1.
Church of Panagia Chalkeon
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The Church of Panagia Chalkeon is an 11th-century Byzantine church in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. The church is located at Dikastirion Square, north of the Via Egnatia at the point where it crosses the Aristotelous Avenue, which leads to the Aristotelous Square. According to the inscription above the west entrance, the church was built in 1028 by the protospatharios Christopher, katepano of Longobardia, and his wife, son. Christophers tomb was located in an arcosolium on the churchs northern wall. The ground plan is that of a classic cross-in-square-form typical of Macedonian-period architecture, with four columns, the entire building is built of bricks, which gave it the popular nickname Red Church. The exterior is enlivened with a variety of arches and pilasters, the use of arches with several setbacks gives the building a sculpted appearance. A marble cornice runs around the church, giving the building distinctive upper and lower sections. The lower section is more spare, while the section is decoratively distinguished by half-columns between arches, and saw-tooth courses where the wall meets the roof. The interior of the church is divided into three sections, The narthex, the naos, and the sanctuary, the narthex is covered by three barrel vaults and has an upper gallery that was perhaps used as a sacristy. There was never, however, a stair leading up to it, Anna Tsitouridou speculates that it may have been accessed by a ladder through a now closed up arched window on the northwest corner of the church. In the naos, four light grey marble columns form a square, in the center of the square is the dome. Pendentives between the arches create a base for the dome above. The dome is 3. 8m wide and its height is 5. 3m and it is octagonal, containing sixteen windows in two rows, one atop the other. The arms of the cross can be seen on the exterior, with saddle back roofs over their great barrel vaults. Domical vaults cover the four bays between the arms of the cross, completing the square of the naos. Though founder’s tombs are placed in the narthex of their churches. The sanctuary is divided into three sections, The central main body of the sanctuary, the prothesis, and the diaconicon. The central section of the sanctuary has an apse, which is “semicircular within, and three-sided without. ”The other two bays have apses “semicircular inside and out. ”The church has some anomalies, the north wall is slightly longer than the south wall
2.
Thessaloniki
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Its nickname is η Συμπρωτεύουσα, literally the co-capital, a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα or co-reigning city of the Eastern Roman Empire, alongside Constantinople. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, Thessaloniki was the 2014 European Youth Capital. The city of Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, an important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire. It was conquered by the Ottomans in 1430, and passed from the Ottoman Empire to modern Greece on November 8,1912, the citys main university, Aristotle University, is the largest in Greece and the Balkans. Thessaloniki is a popular tourist destination in Greece, among street photographers, the center of Thessaloniki is also considered the most popular destination for street photography in Greece. All variations of the name derive from the original appellation in Ancient Greek, i. e. Θεσσαλονίκη. The alternative name Salonica derives from the variant form Σαλονίκη in colloquial Greek speech, in local speech, the citys name is typically pronounced with a dark and deep L characteristic of Macedonian Greek accent. The name often appears in writing in the abbreviated form Θεσ/νίκη, the city was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon, on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and 26 other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great, under the kingdom of Macedon the city retained its own autonomy and parliament and evolved to become the most important city in Macedon. After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC, the city later became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia. Later it became the capital of all the Greek provinces of the Roman Empire because of the importance in the Balkan peninsula. At the time of the Roman Empire, about 50 A. D. Later, Paul wrote two letters to the new church at Thessaloniki, preserved in the Biblical canon as First and Second Thessalonians. Some scholars hold that the First Epistle to the Thessalonians is the first written book of the New Testament, in 306 AD, Thessaloniki acquired a patron saint, St. Demetrius, a native of Thessalonica whom Galerius put to death. A basilical church was first built in the 5th century AD dedicated to St. Demetrius, in 379, when the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between the East and West Roman Empires, Thessaloniki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum. In 390, Gothic troops under the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, led a massacre against the inhabitants of Thessalonica, by the time of the Fall of Rome in 476, Thessaloniki was the second-largest city of the Eastern Roman Empire. From the first years of the Byzantine Empire, Thessaloniki was considered the city in the Empire after Constantinople. With a population of 150,000 in the mid-12th century, the city held this status until its transfer to Venetian control in 1423. In the 14th century, the population exceeded 100,000 to 150,000
3.
