Eastern Orthodox church architecture constitutes a distinct, recognizable family of styles among church architectures. These styles share a cluster of fundamental similarities, having been influenced by the common legacy of Byzantine architecture from the Eastern Roman Empire. Some of the styles have become associated with the particular traditions of one specific autocephalous Orthodox patriarchate, whereas others are more widely used within the Eastern Orthodox Church.
These architectural styles have held substantial influence over cultures outside Eastern Orthodoxy; particularly in the architecture of Islamic mosques, but also to some degree in Western churches.
History
While sharing many traditions, Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity began to diverge from each other from an early date. Whereas the basilica, a long aisled hall with an apse at one end, was the most common form in the West, a more compact centralised style became predominant in the East.
Early Christian architecture, which marked the beginning and the formation of architectural forms, which later found a diverse embodiment throughout Europe and the Christian East, was also the last period of ancient architecture, with its own tradition of fine art and the organization of the interior space of the temple. There are two stages in the development of early Christian architecture:
from the emergence before the officialization of Christianity to the emperor Constantine;
from Constantine the Great until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
The first stage. The first Christian temple is the Zion chamber, where the most important sacrament was established – the Eucharist. During this period, speeches of preachers (apostles) occur in synagogues, and congregations of believers – in the homes of members of communities. After the break with Judaism, Christians used the most suitable clean spacious rooms isolated from the bustle of the world to perform services. Later, these houses are adapted to independent churches (for example, the house-church in Dura-Europos, 231).
At the onset of periods of persecution by the Roman authorities, the position of Christians became illegal, so the places of their meetings were hidden. The temples also used catacombs (abandoned mines, mines, quarries, salt caves with a complex system of underground necropolis galleries) of Rome, Ephesus, Alexandria, Syracuse and other cities, the oldest of which are the catacombs of St. Kallista (the beginning of the III century), as well as cemeteries. On the site of martyrdom of the saints or on their graves, martyrs in the form of a fence or chapel.
Taking into account the memory of December 28 (January 10) of the burned in 302 year in Nicomedia Maximian 20,000 Christians gathered for the feast of the Nativity of Christ in the temple, we can assume that some of the Christian churches in the times of persecution had a very impressive size.
In architectural terms, the Christian temples of that time were not always three-part and turned the altar to the east. There were no separate altars yet, and the altars were set in the middle of the temples. The almost complete absence of icons, Christians prayed to symbolize themselves Christ priests who stood or sat facing the people and, in turn, pray for this people – royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2: 9), seeing the living image of God in every human being (Gen. 1:27). Later, with the weakening of awe and laity in order to avoid temptation (for contemplation of women), and the clergy and lay people prayed facing east, so the throne began to rise and the high place in the eastern part of the church, and still later became separated from the altarcatholicos with a massive iconostasis.
The second stage begins after the legalization of Christianity in 313 by Constantine the Great and the consolidation (by Theodosius I the Great in 380) of the status of the only state religion for Christianity. At the same time, the mother of Constantine- Elena began the construction of many churches in Palestine, including the majestic Temple of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Under Constantine begins a large-scale construction of Christian churches throughout the empire. Under the Christian temples adapted the former pagan temples or civil administrative buildings of the basilica (Greek. βασιλική – “the house of basileus, the royal house”). The basilica, unlike the cross-domed temple, has a simple gable roof over the central nave and one-sloped coverings of the side naves. Inside the room can look like a rafter ceiling, and caisson. The altar apse ends with a horse.
With the development of the ceremonial side, there is a complication of the composition of the temple, there are:
atrium in front of the entrance, having in the center a fountain for ablutions or a baptismal font ;
vestibule;
transsept (transverse nave) to increase the altar part.
In the IV century, there is an intensive construction of the basilica churches in the east of the Roman Empire, not subjected, in the west, devastating raids of barbarian tribes. For northern Syria, it is a three-nave basilica with a semicircular apse, hidden between two rectangular (basilica in Brad, 395-402). Sometimes two towers were erected at the western facade; Such a reception, being a local tradition, later became characteristic of this type of temples. In southern SyriaTemples were built nave with a flat ceiling and the apse with various forms (Julian Church, 344 BC, “Eastern Church” Umm Jimal AHI) or the nave of the church, where the aisles were equal in height (the church in Tafea). In the west of the empire, especially in Italy, a three-nave or five-nave basilica prevailed. The oldest church in Rome is San Giovanni in Laterano (319).
On further development of temple architecture strongly influenced Syrian Church i.v. V-VI, among which especially notable in Church-Kojo Kalessi (V in.), The central secondary cell which has a domed nave completion. In the East, a new type of Christian construction also appears – the monastery (5th century). An important place in the development of Christian architecture was occupied by centric structures:
the tomb (in whose forms the late antique tradition found its development);
baptistry ;
and cruciform churches (IV-V centuries).
