Subset (3)

documents · 289k rows

Split (1)

train · 289k rows

chunk_id stringlengths 3 8	chunk stringlengths 1 1k
9724_23	In a discussion of the history of preaching, a reference to the mystics is called for. The tendency of mysticism is, in the main, the opposite to that of philosophy. Mysticism makes for warmth; philosophy, for coldness -- "Cold as a mountain in its star-pitched tent stood high philosophy." The next noted period in the history of preaching is the Renaissance. This period, too, is treated in its proper place. As to preaching, Humanism contributed more to oratorical display than to piety in the pulpit. The motto of its two representative types, Reuchlin and Erasmus, was: "Back to Cicero and Quintilian." Erasmus on visiting Rome exclaimed: "Quam mellitas eruditorum hominum confabulationes, quot mundi lumina." Pierre Batiffol says: "One Good Friday, preaching before the pope, the most famous orator of the Roman Court considered that he could not better praise the Sacrifice of Calvary than by relating the self-devotion of Decius and the sacrifice of Iphigenia." Fortunately, this period did
9724_24	not last long; the good sense of ecclesiastics rebelled against it, and the religious upheaval that soon followed gave them something else to think of. In the Reformation and post-Reformation period the air was too charged with controversy to favour high-class preaching. The Council of Trent recommended preachers to turn aside from polemics; it also pronounced that the primary duty of preaching devolved on bishops, unless they were hindered by a legitimate impediment; and ordered that they were to preach in person in their own church, or, if impeded, through others; and, in other churches, through pastors or other representatives.
9724_25	Notable French preachers
9724_26	The French preachers of the classical seventeenth-century period were, according to Voltaire, probably the greatest in pulpit oratory of all time. The best known were Bossuet, Bourdaloue, and Massillon; Fénelon burnt his sermons. The first was considered to be the most majestic; the second, the most logical and intellectually compelling; the third, the greatest searcher of hearts, the most like Chrysostom, and, taken all in all, the greatest of the three. We are told that Voltaire kept a copy of his Grand Carême on his table, side by side with the "Athalie" of Racine. In this age Chrysostom was the great model for imitation; but it was Chrysostom the orator, not Chrysostom the homilist. Their style, with its grand exordium and its sublime peroration, became the fashion in the following age. The "Dialogues" of Fénelon, however, remained as a check. Of these "Dialogues" Bishop Dupanloup said: "If the precepts of Fénelon had been well understood, they would have long since fixed the
9724_27	character of sacred eloquence among us." Other principles were laid down by Blaise Gisbert in his L'Eloquence chrétienne dans l'idée et dans la pratique, by Amadeus Bajocensis in Paulus Ecclesiastes, seu Eloquentia Christiana, and by Guido ab Angelis in De Verbi Dei Prædicatione, all of which sounded a return to the simplicity of style of the Church Fathers.
9724_28	Conférences in Notre-Dame
9724_29	The next important era is the so-called conférences in Notre-Dame in Paris, following the Revolution of 1830. The most prominent name identified with this new style of preaching was that of the Dominican Lacordaire, who, for a time, with Montalembert, was associate editor with de Lamennais of "L'Avenir". This new style of preaching discarded the form, the division, and analysis of the scholastic method. The power of Lacordaire as an orator was beyond question; but the conférences, as they have come down to us, while possessing much merit, are an additional proof that oratory is too elusive to be committed to the pages of a book. The Jesuit Père de Ravignan shared with Lacordaire the pulpit of Notre-Dame. Less eloquent men followed, and the semi-religious, semi-philosophic style was beginning to grow tiresome, when Jacques-Marie-Louis Monsabré, a disciple of Lacordaire, set it aside, and confined himself to an explanation of the Creed; whereupon it was sententiously remarked that the
9724_30	bell had been ringing long enough, it was time for Mass to begin (cf. Boyle, "Irish Eccl. Rec.", May, 1909).
9724_31	Present day
9724_32	As to preaching at the present day, we can clearly trace the influence, in many respects, of Scholasticism, both as to matter and form. In matter a sermon may be either moral, dogmatic, historical, or liturgical—by moral and dogmatic it is meant that one element will predominate, without, however, excluding the other. As to form, a discourse may be either a formal, or set, sermon; a homily; or a catechetical instruction. In the formal, or set, sermon the influence of Scholasticism is most strikingly seen in the analytic method, resulting in divisions and subdivisions. This is the thirteenth-century method, which, however, had its beginnings in the sermons of Sts. Bernard and Anthony. The underlying syllogism, too, in every well-thought-out sermon is due to Scholasticism; how far it should appear is a question that belongs to a treatise on homiletics. As to the catechetical discourse, it has been so much favoured by Pope Pius X that it might be regarded as one of the characteristics of
9724_33	preaching at the present day. It is, however, a very old form of preaching. It was used by Christ Himself, by St. Paul, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, by St. Clement and Origen at Alexandria, by St. Augustine, who wrote a special treatise thereon (De catechizandis rudibus), also, in later times, by Gerson, chancellor of the University of Paris, who wrote "De parvulis ad Christum trahendis"; Clement XI and Benedict XIV gave to it all the weight of their authority, and one of the greatest of all catechists was St. Charles Borromeo. There is the danger, however, from the very nature of the subject, of this form of preaching becoming too dry and purely didactic, a mere catechesis, or doctrinism, to the exclusion of the moral element and of Sacred Scripture. In recent days, organized missionary preaching to non-Catholics has received a new stimulus. In the United States, particularly, this form of religious activity has flourished; and the Paulists, amongst whom the name of Father Hecker is
9724_34	deserving of special mention, are to be mainly identified with the revival. Special facilities are afforded at the central institute of the organization for the training of those who are to impart catechetical instruction, and the non-controversial principles of the association are calculated to commend it to all earnestly seeking after religion.
