The Sacred Architecture of Byzantium

The Sacred Architecture of Byzantium

Author: Nicholas N. Patricios

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-04-24

Total Pages: 1682

ISBN-13: 0755693981

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The churches of the Byzantine era were built to represent heaven on earth. Architecture, art and liturgy were intertwined in them to a degree that has never been replicated elsewhere, and the symbolism of this relationship had deep and profound meanings. Sacred buildings and their spiritual art underpinned the Eastern liturgical rites, which in turn influenced architectural design and the decoration which accompanied it. Nicholas N Patricios here offers a comprehensive survey, from the age of Constantine to the fall of Constantinople, of the nexus between buildings, worship and art. His identification of seven distinct Byzantine church types, based on a close analysis of 370 church building plans, will have considerable appeal to Byzantinists, lay and scholarly. Beyond categorizing and describing the churches themselves, which are richly illustrated with photographs, plans and diagrams, the author interprets the sacred liturgy that took place within these holy buildings, tracing the development of the worship in conjunction with architectural advances made up to the 15th century. Focusing on buildings located in twenty-two different locations, this sumptuous book is an essential guide to individual features such as the synthronon, templon and ambo and also to the wider significance of Byzantine art and architecture.


Book Synopsis The Sacred Architecture of Byzantium by : Nicholas N. Patricios

Download or read book The Sacred Architecture of Byzantium written by Nicholas N. Patricios and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-04-24 with total page 1682 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The churches of the Byzantine era were built to represent heaven on earth. Architecture, art and liturgy were intertwined in them to a degree that has never been replicated elsewhere, and the symbolism of this relationship had deep and profound meanings. Sacred buildings and their spiritual art underpinned the Eastern liturgical rites, which in turn influenced architectural design and the decoration which accompanied it. Nicholas N Patricios here offers a comprehensive survey, from the age of Constantine to the fall of Constantinople, of the nexus between buildings, worship and art. His identification of seven distinct Byzantine church types, based on a close analysis of 370 church building plans, will have considerable appeal to Byzantinists, lay and scholarly. Beyond categorizing and describing the churches themselves, which are richly illustrated with photographs, plans and diagrams, the author interprets the sacred liturgy that took place within these holy buildings, tracing the development of the worship in conjunction with architectural advances made up to the 15th century. Focusing on buildings located in twenty-two different locations, this sumptuous book is an essential guide to individual features such as the synthronon, templon and ambo and also to the wider significance of Byzantine art and architecture.


Architecture of the Sacred

Architecture of the Sacred

Author: Bonna D. Wescoat

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-10-13

Total Pages: 467

ISBN-13: 110737829X

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In this book, a distinguished team of authors explores the way space, place, architecture, and ritual interact to construct sacred experience in the historical cultures of the eastern Mediterranean. Essays address fundamental issues and features that enable buildings to perform as spiritually transformative spaces in ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, early Christian, and Byzantine civilizations. Collectively they demonstrate the multiple ways in which works of architecture and their settings were active agents in the ritual process. Architecture did not merely host events; rather, it magnified and elevated them, interacting with rituals facilitating the construction of ceremony. This book examines comparatively the ways in which ideas and situations generated by the interaction of place, built environment, ritual action, and memory contributed to the cultural formulation of the sacred experience in different religious faiths.


Book Synopsis Architecture of the Sacred by : Bonna D. Wescoat

Download or read book Architecture of the Sacred written by Bonna D. Wescoat and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-13 with total page 467 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, a distinguished team of authors explores the way space, place, architecture, and ritual interact to construct sacred experience in the historical cultures of the eastern Mediterranean. Essays address fundamental issues and features that enable buildings to perform as spiritually transformative spaces in ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, early Christian, and Byzantine civilizations. Collectively they demonstrate the multiple ways in which works of architecture and their settings were active agents in the ritual process. Architecture did not merely host events; rather, it magnified and elevated them, interacting with rituals facilitating the construction of ceremony. This book examines comparatively the ways in which ideas and situations generated by the interaction of place, built environment, ritual action, and memory contributed to the cultural formulation of the sacred experience in different religious faiths.


