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Post by Jaga on Jun 11, 2020 23:19:37 GMT -7
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Post by kaima on Jun 12, 2020 8:59:41 GMT -7
It was last year I happened to be in Krakow on Corpus Christi, caught up as an unaware tourist in the holiday. Many places were closed, including the excellent archaeology museum, and I was wandering the streets when I encountered the beginning of the church parade. I can't name the church where it started (I have the impression there were several processions in the city), but this was the largest church parade I have encountered in my life! I can't count the number of various religious orders of monks, priests, nuns and civilian church organizations taking part in the procession. An American Roman Catholic would walk away from the experience impressed with the power and the majesty of the procession, a protestant would have to be impressed whatever their attitude toward Catholicism might be (usually their commentary concerns decoration, statues or iconic symbols of Mary or the saints, and traditional ceremony as outward symbols of their different, simpler practices), and the communists would have to recognize the power they were facing and the limits within which they could try to control the power of the people and their faith.
Simply put, it was very impressive. I have never seen anything like it in America, but then I have not been to a major city or center of faith when such an event was held.
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Post by Jaga on Jun 13, 2020 3:17:39 GMT -7
Kai, I am glad you saw it. I was very surprised that this is such a typical Polish catholic tradition. This was always a big event during communism and as you said it was showing the boundaries of comunism... the church was always fighting to receive permission for longer or better parade routes, the communists tried to limit it.
Sometimes the best movies were showed during the times of procession, so people would be tempted to stay home...
Now, when I looked at it, this is the most popular, common folks part of the communist church. My mom who was an intellectual never openly wanted me to be involved for instance as a girl parading with the pillow of Jesus... she did not tell me that openly, but in her heart this was just too populist for her
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