Floor plan
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Dimensions are usually drawn between the walls to specify room sizes and wall lengths. Floor plans may also include details of fixtures like sinks, water heaters, furnaces, floor plans may include notes for construction to specify finishes, construction methods, or symbols for electrical items. Similar to a map the orientation of the view is downward from above, but unlike a conventional map, objects below this level are seen, objects at this level are shown cut in plan-section, and objects above this vertical position within the structure are omitted or shown dashed. Plan view or planform is defined as an orthographic projection of an object on a horizontal plane. The term may be used in general to any drawing showing the physical layout of objects. For example, it may denote the arrangement of the objects at an exhibition. Drawings are now reproduced using plotters and large format xerographic copiers and this convention maintains the same orientation of the floor and ceilings plans - looking down from above. RCPs are used by designers and architects to demonstrate lighting, visible mechanical features, a floor plan is not a top view or birds eye view. It is a drawing to scale of the layout of a floor in a building. A top view or birds eye view does not show an orthogonally projected plane cut at the typical 4 foot height above the floor level, a floor plan could show, Interior walls and hallways Restrooms Windows and doors Appliances such as stoves, refrigerators, water heater etc. In other words, a plan is a section viewed from the top, in such views, the portion of the object above the plane is omitted to reveal what lies beyond. In the case of a plan, the roof and upper portion of the walls may typically be omitted. Roof plans are orthographic projections, but they are not sections as their plane is outside of the object. A plan is a method of depicting the internal arrangement of a 3-dimensional object in two dimensions. It is often used in drawing and is traditionally crosshatched. The style of crosshatching indicates the type of material the section passes through, a 3D floor plan can be defined as a virtual model of a building floor plan. Its often used to better convey architectural plans to individuals not familiar with floor plans, despite the purpose of floor plans originally being to depict 3D layouts in a 2D manner, technological expansion has made rendering 3D models much more cost effective. 3D plans show a depth of image and are often complimented by 3D furniture in the room
4.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
5.
Church architecture
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Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of Christian churches. These large, often ornate and architecturally prestigious buildings were dominant features of the towns, however, far more numerous were the parish churches in Christendom, the focus of Christian devotion in every town and village. In the 20th century, the use of new materials, such as steel, the history of church architecture divides itself into periods, and into countries or regions and by religious affiliation. The simplest church building comprises a single meeting space, built of locally available material, such churches are generally rectangular, but in African countries where circular dwellings are the norm, vernacular churches may be circular as well. A simple church may be built of mud brick, wattle and daub and it may be roofed with thatch, shingles, corrugated iron or banana leaves. However, church congregations, from the 4th century onwards, have sought to construct buildings that were both permanent and aesthetically pleasing. This had led to a tradition in which congregations and local leaders have invested time, money and personal prestige into the building, within any parish, the local church is often the oldest building, and is larger than any pre-19th-century structure except perhaps a barn. The church is built of the most durable material available. To the two-room structure is often added aisles, a tower, chapels, in the first three centuries of the Early Christian Church, the practice of Christianity was illegal and few churches were constructed. In the beginning Christians worshipped along with Jews in synagogues and in private houses, after the separation of Jews and Christians the latter continued to worship in peoples houses, known as house churches. These were often the homes of the members of the faith. Saint Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians writes, aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord. Some domestic buildings were adapted to function as churches, one of the earliest of adapted residences is at Dura Europos church, built shortly after 200 AD, where two rooms were made into one, by removing a wall, and a dais was set up. To the right of the entrance a small room was made into a baptistry, some church buildings were specifically built as church assemblies, such as that opposite the emperor Diocletians palace in Nicomedia. The books of the Holy Scriptures were found, and they were committed to the flames, the utensils and furniture of the church were abandoned to pillage, all was rapine, confusion, tumult. That church, situated on rising ground, was within view of the palace, and Diocletian and Galerius stood, as if on a watchtower, disputing long whether it ought to be set on fire. The sentiment of Diocletian prevailed, who dreaded lest, so great a fire being once kindled, some part of the city might he burnt, for there were many and large buildings that surrounded the church. Then the Pretorian Guards came in battle array, with axes and other iron instruments, from the first to the early fourth centuries most Christian communities worshipped in private homes, often secretly
6.
Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
7.
Donato Bramante
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Donato Bramante, born as Donato di Pascuccio dAntonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome and his Tempietto marked the beginning of the High Renaissance in Rome when Pope Julius II appointed him to build a sanctuary over the spot where Peter was allegedly crucified. Bramante was born under the name Donato dAugnolo, Donato di Pascuccio dAntonio, here, in 1467, Luciano Laurana was adding to the Palazzo Ducale an arcaded courtyard and other Renaissance features to Federico da Montefeltros ducal palace. Around 1474, Bramante moved to Milan, a city with a deep Gothic architectural tradition, and built several churches in the new Antique style. The Duke, Ludovico Sforza, made him virtually his court architect, beginning in 1476, space was limited, and Bramante made a theatrical apse in bas-relief, combining the painterly arts of perspective with Roman details. There is a sacristy, surmounted by a dome. In Milan, Bramante also built the tribune of Santa Maria delle Grazie, other works include the Cloisters of SantAmbrogio, Milan. However, in 1499, with his Sforza patron driven from Milan by an invading French army, Bramante made his way to Rome, in Rome, he was soon recognized by Cardinal Della Rovere, shortly to become Pope Julius II. Despite its small scale, the construction has all the proportions and symmetry of Classical structures, surrounded by slender Doric columns. According to an engraving by Sebastiano Serlio, Bramante planned to set it within a colonnaded courtyard. In November 1503, Julius engaged Bramante for the construction of the grandest European architectural commission of the 16th century, the cornerstone of the first of the great piers of the crossing was laid with ceremony on 17 April 1506. Very few drawings by Bramante survive, though some by his assistants do, Bramantes plan envisaged four great chapels filling the corner spaces between the equal transepts, each one capped with a smaller dome surrounding the great dome over the crossing. So Bramantes original plan was much more Romano-Byzantine in its forms than the basilica that was actually built. Bramante also worked on other commissions. Among his earliest works in Rome, before the Basilicas construction was under way, is the cloister of Santa Maria della Pace near Piazza Navona, Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Milan, ca. Palazzo Caprini, Rome, started around 1510 Leon Battista Alberti Giorgio Vasari Davies, Paul, Bramante, Donato, The Dictionary of Art, Vol. IV, New York, Grove, pp. 642–653, ISBN9781884446009. Bramante, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed. Vol. IV, New York, Charles Scribners Sons,1878, Bramante, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. Vol. IV, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,1911, p.418. Donato Bramante Source Information, Pictures & Documentaries about Donato
8.
St. Peter's Basilica
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The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or simply St. Peters Basilica, is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. While it is neither the church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. It has been described as holding a position in the Christian world. Catholic tradition holds that the Basilica is the site of Saint Peter, one of Christs Apostles. Saint Peters tomb is supposedly directly below the altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St. Peters since the Early Christian period, construction of the present basilica, which would replace Old St. Peters Basilica from the 4th century AD, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626. St. Peters is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The Pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Basilica or the adjoining St. Peters Square. St. Peters has many associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age, St. Peters is one of the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major Basilica, all four of which are in Rome. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop, St. Peters is a church built in the Renaissance style located in the Vatican City west of the River Tiber and near the Janiculum Hill and Hadrians Mausoleum. Its central dome dominates the skyline of Rome, the basilica is approached via St. Peters Square, a forecourt in two sections, both surrounded by tall colonnades. The first space is oval and the second trapezoid, the basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world, the entrance is through a narthex, or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door. The interior is of vast dimensions when compared with other churches and this in its turn overwhelms us. The nave which leads to the dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel-vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles which have a number of chapels off them, there are also chapels surrounding the dome
9.
