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EARLY CHRISTIAN

and

BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE


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INTRODUCTION

The important task of EuropeanArchitecture is the church forcenturies this is why centrallylocated churches dominateEuropean towns.

In contrast to Greek and Romantowns having complexappearance, churches aresignificant character ofChristian towns.

The concept of centre and path

is a symbolic spatialrelationship for the building ofchurches and it is the basicimportant character of EarlyChristian Architecture.


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Central and longitudinal spaces

of Roman Architecture were

taken over by Early Christian

Architecture thus most early

churches shows the

combination of longitudinalityand centralization.

The early churches are

understood as interior worlds.

Summary attitude of the

exterior and the articulation of

the interior emphasize this

character.


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Early Christian man didnt obtain security by means of

abstraction from natural,human or historical

phenomena.Thus christian existential space symbolizes

a promise and a process of redemption, which areconcretized as a centre and a path.


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LANDSCAPE ANDSETTLEMENT

The capital of the Roman Empire was moved to

Constantinople which was where Asia and Europe

meet in 330.

In contrast to Romes architectural forms being agravity and plastic power but Constantinople is the

city of silhouettes, contours and surfaces.

In the first half of the 6th century ,Emperor Justinian

development was initiated and this gave the city its

characteristic skyline dominated by the innumerable

domes of churches.


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Although constantine repeated the

properties of roma ,the city of

constantinople caracterised bytopological enclosure rather than

geometrical organisation of roman

settlements.


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CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

BEFORE 313

One of the earliest knownexamples of an early placeof Christian worship islocated in Dura Europus

Among the typical buildingsof this provincial town,archaeologist haveidentified a Jewishsynagogue and a house

that had been convertedinto a Christian Church.


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This house church, which was in use between 240 and 250, was a

typical modest dwelling in Dura Europus. It was located at the edge

of town near the defensive wall. It was organized around a courtyard

open to the sky and, typical of the urban houses of Mesopotamian,

The entrance was from a narrow street, through a small vestibulethat opened into the courtyard from which all rooms were

accessible. In the remodeling to accommodate Christian services,

the wall between two rooms on the south side of the courtyard was

removed to provide one large space (16 by 43 feet) capable of

seating an assembly of about fifty people. A dias, or platform for the

person in charge, was located on the east wall and a door behindthe dias opened into a room that was probably used as a sacristy.


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Entrance to this assembly space was directly from thecourtyard and another door was cut into the wall to giveaccess to the room on the west side of the courtyard. Slightlysmaller (13 by 23 ft) than the assembly room, this space,which would accommodate approximately 30 persons, wasprobably where the catechumens were assembled to hear, but

not see, the Mass of the Faithful, and where they wouldreceive instruction and prepare themselves for baptism.Another door opened from this room into a small baptistery,which was located in a small room in the northwest corner ofthe house. The baptistery was surmounted by a canopy andthe room contained murals that focused on concepts oforiginal sin, salvation, and resurrection; all of which were

closely linked in early Christian thought to baptism.


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CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

AFTER 313The Basilican Church The two primary building types of Early

Christian architecture are the basilica,which provides a place of assembly

and worship and was organized abouta longitudinal axis and the martyrium,which provides a place for theveneration of Christians who died fortheir faith and was traditionallyorganized about a central point ratherthan an axis. Actually, it was not quitethis simple because longitudinal plans

sometimes contained significantcentrally planned components and notall centrally planned buildings weremartyria; some were mausoleums andsome were baptisteries.


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Old St. Peters Interior

There is a great varietyamong buildingsclassified as EarlyChristian basilicas. Ingeneral, however, thecharacteristics theyshare place them in acategory thatarchitectural historianscan easily identify as

Early Christian.


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(1) interior spaces accommodated the assembly of a larger groupof people but, at the same time, provided separate spaces for

clergy, laity, and catechumensthose receiving instruction butwere not yet members of the faithful; (2) a tall central space, ornave, flanked by one or two side aisles creating a cross sectionthrough the nave and side aisles that constitutes the basilicanform, which was accepted as the norm in Christian churcharchitecture for the next 1500 years; (3) clerestory windows thatintroduced light into the nave through the wall above the roof of theside aisles; (4) an apse located at the end of the nave providing an

area set aside for the bishop and the clergy; (5) an atrium, or opencourtyard, located at the entrance to the building and containing afountain for ritual purification before entering the building: (6)simple, unadorned architectural exteriors, the forms of whichdirectly reflect the interior spaces; and (7) highly decorated interiorsof rich materials and frescoes and mosaics depicting Christianthemes to the extent that one becomes less and less aware of thearchitectural enclosure and more and more aware of the Christianmysteries interpreted in the art.


