Meyendorff I., prot. Byzantine Church

In the architecture of Byzantium, the stages of accumulation and merging of the experience of the Roman and Eastern schools are clearly visible. Here, as elsewhere during periods of centralization of power, the largest official religious buildings are built. And, conversely, the internecine struggle of the feudal lords and invasions are reflected in the reduction in the scale of objects under construction, and the increasing difference in the artistic and constructive approach to architecture in different parts of the empire.
Byzantine architecture went through three stages in its development:

Early Byzantine (V - VIII centuries) - when the interconnected formation of domed structures and compositional principles of centric buildings took place;

Middle Byzantine (VIII - XIII centuries) with the development of a cross-domed type of religious building;

Late Byzantine (XIII - XV centuries), characterized by the abandonment of monumental churches and the transition to the construction of small buildings of exquisite architecture.

Construction features
Constantinople always remained the center of architectural activity of the Byzantine emperors. Powerful fortress walls covering the city from sea and land were erected back in the 5th century. Bridges, roads, lighthouses, fortified harbours, castles and towers on the approaches to the capital show the importance attached to defensive construction in Byzantium.
The radial layout of the streets, converging on a square with imperial palaces, a cathedral and a hippodrome, emphasized the absolutism of imperial power. The city had no running water Therefore, to supply it with water, aqueducts and underground reservoirs were built - cisterns, which later served as warehouses and shelters. The construction of vaulted ceilings over cisterns was a good school of skill for Byzantine builders. Little is known about the civil development of early Constantinople, but, according to the descriptions of contemporaries, there were palaces, quarters of artisans and merchants, market squares, and large workshops, hotels, circuses, theaters, and libraries were built. With strengthening positions christian church and the emergence of monastic communities, monasteries became the main objects of construction (from the 10th century).
The elongated early Christian basilica and the rounded mausoleum, which later became widespread in the construction of Western Europe, are transformed in Constantinople into various types temples of centric composition. A feature of early Byzantine churches is a dedicated central space covered with a dome. Symbolizing celestial sphere, the dome overshadowed the emperor, who was seated among his entourage during services.
Byzantine architecture solved a number of technical and structural problems.
The walls of buildings in Constantinople were erected with brickwork on thick layers of lime mortar with the addition of crushed brick - cement. The brick looked like a thin, about 5 cm, wide plate - plinth. Thus, the main mass of the wall was made up of mortar, from which the plinths sucked out water and adjusted the direction of the masonry. Such masonry with wide pink stripes of mortar and layers of brick (sometimes rows of stone) was called Byzantine. Later, in Byzantium itself and in countries influenced by its architecture, this technique would give rise to the decorative treatment of facades with figured brickwork, alternating light and dark stripes of cladding.
Characteristics
Stone was included in the construction of walls mainly during construction in mountainous regions. A feature of the Syrian architectural school was masonry without mortar from well-fitted stone blocks. The development of Armenian architecture was based on this technique - in early Middle Ages Cilician Armenia was located on the Mediterranean coast near Syria.
Concrete technology was forgotten: natural cement - pozzolana - was mined only in Italy, and Byzantium no longer had cheap slave labor for concrete work.

The wooden trusses of early Christian basilicas were interspersed with stone arched lintels, as in the Turmanin Basilica. This basilica is also interesting because the main entrance is located between two towers. This technique will be picked up and developed by Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Europe.
With the transition and construction of buildings of centric composition, the development of domed and vaulted structures occupied a leading place in Byzantium. Eastern builders erected vaults and domes without the use of formwork using monolithic masonry in inclined rows. For such a technique, brick plinth was the most suitable material. The low strength properties of the mortar forced the vaults to be made very thick, which often led to their collapse, especially with large spans.
The main forms of Byzantine ceilings were a hemisphere and a semi-cylindrical vault, convenient for construction using a sparrow device in the form of a lath or rope of constant length, fixed at one end in the geometric center of the span; the other end marked the position of each row of masonry.
The use of a sparrow made it possible to move from Roman cross vaults to a sail vault, which had the appearance of a dome cut off on four sides, a shape close to a full dome, and an increase in the number of supports, for example to eight.
The result of the search was the combination of a sail vault with a dome crowning it. This scheme successfully resolved the issues of transition from a square floor plan to a round dome, ensuring uniform load of its base on the sails and reducing the number of supports. Moreover, the crowning dome, in order to reduce the size of the dangerous section of the almost horizontal end (skufia), should have a steeper profile.

In order to balance the sail-dome system, additional volumes were introduced into the spatial scheme of the building, completed with vaults or semi-domes, extinguishing the thrust of the central structure. This is how the leading structural systems of Byzantium developed. On their basis, various types of Christian religious buildings were developed: churches, mausoleums, baptisteries of centric composition, domed basilicas, cross-domed churches.

Plan and section of a classic three-nave cross-domed church. Axonometry.
Types of structures
Cathedral of St. Sophia in Constantinople, conceived as the ideological center of a huge empire, was supposed to eclipse the Roman Pantheon with its splendor. But the bold constructive design and thoughtful composition of the temple (architects Isidore of Miletus and Anthimius of Thrall) were brought to life with great difficulties due to the lack of experience in constructing such grandiose structures, the imperfection of construction technology and the massiveness of the structures.