Theology in Stone

Theology in Stone

Author: Richard Kieckhefer

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2008-07-24

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0195340566

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Thinking about church architecture has come to an impasse. Reformers and traditionalists are talking past each other. Statements from both sides are often strident and dogmatic. In Theology in Stone, Richard Kieckhefer seeks to help both sides move beyond the standoff toward a fruitful conversation about houses of worship. Drawing on a wide range of historical examples with an eye to their contemporary relevance, he offers new ideas about the meanings and uses of church architecture.


Book Synopsis Theology in Stone by : Richard Kieckhefer

Download or read book Theology in Stone written by Richard Kieckhefer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-07-24 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thinking about church architecture has come to an impasse. Reformers and traditionalists are talking past each other. Statements from both sides are often strident and dogmatic. In Theology in Stone, Richard Kieckhefer seeks to help both sides move beyond the standoff toward a fruitful conversation about houses of worship. Drawing on a wide range of historical examples with an eye to their contemporary relevance, he offers new ideas about the meanings and uses of church architecture.


The Framing of Sacred Space

The Framing of Sacred Space

Author: Jelena Bogdanovic

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 0190465182

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Revised and expanded version of the author's thesis (doctoral--Princeton University, 2008) under the title: Canopies: the framing of sacred space in the Byzantine ecclesiastical tradition.


Book Synopsis The Framing of Sacred Space by : Jelena Bogdanovic

Download or read book The Framing of Sacred Space written by Jelena Bogdanovic and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revised and expanded version of the author's thesis (doctoral--Princeton University, 2008) under the title: Canopies: the framing of sacred space in the Byzantine ecclesiastical tradition.


The Sacred Architecture & Art of Four Byzantine Capitals

The Sacred Architecture & Art of Four Byzantine Capitals

Author: Nicholas N. Patricios

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 9781666239423

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Byzantine churches are special. They are special as their architecture, art, and liturgy are integrated and imbued with symbolism, and they do so in so many different ways. The best have impressive architectural exteriors and striking iconographic interiors. This book is a photographic record o specially selected churches of four Byzantine capitals which an interested reader can likewise visit. The capitals of the Byzantine Empire were Constantinople (today Istanbul) on the Bosporus the major capital city; Thessaloniki located in northern Greece the co-capital; Mystras in the central Peloponnese a medieval capital; and Mount Athos on a peninsula in northeast Greece still today the spiritual capital of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The aim of this book is to illustrate visually in color, with mostly one-page readable written descriptions, the architecture and iconography of the important churches, sixty-nine in all, of the four capitals of the Byzantine Empire. Of these churches the author has visited all except five. Each church is depicted with a floor plan and color photographs, a total of 391 in color out of the 476 illustrations in the book. These churches of the Empire's heartland are most significant as they acted as models or prototypes for those built elsewhere in the Byzantine world. It is remarkable that the Byzantine-style church has continued to be built even after the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist in Greek and Eastern Orthodox communities throughout the world to the present day.


Book Synopsis The Sacred Architecture & Art of Four Byzantine Capitals by : Nicholas N. Patricios

Download or read book The Sacred Architecture & Art of Four Byzantine Capitals written by Nicholas N. Patricios and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Byzantine churches are special. They are special as their architecture, art, and liturgy are integrated and imbued with symbolism, and they do so in so many different ways. The best have impressive architectural exteriors and striking iconographic interiors. This book is a photographic record o specially selected churches of four Byzantine capitals which an interested reader can likewise visit. The capitals of the Byzantine Empire were Constantinople (today Istanbul) on the Bosporus the major capital city; Thessaloniki located in northern Greece the co-capital; Mystras in the central Peloponnese a medieval capital; and Mount Athos on a peninsula in northeast Greece still today the spiritual capital of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The aim of this book is to illustrate visually in color, with mostly one-page readable written descriptions, the architecture and iconography of the important churches, sixty-nine in all, of the four capitals of the Byzantine Empire. Of these churches the author has visited all except five. Each church is depicted with a floor plan and color photographs, a total of 391 in color out of the 476 illustrations in the book. These churches of the Empire's heartland are most significant as they acted as models or prototypes for those built elsewhere in the Byzantine world. It is remarkable that the Byzantine-style church has continued to be built even after the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist in Greek and Eastern Orthodox communities throughout the world to the present day.