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S. Apollinare


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SANTA COSTANZA

Plan

Santa Costanza in Rome is not only a good

example of the centrally planned martyria, it is

also one of the only Constantinian Churches

that has survived essentially as built in the

fourth century


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The building, which was originally encircled by an open colonnadewhich carried a barrel vault,8 has a round, domed central roomwhich rises from an arcade carried by twelve pairs of compositecolumns supporting elaborate impost blocks. This central space isflooded with light from twelve large clerestory windows, in contrast tothe dark, barrel-vaulted ambulatory that encircles it. Lavishmaterials, light, and color combined to focus more on the visualimpression of the space than on the architectural structure.

The design ofSanta Costanza includes some subtleties that areeasily overlooked. For example the arches in the main axes of thecentral room are just slightly wider and higher than the other arches,and those on the longitudinal axis are again slightly wider and higher

than the arches on the transverse axis. The use of similar devices toidentify longitudinal and transverse axes in Christian buildingsbecomes more pronounced in later periods as the theologians andarchitects debate the question of longitudinal axis versus centralpoint as the architecturally organizing idea.


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S.COSTANZA,ROME

'traditio legic''mosaics in

opposing half dome

niche vaults

S.COSTANZA,ROME

ambulatory mosaics

including portraits of

Constantia and husband

GallusS.COSTANZA,ROME ambulatory mosaics including

portraits of Constantia and husband Gallus

S.COSTANZA,ROME3 view of the interior


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SANTA SABINA

Santa Sabina,5 built between 422 and 432, is a good example of

the mature designs that followed the early Constantinian

experiments.


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The plan is very simple: a nave accompanied by one aisle on each side and

a deep, spacious apse. The nave is relatively tall, and the slenderproportions give the interior a new lightness and elegance. The nave isflooded with by light from very large arched clerestory windows. As a resultthe aisles, which originally were windowless, were quite dark. Architectural form, illumination, and decoration present a convincingaesthetic totality in the interior ofSanta Sabina.

In Santa Sabina, it is Christ who is the light of the world; and the light whichfloods the interior through the large clerestory windows is of decisiveimportance for the character of the space. The semi-dark aisles below givethe luminous upper part of the church a heavenly appearance. We see,thus, how the basilica section which originally was a practical device,invented to give light to the central part of an interior, had became asymbolic form which expresses the transcendence and grace of God. From

the exterior only the row of large clerestory windows indicates the role of thebuilding as a receptacle of divine light.


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BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

By definition, generalizationsespecially intellectual

generalizationsare oversimplifications; however, it

is true that the Latin acceptance of salvation as a

path that one follows is reflected in the axial plan of

the basilican church that predominated in the west,

and the meditative exploration of the relationship

between religion and philosophy is reflected in the

centrally planned churches of the east.


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In the imperial architecture of Justinian, centralization is adominant theme. As God is the center of the cosmic order, sothe (Emperor) is the center of the terrestrial order. Terrestrialorder is but a manifestation of cosmic order and the emperor

is the symbol of the Deity, a living image of the incarnation. Inthe Early Christian basilica the space-defining wall is theprimary element. The space is covered by a secondarywooden roof, which creates a certain vertical openness. Thecentralized space of the Byzantine church, on the other hand,is covered by a dome. A dome, as such, does not representany innovation, but the dome of Justinian architecture is more

than the dome in the traditional sense. It is conceived as anarchitecturally scaled baldachin, which is the architectural termfor a canopy suspended over an altar, throne, or tomb. Thedome proper is superimposed on a polygonal volume, and thetransition is taken care of by squinches or pendentives.Between the vertical supports of the baldachins, secondarymemberbrane-like walls are filled in. As these walls have no

structural function they may be perforated by numerousopenings, replaced by columnar screens, given a curved form,or simply eliminated. It is also possible to add severalbaldachin-shaped elements together. The Justinianarchitectural system, therefore, offers a new fundamentalfreedom of planning and was of basic importance for thedevelopment of Romanesque and Gothic.