9724_35	Homiletic Directory In the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See, through the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (headed as of February 2015 by Cardinal Prefect Robert Sarah), has published an official guide and directory for use by bishops, priests, and deacons, who are charged with the ministry of preaching by virtue of their ordination, and for those studying the subject, among others seminarians and those in diaconal formation, called the Homiletic Directory. The Directory was developed in response to a request made by participants in the Synod of Bishops held in 2008 on the Word of God, and in accordance with the instructions of Pope Benedict XVI. Bibliography of historical development
9724_36	St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine
9724_37	Practice preceded theory. Certain ideas are to be found in the Church Fathers, and these have been collected by Paniel in the introduction to his work "Geschichte der christlich. Beredsamkeit". The first to treat of the theory of preaching was St. John Chrysostom, in his work "On the Priesthood" (peri Hierosynes). Inasmuch as this contains only reflections on preaching, St. Augustine's De doctrina christiana (DDC) might be regarded as the first manual on the subject; its first three books deal with collecting the materials for preaching, "modus inveniendi quæ intelligenda sunt", and the last with the presentation thereof, "modus proferendi quæ intellecta sunt". He goes to the Roman pagan orator Cicero for rules in the latter. He makes a distinction, in which he evidently follows Cicero, between sapientia (wisdom) and eloquentia (the best expression of it). Sapientia without eloquentia will do no good; neither will eloquentia without sapientia, and it may do harm; the ideal is
9724_38	sapientia with eloquentia. He adapts Cicero's ut doceat, ut delectet, ut flectat, changing them to ut veritas pateat, ut placeat, ut moveat; and lays down these as the rules by which a sermon is to be judged. This work of Augustine was the classic one in homiletics.
9724_39	Augustine explains his homiletics in Book IV of DDC. He describes it practically in relation to the classical theory of oratory, which has five parts: inventio (the choice of the subject and decision of the order), dispositio (the structure of the oration), elocutio (the arrangement of words and figure of speech), memoria (learning by heart), and pronuntiatio (the delivery). He constructed this theory in four parts: the basic principles of rhetoric (DDC 4.1.1-4.56.10), a study on the rhetoric of Scriptural texts (DDC 4.7.11-4.11.26), an analysis of styles (DDC 4.12.27-4.21.50), and some peculiar rules of rhetoric for sermons (DDC 4.22.51-4.31.64). The essential part of Book IV deals with three styles of sermons (genera tenue / docere [to teach]; genera medium / delectare [to amuse]; genera grande / flectere [to persuade]), which was influenced by Cicero’s Orator 1.3.
9724_40	Augustine stresses the importance of principle and discipline at the same time. Preachers need to practice again and again (DDC 4.3.4) so that they can use these styles in any situation of preaching (DDC 4.19.38). But they should pay attention to the priority of order. Continuous and diligent study of the Bible is more important than mere memorization, that is to say, they should pursue wisdom more than knowledge (DDC 4.5.7). The best is the combination of wisdom and eloquence as seen in the Pauline letters and prophetic writings (DDC 4.6.9-4.7.21). Yet, he does not praise eloquence itself; rather he prefers a concrete proclamation than a showing off of rhetorical technique (DDC 4.7.14-15). It is truth, not rhetoric, that preachers try to deliver (DDC 4.28.61).
9724_41	The most significant practice and discipline is prayer. Augustine advises to be a prayer before being a preacher. Preachers should pray before and after his sermon (DDC 3.37.56; 4.15.32; 4.17.34; 4.30.63). Augustine himself was a good model of this practice. Before the preaching, he invited the congregation to pray (Epistula 29). After the sermon he also prayed (Sermones 153.1). For Augustine’s homiletics, the time of prayer is the most precious time, because that time is a time when all the audience meets God the Truth, and through that time they can understand the truth of God more fully. Prayer is a major means of grace in knowing God. Augustine says that love is the most important discipline in Christian life in his sermon, De disciplina christiana. If one adds another to Christian discipline besides love, prayer will come first.
9724_42	The preacher should be a good example of all sermons. The manner of life can be an eloquent sermon (copia dicendi, forma vivendi; DDC 4.29.61). In most of the cases, it seems to be true that the sermon of a preacher cannot be better than his or her life, but vice versa seems also to be true: the sermon cannot be worse than the preacher’s life. The more a preacher endeavors after humility, discipline, and love, the better his or her sermon becomes. And now these three are always necessary for all Christian teachers: humility, discipline, and love. But the greatest of these is love. For “the goal of this command is love” (1 Tim. 1:5 cited in DDC 1.26.27; 1.35.39; 1.40.44; 4.28.61).
9724_43	Hugh of St. Victor Hugh of St. Victor (died 1141) in the Middle Ages laid down three conditions for a sermon: that it should be "holy, prudent and noble", for which, respectively, he required sanctity, knowledge and eloquence in the preacher. François Fénelon stipulated "must prove, must portray, must impress" (Second Dialogue). St. Augustine's work "De rudibus catechizandis". St. Gregory the Great's "Liber regulæ pastoralis" is still extant, but is inferior to St. Augustine's; it is rather a treatise on pastoral theology than on homiletics. Hincmar says that a copy used to be given to bishops at their consecration. In the ninth century Rabanus Maurus (died 856), Archbishop of Mainz, wrote a treatise De institutione clericorum, in which he depends much on St. Augustine.
9724_44	In the twelfth century Guibert, Abbot of Nogent (died 1124), wrote a famous work on preaching entitled "Quo ordine sermo fieri debet". This is one of the historical landmarks in preaching. It is replete with judicious instruction; it recommends that preaching should be preceded by prayer; it says that it is more important to preach about morals than on faith, that for moral sermons the human heart must be studied, and that the best way of doing so is (as Massillon recommended in later times) to look into one's own. It is more original and more independent than the work of Rabanus Maurus, who, as has been said, drew largely from St. Augustine. Guibert's work was recommended by Pope Alexander as a model to all preachers. St. Francis gave to his friars the same directions as are herein contained.
9724_45	Alain de Lille
9724_46	To the same period belongs the "Summa de arte prædicatoriâ" by Alain de Lille, which defines preaching: "Manifesta et publica instructio morum et fidei, informationi hominum deserviens, ex rationum semitâ et auctoritatum fonte proveniens". He lays stress on explanation and use of Scripture and recommends the preacher to insert verba commotiva. The remarks of Cæsarius of Heisterbach (died 1240) have been collected by Cruel; his sermons display skill in construction and considerable oratorical power. Conrad of Brundelsheim (died 1321), whose sermons have come down to us under his cognomen of "Brother Sock" (Sermones Fratris Socci), was one of the most interesting preachers at this time in Germany. Humbert of Romans, General superior of the Dominicans, in the second book of his work, "De eruditione prædicatorum", claims that he can teach "a way of promptly producing a sermon for any set of men, and for all variety of circumstances". Linsenmayer, in his history of preaching, gives
9724_47	information about Humbert, who was a severe critic of the sermons of his time. Trithemius quotes a work by Albertus Magnus, "De arte prædicandi", which is lost. St. Bonaventure wrote "De arte concionandi", in which he treats of divisio, distinctio, dilatatio, but deals extensively only with the first.