Dome
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A dome is an architectural element that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. The precise definition has been a matter of controversy, there are also a wide variety of forms and specialized terms to describe them. A dome can rest upon a rotunda or drum, and can be supported by columns or piers that transition to the dome through squinches or pendentives, a lantern may cover an oculus and may itself have another dome. Domes have a long architectural lineage that extends back into prehistory and they have been constructed from mud, snow, stone, wood, brick, concrete, metal, glass, and plastic over the centuries. The symbolism associated with domes includes mortuary, celestial, and governmental traditions that have developed over time. Domes have been found from early Mesopotamia, which may explain the forms spread and they are found in Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Chinese architecture in the Ancient world, as well as among a number of contemporary indigenous building traditions. They were popular in Byzantine and medieval Islamic architecture, and there are examples from Western Europe in the Middle Ages. The Renaissance style spread from Italy in the Early modern period, advancements in mathematics, materials, and production techniques since that time resulted in new dome types. The domes of the world can be found over religious buildings, legislative chambers, sports stadiums. The English word dome ultimately derives from the Latin domus —which, up through the Renaissance, labeled a revered house, such as a Domus Dei, or House of God, the French word dosme came to acquire the meaning of a cupola vault, specifically, by 1660. A dome is a rounded vault made of either curved segments or a shell of revolution, sometimes called false domes, corbel domes achieve their shape by extending each horizontal layer of stones inward slightly farther than the lower one until they meet at the top. A false dome may also refer to a wooden dome, true domes are said to be those whose structure is in a state of compression, with constituent elements of wedge-shaped voussoirs, the joints of which align with a central point. The validity of this is unclear, as domes built underground with corbelled stone layers are also in compression from the surrounding earth, as with arches, the springing of a dome is the level from which the dome rises. The top of a dome is the crown, the inner side of a dome is called the intrados and the outer side is called the extrados. The haunch is the part of an arch that lies halfway between the base and the top. The word cupola is another word for dome, and is used for a small dome upon a roof or turret. Cupola has also used to describe the inner side of a dome. Drums, also called tholobates, are cylindrical or polygonal walls with or without windows that support a dome, a tambour or lantern is the equivalent structure over a domes oculus, supporting a cupola
10.
Inscribed figure
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In geometry, an inscribed planar shape or solid is one that is enclosed by and fits snugly inside another geometric shape or solid. To say that figure F is inscribed in figure G means precisely the same thing as figure G is circumscribed about figure F, a circle or ellipse inscribed in a convex polygon is tangent to every side or face of the outer figure. Familiar examples of inscribed figures include circles inscribed in triangles or regular polygons, a circle inscribed in any polygon is called its incircle, in which case the polygon is said to be a tangential polygon. A polygon inscribed in a circle is said to be a polygon. The inradius or filling radius of a given outer figure is the radius of the circle or sphere. The definition given above assumes that the objects concerned are embedded in two- or three-dimensional Euclidean space, but can easily be generalized to higher dimensions and other metric spaces. For an alternative usage of the term inscribed, see the inscribed square problem, every circle has an inscribed triangle with any three given angle measures, and every triangle can be inscribed in some circle. Every triangle has a circle, called the incircle. Every circle has a regular polygon of n sides, for any n≥3. Every regular polygon has a circle, and every circle can be inscribed in some regular polygon of n sides. Not every polygon with more than three sides has a circle, those polygons that do are called tangential polygons. Not every polygon with more than three sides is a polygon of a circle, those polygons that are so inscribed are called cyclic polygons. Every triangle can be inscribed in an ellipse, called its Steiner circumellipse or simply its Steiner ellipse, whose center is the triangles centroid, every triangle has an infinitude of inscribed ellipses. One of them is a circle, and one of them is the Steiner inellipse which is tangent to the triangle at the midpoints of the sides, every acute triangle has three inscribed squares. In a right triangle two of them are merged and coincide with other, so there are only two distinct inscribed squares. An obtuse triangle has an inscribed square, with one side coinciding with part of the triangles longest side. A Reuleaux triangle, or more generally any curve of constant width, circumconic and inconic Cyclic quadrilateral Inscribed and circumscribed figures
11.