Sacred Power, Sacred Space

Sacred Power, Sacred Space

Author: Jeanne Halgren Kilde

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2008-07-21

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9780199718108

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Jeanne Halgren Kilde's survey of church architecture is unlike any other. Her main concern is not the buildings themselves, but rather the dynamic character of Christianity and how church buildings shape and influence the religion. Kilde argues that a primary function of church buildings is to represent and reify three different types of power: divine power, or ideas about God; personal empowerment as manifested in the individual's perceived relationship to the divine; and social power, meaning the relationships between groups such as clergy and laity. Each type intersects with notions of Christian creed, cult, and code, and is represented spatially and materially in church buildings. Kilde explores these categories chronologically, from the early church to the twentieth century. She considers the form, organization, and use of worship rooms; the location of churches; and the interaction between churches and the wider culture. Church buildings have been integral to Christianity, and Kilde's important study sheds new light on the way they impact all aspects of the religion. Neither mere witnesses to transformations of religious thought or nor simple backgrounds for religious practice, church buildings are, in Kilde's view, dynamic participants in religious change and goldmines of information on Christianity itself.


Book Synopsis Sacred Power, Sacred Space by : Jeanne Halgren Kilde

Download or read book Sacred Power, Sacred Space written by Jeanne Halgren Kilde and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-07-21 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jeanne Halgren Kilde's survey of church architecture is unlike any other. Her main concern is not the buildings themselves, but rather the dynamic character of Christianity and how church buildings shape and influence the religion. Kilde argues that a primary function of church buildings is to represent and reify three different types of power: divine power, or ideas about God; personal empowerment as manifested in the individual's perceived relationship to the divine; and social power, meaning the relationships between groups such as clergy and laity. Each type intersects with notions of Christian creed, cult, and code, and is represented spatially and materially in church buildings. Kilde explores these categories chronologically, from the early church to the twentieth century. She considers the form, organization, and use of worship rooms; the location of churches; and the interaction between churches and the wider culture. Church buildings have been integral to Christianity, and Kilde's important study sheds new light on the way they impact all aspects of the religion. Neither mere witnesses to transformations of religious thought or nor simple backgrounds for religious practice, church buildings are, in Kilde's view, dynamic participants in religious change and goldmines of information on Christianity itself.


Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium

Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium

Author: Jelena Bogdanovic

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-04-09

Total Pages: 419

ISBN-13: 1351359606

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Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium seeks to reveal Christian understanding of the body and sacred space in the medieval Mediterranean. Case studies examine encounters with the holy through the perspective of the human body and sensory dimensions of sacred space, and discuss the dynamics of perception when experiencing what was constructed, represented, and understood as sacred. The comparative analysis investigates viewers’ recognitions of the sacred in specific locations or segments of space with an emphasis on the experiential and conceptual relationships between sacred spaces and human bodies. This volume thus reassesses the empowering aspects of space, time, and human agency in religious contexts. By focusing on investigations of human endeavors towards experiential and visual expressions that shape perceptions of holiness, this study ultimately aims to present a better understanding of the corporeality of sacred art and architecture. The research points to how early Christians and Byzantines teleologically viewed the divine source of the sacred in terms of its ability to bring together – but never fully dissolve – the distinctions between the human and divine realms. The revealed mechanisms of iconic perception and noetic contemplation have the potential to shape knowledge of the meanings of the sacred as well as to improve our understanding of the liminality of the profane and the sacred.


Book Synopsis Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium by : Jelena Bogdanovic

Download or read book Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium written by Jelena Bogdanovic and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-09 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium seeks to reveal Christian understanding of the body and sacred space in the medieval Mediterranean. Case studies examine encounters with the holy through the perspective of the human body and sensory dimensions of sacred space, and discuss the dynamics of perception when experiencing what was constructed, represented, and understood as sacred. The comparative analysis investigates viewers’ recognitions of the sacred in specific locations or segments of space with an emphasis on the experiential and conceptual relationships between sacred spaces and human bodies. This volume thus reassesses the empowering aspects of space, time, and human agency in religious contexts. By focusing on investigations of human endeavors towards experiential and visual expressions that shape perceptions of holiness, this study ultimately aims to present a better understanding of the corporeality of sacred art and architecture. The research points to how early Christians and Byzantines teleologically viewed the divine source of the sacred in terms of its ability to bring together – but never fully dissolve – the distinctions between the human and divine realms. The revealed mechanisms of iconic perception and noetic contemplation have the potential to shape knowledge of the meanings of the sacred as well as to improve our understanding of the liminality of the profane and the sacred.