The cathedral building, measuring 75x72 m in plan and 57 m high to the top of the dome, is a domed basilica with a middle nave 31 m wide. The central dome is supported by sails on powerful supports, each measuring 5.3x7.5 m in plan.
In the longitudinal direction, the thrust from the dome is extinguished by a system of semi-domes, in the transverse direction - by powerful buttresses and two-tiered side naves.
The vast space of the main nave was separated from the side nave by arched colonnades, giving scale to the interior and attractiveness to various angles of the picturesque perspectives of the interior space. The cathedral is penetrated by rays of light from the windows located at the top, and the giant dome seems to float in the air without support - the light penetrating through the frequent windows of the drum, as if dematerializes its walls.

In Byzantine architecture V - VIII centuries. the interior becomes the main object of artistic development. The lavish decoration of the interiors with expensive cladding, mosaic paintings or frescoes was contrasted with the harsh external appearance of the closed pyramidal volume of the temple, the walls of which were decorated only with the arched ends of the openings.
The Crusades, the rivalry of Venice, and the raids of the Turks undermine the power of the Byzantine Empire and the scale of construction here is reduced. The features of local architectural schools in Asia Minor, Greece, and Constantinople itself are more clearly revealed. The bulk of religious construction now occurs in monasteries, where residential and utility buildings adjacent to strong walls surrounded small churches.
During this period, the Middle Byzantine, the cross-domed type of church became most widespread, in which the center of the building still remained a dome on sails; its thrust was dampened by vaults adjacent to the sails on four sides. The structural cell covered in this way had the appearance of a cross inscribed in the rectangular volume of the church, complemented by apses. By merging several cross-domed churches in cramped monastery courtyards, a picturesque asymmetrical composition of volumes with domes of different heights was achieved. More attention is paid to the decorative treatment of facades with arcature belts, false openings, and pilasters.
Large cross-domed churches could have several domes. The Cathedral of San Marco in Venice combines five cross-domed systems in one building. Its domes, initially flat, were built on with complex, onion-like volumes stretched upward.
By the middle of the 14th century. Byzantium retained only the Balkan Peninsula and the last stage of the development of its architecture is associated with southern Greece. Monumental churches were no longer built here. Small churches and chapels were picturesquely located on the natural topography of the mountain slopes, along with numerous outbuildings. The construction of miniature and graceful buildings using a well-developed cross-domed system did not present structural problems and all the attention of the architects was focused on solving compositional and decorative problems. The facades were decorated with figured masonry made of brick or cut stone; the cramped interiors, stretched upward, were painted with frescoes and decorated with mosaics.
With the loss of all of Constantinople's vast territories, many Christian churches found themselves in lands captured by the Turks - they were turned into mosques, paintings and mosaics on biblical subjects were destroyed and replaced with Arabic script of texts from the Koran. After the fall of Constantinople to the Cathedral of St. Minarets were added to Sofia.
With the division of the Christian Church into Catholic (Western) and Orthodox (Eastern) in 1054 and the deepening differences in church ceremonies in Western Europe The most common are basilicas and domed basilicas, and in the east, including Russia, the cross-domed church.
Byzantine architecture had a strong influence on the formation of subsequent architecture. But Byzantine borrowings underwent deep processing in the national architecture of each country. There was also the opposite influence - Armenian, Syrian, Serbian, and Arab architects worked on Byzantine construction sites.

The most complete expression of the idea of the proportional relationship between the various parts of the temple was found in the Byzantine cross-domed churches of the 9th and subsequent centuries, as well as in the cross-domed churches of Georgia, the Balkans and Rus'. In plan, the cross-domed church forms either an equal-ended cross or a cross whose lower end, corresponding to the western wing of the temple, is longer than the other three ends. The upper end of the cross, corresponding to the eastern wing, ends, like the basilica, with a semicircular or rectangular altar apse. In those places where the longitudinal central nave intersects with the transverse nave, four supporting pillars are installed on which the dome rests.

The plan of the cross-domed church symbolizes not only the cross, but also a person with outstretched arms in a cross shape (that is, a person in a prayer position traditional for Christian antiquity). The relationship between the western part of the central nave and its eastern part in many cases corresponds to the relationship between the lower part of the human body (up to the chest) and the upper part (from the chest to the top of the head). The wings of the transept are equal in length, which corresponds to the equality of the length of both human arms. The ratio of the transept wing to the west wing of the central nave corresponded to the ratio of the outstretched arm to the lower part of the body (from the chest to the feet).

The shape of the cross was used in temple architecture already in the 5th century. The Temple of the Apostle John in Ephesus (5th century) was a grandiose structure consisting of four basilicas connected crosswise to one another. The same design underlay another no less grandiose building of the 5th century - the church of the monastery of St. Simeon the Stylite in Kalat Seman (Syria). However, in both of these cases, the cruciform shape was achieved by adding three additional basilicas to the main basilica.

The genesis of the cross-domed church is different: this temple is a single domed basilica, shortened along the east-west axis and cut through by a transverse nave (transept), giving the basilica the shape of a cross. Some Byzantine domed basilicas of the 6th century are, in fact, close to cross-domed churches, in particular the Church of the Holy Apostles, built in Constantinople in 536-550 by Anthemius of Trallia. Procopius of Caesarea says the following about the beginning of the construction of this temple:

Two straight lines were drawn, intersecting each other in the middle like a cross; the first straight line ran from east to west, the second line crossing it was directed from north to south. Fenced from the outside along the periphery by walls, inside, both above and below, they were decorated with columns... The sides of a straight line lying across, going in one direction and the other, are identical to each other; on the same straight line that faces west, one part is larger than the other so much that the shape of a cross is formed.

