His Eminence Archbishop Damianos of Sinai consecrates the exhibition
"Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557)" at The Metropolitan Museum
of Art on March 15, 2004. Following is an English translation of his blessing.
"Let us pray to the Lord.
Great art Thou, O Lord, and wondrous are Thy works. And who
is sufficient to speak of Thy mighty acts? For being eternally
in the bosom of the Beginningless Father, as God Thou didst
descend to earth in Thy benevolence, without change becoming
man, and didst tabernacle amongst us, taking upon Thyself
all of the admixture of our human nature, and wast manifest
upon earth in Thine extreme compassion, the impalpable becoming
approachable by us, and circumscribable in icons and varied works of art.
Thee do we beseech and Thee do we entreat, O Thou Who art good and
the creator of all: Hallow this exhibition of sacred icons and
liturgical treasures, which we consecrate this day, recompensing
and blessing abundantly those who have laboured and toiled in
their attentive care of these objects, and those who, in honour
of Thee, have brought the works of art here from the ends of
the earth that we might behold them. And do Thou grant rest,
in the tabernacles of the righteous, unto the souls of the
artificers who from ages past have been well pleasing unto
Thee, whose names are known to Thee alone.
For behold, precious objects of worship, and handiworks created out
of veneration, are here made manifest for the common rejoicing and
study: venerable icons and sacred texts, liturgical treasures and
vestments, most beautiful articles of fine workmanship, whether
written or painted, carved or woven, effulgences befitting the
comeliness of Thy house, which our fathers wrought in their love
for the beautiful, and for reason-endowed worship of Thee, whether
in churches or in homes, offered in piety. All of these, becoming
even an ark of Thy sanctification, bear witness to the ancestral
reverence and the Christ-loving mind of Orthodox Christians throughout
the whole of the ecumene, manifesting the love of the beautiful of
our forefathers in Byzantium, and proclaiming clearly unto those
that behold them the nourishing of comely arts by our most holy Church.
For unto Thee belongeth, and is due, all glory and majesty, reverence and
worship, together with Thy Beginningless Father, and Thine All-holy and
Good and Life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