9724_48	Thomas Aquinas
9724_49	Thomas Aquinas's claim rests chiefly on the "Summa", which, of course, has principally influenced preaching since, both in matter and form. He insists very strongly on the importance of preaching, and says that it belongs principally to bishops, and baptizing to priests, the latter of whom he regards as holding the place of the seventy disciples. There is a treatise entitled De arte et vero modo prædicandi attributed to him, but it is simply a compilation of his ideas about preaching that was made by another. Henry of Hesse is credited with a treatise, "De arte prædicandi", which is probably not due to him. There is a monograph quoted by Hartwig which is interesting for the classification of the forms of sermon: modus antiquissimus, i. e. postillatio, which is purely the exegetic homily; modus modernus, the thematic style; modus antiquus, a sermon on the Biblical text; and modus subalternus, a mixture of homiletic and text sermon. Jerome Dungersheym wrote a tract De modo discendi et
9724_50	docendi ad populum sacra seu de modo prædicandi (1513). He treats of his subject on three points: the preacher, the sermon, the listeners. He lays stress on Scripture as the book of the preacher. Ulrich Surgant wrote a "Manuale Curatorum" (1508), in which he also recommends Scripture. His first book gives for material of preaching the usual order -- credenda, facienda, fugienda, timenda, appetenda and ends by saying: "Congrua materia prædicationis est Sacra Scriptura." He uses the figure of a tree in laying stress on the necessity of an organic structure.
9724_51	Humanist writings
9724_52	In the works of the two humanists, Johannes Reuchlin (Liber congestorum de arte prædicandi) and Desiderius Erasmus (Ecclesiastes seu de ratione concionandi), the return is marked to Cicero and Quintilian. A masterwork on the art of preaching is the "Rhetorica Sacra" (Lisbon, 1576) of Luis de Granada, for modern use rather old. The work shows an easy grasp of rhetoric, founded on the principles of Aristotle, Demetrius and Cicero. He treats the usual subjects of invention, arrangement, style and delivery in easy and polished Latin. Of the same class is Didacus Stella in his "Liberdemodo concionandi" (1576). Valerio, in Italy, also wrote on the art of preaching. Another landmark on preaching are the "Instructiones Pastorum" by Charles Borromeo (1538–84). At his request Valerio, Bishop of Verona, wrote a systematic treatise on homiletics entitled "Rhetorica Ecclesiastica" (1575), in which he points out the difference between profane and sacred eloquence and emphasizes the two principal
9724_53	objects of the preacher, to teach and to move (docere et commovere).
9724_54	Laurentius a Villavicentio, in his work "De formandis sacris concionibus" (1565), disapproves of transferring the ancient modes of speaking to preaching. He would treat the truths of the Gospel according to I Tim., iii, 16. He also recommended moderation in fighting heresy. The same was the view of St. Francis Borgia, whose contribution to homiletics is the small but practical work: "Libellus de ratione concionandi". Claudius Acquaviva, General of the Jesuits, wrote in 163, "Instructio pro superioribus". They were principally ascetic, and in them he regulated the spiritual training necessary for the preacher. Carolus Regius, S.J., deals in his "Orator Christianus" (1613) with the whole field of homiletics under the grouping: "De concionatore"; "De concione"; "De concionantis prudentiâ et industriâ". Much is to be found in the writings of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Alphonsus Liguori and St. Francis de Sales, especially in his celebrated letter to André Fremiot, Archbishop of Bourges.
9724_55	Among the Dominicans, Alexander Natalis wrote "Institutio concionantium tripartita" (Paris, 1702).
9724_56	In the "Rhetorica ecclesiastica" (1627) of Jacobus de Graffiis is contained a symposium of the instructions on preaching by the Franciscan Francis Panigarola, the Jesuit Francis Borgia and the Carmelite Johannes a Jesu. The "Dialogues" of Fénelon, the works of Père Blaise Gisbert, Amadeus Bajocensis and Guido ab Angelis have already been referred to. In the nineteenth century homiletics took its place as a branch of pastoral theology, and many manuals have been written thereon, for instance in German compendia by Brand, Laberenz, Zarbl, Fluck and Schüch; in Italian by Gotti and Guglielmo Audisio; and many in French and English.
9724_57	Relation to profane rhetoric Some assert the independent character of homiletics and say that it is independent in origin, matter and purpose. The upholders of this view point to passages in Scripture and in the Fathers, notably to the words of Paul; and to the testimony of Cyprian, Arnobius, Lactantius, and to Gregory of Nazianzus, Augustine of Hippo, Jerome and John Chrysostom. The last-named says that the great difference may be summed up in this: that the orator seeks personal glory, the preacher practical good. Paul's own sermons are in many cases replete with oratory, e.g., his sermon on the Areopagus; and the oratorical element generally enters largely into Scripture. Lactantius regretted that there were so few trained preachers, and Gregory, as well as Chrysostom and Augustine, made use of rhetoric in preaching. Gregory censured the use in the pulpit of the eloquence and pronunciation of the theatre. Demetrius, On Style, uses many of the tricks of speech. References
9724_58	Further reading Aleksandrov, Andrian (2014). Post-Constantine Preaching: the Three Holy Hierarchs. - In: The Christian Paradigm of a United Europe. The Historical and Religious Dimension of the Reign of Saint Constantine the Great and his Present Reception. Editor:Sergiu Popescu, Publisher: Mitropolia Oltenia, Regional Development Foundation, pages: 85-104, Digby's "Mores Catholici", vol. II, pp. 158–172 Neale, "Mediæval Sermons" Alistair Stewart-Sykes, From Prophecy to Preaching: A Search for the Origins of the Christian Homily, Leiden: Brill, 2001 The older literature is cited exhaustively in WG Blaikie, For the Work of the Ministry (1873); and DP Kidder, Treatise on homiletics (1864). External links
9724_59	Sunday and Feast Homily Resources in English and Homily Videos in Malayalam by Fr. Abraham Mutholath Homiletic thought from an evangelical perspective Homiletics - Catholic Encyclopedia article Sermons & Material for Sermons The American Rabbi - Rabbinic resource of sermons, stories, anecdotes and writings for today's rabbis. Practical theology Christian genres Christian terminology
9725_0	Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Williams has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free", "Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles "Let's Hear It for the Boy" and "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (with Johnny Mathis). Williams has won four Grammys with twelve nominations altogether. Early life June Deniece Chandler was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, United States. She attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, in the hopes of becoming a registered nurse and an anesthetist, but she dropped out after a year and a half. She recalled, "You have to be a good student to be in college, and I wasn't."