In the second half of the 9th century, the cross-domed church became the predominant form of temple architecture in Byzantium. The wide spread of this type of temple was facilitated by its greater technological simplicity in comparison with the grandiose domed basilicas.

A typical example of a cross-domed church of this period is the church Holy Mother of God in Skripa (Boeotia), built in 873-874. In plan it is a cross with a dome; The plan is based on a three-nave basilica, crossed in the center by a transverse nave. The temple is richly decorated not only from the inside, but also from the outside: on the main apse of the temple there are bas-reliefs and medallions with images of animals and rich floral patterns.

Often the plan of a cross-domed church is a square, divided into nine spatial cells (compartments) by four dome supports: the four ends of the cross are inscribed in the square. According to this plan, the five-nave temple of the Acatalepta monastery in Constantinople, dating from the end of the 9th century, was built.

If we compare the Byzantine cross-domed churches of the turn of the two millennia with the domed basilicas of the 6th century, then a significant change in proportions towards “verticalization” is striking. Throughout the second half of the first millennium, the Byzantine temple gradually “stretched” in height, both by reducing the length of the western part of the central nave and by increasing the height of the walls in relation to their length. In addition, the shape of the domes of the temples was changed: they became smaller in diameter, but larger in height, since they were now placed on high drums.

At the beginning of the second millennium, majestic cross-domed churches were erected in the monasteries of Holy Mount Athos - the Great Lavra, Iviron, Vatopedi. Outstanding monuments of cross-domed architecture are the katholicons (cathedral churches) of the Nea Moni monasteries on the island. Chios (1042-1056), Hosios Loukas (1011 or 1022) and Daphne (c. 1080). Active church construction continued in the late Byzantine period: this period includes, in particular, the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Trebizond (between 1238 and 1263), the Church of Panagia Parigoritissa in Arta (1282-1289), the Church of the Savior of the Chora Monastery in Constantinople (early XIV V.). At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, tower-shaped bell towers appeared at some Byzantine churches: scientists see Italian influence in their appearance.

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the traditions of Byzantine church architecture were preserved to some extent in Ottoman Empire. Turkish Muslim architecture was strongly influenced by Byzantine architecture(to be convinced of this, it is enough to compare the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the Blue Mosque located next to it). Construction Christian churches in the post-Byzantine period continued in the territories occupied by the Turks, however, cross-domed architecture ceased to be predominant during this period. In the 18th-19th centuries, buildings of the basilica type with three naves, topped with a low dome, became widespread.

After the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman yoke in the 19th century, the construction of temples in territories that were previously part of the Ottoman Empire intensified significantly. By this time, Western trends had penetrated into Greek church architecture, and some churches began to be built in the classicist style. TO end of the 19th century century, an eclectic style became dominant, in which individual elements of neoclassicism were combined with traditional Byzantine motifs, and in some cases with elements of Baroque and Gothic. The three-nave basilica remained the dominant architectural form for the Greeks. Orthodox churches this period.

A revival of interest in Byzantine cross-domed architecture has been observed throughout the 20th century. The largest Greek architect G. Nomikos built more than 200 churches in the neo-Byzantine style, including many cross-domed churches and domed basilicas. One of the most famous creations of the architect is the Cathedral of St. Nectarios of Aegina on the island. Aegina (1973-1994), conceived as a smaller copy of the Sophia of Constantinople.

The traditions of Byzantine church architecture developed and acquired a pronounced national coloring in the outlying regions of the Byzantine Empire, as well as beyond its borders, where Eastern (Orthodox) Christianity spread. The genetic connection with Byzantium was preserved, in particular, in the church architecture of Georgia and the Balkans.

In Georgia, the construction of temples began immediately after her baptism in 326. The first Georgian temples were built by masters invited from Greece. The earliest surviving Georgian churches - the chapel of the Nekresi monastery (last quarter of the 4th century), Bolnisi Zion (478-493), Anchiskhati in Tbilisi (6th century), etc. - had the form of a basilica. From the second half of the 6th century, the central-domed temple became the main type: an example of such a temple is the Mtskheta Jvari Church (586/7-604). Temple building did not stop during the period of fragmentation, civil strife and Arab invasions (from the 2nd half of the 7th to the 10th centuries). However, Georgian church architecture reached its peak after the political unification of Georgia at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1010-1029, the grandiose Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was built in Mtskheta, where Georgian kings were crowned kings from the 12th century. Cathedrals also appeared in other cities of Georgia (Oshki, Kutaisi, Kartli, Kakheti).

Majestic cathedrals and small rural and monastic churches continued to be built in Georgia in the 12th-14th centuries. Outstanding monuments of Georgian architecture are the temple of the Gelati monastery (XII century), temples in Betania, Kintsvisi and Timotesubani (the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries), and the Zarzma monastery (beginning of the 14th century). The second half of the 14th century and the entire 15th century became a time of decline in church architecture. The construction of temples resumed only in the 16th century. In the architecture of the 16th-18th centuries, traditional standards for Georgian architecture prevailed; foreign influences (in particular, Iranian) were insignificant and affected only individual elements of architecture and decor.

The characteristic and most striking feature of Georgian churches is the cone-shaped dome (similar domes are found only in Armenian architecture). The development of this form of dome occurred gradually: as in Byzantium, the dome, together with the drum, gradually increased in height. In churches of the 6th-7th centuries, such as Jvari, low, seemingly flattened domes stand on low drums. By the 12th century, the height of the drum and dome increased several times. In buildings of the 16th century, such as Akhali-Shuamta, the drum becomes disproportionately high; the temple takes on a vertical, emphatically elongated outline.

