Freemasonry when King George Vchanged the name of his dynasty from the German Saxe-Coburgs and Gotha to English Windsors by royal decree of July 17, 1917 ( cf. this date for the Russian dynasty : http : // expertmus .livejournal . com / 35064. html ). It is also important to take into account the historical context of the immersion in Freemasonry of the British monarchy: http : // expertmus . livejournal . com / 38258. html Already the father of Elizabeth II , King GeorgeVI(1895-1952) was from 1939 simultaneously the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. His coronation took place on May 12, 1937 at Westminster Abbey, and 2 months later. On July 11, 35,000 "brothers" attended the funeral of the famous New York Mason composer George Gershwin (real name Jacob Gershowitz).
Currently, many members of the Royal House of England are members of Masonic lodges ( the Grand Lodge of London , the United Grand Lodge of London , etc. ) . The grandson of King George V and cousin of Queen Elizabeth II , Prince Edward ( Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick ), born October 9, 1935, has been the Grand Master since 1967 at the head of the United Grand Lodge of England. He is the uncle of the newlywed princeWilliam, therefore, the marriage of the heir to the British throne was attended by "brothers" - Masons from all over the world: heads of state, political leaders, members of royal dynasties, incl. Romanian. Indeed, the "United Grand Lodge of England" stands at the head of the world circles of Freemasonry, the headquarters of which is the "Jerusalem Chamber" in front of the entrance to ... Westminster Abbey . By the way, none of the Russian journalists covering Prince William's wedding ceremony mentioned the demonstrators protesting right in front of the wedding procession against the dominance of Freemasons in British political life.
So there is nothing surprising in the fact that few believers in Russia know about the Masonic connections of the icon painter Sergei Fedorov, who was even ordered by the church authorities in Moscow to paint a large, full-length icon of St. anniversary of the repose of St. blgv. Prince Daniel of Moscow ( see illustration). This icon depicts the holy prince not as a monk, but as a statesman, ruler of the Russian State. On September 6, 2003, during a procession from the Kremlin, a huge icon was carried on a special stretcher by Moscow priests in turn, changing every 200 m ( see illustration ).
However, information of this kind rarely leaks into the Russian press, although no, no, yes, and there will appear in connection with the Freemasons a mention of any of the high-ranking officials from Russia, including the closest aide of Patriarch Kirill, vl. Hilarion (Alfeev) , in honor of whom the Grand Master of the Order of St. John of the Knights of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta Matthew Festing in his official residence - Villa Magistral on the Aventine Hill in Rome - gave a dinner on May 20, 2010. The dinner was attended by the Grand Commander of the Order of Malta Gerardo Ercolani Fava Simonetti, Grand Chancellor Jean-Pierre Mazeri, Bishop Paolo Sardi, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Vatican N.I. Sadchikov, Ambassador of the Order of Malta in Moscow Jeanfranco Facco Bonetti and other guests of honor.
At the end of the solemn event, the Grand Master addressed Vladyka Hilarion with a welcoming speech, in which he noted: “In 1992 , after the 75-year dominance of atheism, the Order of Malta regained the status of a subject of international law in Russia, was officially recognized by the state . Since that time, the constant concern of the leadership of the Order has been to establish and maintain, through their diplomatic representatives in Moscow, warm relations and close cooperation with the Moscow Patriarchate in general and with the Department for External Church Relations in particular.
We consider the revival and spread of the Christian faith, which is manifested in the multiplication of Orthodox communities in Russia and other countries in the south of Eastern Europe, as one of the most outstanding events in the modern history of European Christianity. As Christians, we cannot but admire the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church for the restoration, construction and maintenance of thousands of churches and chapels, in cities and villages, many monasteries and seminaries, in the vast expanses of your country - not only to educate the souls of believers, but also to preserve a great cultural heritage accumulated over a thousand-year history of Christianity.
I would like to ask all the guests, together with me, to raise glasses to the health and well-being of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, to the prosperity of the Moscow Patriarchate, which you represent today. I raise this glass for you, for everyone who surrounds you and in these decisive times works together with you for the development of inter-Christian relations. "
In response, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations thanked the Grand Master for the warm welcome, confirming the importance of the charitable and social work carried out by the Order in many countries of the world. At the end of the meeting, both sides exchanged memorable gifts ( see illustration ) ...
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Source: https://expertmus.livejournal.com/73559.html?thread=686423%23t686423