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HAGIA SOPHIA(532-537)


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This longitudinal

section of the churchShows how the half-

domes of the apse flow

outward from the cental

dome, both to carve out

the liturgical space and

support the main dome


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Hagia Sophia, the masterpiece of EmperorJustinian's building program in the mid-sixth

century. Anthemios of Tralles and Isidoros of

Miletus were the main architects responsible

for this frozen geometry.


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The great dome from the interior

North nave wall.

The Imperial Door

from the Narthex.

The mosaic in the

lunette is a mid-9th-

century Christ with

Leo VI prostrate at

His feet. In the

medallions on

either side of

Christ's head are

the Angel Gabriel

The interior was

originally

decorated, then

much of it

destroyed duringIconoclasm, then

redecorated and

then covered by

the Muslim Turks


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This model of the church displays the atrium thatextended from the narthex.


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The main element of Hagia Sophia is a central dome, which is 98feet in diameter and is perforated by a row of windows at its basethe very location where structural logic tells us the dome exerts itsgreatest forces. A longitudinal direction is introduced by the additionof half-domes to the east and west, while the lateral arms areclosed off by screen walls. Smaller, diagonally placed conches areadded to the half-dome spaces, and the longitudinal movement iscompleted by an apse. The plan displays a logical use of thepossibilities inherent in the central dome system, but the particularsolution is original, and represents a convincing synthesis which hashardly been equaled since. The main nave, with its great dome, half-domes, and diagonal half-domes, is placed within a larger rectangle,

measuring about 233 by 253 feet.A

double shell structure is therebyobtained, where the main rooms seem to be surrounded by anilluminated enclosure of space consisting of aisles and glleriesused by the people during service, while the nave and the chancelwere reserved for the clergy and the emperor. The secondaryspaces were also formed by numerous small domes.


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The dome rests on pendentives, which are carried by hugepiers. Inserted between the piers is a screen wall ofsuperimposed columns and clerestory windows, whichechoes the nave of the Early Christian basilicas. The piersand walls are not, however, expressed as structuralelements. Similar to the rest of the interior, they are covered

with a continuous skin of marble revetment and mosaics.The perceived transparency, of this decoration creates aspiritualized interior of unsurpassed beautyan interior thatstrongly de-emphasizes the structural logic of the building,causing the viewer to contemplate the mystery, the miracle,of the architectural enclosure of this awesome space.Architectural historians refer to walls such as this as

dematerialized surfaces. In addition to the denial ofstructural expression, this dematerialization is accomplishedby the shimmering reflections of mosaics and the large voidto solid ratio of the walls themselves. Even componentssuch as the column capitals are carved by a back-cuttingtechnique that gives the impression that space actuallypenetrates the stone itself.


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This complex but unified space was permeated by the divine light that emanatedfrom the dome of heaven and spread to the angels, patriarch, clergy, and emperorparticipating in the service below. The ritual in which these persons participated isdescribed by Richard Krautheimer15 as follows: During much of the mass, the clergyremained inside the chancel. At stated points in the celebration of the liturgy,however, clergy and patriarch re-entered the nave, both with and without their secularcounterparts of emperor and court. The two powers entered the church togetherduring the Lesser Entrance to take their appointed places: the patriarch and clergy inthe sanctuary, the emperor and court in the Imperial enclosure in the south aisle. Theclergy emerged for the reading of the scriptures and moved to the ambo (the pulpitwhich rose below the eastern rim of the great dome). On solemn occasions, thepatriarch and clergy would proceed a second time to the pulpit to deliver the sermon.The mass of the Faithful would open with the solemn procession of the GreatEntrance, when the patriarch, preceded by the clergy, would proceed from thechancel into the nave and return into the chancel to deposit the elements of theEucharist on the altaraccompanied by the emperor, the one layman apparentlyallowed inside the sanctuary. After the sacrifice had been performed, the patriarch

would emerge from the sanctuary a fifth time, to meet the emperor and exchange withhim the Kiss ofPeace. Returning to the sanctuary, the patriarch would continue theMass, emerging one last time towards the end in order to carry the communion to theemperor. To the faithful, all these appearances of the clergy and the emperorepiphanies would be a better termwere but fragments of a celebration which as awhole remained to them, incomprehensible.


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CHRISTIANART


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BYZANTINE ART


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