Many Georgian temples are decorated with bas-reliefs. In the period from the 7th to the middle of the 11th century, images of people and Angels occupied a significant place in the sculptural decoration of temples. From the second half of the 11th century, ornamental decor became predominant. After the 13th century, there was a decline in interest in sculptural decoration, although some temples continued to be decorated with bas-reliefs. One of the most common compositions is the “Ascension of the Cross”: two Angels supporting a cross in a circle (such a composition already exists in Jvari). A permanent character in the sculptural decoration is the Holy Great Martyr George, the heavenly patron of Georgia.

In the 19th century, when the Georgian Church lost autocephaly yu and became part of the Russian Church, some Georgian churches were built in the Russian style (with onion domes). However, most churches retained traditional Georgian forms. Church construction in Georgia was interrupted after the revolution of 1917 and resumed only at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Modern church architects turn to traditional Georgian forms, although the rules of proportion inherited from Byzantium are usually not observed. The most striking example of modern Georgian architecture is the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Sameba) in Tbilisi (2002-2006). The architecture of this majestic cathedral reproduces many elements of traditional Georgian architecture, but the proportional relationship between the individual parts of the building is not observed. The modern architect perceived only the external forms of traditional Georgian architecture, but failed to grasp the internal logic of the ancient architects, was unable (or did not want) to reproduce the architectural canon according to which Georgian churches were built for many centuries.

Balkan church architecture of the end of the first and 1st half of the second millennium is, in fact, a type of Byzantine temple architecture with some characteristic national features.

The earliest Christian buildings on the territory of modern Bulgaria date back to the 4th-7th centuries. During this period in Bulgarian church architecture the most common type was a three-nave basilica with a semicircular apse in the eastern part. In subsequent centuries, the cross-domed church became dominant. The characteristic features of Bulgarian architecture up to and including the 10th century include the presence of pastophorias, side conchs, extensions on the east and west, towers on the western facade, a courtyard on the south side, and the combination of several naves under a common roof.

The cross-domed church retains its dominance in Bulgarian church architecture both during the period of Byzantine rule (from 1018) and during the era of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (c. 1185-1396). The famous Boyana Church in the name of St. Nicholas was built between the 10th and 12th centuries: in plan it is a cross inscribed in a square (in 1259 a new porch was added to the church). Active church construction was carried out in the 13th century in the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom of Tarnovo and its environs. The Church of Peter and Paul in Tarnov, which is an outstanding monument of cross-domed architecture, dates back to the beginning of this century. Cross-domed churches remained dominant in urban church architecture in Bulgaria until the mid-18th century, when basilicas became widespread; Since the mid-19th century, the domed basilica has predominated.

After the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke in 1878, a new flowering of church architecture was observed. Along with local architects, craftsmen from Russia, Austria and other countries work in Bulgaria. Russian architects, in particular, worked on the creation of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia (1904-1912). The cathedral is a cross-domed structure of impressive size (dome height 45 m, area 70x52 sq.m, capacity about 5 thousand people). Since 1951, the Alexander Nevsky Church has been the patriarchal cathedral.

Many monuments of Byzantine architecture are located on the territory of modern Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija. One of the earliest monuments of the Russian school of church architecture is the Church of Our Lady of Evergetis in Studenica (1183), founded by King Stefan Nemanja and designed in the form of a single-nave domed basilica. An outstanding monument of Serbian church architecture is the temple of the Gracanica monastery (c. 1315), rectangular in plan with a cross inscribed in the rectangle; the temple is crowned with five domes with a helmet-shaped end; A rectangular exonarthex with its own dome is attached to the temple.

The last monument of the Russian school is considered cathedral church Decani Monastery (1334/35), built according to the design of the architect Vit Trifunov and is a cross-domed building, the architecture and decoration of which combines Serbian, Byzantine and Roman-Gothic motifs. The dome drum is mounted on a cubic base built into the gable roof. The temple is richly decorated with sculptural and relief images of people, Angels, animals and plants.

The general decline of Serbian culture, which was a consequence of the collapse of the Serbian kingdom after the death of King Stefan Dusan and the defeat of the Serbs in the Battle of Kosovo (1389), also had a negative impact on the state of church architecture. After many Serbian lands became part of the Ottoman Empire, the pace of development of temple construction in Serbia decreased significantly, and many ancient temples fell into disrepair. The construction of churches resumed in those Serbian territories that, at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, in the architecture of Orthodox churches in Austria-Hungary, the Western style of church architecture prevailed: externally, these churches should not have differed from Catholic ones. Only at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, after Serbia gained independence, did it become possible to return to Byzantine models in temple architecture.

Modern Serbian temple building is characterized by a desire to restore connections with Byzantine origins. The largest construction project in Serbian Orthodox Church was the Cathedral of St. Sava in Belgrade. The construction of this cathedral began in 1935, but due to the Second World War and the subsequent establishment of the communist regime in Yugoslavia, it was suspended and resumed only in 1985. The temple was consecrated in 2004, but finishing work it continues to this day. When planning the building, the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was taken as a model, although the proportions of the model were not respected. Both in the height of the building (65 m), and in area (81 x 91 sq. m), and in the diameter of the dome (35 m), the Belgrade Cathedral surpassed the Constantinople model, becoming the largest Orthodox church in Europe.