9725_1	Career Williams started performing while a college student, "a part-time job singing at a club, Casino Royal, and I liked it. It was a lot of fun." During those years, she also worked at a telephone company and as a ward clerk at the Chicago Mercy Hospital. She recorded for The Toddlin' Tow group of labels as Deniece Chandler. One of those early records, "I'm Walking Away", was released on Toddlin's subsidiary Lock Records in the late 1960s, is a favorite on England's Northern Soul scene. A brief spell in 1969 with Patti Hamilton's the Lovelites resulted in her lead on "I'm Not Like the Others", a track that was eventually released in 1999.
9725_2	She became a backup vocalist for Stevie Wonder as part of "Wonderlove", lending her vocals on his albums Talking Book, Fulfillingness' First Finale, and Songs in the Key of Life. Williams also appeared on Syreeta Wright's 1974 album Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta, Minnie Riperton's 1974 album Perfect Angel and Roberta Flack's 1975 album Feel Like Makin' Love.
9725_3	She left Wonder in 1975 to sign a deal with Columbia Records and Kalimba Productions. Kalimba was a production company started by Maurice White and Charles Stepney. Williams went on to work on her first studio album with both White and Stepney as its producers. Released in 1976 This Is Niecy rose to Nos. 3 and 33 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Billboard 200 charts. This Is Niecy has also been certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA and silver in the UK by the British Phonographic Industry. An album cut, "Free", got to nos. 1, 2 & 25 on the UK Singles, Billboard Hot R&B Songs and Hot 100charts respectively. Another single being "That's What Friends Are For" rose to No. 8 on the UK Singles chart.
9725_4	A few months before the release of This Is Niecy, Charles Stepney died. White went on to solely produce Williams' second album, Song Bird, released in 1977. The album rose to No. 23 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. The Daily Express noted that Songbird is "filled with gorgeous songs that showcase her four-octave range to full effect". John Rockwell of The New York Times also called the album "most appealing" and "refreshingly varied". A song from the album called "Baby, Baby My Love's All for You", reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and No. 32 UK Singles chart. Williams guested on Roberta Flack's 1977 album, Blue Lights in the Basement, and sang along with Maurice White on Weather Report's 1978 album, Mr. Gone.
9725_5	Williams went on to issue a duet album with Johnny Mathis dubbed That's What Friends Are For in 1978 on Columbia for Kalimba Productions. The LP rose to No. 14 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 19 on the Billboard 200 chart. That album has also been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA. A song from the album called "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Soul Songs and Adult Contemporary Songs charts. William's fourth studio recording, When Love Comes Calling was issued in 1979 by ARC Records (ARC), Maurice White's vanity label on Columbia. The album rose to No. 27 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. A single from the album, "I've Got the Next Dance", rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play chart.
9725_6	Williams issued her follow-up album, My Melody, in 1981 on Columbia/ARC. The album rose to No. 13 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. My Melody has been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA. The single, "Silly", reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart. Williams issued her follow-up album, Niecy, in 1982 on Columbia/ARC. Niecy rose to No. 20 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums charts. People described the album as "upbeat, soulful and polished". A cover of the Royalettes' "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart and No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Williams and Mathis collaborated once again to record "Without Us" the theme song of the sitcom Family Ties which debuted in September 1982. In the Netherlands the album track "It's Your Conscience" had been released as a single. It climbed to No. 15 on the Dutch Top 40 charts.
9725_7	During 1983 she released her seventh studio album, I'm So Proud, which got to No. 10 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. I'm So Proud was also nominated for a Grammy in the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female category. During 1984 Williams released her follow up album Let's Hear It for the Boy. The title track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured on the soundtrack to Footloose. She later guested on Johnny Mathis' 1984 album A Special Part of Me, Stevie Wonder's 1985 LP, In Square Circle and James Taylor's 1985 album That's Why I'm Here.
9725_8	Although Williams had recorded one inspirational song on almost each of her mainstream albums, it was in 1980 that her musical career path began to change favoring Gospel music. Williams joined with friends Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire fame, Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo to present a gospel show at The Roxy, a popular Los Angeles club: "Jesus at the Roxy". Williams later reported that "God did something miraculous. Over three hundred people were saved." In 1985, at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards, Williams sang an a cappella version of her 1977 composition "God Is Amazing", a Gospel song, rather than her No. 1 song "Let's Hear It for the Boy", much to her record company's disdain.
9725_9	During 1986, her first gospel studio album, So Glad I Know, was released on Sparrow Records, and got to No. 8 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart and was nominated for Best Gospel Performance, Female Grammy. "They Say", a duet with Sandi Patti, Williams won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus and for "I Surrender All", she won the Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female. During 1987 she released her tenth studio album, Water Under the Bridge, which rose to No. 39 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. "Never Say Never" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
9725_10	A year later she released her follow-up studio album, As Good As It Gets, which rose to No. 48 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. "I Can't Wait" charted at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. Another single, "This Is As Good As It Gets", rose to No. 29 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart. During 1989, she issued her second Gospel album Special Love. That album reached No. 11 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. Williams went on to appear on Nancy Wilson's 1990 LP A Lady with a Song, George Duke's 1992 album Snapshot, Stevie Wonder's 1995 LP Conversation Peace and Spyro Gyra's 1995 album Love & Other Obsessions. During 1999 she released another Gospel album, This Is My Song, on Harmony Records. The album rose to No. 14 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. As well This Is My Song won a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.
9725_11	She later released another studio album entitled Love, Niecy Style, produced by Philly Soul veteran Bobby Eli, in April 2007 on Shanachie Records. Love, Niecy Style rose to No. 41 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. On October 13, 2007, Williams performed in her hometown of Gary, Indiana at the re-opening of the historic Glen Theater. Williams was thereafter recognized by Indiana State Representative Vernon G. Smith as an Outstanding Hoosier.
9725_12	During October 2007 Williams went on to issue a single called, "Grateful: The Rededication", with Wanda Vaughn of The Emotions and Sherree Brown. The single got to No. 40 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart. On April 29, 2008, Williams announced that she was preparing a proposal to establish a program called KOP—Kids of Promise—in her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Williams said the program would include a center with classes and programs dedicated to education and the performing arts. On June 27, 2010, Williams performed "Silly" with Monica at the BET Awards. As well in June 2011, Williams featured on Unsung, TV One's musical biography show. She later guested on Cliff Richard's 2011 album Soulicious. Filmography Williams went on to appear in the 2003 holiday movie Christmas Child. During December 2005 she appeared on the reality-dating show Elimidate as part of their "Celebrity Week".