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the formation and development of Orthodox architectural traditions took place on the territory of Byzantium until the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
For a thousand-year history of the development of Byzantine art, the cross-dome type of the temple was fully formed, then perceived by Russian architecture. An example of an Orthodox church for Rus was the grandiose cathedral of Sofia Constantinople.
Architecture
Orthodox church buildings have the following basic shapes, each with its own symbolism:
Elongated: rectangle, rounded rectangle (circle), symbolizing the ship as a means of salvation (Noah’s Ark)
Cruciform (cross shaped)
Star shaped
Circular
The cupola instead of a flat ceiling symbolizes the sky. In Russian churches, cupolas are often topped by onion-shaped domes, where crosses are mounted. These domes are called “heads” (глава) or “poppy heads” (маковица, маковка). Sometimes crosses have a crescent-like shape at the bottom, which contrary to the common misconception, has no relation either to Islam, or to a Christian victory over the Muslims. The crescent moon was one of the state symbols of Byzantium that predated the Ottoman conquests. The crescent moon found on Old Russian icons, vestments, and book miniatures refers to the moon as the symbol of anchor, the symbol of salvation, concordant with the symbolism of the Church as a ship.
The altar (sanctuary) is situated in the eastern part of the church, regardless of its shape. A bell tower is attached to (or built separately by) the western part of the church.
The church building has many symbolic meanings; perhaps the oldest and most prominent is the concept that the Church is the Ark of Salvation (as in Noah’s Ark) in which the world is saved from the flood of temptations. Because of this, most Orthodox Churches are rectangular in design. Another popular shape, especially for churches with large choirs is cruciform or cross-shaped. Architectural patterns may vary in shape and complexity, with chapels sometimes added around the main church, or triple altars (Liturgy may only be performed once a day on any particular altar), but in general, the symbolic layout of the church remains the same.
The Church building is divided into three main parts: the narthex (vestibule), the nave (the temple proper) and the sanctuary (also called the altar or holy place).
A major difference of traditional Orthodox churches from Western churches is the absence of any pews in the nave. In some ethnic traditions of Orthodoxy, it was deemed disrespectful to sit during sermons. However, in some churches in the West and particularly in the diaspora churches in the United States, pews and kneelers were introduced, under the influence of other Christian denominations.
Narthex
The narthex is the connection between the Church and the outside world and for this reason catechumens (pre-baptized Orthodox) and non-Orthodox are to stand here (note: the tradition of allowing only confirmed Orthodox into the nave of the church has for the most part fallen into disuse). In monastic churches, it is usual for the lay people visiting the monastery to stand in the narthex while the monks or nuns stand in the nave. Separating the narthex from the nave are the Royal Doors (either because Christ passes through them in the liturgy, or from the time of the Byzantine Empire, when the emperor would enter the main body of Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom, through these doors and proceed up to the altar to partake of the Eucharist). On either side of this portal are large brass candlestands called menalia which represent the pillars of fire which went before the Hebrews into the promised land.
Nave
The nave is the main body of the church where the people stand during the services. In most traditional Eastern Orthodox churches there are no seats or pews as in the West, but rather stacidia (A high-armed chair with arm rests high enough to be used for support while standing); these are usually found along the walls. Traditionally there is no sitting during services with the only exceptions being during the reading of the Psalms, and the priest’s sermon. The people stand before God. However, many exceptions to this can be found in western countries, especially the USA, where familiarity with Catholic and Protestant churches has led to similarities in church furnishings. It is not uncommon to encounter both pews and kneelers.
In some more traditional churches, mostly in Greece, a special chandelier known as a polyeleos can be found. This chandelier is usually adorned with candles and icons, and pushed to swing during its respective service.
The walls are normally covered from floor to ceiling with icons or wall paintings of saints, their lives, and stories from the Bible. Because the church building is a direct extension of its Jewish roots where men and women stand separately, the Orthodox Church continues this practice, with men standing on the right and women on the left. With this arrangement it is emphasized that we are all equal before God (equal distance from the altar), and that the man is not superior to the woman. In many modern churches this traditional practice has been altered and families stand together.
Above the nave in the dome of the church is the icon of Christ the Almighty (Παντοκρατωρ/Pantokrator, “Ruler of All”). Directly hanging below the dome (In more traditional churches) is usually a kind of circular chandelier with depictions of the saints and apostles, called the horos, which is the same as the polyeleos mentioned above.
The Nave of an Orthodox Church can vary in shape/size & layout according to the various traditions within the Church. The two most common layouts inside Orthodox Churches since Justinian have been a cruciform layout, an open square/rectangular layout, or a more linear layout with side-aisles. However the latter of which has fallen out of use since the Great Schism, as it was more widely used in Western Churches and better suited the services celebrated in them than in Eastern Rite churches. The two former layouts, the open square (or rarely, circular) and the cruciform have been found best suited to celebration of the Divine Liturgy. These two interior layouts tend to be square/circular in form rather than elongated.
