A crescent moon under her feet…

In the conclusion of a historical study on the Catholic Church and Anatolia recently posted online, we read:

"The opposition between Christianity and the Ottoman Empire has an eschatological dimension. In the Apocalypse narrated by the Apostle John, there is an image which has become over time the object of a great veneration: that of the "Virgin of the Apocalypse." It shows Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, at the end of time. She is dressed in blue and her head is crowned with twelve stars, prefiguring the European flag. A crescent moon is under her feet, prefiguring the symbol of Islam, as well as the demon, which she crushes.

Christians can see in this image the promise of the final victory of Christianity on Islam brought about by the Blessed Virgin. The relations between the Church and Anatolia also have this extraordinary dimension, illustrated by the miraculous, seminal victories of Constantine at the Milvius Bridge in October 312 and the Holy League at Lepanto in 1571. In both cases, Tradition affirms that a cross appeared in the sky associated with the words: "In hoc signo vinces," meaning "With this sign you will conquer."

Grégor Puppinck

Andreea Popescu

Christophe Foltzenlogel

ECLJ publication of a historical study on The Catholic Church and Anatolia online and in French in the Journal of the Oxford Centre for the Study of Law & Public Policy.