Bodrum Mosque
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Bodrum Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. The church was known under the Greek name of Myrelaion, the palace of Myrelaion was built on top of a giant fifth century rotunda which, with an external diameter of 41.8 metres, was the second largest, after the Roman Pantheon, in the ancient world. Near the palace the Emperor built a church, which he intended from the beginning to use as place for his family. The first person to be buried there was his wife Theodora, in December 922, followed by his eldest son and co-emperor Christopher, who died in 931. By doing so, Romanos interrupted a six-century old tradition, whereby almost all the Byzantine emperors since Constantine I were buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles. Later the Emperor converted his palace into a nunnery and, after his deposition and death in exile as monk in the island of Prote in June 948, the shrine was ravaged by fire in 1203, during the Fourth Crusade. Abandoned during the Latin occupation of Constantinople, the building was repaired at the end of the thirteenth century, during the period of the Palaiologan restoration. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Myrelaion was converted into a mosque by Grand Vizier Mesih Paşa around the year 1500, the mosque was named after its substructure, but was also known under the name of its founder. The edifice was damaged again by fires in 1784 and 1911, in 1930, an excavation led by David Talbot Rice discovered the round cistern. In 1964-1965, a restoration led by the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul replaced almost all the external masonry of the edifice. In 1965, two parallel excavations led by art historian Cecil L. Striker and by R. Naumann focused respectively on the substructure, the building was finally restored in 1986 when it was reopened as mosque. In 1990, the cistern was restored too, and it has hosted a shopping mall for a few years, now the cistern is used by the women to pray. The central nave is surmounted by a dome, with a drum interrupted by arched windows. The four side naves are covered by barrel vaults, the edifice has a narthex to the west and a sanctuary to the east. The central bay of the narthex is covered by a dome, the nave is partitioned by four piers, which substituted in the Ottoman period the original columns. Many openings – windows, oeil-de-boeufs and arches – give light to the structure, the exterior of the building is characterized by the half cylindrical buttresses which articulate its façades. Originally an exonarthex existed too, but in the Ottoman period it was replaced by a wooden portico, the building has three polygonal apses. The central one belongs to the sanctuary, while the lateral are parts of two clover-shaped side chapels, prothesis and diakonikon, the Ottomans built a stone minaret close to the narthex
12.
Constantinople
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Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, Constantinople never truly recovered from the devastation of the Fourth Crusade and the decades of misrule by the Latins. The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the later Latin Byzantium, are not entirely clear. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas. The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was likely just a play on the word Byzantion. During this time, the city was also called Second Rome, Eastern Rome, and Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently, the medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the empire through their expansion in eastern Europe used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr, and later Miklagard and Miklagarth. In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-kubra and in Persian as Takht-e Rum, in East and South Slavic languages, including in medieval Russia, Constantinople was referred to as Tsargrad or Carigrad, City of the Caesar, from the Slavonic words tsar and grad. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις, the modern Turkish name for the city, İstanbul, derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning into the city or to the city. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script, in time the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpolis/Konstantinoúpoli or simply just the City, apart from this, little is known about this initial settlement, except that it was abandoned by the time the Megarian colonists settled the site anew. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbour. He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina, fortifying it with a new city wall in his name, Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Constantinople was built over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 330, Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis
13.