9725_13	Vocal profile Deniece Williams has a four-octave range and distinctive soprano voice. Her vocal range was also pointed out by The New York Times, "Miss Williams mounted a spectacular vocal display in which her penetrating, feline soprano soared effortlessly to E flat above high C, and she worked various vowel sounds into prolonged feats of vocal gymnastics." In pointing to Williams's similar vocal ability as her former musical icon and colleague (Minnie Riperton), Mark Anthony Neal, in referencing Jill Scott's agility in displaying vocal acrobatics, states, "Scott draws on her upper register recalling the artistry of the late Minnie Riperton and "songbird" Deniece Williams." According to Monica Haynes of Post-Gazette.com, Williams "has the kind of range that would make Mariah Carey quiver".
9725_14	Personal life Williams has been married three times and has four sons. Williams was married to her middle school sweetheart Kendrick Williams from 1971 until 1975, before she relocated to California in the early 1970s. Together they had two sons, Kendrick Jr. (b. 1972) and Kevin (b. 1973). In May 1981, Williams married actor and minister Christipher Joy. Williams and Joy separated in August 1982, divorcing later that year. From 1986 until 1993, Williams was married to Brad Westering, with whom she had two sons: Forrest (b. 1988) and Logan. Discography Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Williams has received four awards out of thirteen nominations. See also List of number-one hits (United States) List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.) List of number-one dance hits (United States) List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart References External links
9725_15	1951 births Living people African-American Christians 20th-century African-American women singers American dance musicians American expatriates in the United Kingdom American gospel singers American rhythm and blues musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American sopranos Atlantic Records artists Columbia Records artists Grammy Award winners MCA Records artists Musicians from Gary, Indiana Shanachie Records artists Sparrow Records artists Writers from Gary, Indiana Record producers from Indiana 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers American disco singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers American women record producers African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Indiana
9726_0	Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (; ; – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet Belarusian communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1985) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1985–1988). Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1988. In the 1940s Western pundits called him Mr Nyet ("Mr No") or "Grim Grom", because of his frequent use of the Soviet veto in the United Nations Security Council.
9726_1	Gromyko's political career started in 1939 in the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (renamed Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946). He became the Soviet ambassador to the United States in 1943, leaving that position in 1946 to become the Soviet Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. Upon his return to Moscow he became a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and later First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He went on to become the Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1952.
9726_2	As Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union, Gromyko was directly involved in deliberations with the Americans during the Cuban Missile Crisis and helped broker a peace treaty ending the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War. Under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev, he played a central role in the establishment of détente with the United States by negotiating the ABM Treaty, the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the SALT I & II among others. When Brezhnev suffered a stroke in 1975 impairing his ability to govern, Gromyko effectively dictated policymaking alongside KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov, Defense Minister Andrei Grechko and Grechko's successor, Marshal Dmitry Ustinov. Even after Brezhnev's death, Gromyko's rigid conservatism and distrust of the West continued to dominate the Soviet Union's foreign policy until Mikhail Gorbachev's rise to power in 1985.
9726_3	Following Gorbachev's election as General Secretary, Gromyko lost his office as foreign minister and was appointed to the largely ceremonial Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Subsequently, he retired from political life in 1988, and died the following year in Moscow. Early life Background and youth Gromyko was born to a poor "semi-peasant, semi-worker" Belarusian family in the Belarusian village of Staryye Gromyki, near Gomel, on 18 July 1909. Gromyko's father, Andrei Matveyevich, worked as a seasonal worker in a local factory. Andrei Matveyevich was not a very educated man, having only attended four years of school, but knew how to read and write. He had fought in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. Gromyko's mother, Olga Yevgenyevna, came from a poor peasant family in the neighbouring city of Zhelezniki. She attended school only for a short period of time as, when her father died, she left to help her mother with the harvest.
9726_4	Gromyko grew up near the district town of Vetka where most of the inhabitants were devoted Old Believers in the Russian Orthodox Church. Gromyko's own village was also predominantly religious, but Gromyko started doubting the supernatural at a very early age. His first dialog on the subject was with his grandmother Marfa, who answered his inquiry about God with "Wait until you get older. Then you will understand all this much better". According to Gromyko, "Other adults said basically the same thing" when talking about religion. Gromyko's neighbour at the time, Mikhail Sjeljutov, was a freethinker and introduced Gromyko to new non-religious ideas and told Gromyko that scientists were beginning to doubt the existence of God. From the age of nine, after the Bolshevik revolution, Gromyko started reading atheist propaganda in flyers and pamphlets. At the age of thirteen Gromyko became a member of the Komsomol and held anti-religious speeches in the village with his friends as well as
9726_5	promoting Communist values.
9726_6	The news that Germany had attacked the Russian Empire in August 1914 came without warning to the local population. This was the first time, as Gromyko notes, that he felt "love for his country". His father, Andrei Matveyevich, was again conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army and served for three years on the southwestern front, under the leadership of General Aleksei Brusilov. Andrei Matveyevich returned home on the eve of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. Gromyko was elected First Secretary of the local Komsomol chapter at the beginning of 1923. Following Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, the villagers asked Gromyko what would happen in the leader's absence. Gromyko remembered a communist slogan from the heyday of the October Revolution: "The revolution was carried through by Lenin and his helpers." He then told the villagers that Lenin was dead but "his aides, the Party, still lived on."
9726_7	Education and party membership
9726_8	When he was young Gromyko's mother Olga told him that he should leave his home town to become an educated man. Gromyko followed his mother's advice and, after finishing seven years of primary school and vocational education in Gomel, he moved to Borisov to attend technical school. Gromyko became a member of the All-Union Communist Party Bolsheviks in 1931, something he had dreamed of since he learned about the "difference between a poor farmer and a landowner, a worker and a capitalist". Gromyko was voted in as secretary of his party cell at his first party conference and used most of his weekends doing volunteer work. Gromyko received a very small stipend to live on, but still had a strong nostalgia for the days when he worked as a volunteer. It was about this time that Gromyko met his future wife, Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich. Grinevich was the daughter of a Belarusian peasant family and came from Kamenki, a small village to the west of Minsk. She and Gromyko had two children, Anatoly
9726_9	and Emiliya.
