Saint Leo University

Peter the Great was a ruler of Russia from 1682 to 1725. To increase the power he had, he decreased the powers of nobles. This helped him as his kingdom was an absolute monarchy. This made it easy to enact his reforms. Peter rose to power after a series of deaths, and overthrowing his sister after she tried to have him abducted. Peter faced many challenges when he tried to raise taxes, and modernize Russia. He influenced Russia greatly by introducing them to European political and scientific…

Was Ivan the Terrible really that “Terrible”? Many of the people of his time believe him to be. However, contradicting to his name Ivan the “Terrible” in English but in Russian he is called Ivan the Grozny which is meant as Ivan the Great. Riveted from a perplexed childhood, indeed, Ivan the Terrible gained power of Russia at the tender age of eight, however, he was formally named Grand Prince of Russia at age 16. Thus, propelling him to the status of youngest ruler of the country, his rise to…

Bodies fell like apples from a tree to the ground in deep prayer and the sound of it echoed through the sanctuary of the Church of St. Valentine. At dire times such as this, extreme measures had to be taken. The blood of a pure youth, a delectable sacrifice in the eyes of their savior, filled the room with a certain smell that made the mind alert and the heart pound. Her blood spilled on the altar, the lifeless body of Maylene Lagorio looked like a sleeping angel’s in the light of the midnight…

La dia de los muertos, known as The Day of the the dead, is celebrated similar to Halloween. Both Halloween and The Day of the dead include spirits but they are incorporated in different ways. These holidays share similarities and differences through their history, festivals, and and they way the spirits are incorporated. While Halloween is celebrated only on October 31st, Day of the dead is celebrated starting on October 31st and ending on November 2nd. The day of the dead was started…

In Russia, Peter the Great ruled from 1689-1725. He embodied absolutism because he both strengthened the central government and reduced the power of the nobility. He reorganized the government and created a Senate to administer the state. He divided Russia into different provinces to make administration more effective. He forced all landholders to serve in the military or another civil service position. In order to control the Russian Orthodox Church, Peter appointed his own procurator, who made…

Sloth, Working Hard or Hardly Working As Ronald Regan once said, “I've heard that hard work never killed anyone, but I say why take the chance?” I think he was defining the word sloth. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as: disinclination to action or labor: indolence, or the quality or state of being lazy. It is the resistance to work and the unwillingness to act. While the antonym of sloth is drive and industrious, Reagan understood that idleness, laziness, and indolence or in my…

Tintoretto paints him as the prophet. The most clear example of how light is used to distinguish the man from the prophet is the halo. In Leonardo's fresco (1495-1498), Jesus and the disciples do not have heads ringed in the gold light that marks a saint. In stark contrast, Tintoretto’s Oil on canvas work (1592-1594) shows the disciples all with halos, and Jesus with one that illuminates the room. It is almost the only source of light. The painting is clearly in a Mannerism style, breaking from…

from his father. The Czar ordered the army to fire against the protesters to quell the revolt, however the people in the protests were family and friends to the soldiers and they mutinied against the Czar, shortly after the governmental authority in Saint Petersburg fell apart and most symbols of the Czarist regime were torn down, soldiers and remaining police could not stop the protests as they took control of the city. Miles away speeding towards Petrograd on a train was the Czar, his train…

In Animal Farm written by George Orwell, direct parallels are made between the complex characters and events with the Czarist Russia and the life of the Russian peasantry. Life was not easy for the peasants in Russian and in the novel the characters show the peasant's point of view on the government. The novel also shows the mindset of those in authority as well as the complicated struggle for power. The mistreatment of the lower class was a prevalent problem in this time because of their lack…

Introduction There’s a reality attached to being a follower of Jesus. It’s that in your ministry at some point or another, there will be people who will dislike what you’re doing. Likely because you’re involved in the liberation of people they once had some power over. Regardless of the reason, as one who lives like Christ, you will be faced with adversity. They will search for your wrongs and attempt to use them as reasons for why you shouldn't be listened to. However, much like the story of…