Cella
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A cella or naos is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture, or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture, such as a domus. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermits or monks cell, in Ancient Greek and Roman temples the cella is a room at the centre of the building, usually containing a cult image or statue representing the particular deity venerated in the temple. In addition the cella may contain a table or plinth to receive votive offerings such as statues, precious and semi-precious stones, helmets, spear and arrow heads, swords. The accumulated offerings made Greek and Roman temples virtual treasuries, the cella is typically a simple, windowless, rectangular room with a door or open entrance at the front behind a colonnaded portico facade. In larger temples, the cella was divided by two colonnades into a central nave flanked by two aisles. A cella may contain an adyton, an inner area restricted to access by the priests—in religions that had a consecrated priesthood—or by the temple guard. With very few exceptions Greek buildings were of a design that placed the cella in the center of the plan, such as the Parthenon. The Romans favoured pseudoperipteral buildings with a portico offsetting the cella to the rear, the pseudoperipteral plan uses engaged columns embedded along the side and rear walls of the cella. The Temple of Venus and Roma built by Hadrian in Rome had two cellae arranged back-to-back enclosed by a single outer peristyle, according to Vitruvius, the Etruscan type of temples had three cellae, side by side, conjoined by a double row of columns on the facade. The cella, also called the naos, holds many box-like shrines, the Greek word naos has been extended by archaeologists to describe the central room of the pyramids. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, naos construction went from being subterranean to being directly into the pyramid. The naos was surrounded by different paths and rooms, many used to confuse and divert thieves. In early Christian and Byzantine architecture, the cella or naos is an area at the centre of the reserved for performing the liturgy. In later periods a small chapel or monks cell was also called a cella, list of Greco-Roman roofs This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Cella. Trachtenberg and Hyman, Architecture, From Prehistory to Post Modernity Vitruvius, De architectura, Book IV. ch 7, translation, plans and reconstructions of Tuscan cellae
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Bay (architecture)
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In architecture, a bay is the space between architectural elements, or a recess or compartment. Bay comes from Old French baee, meaning an opening or hole, the spaces between posts, columns, or buttresses in the length of a building, the division in the widths being called aisles. This meaning also applies to overhead vaults, in a building using a vaulted structural system, for example, the Gothic architecture periods Chartres Cathedral has a nave that is seven bays long. Similarly in timber framing a bay is the space between posts in the direction of the building and aisles run longitudinally. The openings for windows in a wall, for example, in Georgian style, at Mulberry Fields, the building is described as a 5 bay by 2 bay facade, meaning a 5 windows by 2 windows exterior. A recess in a wall, such as a bay window, a division of space such as an animal stall, sick bay, or bay platform. The space between joists or rafters, a joist bay or rafter bay
15.
Quincunx
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A quincunx /ˈkwɪn. kʌŋks/ is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. It forms the arrangement of five units in the corresponding to the five-spot on six-sided dice, playing cards. It is represented in Unicode as U+2059 ⁙ Five dot punctuation or U+2684 ⚄ Die face-5, the quincunx was originally a coin issued by the Roman Republic c. 211–200 BC, whose value was five twelfths of an as, on the Roman quincunx coins, the value was sometimes indicated by a pattern of five dots or pellets. However, these dots were not always arranged in a quincunx pattern, the Oxford English Dictionary dates the first appearances of the Latin word in English as 1545 and 1574. The first citation for “A pattern used for planting dates from 1606. The OED also cites a 1647 reference to the German astronomer Kepler to the astronomical/astrological meaning, quincunx patterns occur in many contexts, In heraldry, groups of five elements are often arranged in a quincunx pattern, called in saltire in heraldic terminology. The flag of the Solomon Islands features this pattern, with its five stars representing the five island groups in the Solomon Islands. Another instance of this occurred in the flag of the 19th-century Republic of Yucatán. A quincunx is a pattern for planting an orchard. Quincunxes are used in computer graphics as a pattern for multisample anti-aliasing. Quincunx antialiasing samples scenes at the corners and centers of each pixel and these five sample points, in the shape of a quincunx, are combined to produce each displayed pixel. However, samples at the points are shared with adjacent pixels. In numerical analysis, the quincunx pattern describes the two-dimensional five-point stencil, in architecture, a quincuncial plan, also defined as a cross-in-square, is the plan of an edifice composed of nine bays. The central and the four angular ones are covered with domes or groin vaults so that the pattern of these forms a quincunx. In Khmer architecture, the towers of a temple, such as Angkor Wat, are arranged in a quincunx to represent the five peaks of Mount Meru. A quincunx is one of the designs of Cosmatesque inlay stonework. A quincuncial map is a map projection that maps the poles of the sphere to the centre and four corners of a square
16.