The fate of Orthodox churches in the Balkans has always been directly related to the political events taking place in the Balkan countries. Foreign conquests had a disastrous effect on the state of temple building, Many outstanding architectural monuments were completely wiped off the face of the earth as a result of foreign intervention or occupation. Already today, at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, Orthodox churches in Kosovo and Metohija became victims of vandalism by ethnic Albanians. Since 1999, when international UN forces were brought into Kosovo and Metohija, about 200 churches were destroyed on the territory of these Serbian provinces, many of which were architectural monuments of the 10th-13th centuries. The temples and monasteries that remained undestroyed, including Decani and the famous Peć Patriarchate, are under 24-hour security by peacekeepers.

Features of the geopolitical position of Romania and its historical development significantly affected the architecture of Orthodox churches in this country. Situated at the crossroads between Eastern and Western civilizations, Romania has been a meeting place for centuries different cultures. In the architecture and decoration of Romanian churches, Byzantine influence coexists with Western influence, the cross-domed structure coexists with the basilica, and spherical domes coexist with pointed spire-shaped tops.

Romanian church architecture flourished in the 15th-17th centuries. During this period, the famous “painted” churches were created in the monasteries of Bukovina - Putna (1466-1481), Voronets (1488), Humor (1530), Suchevitsa (1582-1584), etc. They are called “painted” because the frescoes with images Saints cover the outer sides of their walls, which gives them a unique and inimitable appearance. In plan, these temples are a rectangle elongated along the east-west axis with three altar conchs. The building is topped with a gable roof and a pointed spire-shaped dome on a high drum.

A unique monument of Romanian church architecture is the Holy Spiritual Church of the Dragomirna Monastery (1606-1609). Like many other Romanian and Moldavian temples, it has the shape of a triconch, but is distinguished by unusual proportions: the height of the temple is 42 meters, the length is equal to the height, and the width is only 9.6 m. Elongated in length and height, the temple is topped with a high drum, on which rests a hat-shaped dome.

In the architecture of Romanian Orthodox churches of a later period, one can find elements of a variety of styles, including classicism, baroque and gothic. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, interest in Byzantine models increased. The Cathedral of Sibiu (1902-1904) was built on the model of Sophia of Constantinople, although the two towers attached to the western facade are made in the tradition of Transylvanian Baroque architecture. Byzantine influence is also evident in the design of the cathedral in Sighisoara (1934-1937), topped with a spherical dome on a massive drum.

A typical example of a cross-domed church of this period is the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Skripou (Boeotia), built in 873-874. In plan it is a cross with a dome; The plan is based on a three-nave basilica, crossed in the center by a transverse nave. The temple is richly decorated not only from the inside, but also from the outside: on the main apse of the temple there are bas-reliefs and medallions with images of animals and rich floral patterns.

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the traditions of Byzantine church architecture continued to some extent in the Ottoman Empire. Turkish Muslim architecture experienced the powerful influence of Byzantine architecture (to see this, just compare the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the Blue Mosque located next to it). The construction of Christian churches in the post-Byzantine period continued in the territories occupied by the Turks, but cross-domed architecture ceased to be predominant during this period. In the 18th-19th centuries, buildings of the basilica type with three naves, topped with a low dome, became widespread.

After the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman yoke in the 19th century, the construction of temples in territories that were previously part of the Ottoman Empire intensified significantly. By this time, Western trends had penetrated into Greek church architecture, and some churches began to be built in the classicist style. By the end of the 19th century, an eclectic style became dominant, in which individual elements of neoclassicism were combined with traditional Byzantine motifs, and in some cases with elements of Baroque and Gothic. The three-nave basilica remained the dominant architectural form for Greek Orthodox churches of this period.

Balkan church architecture of the end of the first and 1st half of the second millennium is, in fact, a type of Byzantine temple architecture with some characteristic national features.

The last monument of the Russian school is considered to be the cathedral church of the Decani monastery (1334/35), built according to the design of the architect Vit Trifunov and representing a cross-domed building, the architecture and decoration of which combines Serbian, Byzantine and Roman-Gothic motifs. The dome drum is mounted on a cubic base built into the gable roof. The temple is richly decorated with sculptural and relief images of people, Angels, animals and plants.

Modern Serbian temple building is characterized by a desire to restore connections with Byzantine origins. The largest construction project of the Serbian Orthodox Church was the Cathedral of St. Sava in Belgrade. The construction of this cathedral began in 1935, but due to the Second World War and the subsequent establishment of the communist regime in Yugoslavia, it was suspended and resumed only in 1985. The temple was consecrated in 2004, but finishing work is still ongoing. When planning the building, the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was taken as a model, although the proportions of the model were not respected. Both in the height of the building (65 m), and in area (81 x 91 sq. m), and in the diameter of the dome (35 m), the Belgrade Cathedral surpassed the Constantinople model, becoming the largest Orthodox church in Europe.

The peculiarities of the geopolitical position of Romania and its historical development significantly affected the architecture of Orthodox churches in this country. Situated at the crossroads between Eastern and Western civilizations, Romania has been a meeting place for different cultures for centuries. In the architecture and decoration of Romanian churches, Byzantine influence coexists with Western influence, the cross-domed design coexists with the basilica, and spherical domes coexist with pointed spire-shaped tops.

Art historians divide this period into three parts: the "Dark Age", the "Macedonian Renaissance" and the Comnenian "Renaissance".
Let's look at them in order, but first let's briefly summarize the development of architecture in the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th-6th centuries. This will help us remember the “golden age” and quickly get into the topic. So, at that time the foundations of an artistic style were laid, which entered the history of world artistic culture as Byzantine style .