9726_10	After studying in Borisov for two years Gromyko was appointed principal of a secondary school in Dzerzhinsk, where he taught, supervised the school and continued his studies. One day a representative from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia offered him an opportunity to do post-graduate work in Minsk. Gromyko traveled to Minsk for an interview with the head of the university, I.M. Borisevich, who explained that a new post-graduate program had been formed for training in economics; Gromyko's record in education and social work made him a desirable candidate. Gromyko advised Borisevich that he would have difficulty living on a meager student stipend. Borisevich assured him that on finishing the program, his salary would be at the party's top pay grade – "a decent living wage". Gromyko accepted the offer, moving his family to Minsk in 1933. Gromyko and the other post-graduates were invited to an anniversary reception at which, as recounted in Gromyko's Memoirs:
9726_11	We were amazed to find ourselves treated as equals and placed at their table to enjoy what for us was a sumptuous feast. We realised then that not for nothing did the Soviet state treat its scientists well: evidently science and those who worked in it were highly regarded by the state.
9726_12	After that day of pleasantry, Gromyko for the first time in his life wanted to enter higher education, but without warning, Gromyko and his family were moved in 1934 to Moscow, settling in the northeastern Alexeyevsky District. In 1936, after another three years of studying economics, Gromyko became a researcher and lecturer at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. His area of expertise was the US economy, and he published several books on the subject. Gromyko assumed his new job would be a permanent one, but in 1939 he was called upon by a Central Committee Commission which selected new personnel to work in diplomacy. (The Great Purge of 1938 opened many positions in the diplomatic corps.) Gromyko recognised such familiar faces as Vyacheslav Molotov and Georgy Malenkov. A couple of days later he was transferred from the Academy of Sciences to the diplomatic service. Ambassador and World War II
9726_13	In early 1939, Gromyko started working for the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs in Moscow. Gromyko became the Head of the Department of Americas and because of his position Gromyko met with United States ambassador to the Soviet Union Lawrence Steinhardt. Gromyko believed Steinhardt to be "totally uninterested in creating good relations between the US and the USSR" and that Steinhardt's predecessor Joseph Davies was more "colourful" and seemed "genuinely interested" in improving the relations between the two countries. Davies received the Order of Lenin for his work in trying to improve diplomatic relations between the US and the USSR. After heading the Americas department for 6 months, Gromyko was called upon by Joseph Stalin. Stalin started the conversation by telling Gromyko that he would be sent to the Soviet embassy in the United States to become second-in-command. "The Soviet Union," Stalin said, "should maintain reasonable relations with such a powerful country like
9726_14	the United States, especially in light of the growing fascist threat". Vyacheslav Molotov contributed with some minor modifications but mostly agreed with what Stalin had said. "How are your English skills improving?," Stalin asked, "Comrade Gromyko you should pay a visit or two to an American church and listen to their sermons. Priests usually speak correct English with good accents. Do you know that the Russian revolutionaries when they were abroad, always followed this practice to improve their skills in foreign languages?" Gromyko was quite amazed about what Stalin had just told him but he never visited an American church.
9726_15	Gromyko had never been abroad before and, to get to the United States, he had to travel via airplane through Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia to Genoa, Italy, where they boarded a ship to the United States. He later wrote in his Memoirs that New York City was a good example on how humans, by the "means of wealth and technology are able to create something that is totally alien to our nature". He further noticed the New York working districts which, in his own opinion, were proof of the inhumanity of capitalism and of the system's greed. Gromyko met and consulted with most of the senior officers of the United States government during his first days and succeeded Maxim Litvinov as ambassador to the United States in 1943. In his Memoirs Gromyko wrote fondly of President Franklin D. Roosevelt even though he believed him to be a representative of the bourgeoisie class. During his time as ambassador, Gromyko met prominent personalities such as British actor Charlie Chaplin, and British
9726_16	economist John Maynard Keynes.
9726_17	Gromyko was a Soviet delegate to the Tehran, Dumbarton Oaks, Yalta and Potsdam conferences. In 1943, the same year as the Tehran Conference, the USSR established diplomatic relations with Cuba and Gromyko was appointed the Soviet ambassador to Havana. Gromyko claimed that the accusations brought against Roosevelt by American right-wingers, that he was a socialist sympathizer, were absurd. While he started out as a member delegate Gromyko later became the head of the Soviet delegation to the San Francisco conference after Molotov's departure. When he later returned to Moscow to celebrate the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War, Stalin commended him saying a good diplomat was "worth two or three armies at the front". At the helm of Soviet foreign policy
9726_18	The United Nations
9726_19	Gromyko was appointed Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations (UN) in April 1946. The USSR supported the election of the first Secretary-General of the United Nations, Trygve Lie, a former Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, in the opinion of Gromyko, Lie became an active supporter of the "expansionist behaviour" of the United States and its "American aggressionist" policy. Because of this political stance, Gromyko believed Lie to be a poor Secretary-General. Trygve's successor, Swede Dag Hammarskjöld also promoted what Gromyko saw as "anti-Soviet policies". U Thant, the third Secretary-General, once told Gromyko that it was close to impossible to have an objective opinion of the USSR in the Secretariat of the United Nations because the majority of secretariat members were of American ethnicity or supporters of the United States. Gromyko often used the Soviet veto power in the early days of the United Nations. So familiar was a Soviet veto in the
9726_20	early days of the UN that Gromyko became known as Mr Nyet, literally meaning "Mr No". During the first 10 years of the UN, the Soviet Union used its veto 79 times. In the same period, the Republic of China used the veto once, France twice and the others not at all. On May 14, 1947, Gromyko advocated the one-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and the two-state solution as the second best option in the case that "relations between the Jewish and Arab populations of Palestine... proved to be so bad that it would be impossible to reconcile them".
9726_21	Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom Gromyko was appointed Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom at a June 1952 meeting with Joseph Stalin in the Kremlin. Stalin paced back and forth as normal, telling Gromyko about the importance of his new office, and saying "The United Kingdom now has the opportunity to play a greater role in international politics. But it is not clear in which direction the British government with their great diplomatic experience will steer their efforts [...] This is why we need people who understand their way of thinking". Gromyko met with Winston Churchill in 1952 not to talk about current politics but nostalgically about World War II. Gromyko met Churchill again in 1953 to talk about their experiences during World War II before returning to Russia when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union
9726_22	During his initial days as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Gromyko devoted most of his time battling the International Department (ID) of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) under Boris Ponomarev. Ponomarev advocated an expanded role for the ID in Soviet foreign relations but Gromyko flatly refused. A top Soviet official, Valentin Falin, said the ID "interfered in the activities" of Gromyko and his ministry countless times. Gromyko disliked both Ponomarev and the power sharing between the ID and the foreign ministry. However, even in the midst of such political infighting, Gromyko presided over many key junctures in the Soviet Union's diplomacy throughout his tenure as Foreign Minister.