The cruciform is the oldest of the two interior layouts and seems to be of Byzantine origin. It comes from the adaptation of two of the earliest Christian architectural forms, the Basilica and the octagonal/circular form. The cruciform church often includes side-aisles similar to the Western Basilica, but they are often very short and cut open in the middle leaving a large cross shape through the middle of the church. The open square/circle is the newer of the two forms. It is most commonly found in Eastern European churches & more modern Greek churches. This church retains the earlier square/circular shape, however the side-aisles have been removed opening the space completely. This has found wider use across the world in more recent years with the invention of steel, as it allows for the dome to be supported without the need for massive arches and columns which were main features of the older cruciform churches.
Symbolism
Traditionally Christian churches in terms of have:
The cross is a symbol of the cross of Christ as the basis of eternal salvation,
the circle (the type of the rotunda temple) is a symbol of eternity,
square (quadrilateral) – a symbol of the earth, where the peoples converge in the temple from four directions of the world, and also – the symbol of the spiritual fortress,
octagon (octagon on the quadrangle) – a symbol of the guiding star of Bethlehem. The number 8 – a symbol of future eternal life (6 days of the creation of the world, the seventh day – the present, the eighth – the future),
a ship (usually an elongated rectangle or an oval) is the symbol of Noah’s Ark, floating through the “raging everyday” sea of passions to a quiet harbor (to the Kingdom of Heaven).
Each temple is dedicated to a Christian holiday or a saint, whose day of memory is called a temple (patronal) holiday. Sometimes in the temple they arrange several altars (chapels). Then each of them is dedicated to his own saint or event.
According to tradition, the temple is usually built by the altar to the east. However, there are exceptions when the liturgical east may not correspond to the geographic (for example, the church of the martyr Iulian of Tarsi in Pushkin – the altar is turned to the south, the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in the village of Nikola Rozhok of the Tver region – the altar is turned to the north). Orthodox churches were not erected, they turned to the west in the altar. In other cases, orientation around the world could be explained by territorial conditions. The roof of the temple is crowned with a dome with a cross. In the Byzantine tradition, the dome was covered directly in the vault, in the Russian tradition, due to the “pulling” upwards of the dome shape, space (a drum) between the vault and the dome. By a common tradition, Orthodox churches can have:
1 dome – symbolizes the one Lord Jesus Christ;
2 domes are the two natures of Christ (divine and human);
3 domes – Holy Trinity ;
5 domes – Christ and four Evangelists ;
The seven domes are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11: 2-3), the seven pillars of the house of Wisdom (Proverbs 9: 1), the seven days of the week, the seven sacraments of the Christian, the seven seals of the book in the right hand of the Sitter on the throne, and the slain Lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God (Revelation 5: 1-6), the seven Ecumenical Councils ;
9 domes – nine orders of angels ;
13 domes – Christ and 12 apostles.
24 domes – 12 tribes of Israel (or 12 small prophets) in the Old Testament and 12 apostles in the New Testament;
25 domes – 24 crowned elders, sitting on thrones in white robes around the throne of Jesus Christ (Revelation 4: 4);
33 domes – the age of Christ, in which he was crucified.
The Orthodox Church depicts itself:
The whole cosmos,
Heaven on earth,
The Kingdom of Heaven,
Church of Christ,
Each person :
Device
In the Orthodox church, there are three parts: the vestibule, the main volume of the temple – naos (middle part) and the altar. In the vestibule, those who prepared for baptism and penitents, who were temporarily excommunicated from the sacrament, stood earlier. The porches in the monastery temples were often used as refectory.
Orthodox altar
The altar – the place of the mysterious stay of the Lord God, is the main part of the temple. The most important place in the altar is the throne in the form of a quadrangular table, it has two garments: the lower one is made of white linen (saricia) and the upper brocade (india). The symbolic meaning of the throne is as a place where the Lord is invisibly present. On the throne is the antimension – the main sacred object of the temple. This is a silk board, consecrated by the bishop, depicting the position of Christ in a coffin and with the sewn-in particle of the relics of a Christian martyr. This is due to the fact that in the first centuries of Christianity the service (Liturgy) was performed on the tombs of martyrs over their relics. Antimins is wrapped in an oron.
Near the eastern wall in the altar there is a ” mountain place ” – an elevated seat intended for the bishop and a synthron – an arch-shaped bench for the clergy that adjoins the eastern wall of the altar from the inside, symmetrical to its longitudinal axis. By the XIV-XV centuries. the stationary synthron disappears altogether. Instead of him, at the episcopal service for the servants of bishops and priests set portable seats without backs and pens.