By combining basilica and cross-dome architectural structures, a new type of religious structure was created - the domed basilica, the most common architectural form of the Renaissance in Italy.
Decorative means of design were found that were capable of expressing the most abstract ideas. The leading place belongs to mosaics - the Byzantines created golden smalt.
Was created type of cross-domed church, meeting the requirements of Christian worship, the idea of multiple chapters was developed.
These achievements made it possible in subsequent centuries to develop a unique system of decorative decoration for the Orthodox cross-domed church.

At the end of the 7th century, a great turmoil began, which brought the state to almost complete disorder, so the period from the second half of the 7th century. and until the beginning of the 9th century. called the "dark time".
In Byzantium, the culture is increasingly influenced by the Greeks (generations appear who were brought up in a different cultural environment, having lost many concepts of Roman or Roman - ancient culture), there is a gradual simplification of architectural forms, main task now: unload the internal space. For example, the Church of St. Sophia in Thessalonica - the main nave and 2 side neves, a simple middle cross with a dome cannot withstand any comparison with Sophia of Constantinople. In the dome there is the Savior in power, the Mother of God in the faceted apse, the altar is shifted to the apse, there is no iconostasis, only a low altar barrier.

on the left is the Church of St. Sofia, Thessaloniki/Thessaloniki, Greece
on the right is the Church of St. Sofia, view from the east

In 867, Basil I the Macedonian ascended the throne, marking the beginning of the Macedonian dynasty, which ruled in the 9th-10th centuries. This period marks the activity of two great Slavic educators, Cyril and Methodius.

Starting from "Macedonian Renaissance" The cross-domed shape of the temple received classical completeness, becoming the main type of Byzantine architectural structure. Let us remember that its basis is a square, divided by four supports into three naves in the longitudinal and transverse directions. The supporting pillars carry a ceiling system in the form of semicircular vaults and a central dome, supported by arches and four pillars. This design system made it possible to create a large number of options. Depending on the tasks set, it was possible to change the scale of the structure, leaving the central core unchanged:
1. by adding a couple more pillars, the temple was increased in length;
2. By adding two rows of columns and bringing the number of naves to five, the temple was expanded in width.

on the left is a plan of a single-nave Byzantine temple
on the right is a plan of a three-nave Orthodox Byzantine cross-domed church

With continued simplification general culture, the cross-domed system of temples, becoming distinctive feature"Macedonian Renaissance", became complete and widespread precisely during the period of Middle Byzantine architecture.

general design of the cross-domed church

The most important part of the cross-domed church, like other Christian churches, was altar, indicated by a semicircular protrusion - apse, extending beyond the square of the plan.

How is the altar constructed?

In the central part of the apse there was throne; in the northern part - altar, where they prepared bread and wine for communion; in the southern part - deacon, a place for storing church vessels, vestments, books and other valuables.

Thus, the main efforts of the architects were aimed at organizing the space under the dome and the altar as the focus of the cult action and at realizing the symbolic idea stairs- the mystical biblical ladder along which communication between heaven and earth takes place.

symbolism of the space of the cross-domed church

Not only individual significant details, but also the overall structure of the temple had a symbolic meaning. The four walls of the temple, united by one chapter, symbolized the four cardinal directions under the rule of a single universal Christian church (so dreamed). The altar in all churches was placed in the east, because according to Old Testament Eden was located there, and according to the New Testament, the ascension of Jesus Christ took place in the east. During the same period, rules began to emerge for the arrangement of subjects on the walls of churches: the apse was dedicated to the Mother of God, the dome to Christ.

During the period of the “Macedonian Renaissance,” an iconographic canon was developed, according to which, for example, John Chrysostom was depicted as an old man with an ascetic face, a short rounded beard and a bald head; Basil the Great - an old man with a wedge-shaped long beard, the Mother of God - in a veil-maphoria with three stars (on the shoulders and head). For more detailed stories about this, see my publications on the topics of Byzantium. Mosaics..., Byzantine icon and Byzantine canon in LJ Travel and culture - my life, website

XI-XII centuries - the reign of the Komnenos dynasty, the brilliant flowering of Byzantine art, called Komnenian "Renaissance" or second golden age .
From the 11th century the internal space of temples becomes more complex, which indicates some development of architecture.

left - Daphnia Monastery, general view, Athens, Greece
on the right - Daphnia monastery, interior space

Mass construction of monasteries began, which were a complex of buildings surrounded by fortress walls and towers with only one entrance. The outlines of the walls formed a polygon in plan, connected with the terrain.
In the center of the monastery courtyard there were, as a rule, a single-domed cross-domed church and buildings of utilitarian significance: a refectory, a hospital, a library and, as a rule, a scriptorium (a workshop where books were copied). One of the most significant, with an extensive library and scriptorium, was the Monastery of John the Theologian on the island of Patmos, founded in 1085.

on the left is the Monastery of St. John the Theologian. Patmos, Greece
on the right is the interior space of the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, Fr. Patmos, Greece

Another interesting example of Byzantine temples from this period is the katholikon ( main church) Hosios Loukas monastery, named after St. Luke of Styria, built around 1020.

on the left is the monastery of Hosios Loukas, appearance, Delphi, Greece
on the right is a plan of the churches of the monastery of Hosios Loukas, at the top is the Church of the Virgin/Theotokas (c. 1040), below is the katholikon (c. 1020)

The interior of the catholicon with contrasts of light and shadow, open and closed planes, smooth marble covering and faceted mosaics is an example of the continuation of Justinian architecture of the 6th century. with its mystical mystery.