9726_23	One of his first tests as his country's chief diplomat came in 1958 when he addressed Mao Zedong's request for the Soviet Union to back his planned war with the Republic of China (Taiwan). During their discussions, Mao flabbergasted Gromyko by telling him that he was willing to sacrifice the lives of "300 million people" to bring about the Republic of China's annexation. Gromyko affirmed to Mao that his proposal would never get the approval of the Soviet leadership. Upon learning of this discussion, Moscow terminated the Soviet-Chinese nuclear program along with various industrialization projects in the People's Republic of China.
9726_24	Years later during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Gromyko met John F. Kennedy, then President of the United States, while acting under instructions from the current Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev. In his Memoirs, Gromyko wrote that Kennedy seemed out of touch when he first met him, and was more ideologically driven than practical. In a 1988 interview, he further described Kennedy as nervous and prone to making contradictory statements involving American intentions towards Cuba. Gromyko, in addition to John F. Kennedy, held important political discussions with Dean Rusk, a former United States Secretary of State, in regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis. He defended his nation's actions, stating that the Soviet Union had every right to be present in Cuba, especially considering the fact that the USA had established their own missiles in Turkey (Jupiter intermediate-range ballistic missiles). To Gromyko it seemed ironical, the Soviet Union was blamed for their presence in Cuba, yet America
9726_25	had established countless of foreign military bases worldwide. After several negotiations, Gromyko mentioned: "By Rusk's behavior it was possible to observe how painfully the American leaders are suffering the fact that the Soviet Union decisively has stood on the side of Cuba...", showcasing Rusk's weak character, as stated in Gromyko's Telegram.
9726_26	Later, under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev, Gromyko played a key role in the establishment of détente, a new phase of Soviet-American relations characterized by a significant reduction of tensions which lasted until 1979. In furtherance of this new arrangement, he oversaw the signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on 1 July 1968, the ABM and SALT I treaties in 1972, and the Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1973. During his twenty-eight years as Minister of Foreign Affairs Gromyko supported the policy of disarmament, stating in his Memoirs that "Disarmament is the ideal of Socialism".
9726_27	Throughout his career, Gromyko explicitly promoted the idea that no important international agreement could be reached without the Soviet Union's involvement. Towards this end, one accomplishment he took particular pride in was the signing of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty whose negotiation could be traced back to 1958. Additionally, in 1966, Gromyko and Alexei Kosygin persuaded both Pakistan and India to sign the Tashkent Declaration, a peace treaty in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. Later in the same year, he engaged in a dialogue with Pope Paul VI, as part of the pontiff's ostpolitik that resulted in greater openness for the Roman Catholic Church in Eastern Europe despite heavy persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union itself.
9726_28	In 1973, Gromyko was promoted to a full voting member of the Politburo, the Soviet Union's highest decision-making body. Upon reaching the peak of his power and influence, Gromyko's approach to diplomacy began to suffer from the same qualities that underpinned his early career. His exceptional memory and confidence in his experience now made him inflexible, unimaginative and devoid of a long-term vision for his country. By the time Andropov and Chernenko rose to the Soviet leadership, Gromyko frequently found himself advocating a harder line than his superiors.
9726_29	When Brezhnev's ability to govern was impaired following a stroke in 1975, Gromyko effectively dominated Soviet policymaking alongside KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov, Defense Minister Marshal Andrei Grechko, and Grechko's successor, Marshal Dmitry Ustinov, for the rest of Brezhnev's rule. After Brezhnev's death in 1982, Andropov was voted in as General Secretary by the Politburo. Immediately after his appointment, Andropov asked Gromyko if he wanted to take over Brezhnev's old office of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. However, Gromyko turned down Andropov's offer, believing Andropov would eventually take the office for himself.
9726_30	Ever since being appointed Foreign Minister in February 1957, Gromyko never challenged the authority of those elected to lead the Soviet Union by the Central Committee. However, this changed when the ailing Konstantin Chernenko rose to become the country's de jure ruler. Unimpressed by the new leader's feeble gasp of foreign relations and weak standing in the Politburo, Gromyko aggressively asserted control over Soviet diplomacy to the point of regularly interrupting and contradicting Chernenko in front of other world leaders. Thus, despite Chernenko's interest in reviving détente, the longtime Foreign Minister's distrust of the West rendered any relaxation of tensions impossible.
9726_31	After Chernenko's death in 1985, Gromyko nominated Mikhail Gorbachev for the General Secretary on 11 March 1985. In supporting Gorbachev, Gromyko knew that the influence he carried would be strong. Upon being elected, Gorbachev relieved Gromyko as foreign minister and replaced him with Eduard Shevardnadze. Subsequently, he was appointed to the largely honorary position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Head of state, retirement and death
9726_32	Gromyko held the office of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, literally head of state, which was largely ceremonial, and his influence in ruling circles diminished. A number of First World journalists believed Gromyko was uncomfortable with many of Gorbachev's reforms, however, in his Memoirs Gromyko wrote fondly of Gorbachev and the policy of perestroika. Gromyko believed that perestroika was about working for the construction of a socialist society and saw glasnost and perestroika as an attempt at making the USSR more democratic.
9726_33	During a party conference in July 1988, Vladimir Melnikov called for Gromyko's resignation. Melnikov blamed Brezhnev for the economic and political stagnation that had hit the Soviet Union, seeing that Gromyko, as a prominent member of the Brezhnev leadership, was one of the men who had led the USSR into the crisis. Gromyko was promptly defended as "a man respected by the people" in a note by an anonymous delegate. After discussing it with his wife Gromyko decided to leave Soviet politics for good. Gromyko recounts in his Memoirs that before he made it official he told Gorbachev that he wished to resign. The following day, 1 October 1988, Gromyko sat beside Gorbachev, Yegor Ligachev and Nikolai Ryzhkov in the Supreme Soviet to make his resignation official:
9726_34	Such moments in life are just as memorable as when one is appointed to prominent positions. When my comrades took farewell to me, I was equally moved as I had ever been when I was given an important office. What I thought most about was that I had finished my duties towards the people, the Party and the state. This memory is very precious to me. Gorbachev succeeded Gromyko in office as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. After his resignation Gorbachev praised Gromyko for his half-century of service to USSR. Critics, such as Alexander Belonogov, the Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations, claimed Gromyko's foreign policy was permeated with "a spirit of intolerance and confrontation".