Barrel vault
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A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design, the barrel vault is the simplest form of a vault, effectively a series of arches placed side by side. It is a form of barrel roof, as with all arch-based constructions, there is an outward thrust generated against the walls underneath a barrel vault. There are several mechanisms for absorbing this thrust, one is, of course, to make the walls exceedingly thick and strong - this is a primitive and sometimes unacceptable method. A more elegant method is to two or more vaults parallel to each other, the forces of their outward thrusts will thus negate each other. This method was most often used in construction of churches, where several vaulted naves ran parallel down the length of the building, however, the outer walls of the outermost vault would still have to be quite strong or reinforced by buttressing. The third and most elegant mechanism to resist the lateral thrust was to create an intersection of two barrel vaults at right angles, thus forming a groin vault, Barrel vaults are known from Ancient Egypt, and were used extensively in Roman architecture. They were also used to replace the Cloaca Maxima with a system of underground sewers, other early barrel vault designs occur in northern Europe, Turkey, Morocco, and other regions. In medieval Europe, the vault was an important element of stone construction in monasteries, castles, tower houses. This form of design is observed in cellars, crypts, long hallways, cloisters, Barrel vaulting was known and utilized by early civilizations, including Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. However, it apparently was not a popular or common method of construction within these civilizations. The Persians and the Romans were the first to make significant architectural use of them, the technique probably evolved out of necessity to roof buildings with masonry elements such as bricks or stone blocks in areas where timber and wood were scarce. The earliest tunnel vaults in Egypt are found at Requagnah and Denderah and these were built with sun-dried brick in three rings over passages descending to tombs, in these cases, as the span of the vault was only two metres. Ancient Romans most probably inherited their knowledge of barrel vaulting from Etruscans, after the fall of the Roman empire, few buildings large enough to require much in the way of vaulting were built for several centuries. In the early Romanesque period, a return to stone barrel vaults was seen for the first great cathedrals, their interiors were dark, due to thick. One of the largest and most famous churches enclosed from above by a vast barrel vault was the church of Cluny Abbey, peters Basilica in Rome, where a huge barrel vault spans the 27 m -wide nave. With a barrel vault design the vectors of pressure result in a force on the crown while the lower portions of the arches realise a lateral force pushing outwards. As an outcome this form of design is subject to failure unless the sides are anchored or buttressed to very heavy building elements or substantial earthwork sidings
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Groin vault
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A groin vault or groined vault is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. The word groin refers to the edge between the intersecting vaults, sometimes the arches of groin vaults are pointed instead of round. In comparison with a vault, a groin vault provides good economies of material. The thrust is concentrated along the groins or arrises, so the vault need only be abutted at its four corners and it was superseded by the more flexible rib vaults of Gothic architecture in the later Middle Ages. Difficult to construct neatly because of the geometry of the cross groins, the construction method was particularly common on the basement level, such as at Myres Castle in Scotland, or at the ground floor level for the storerooms as at Muchalls Castle in Scotland. The first groin vault in Europe was, however, constructed in Delphi by King Attalos I of Pergamon some time between 241 and 197 BC, quite possibly in 223 BC. Their application of groin vaults to vast halls like the frigidaria in the Baths of Caracalla, a seminal modern design is the largest European train station, Hauptbahnhof in Berlin, which features an entrance building with a glass-spanned groin vault design. The construction of a groin vault can be understood most simply by visualising two barrel vault sections at right angles merging to form a squarish unit, the resulting four ribs convey the stress loading to the four corners, or piers. A common association of vaulting in cathedrals of the Middle Ages involves a nave of barrel vault design with transepts of groined vaulting, rib vaults resemble groin vaults but introduce structural ribs running along the angles which carry much of the weight, making possible much greater variations of proportion. Baths of Caracalla, Rome, Italy, early 3rd century AD32, basilica Minore de San Sebastián in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines. Tower house Architectural vault types Steinmetz solid Groined Vaulting
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Narthex
