World Religion Gallery

American Progress

Painting entitled American Progress, by John Gast, depicting Manifest Destiny (the religious belief that the United States should expand from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in the name of God). In 1872 artist John Gast painted a popular scene of people moving west that captured the view of Americans at the time. Called Spirit of the Frontier and widely distributed as an engraving portrayed settlers moving west, guided and protected by a goddess-like figure and aided by technology (railways, telegraphs), driving Native Americans and bison into obscurity. It is also important to note that angel is bringing the light as witnessed on the eastern side of the painting as she travels towards the darkened west. USA, circa 1872. (Photo by Fotosearch/Getty Images)

© 2010 Getty Images

Ostrog Monastery, Montenegro

The Monastery of Ostrog is a monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church situated against an almost vertical background, in Montenegro. It is dedicated to Saint Basil of Ostrog (Sveti Vasilije OstroA?ki), who is buried here. Ostrog monastery is the most popular pilgrimage place in Montenegro

© 2016 Frans Sellies

17th Century, 613574700, Architecture, Balkans, Bell Tower Tower, Built Structure, Christianity, Church, Cliff, Color Image, Convent, Day, Europe, Facade, History, Horizontal, Human Interest, Low Angle View, Monastery, Montenegro, Mountain, No People, Orthodox Church, Ostrog, Outdoors, Photography, Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage Church, Place Of Worship, Religion, Serbia And Montenegro, Staircase, Tourism, Travel Destinations

St. Michaels gold-domed cathedral, Kiev, Ukraine, Europe

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a functioning monastery in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Originally built in the Middle Ages, the monastery comprises the Cathedral itself, the Refectory of St. John the Divine, built in 1713 and the monastery's bell tower, which was added circa 1716-1719. The original cathedral was demolished under the Stalin regime in the 1930s, but was reconstructed and opened in 1999 following Ukrainian independence in 1991

© 2014 Frans Sellies