interior of the katholikon of Hosios Loukas

A characteristic feature of Byzantine churches from the 11th century. the order of the cells of their plan becomes staggered. It resembles the pattern of five in dominoes. Square or rectangular, they are divided into nine bays, the middle of which is a large domed square. This square is surrounded by four bays with barrel vaults, as well as four smaller squares at the corners, which are also covered with domes.
The plan of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow (1555-1560) is closest to the plans of such churches. A number of art publications emphasize that this unique plan was invented by Russian architects (or architects), and they/he may simply have known the Byzantine heritage very well and developed it in relation to new conditions (this does not at all detract from their contribution to the history of world architecture and architecture).

plan of St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia

On Mount Athos, the spiritual center of monasticism (the Chalkidiki peninsula in the Aegean Sea), a unique type of temple has developed - triconcha, with altar projections on the east, north and south sides.

Cathedral of the Great Lavra, view from the west of the altar apse, Athos, Greece

The masonry system, combining stone blocks and flat bricks, gave special expressiveness to the monastery buildings - plinth, which made it possible to decorate the walls with a decorative pattern. More details about the features of Byzantine construction equipment and technology in the next publication.

Cathedral of the monastery of Esphigmen, Greece

After the division of the Christian Church into Catholic and Orthodox in 1054 and the deepening differences in church ceremonies, the need to create a system of internal decoration of an Orthodox Byzantine church that carries deep meaning acquired great importance.
Decorative decoration of temple interiors with mosaics has practically ceased - it is too expensive, fresco paintings are replacing them. However, works made using the Byzantine mosaic technique acquire even greater value, so the Greeks restored them.

on the left - golden mosaics of Hosios Loukas in Phokis, Delphi, Greece
right - Introduction to the Temple, mosaic of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Daphne Monastery, Greece

Since Byzantine churches became much smaller in size, it was impossible to depict the Universe through the means of architecture, as in St. Sophia of Constantinople, was no longer possible, so the importance of paintings, denoting the symbolic meaning of various parts of the interior space of the church, increased immeasurably. As a result, a three-part multifaceted symbolism of the organization of the internal space of the temple gradually emerged.

Space symbolism - the temple as a reduced model of the Universe: the vaults and domes represent the sky, the space near the floor - the earth, the altar symbolized heaven, the western part of the temple - hell. In accordance with these divisions, the themes of the paintings are placed.
At the highest point of the temple on the dome vault is the image of the Pantocrator/Pantocrator or the Savior in Power - the Creator and Head of the Universe, usually surrounded by archangels.

Savior in power, dome of the Church of St. Sofia, Thessaloniki, Greece

In the apse, on the vault of the high altar arch, the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God - an earthly woman in the image of Oranta/Praying, was depicted.

Our Lady of Oranta, apse of the Church of St. Sofia, Thessaloniki, Greece

On the drum of the dome, in the spaces between the windows, there were figures of the twelve apostles, disciples of Christ, sometimes with symbols of the Holy Spirit descending on them. The number 12 is associated with the number of sons of Jacob (the forefather of Christ) and, accordingly, with the 12 tribes of Israel. Twelve is the product of three and four, where three is a symbol of the divine essence and the “heavenly world,” and four is the number of elements, cardinal points and the “downstream world.”

12 apostles in the dome of the Church of St. Sofia, Thessaloniki, Greece

The four “sails” depicted the four evangelists, or their symbols: Matthew - an angel, Mark - a lion, Luke - a calf, John - an eagle. This is symbolic of the theological organization of the church: the dome of the temple rests on pillars, just as the universal church rests on the four gospels.

Evangelists on sails and 12 apostles on the drum of the dome, St. Stamp, Venice, Italy

On the pillars are the great martyrs, “pillars of the Christian faith.”
Thus, Jesus Christ yesterday, today and always, through the Mother of God, the apostles, evangelists and great martyrs, is in unity with the earthly church, that is, with those praying in the temple.

symbolism of the architecture of the Orthodox church

Topographic symbolism connected each place in the temple with places in Palestine where the corresponding event in the life of Christ took place. Entrance to the temple with a baptismal font - baptism in the Jordan River; apse - Bethlehem Cave, birthplace of Christ. The throne in the altar is Golgotha (at the same time the place of the crucifixion, the Holy Sepulcher, the Resurrection and the place of God's presence in paradise); pulpit - Mount Tabor (at the same time the place of the Transfiguration, Jesus' reading of the Sermon on the Mount, as well as the stone from which the angel proclaimed the Resurrection of Jesus Christ).

Temporary symbolism - a system for placing paintings in the upper part of the walls. In the cross-domed church, movement in a circle dominates, every day church calendar marks not a simple recollection of long-past events, but as if they were happening again. Circular arrangement of scene paintings holiday cycle at the level of the second tier, including the “sleeves” of the architectural cross of the temple, means that the past and present coexist simultaneously and eternally. This tradition of painting the temple developed in the 11th century.

Then he appeared iconostasis- an altar barrier separating the “ship of salvation,” the location of believers, from the altar. The iconostasis was a marble or wooden structure with a crowning horizontal beam - architrave. At the top, in the center, is a cross, the ancient sign of Christ. Below, most often, two large or several small icons were placed, among which two cycles stood out, the most important for the subsequent development of the iconostasis - Deesis And holidays.

iconostasis, Hosios Loukas temple, Greece

In the XI-XII centuries. Byzantine architects and icon painters were widely known and worked in many countries. This is the period of greatest influence of Byzantine culture in the south and southeast of Europe, and in Rus'. At this time, architectural ensembles and paintings were created in the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, St. Sophia of Kyiv, St. Sophia of Novgorod and other churches.

