A City of Sharp Contrast:
Piety and Persecution in Paris

There are many reasons to visit Paris.  These include culture, fashion, architecture, opera and so on.  The Churches and Cathedrals of Paris stand as mute testimony to the creative and devout spirit of the French people.  Yet, they also tell the story of ruthless religious persecution decades before the advent of the militantly atheistic Soviet regime.  If, as some say, romance is about opposites (attracting), then the spiritual history of Paris is certainly one of sharp contrast in an atmosphere where no love was lost . . .

It was the Greek intellectual convert of St Paul the Apostle, Dionysius the Areopagite who became the missionary to France and Paris along with his associates, Rusticus and Eleutherius in deep Christian antiquity.  (Some affirm that St Denis of Paris was not the Areopagite, but that is another issue altogether.)

It was near Montmartre that St Denis was beheaded at a place at which a very old chapel still exists to commemorate the martyrdom.  St Denis was said to have picked up his head and to have walked to where his Basilica was later built to mark the spot where he dropped it!  

Seven major Churches, five of which are no longer around, formerly celebrated the major events and places in the life of St Denis and were popular places of pilgrimage.

The Basilica became the site for the burial of the Bourbon monarchs of France until the Revolution when it shared in the fate of most other places of worship and was desecrated with the remains of the sovereigns taken out altogether.

It was also here that a red flaming banner dotted with sunbursts known as the "Oriflamme" with the invocation:  "Montjoie St Denis!" was located above the altar.  During wartime, the French kings would come to "raise the banner" and invoke their patron's protection.

Many of the great churches of Paris became situated on the sites of former pagan temples.  The oldest extant church, St Germain des Pres, located its chapel to the Mother of God ("Our Lady of Consolation") on the spot where Isis was formerly worshipped!

Notre Dame de Paris on the Seine is likewise on the site of a former pagan temple.  Other large religious edifices, such as St Mary Magdalene, continued to bear architectural resemblance to Roman temples.

The great Church of St Sulpice with its breath-taking frescoes by Eugene de la Croix was the site of a spiritual renaissance of sorts within France itself.  It was there that St Louis de Montfort received his priestly training before he set off to preach union with Christ through devotion to the Mother of God (the "Holy Slavery"). 

And, on Rue du Bac, there is the chapel where, in 1830, the Mother of Christ is believed to have appeared to the nun, Catherine Laboure. She asked her to create religious medals with a depiction of the Virgin Mary as "Our Lady of Grace" on it for people to wear.  

Known as the "Miraculous Medal," millions and millions were produced and are now found all over the world.

Based on an earlier prototype, a version of this medal was also worn by Ukrainian Orthodox members of Brotherhoods in and around Kyiv!  

Having studied in Paris, they brought home with them a number of French devotions which they integrated into the Kyivan Baroque style of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

This also led to the acceptance of a number of western images as miraculous icons of the Theotokos by the Orthodox Church.  Among these are included:  Our Lady of the Scapular or the icon of Horodyschenske, a version of the "Madonna della Strada" or the Virgin of the Three Joys, the "Immaculate Virgin," versions of the Pieta, the icons of the Seven Swords and others mentioned and depicted by Professor Poselianin in his monumental Russian language work, "The Mother of God" (Jordanville Press). 

Even St Seraphim of Sarov's chief icon, the now universally revered Mother of God "Umilenie" is a western image of Our Lady of the Annunciation!

At the same time, however, all these shrines also tell the story of fierce anti-Christian persecution in France's history, beginning with the French Revolution.

Just around the corner from our hotel is the Carmelite Church "Des Carmes" in the backyard of which no less than 120 French priests, including one French Canadian, Andre Grasset, were shot by revolutionaries.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris was not only desecrated, it was declared a "temple of Reason" as well.  The same happened with Chartres Cathedral and others.

It is interesting that militant atheists would want to develop a kind of cult or religion on the basis of unbelief.  This does demonstrate how rituals, rites and other ceremonies and exercises of the human spirit persist as needed things, even while the objects of their focus become subjects of dispute and even persecution.

But this wasn't the case with the great forerunner of sociology, (someone I used to admire before my trip to Paris), Saint-Simon. He not only started his own version of a monastic community, but who also wanted to purchase Notre Dame de Paris so that he could destroy it once and for all!

But Saint-Simon was the exception to the rule for French anticlericalism.  The Pantheon of Paris is a large, magnificent former Basilica of Paris' Patron, St. Genevieve. 

It was here that the virulently and successive anti-Catholic regimes of France tried to actually establish a kind of "cult" to their heroes.

The upper floor is a reminder of enduring religious insult where the frescoes of the life of St Genevieve are the only, if magnificent, remnants of the former cult of this Saint (now promoted by the nearby Church of St Etienne des Monts).

Where the altar once stood, there is a large monument to France's war heroes.  To the side, as if to "celebrate" the victory of "reason and science" over religion, there is a long wire attached to the ceiling and ending on the floor in an attached ball which moves by itself at all times.  An astounding "miracle," to be sure . . .

In the crypt of the Basilica, there are to be found the tombs of numerous French statesmen, writers and others who seem to share one thing in common, namely, their antagonism against religion.

One may also view a film of the burial of one such individual at the Pantheon where the suggestion is made that the French government came close to establishing a kind of "atheist canonization."  But it is only at the tomb of Victor Hugo that any flowers, by way of posthumous enduring tribute, are to be found . . . But at least he defended Notre Dame de Paris!

At "Pere La Chaise" cemetery, there are many tombs of France's elite and famous, buried on land that once belonged to the Father confessor of King Louis XIV.

Here too the contrast of history is celebrated.

There is a beautiful, Gothic tomb-monument to the famous couple, Abelard and Heloise dating from the thirteenth century.

As her tutor, Abelard fell in love with Heloise and they had a child out of wedlock.  Her uncle had Abelard castrated and the founder of the University of Paris entered the monastic state as did his great love of his life, Heloise.  

They continued to write to each other in repenting as well as loving tones and their letters are treasured for their spiritual flavour to this day.  Their local cult continues to be strong, judging from the number of flowers and other votives at their tomb where they are buried together.

Chopin is also interred there as are many other universally-acclaimed contributors to world culture and civilization.

But, again, there is a monument of quasi-religious significance that is dedicated to the members of the Paris Commune executed in 1871.

During a shoot-out with government troops, the remaining Communards surrendered near the cemetery and their victors decided to save themselves additional trouble by executing them by firing squad and then burying them in a common grave.

This monument continues to be honoured by France's left-wing groups who hold commemorative processions there every March 18^th.

Politics really does make for strange bed-fellows!

The entire atmosphere of Paris is really charged with the turbulence of past years.  One may find there both inspiration as well as horror, the best and the worst of human nature.

The great historic struggles of the past that has dotted the Paris landscape has resulted in a kind of calm that the French have settled into.

At the same time, more and more French youth are growing increasingly more attuned to the spiritual heritage of the past and its modern relevance for contemporary times.

Numbers of them are forming monastic communities on the model of the Rule of St Benedict. 

They dedicate their lives to prayer and contemplation, to silence and peace, to charity and social work.  As such, they too serve as a modern contrast to our world.

Many stores in Paris display their various products of a secular and religious nature that they produce.

Although the great historic monuments of Paris stand in mute testimony of an often violent past, the spiritual foundations upon which they formerly stood are being renewed quietly by a generation that, like the Mother of Christ, is listening to the Word of God while pondering it in their heart.

Dr. Alexander Roman  alex@unicorne.org