The ring metaphor and the spirit of Sofia and other essays

Abstract

This publication presents a collection of six papers originally published in Melita Theologica, the theological academic journal published since 1947 by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Malta. This journal is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach to a spectrum of theological and philosophical issues. These essays, reflections on several themes mainly relating to architecture, are being reprinted with minor corrections to the original text, with endnotes, where deemed necessary, developed for scholars and students alike. The first three essays address three European capital cities: Sofia, Valletta and London. The first two are reflections on themes relating to the production of architecture as an existential statement which is a function of the spirit of place, ground in sense experience through time. The paper relating to London argues that post-war British architecture is a plea for the return of morality in architectural language. The fourth paper reviews Hegel’s reading of Gothic architecture. It is exegetical and expository rather than analytical and critical. The last two papers are co-authored with colleagues at the University of Malta: one with Saviour Catania and the other with Marlene Gatt and the late Irene Dillon. With Catania, time and memory in the seminal film L’Année Dernière à Marienbad is read as a cartography of an Orphic life-indeath. The last paper addresses music as a medium to unravel the spiritual dimension of human experience as it manifests in children. In his critical introduction, Vladimir Gradev puts forward his comprehension and reading of all the texts. The foreword was penned by HM Simeon II, the King of all Bulgarians; a most fitting contribution, given that the first paper, which addresses the Bulgarian Capital, lent its name to this publication.