To be continued…

Initially, Byzantium was a small city - the center of the Greek colonies. However, during the reign of Emperor Constantine, the influence of Byzantium increased many times over.

In 330 AD, the ruler chooses it as his permanent residence. Since then, the city has been called Nea Roma, but more often it is called Constantinople. After 65 years, the city became the permanent capital of the eastern state.

At that time in Byzantium it had reached high level construction art, into which motifs of ancient architecture are organically woven.

Beautiful buildings are being erected in the city, designed to praise the greatness of the state and the emperor himself, as well as buildings of a religious and cult nature - palaces, a hippodrome, temples, churches and various engineering structures.

Already in the 6th century, the foundations of a new architectural tradition were laid, and its own monumental style emerged. received vivid expression in temple buildings.

Monastery of Saint Lazarus in Larnaca - a unique example of a temple with a high bell tower

Features of Byzantine architecture

The main distinguishing feature of Byzantine architecture is the monumentality and complexity of its structures. In addition, the following features of the architectural appearance of the buildings can be highlighted:

Unity of materials- for the construction of buildings of all types, they are used, connected using mortar. Walls and pylons were erected from them, and vaulted structures were made. The second type building material was a natural stone. In the process of laying the walls, the craftsmen used natural-colored stone.

If these two materials were combined in the composition of the building, an interesting decorative effect was obtained in which layers of stone masonry alternated with brick.

Development of engineering— the architects of Byzantium were good designers, so they invented a way to evenly distribute the loads from volumetric domes onto the square base of the building.

With the help of special triangular arches in the form of sails, built on the sides of the square, the entire load was distributed onto stable corner pylons.

Invention of the drum- this was the name of the intermediate insert in the form of a cylinder, placed between the dome and the walls. The drum made it possible to make the dome solid because the windows were located on its side walls. It was the dome on the drum that became the most expressive element of Byzantine architecture. Subsequently, this system was used by architects in many countries at different times.
Vaulted ceilings- Byzantine masters built centric structures and experimented with in various ways construction of vaults.

Example of a Byzantine style building

Masterpieces of the Byzantine style

The striking and most characteristic example of the development of vaulted architecture in Byzantium is. Due to its size and luxurious decoration, this building has become one of the pearls of world architecture.

The composition of the temple is centric in plan, and the square space of its center is covered with a dome on sails. The diameter of the dome reaches 33 meters, and the load from it is distributed over four powerful 23-meter pylons. At the same time, the stability of the vault and the absorption of horizontal forces is achieved due to two semi-domes, which are supported on the same pylons on both sides along the longitudinal axis of the temple.

Another type of Byzantine building is the domed basilica type, an example of which is the Church of Hagia Irene in Constantinople.

As a result of the fusion of both types, the famous five-domed system arises, rising above the building in the shape of an equilateral cross, which was later widely used during the construction of churches and temples.

Interior of Byzantine buildings

The following types of materials are used for interior decoration of buildings in Byzantium:

Glass smalt— the vaults were covered with a mosaic of multi-colored pieces of smalt.
Marble- amazingly beautiful compositions were laid out on the walls using a mosaic of pieces.
Marble tiles- used as a floor covering.

Thanks to the use of high quality materials, the design of churches and temples was luxurious and rich.

Influence on the architecture of other countries

The experience and construction principles of Byzantine architects are readily borrowed in Europe and Asia, in the Greek world and in the Slavic regions.

The beginning of the 13th century was marked by the emergence of new cultural centers in Crete, Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria. In the period from the 13th to the 15th centuries, monasteries were also built in Byzantium in Serbia and Greece.

However, the Byzantine style influences not only the development of Orthodox Christian architecture in Slavic countries, but also the character of Islamic architecture in Serbia and Turkey.

In 998, during the reign of Prince Vladimir, a significant historical event— Baptism of Rus'. As a result, Christianity became the state religion. Along with the new faith, Byzantine art came to Kievan Rus, which penetrated into all spheres of church life.

Sofia Kyiv

In the middle of the 11th century, the city of Kyiv became one of the most beautiful and richest European cities. In 1037, St. Sophia Cathedral was built, which was considered the main state temple of the country. For Kievan Rus it was as important as the Hagia Sophia for Constantinople.

However, the creators somewhat departed from the Byzantine canons. The cathedral has significant differences in design and layout features, and is also characterized by a large number of domes - thirteen of them, in contrast to the traditional five domes of Byzantium.

During the construction process, there was a gradual expansion of the plan, which initially had the shape of a Greek cross. Further, as a result of numerous reconstructions and corrections, 9 naves with ten apses and 13 domes of a characteristic shape were built.

Church architecture of Novgorod

Similar architectural solutions were implemented in St. Sophia Cathedral Novgorod, built in 1054. However, it is crowned with only five domes of amazing beauty.

Distinctive features of the architecture of Novgorod churches of the 12th century are the following:

The apses have oval outlines.
The sail level has been slightly reduced.
The arched frieze is used as a decorative element of facades.

A century later, the church architecture of Novgorod changes its character somewhat, and in the 13th century, among the characteristic features of the buildings, the following can be distinguished:

Use of semi-cylindrical vaults.
The design of the buildings is characterized by the presence of a single dome with four pylons.

Thus, it has its own features that differ from Byzantine architecture.

Church of the Savior on Nereditsa is a striking example of the Byzantine architectural style