9726_35	After retiring from active politics in 1989 Gromyko started working on his memoirs. Gromyko died on 2 July 1989, days before what would have been his 80th birthday, after being hospitalised for a vascular problem that was not further identified. His death was followed by a minute of silence at the Congress of People's Deputies to commemorate him. The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), the central news organ in the USSR, called him one of the country's most "prominent leaders". President of the United States George H. W. Bush sent his condolences to Gromyko's son, Anatoly. Gromyko was offered a grave in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis, but at the request of his family he was not buried near the Moscow Kremlin Wall but instead at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Legacy
9726_36	Having been a person of considerable stature during his life Gromyko held an unusual combination of personal characteristics. Some were impressed by his diplomatic skills, while others called Gromyko mundane and boring. An article written in 1981 in The Times said, "He is one of the most active and efficient members of the Soviet leadership. A man with an excellent memory, a keen intellect and extraordinary endurance [...] Maybe Andrey is the most informed Minister for Foreign affairs in the world". Gromyko's dour demeanour was shown clearly during his first term in Washington and echoed throughout his tenure as Soviet foreign minister. Ambassador Charles W. Yost, who worked with Gromyko at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, the UN founding conference, and at the United Nations, recalled that the "humorless" Soviet ambassador "looked as though he was sucking a lemon."
9726_37	There is a story that Gromyko was leaving a Washington hotel one morning and was asked by a reporter; "Minister Gromyko, did you enjoy your breakfast today?" His response was "Perhaps."
9726_38	During his twenty-eight years as minister of foreign affairs Gromyko became the "number-one" on international diplomacy at home, renowned by his peers to be consumed by his work. Henry Kissinger once said "If you can face Gromyko for one hour and survive, then you can begin to call yourself a diplomat". Gromyko's work influenced Soviet and Russian ambassadors such as Anatoly Dobrynin. Mash Lewis and Gregory Elliott described Gromyko's main characteristic as his "complete identification with the interest of the state and his faithful service to it". According to historians Gregory Elliot and Moshe Lewin this could help explain his so-called "boring" personality and the mastery of his own ego. West German politician Egon Bahr, when commenting on Gromyko's memoirs, said;
9726_39	He has concealed a veritable treasure-trove from future generations and taken to the grave with him an inestimable knowledge of international connection between the historical events and major figures of his time, which only he could offer. What a pity that this very man proved incapable to the very end of evoking his experience. As a faithful servant of the state, he believed that he should restrict himself to a sober, concise presentation of the bare essentials. On 18 July 2009, Belarus marked the 100th anniversary of Gromyko's birth with nationwide celebrations. In the city of his birth many people laid flowers in front of his bust. A ceremony was held attended by his son and daughter, Anatoly and Emiliya. Several exhibitions were opened and dedicated to his honour and a school and a street in Gomel were renamed in honour of him.
9726_40	Decorations and awards : Hero of Socialist Labor, twice (1969, 1979) Order of Lenin, seven times (1944, 1945, 1959, 1966, 1969, 1979, 1984) Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (1985) Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1948) Order of the Badge of Honour (1954) Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1969) Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1975) Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1985) Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945) Medal "Veteran of Labour" (1974) Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1988) Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow" (1947) Lenin Prize (1982) USSR State Prize (1984) Other countries: Order of the Sun of Freedom (Afghanistan) Order of Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria) Order of José Martí (Cuba)
9726_41	Order of Klement Gottwald (Czechoslovakia) Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary (Hungary) Order of Peace and Friendship (Hungary) Grand Cross of Order of the Sun of Peru (Peru) Order of Merit of the Polish People's Republic, 1st class (Poland)
9726_42	References Further reading Hoffmann Jr., Erik P., and Frederic J. Fleron. The Conduct of Soviet Foreign Policy (1980) MacKenzie, David. From Messianism to Collapse: Soviet Foreign Policy 1917–1991 (1994) Stone, Norman. "Andrei Gromyko as Foreign Minister: The Problems of a Decaying Empire," in Gordon Craig and Francis Loewenheim, eds. The Diplomats 1939– 1979 (Princeton University Press, 1994) online Ulam, Adam B. Expansion and Coexistence: Soviet Foreign Policy 1917–73 (1976) online Primary sources Gromyko , Andrei A. "Introduction" in Modern Diplomacy of Capitalist Powers (Pergamon Press, 1983) Gromyko, Andrei A. Only for Peace: Selected Speeches and Writings (1979) External links
9726_43	Interview about the Cold War for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age Annotated bibliography for Andrei Gromyko from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues The Overseas Expansion of Capital: Past and Present by Gromyko, 1985. Lenin and the Soviet Peace Policy: Articles and Speeches, 1944-1980 by Gromyko. Famous Belarusians
9726_44	1909 births 1989 deaths People from Vietka District People from Gomelsky Uyezd Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet Ministers of Foreign Affairs Permanent Representatives of the Soviet Union to the United Nations Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to the United States Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Cuba Cold War diplomats Heads of state of the Soviet Union Heroes of Socialist Labour Lenin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Belarusian atheists Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Commanders with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
9727_0	A direct debit or direct withdrawal is a financial transaction in which one person (or company) withdraws funds from another person's bank account. Formally, the person who directly draws the funds ("the payee") instructs their bank to collect (i.e., debit) an amount directly from another's ("the payer's") bank account designated by the payer and pay those funds into a bank account designated by the payee. Before the payer's banker will allow the transaction to take place, the payer must have advised the bank that he or she has authorized the payee to directly draw the funds. It is also called pre-authorized debit (PAD) or pre-authorized payment (PAP). After the authorities are set up, the direct debit transactions are usually processed electronically.
9727_1	Direct debits are typically used for recurring payments, such as credit card and utility bills, where the payment amounts vary from one payment to another. However, when the authorization is in place, the circumstances in which the funds are drawn as well as the dates and amounts are a matter of agreement between the payee and payer, with which the bankers are not concerned. In countries where setting up authorization is easy enough, direct debits can also be used for irregular payments, such as for mail order transactions or at a point of sale. The payer can cancel the authorization for a direct debit at any time, and the banker can decline to carry out a debit if the transaction would breach the terms of the bank account out of which payment is to be made, for example if it were to cause the account to overdraw. (Banking law does not authorize a bank to alter the payment amount.)

Subsets and Splits

No saved queries yet

Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.