Thresholds of the Sacred

Thresholds of the Sacred

Author: Sharon E. J. Gerstel

Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780884023111

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This collection of essays considers the development and meaning of the iconostasis, the screen used in churches to separate the sanctuary from the nave. The contributors approach the history of the icon screen from a variety of disciplines, including art history, theology, and architecture.


Book Synopsis Thresholds of the Sacred by : Sharon E. J. Gerstel

Download or read book Thresholds of the Sacred written by Sharon E. J. Gerstel and published by Dumbarton Oaks. This book was released on 2006 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays considers the development and meaning of the iconostasis, the screen used in churches to separate the sanctuary from the nave. The contributors approach the history of the icon screen from a variety of disciplines, including art history, theology, and architecture.


Aural Architecture in Byzantium: Music, Acoustics, and Ritual

Aural Architecture in Byzantium: Music, Acoustics, and Ritual

Author: Bissera Pentcheva

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-07-14

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 135178689X

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Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of figures -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Aural architecture in Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria -- 2 The great outdoors: liturgical encounters with the early medieval Armenian church -- 3 Byzantine chant notation: written documents in an aural tradition -- 4 Understanding liturgy: the Byzantine liturgical commentaries -- 5 Christ's all-seeing eye in the dome -- 6 Transfigured: mosaic and liturgy at Nea Moni -- 7 We who musically represent the cherubim -- 8 Spatiality, embodiment, and agency in ekphraseis of church buildings -- 9 Acoustics of Hagia Sophia: a scientific approach to the humanities and sacred space -- 10 Live auralization of Cappella Romana at the Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index


Book Synopsis Aural Architecture in Byzantium: Music, Acoustics, and Ritual by : Bissera Pentcheva

Download or read book Aural Architecture in Byzantium: Music, Acoustics, and Ritual written by Bissera Pentcheva and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-07-14 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of figures -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Aural architecture in Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria -- 2 The great outdoors: liturgical encounters with the early medieval Armenian church -- 3 Byzantine chant notation: written documents in an aural tradition -- 4 Understanding liturgy: the Byzantine liturgical commentaries -- 5 Christ's all-seeing eye in the dome -- 6 Transfigured: mosaic and liturgy at Nea Moni -- 7 We who musically represent the cherubim -- 8 Spatiality, embodiment, and agency in ekphraseis of church buildings -- 9 Acoustics of Hagia Sophia: a scientific approach to the humanities and sacred space -- 10 Live auralization of Cappella Romana at the Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index


Eastern Medieval Architecture

Eastern Medieval Architecture

Author: Robert Ousterhout

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-08-26

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 0190058404

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The rich and diverse architectural traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean and adjacent regions are the subject of this book. Representing the visual residues of a "forgotten" Middle Ages, the social and cultural developments of the Byzantine Empire, the Caucasus, the Balkans, Russia, and the Middle East parallel the more familiar architecture of Western Europe. The book offers an expansive view of the architectural developments of the Byzantine Empire and areas under its cultural influence, as well as the intellectual currents that lie behind their creation. The book alternates chapters that address chronological or regionally-based developments with thematic studies that focus on the larger cultural concerns, as they are expressed in architectural form.


Book Synopsis Eastern Medieval Architecture by : Robert Ousterhout

Download or read book Eastern Medieval Architecture written by Robert Ousterhout and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-26 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rich and diverse architectural traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean and adjacent regions are the subject of this book. Representing the visual residues of a "forgotten" Middle Ages, the social and cultural developments of the Byzantine Empire, the Caucasus, the Balkans, Russia, and the Middle East parallel the more familiar architecture of Western Europe. The book offers an expansive view of the architectural developments of the Byzantine Empire and areas under its cultural influence, as well as the intellectual currents that lie behind their creation. The book alternates chapters that address chronological or regionally-based developments with thematic studies that focus on the larger cultural concerns, as they are expressed in architectural form.