Matamoros statue in the Cathedral

[Rosina Lila]

Hello you all,
Any pilgrim who has visited the Santiago Cathedral will remember the large
Matamoros statue on a glassed large niche on the right as one enters the
Cathedral through the Azabacheria door.
Those of us not emotionally aware of the Matamoros  historical significance
to Spaniards as the standard who led them, through several centuries of
fighting at a terrible human cost,  to finally regain their country from foreign
invaders and occupiers, have had our sensibilities offended by the pictorial
imagined figure of an Apostle of Christ, of all people, sword in hand beheading
moors.  True, the moors themselves beheaded many people, and scenes of them doing
so are ubiquitous throughout Spain; (a particularly striking one can be seen
as a, colored, frieze, impressively well sculpted, on the altar wall of the
second chapel to the right as one enters the Pamplona Cathedral through the main
door). But the idea of "an eye for an eye, a foot for a foot" etc., is the
very antithesis of Christian doctrine which is  based on the teachings of
Christ: human love and forgiveness.
Many Christians, myself included, have long been baffled and made sad and
uncomfortable by the Matamoros images inside Christian churches.
Well, yesterday that prominent one in the Santiago Cathedral was removed and
stored away from view.  Apparently the Archdiocese has concluded that
religious diversity has become politically laden and that the statue was unnecessarily
provocative in these terrorism-threatened times.  (You may remember that
after 9/11 there were several reports in the international press that the
Cathedral of Santiago had been targeted by Islamic extremists for destruction.....-the
reports were never confirmed, by the way-).
While I can understand, intellectually, the Matamoros  historical and
cultural meaning to Spaniards, I never understood why parishioners would place so
many candles and flowers before the prominent one in the Santiago Cathedral, and
I, personally, think it a good thing that it has been removed.
I wonder whether the smaller Matamoros on the main altar, above the bust of
the huggable St. James, will also be removed.  That would appear to be a
daunting undertaking since it seems to be carved in place way up high.
In a lighter vein, a while ago there was a lively and entertaining discussion
regarding the gender of Santiago's white and brave, while delicate, steed.
Many people argued that its tender courage defined it as a female; the polemic
went on for a while in a Spanish Camino enlist. Well, after binoculars-aided
observation I can tell you that the Matamoros statue above St. James in the
Santiago Cathedral shows the horse, quite markedly,  to be  a rearing colt.
Warm regards,
Rosina

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