The altar part of the catholicon is separated by the altar barrier – the iconostasis. In Russia, multi-level iconostases appear in the beginning. XV century. (Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir). In the classical version, the iconostasis has 5 tiers (rows):
local (in it there are local icons, royal gates and deacon’s doors);
festive (with small icons of twelve holidays) and the Deesis tier (the main row of the iconostasis, from which its formation began) – these two rows can change places;
prophetic (icons of Old Testament prophets with scrolls in their hands);
prathetic (icons of Old Testament saints).
However, in the wide distribution of the series there can be 2 or more. In the sixth tier icons can enter with scenes of passions or saints not included in the apostolic row. The composition of icons in the iconostasis can be different. The most traditionally well-established images:
On the two-winged royal gates, located in the middle of the local row, there are usually 6 hallmarks – an image of the Annunciation and four evangelists.
To the left of the royal doors is the icon of the Virgin, to the right – Jesus Christ.
The second to the right of the Royal Gates icon corresponds to the throne (temple icon).
On deacon’s doors – usually archangels, glorified in the holy archdeacon or other saints.
Above the royal doors is the Last Supper, above (on the same vertical line) is the Savior in Power or the Savior on the Throne of the Deesis Tier, to his right is John the Baptist, to the left is the Theotokos. Feature of icons from Deesis – the figures are slightly turned, facing the central image of Christ.
The iconostasis ends with a cross with the figure of Christ (sometimes without it). The iconostases are of a pavilion type (the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow), tyblen (they were distributed in the XV-XVII centuries) and skeleton (appear with the beginning of the construction of baroque churches). The iconostasis is a symbol of the heavenly Church, coming with the earth.
The veil that separates the throne from the royal gates is called a catapetasma. The color of the catapetasms varies – dark in tragic days, on festive divine services – golden, blue, scarlet. To enter the royal gates, and also to cross the space between the catapetasmas and the throne should not be anyone other than priests.
In the altar or on the side of it there may be a sacristy, a vase guard and a ponomark with a censer niche, a smoke extractor and a wash basin.
Iconostasis
The iconostasis, also called the τεμπλον/templon, it is a screen or wall between the nave and the sanctuary, which is covered with icons. There will normally be three doors, one in the middle and one on either side. The central one is traditionally called the Beautiful Gate and is only used by the clergy. There are times when this gate is closed during the service and a curtain is drawn. The doors on either side are called the Deacons’ Doors or Angel Doors as they often have depicted on them the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. These doors are used by deacons and servers to enter the sanctuary. Typically, to the right of the Beautiful Gate (as viewed from the nave) is the icon of Christ, then the icon of St John the Baptist; to the left the icon of the Theotokos, always shown holding Christ; and then the icon of the saint to whom the church is dedicated (i.e., the patron). There are often other icons on the iconostasis but these vary from church to church. The curtain is also drawn and opened at various points in the service.
Sanctuary
The area behind the iconostasis reached through the Beautiful Gates or Angel Doors is the sanctuary or altar. Within this area is the altar table, which is more often called the holy table or throne; the apse containing the high place at the center back with a throne for the bishop and the synthronos, or seats for the priests, on either side; the Chapel of Prothesis on the north side where the offerings are prepared in the Proskomedia before being brought to the altar table and the holy vessels are stored; and the Diaconicon on the south side where the vestments are stored.
Orthodox Altars are usually square. Traditionally they have a heavy brocade outer covering that reaches all the way to the floor. Occasionally they have canopies over them. All Eastern Orthodox altars have a saint’s relics embedded inside them, usually that of a martyr, placed at the time they are consecrated. Atop the altar table at the center toward the back is an ornate container usually called the tabernacle where the reserved Eucharistic elements are stored for communion of the sick. It is often shaped like a model of a church building. In front of this is placed the Gospel book, which usually has a decorated metal cover. Under the gospel is a folded piece of cloth called the eiliton. Folded within the eiliton is the antimension, which is a silken cloth imprinted with a depiction of the burial of Christ and with relics sewn into it. Both these cloths are unfolded before the offerings are placed on the altar table. Behind the altar is a seven-branched candlestick, which recalls the seven-branched candlestick of the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem. Behind this is a golden processional cross. On either side of the cross are liturgical fans (Greek: ripidia or hexapteryga) which represent the six-winged Seraphim. Against the wall behind the altar is a large cross. Hanging from the cross is usually a flat iconographic depiction of Christ (corpus) which can be removed during the 50 days following Pascha (Easter).
Traditionally, no animal products other than wool and beeswax are allowed in the sanctuary/altar. In theory, this prohibition covers leather (in the form of leather-bound service-books and shoes), but this is not always enforced today. Money is also forbidden. None may enter the altar without a blessing from the priest or bishop, and personal jewelry, such as rings and earrings, is not worn by those serving there.
Source from Wikipedia