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Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper. Peters Basilica in Rome or in the Basilica of SantAmbrogio in Milan, the exonarthex may have been either open or enclosed, with a door leading to the outside as in the Byzantiine Chora Church. By extension, the narthex can also denote a covered porch or entrance to a building, the word comes from narthex and was the place for penitents. In Modern Greek narthekas no longer has meaning and is either the porch of a church, as English. In English the narthex is now the porch outside the church at the west end, the purpose of the narthex was to allow those not eligible for admittance into the general congregation to hear and partake in the service. In the Russian Orthodox Church funerals are held in the narthex. Later reforms removed the requirement to exclude people from services who were not full members of the congregation, Church architects continued, however, to build a room before the entrance of the nave. This room could be called an inside vestibule or a porch, some traditions still call this area the narthex as it represents the point of entry into the church, even if everyone is admitted to the nave itself. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the esonarthex and exonarthex had, to this day, this is where the faithful will bring their baskets at Pascha for the priest to bless the Paschal foods which they will then take back to their homes for the festive break-fast. Traditionally, the narthex is where candles and prosphora will be sold for offering during Divine Services, on feast days there will be a procession to the narthex, followed by intercessory prayers, called the Litiy. In Armenia the local style of narthex is known as a gavit, antechamber Cathedral diagram Liturgical east and west Lobby Westwork Krautheimer, Richard. Media related to Narthexes at Wikimedia Commons
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Templon
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A templon is a feature of Byzantine churches consisting of a barrier separating the nave from the sacraments at the altar. The solid templon first appeared in Christian churches around the 5th century and is found in many Eastern Christian churches. Initially it was a low barrier probably not much different from the rails of many Western churches. It eventually evolved into the iconostasis, still found in Orthodox churches today. It is usually composed of carved wood or marble colonnettes supporting an architrave, three doors, a large central one and two smaller flanking ones, lead into the sanctuary. The templon did not originally obscure the view of the altar, in modern Orthodox churches, it is common for the openings of the templa to be constructed specifically to contain icons. The templon most likely has an independent origin from that of Latin chancel barriers, classical stage architecture is one possible source. At certain times during Byzantine history, theater heavily influenced painting, the statues on top of the backdrop would thus be analogous to the icons of the saints looking down. The similarities, however, are probably only visual, a much more plausible theory is that the templon models in both form and content the decorative wall of the Torah screen in Jewish synagogues of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. These, too, had three divisions, a central door leading to the altar, smaller flanking passages. The Torah screen was not the direct prototype of the templon. A direct comparison can also be made to the layout of the great Temple in Jerusalem and that Temple was designed with three parts. The holiest and inner-most portion was that where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and this portion, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the second larger part of the buildings interior by a curtain, the veil of the temple. Only priests were allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, the third part was the entrance court. In the Orthodox Christian tradition, with the exception of churches at womens monasteries, barriers called templons in Greek were also used on occasions when the Roman Emperors appeared in public, to segregate the Imperial retinue from the crowd. Templon is a word in Greek, from the Latin templum, temple, how. The most obvious explanation is that the form of the templon resembles a pagan temple, the steps up to the apse are analogous to the stereobate and stylobate of the temple. Archaeological evidence for an early templon comes from the Hagios Ioannes Studios in Constantinople, the chancel barrier surrounded the altar in a π shape, with one large door facing the nave and two smaller doors on the other sides
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Iconostasis
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In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church, the iconostasis evolved from the Byzantine templon, a process complete by the fifteenth century. A direct comparison for the function of the iconostasis can be made to the layout of the great Temple in Jerusalem. That Temple was designed with three parts, the holiest and inner-most portion was that where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. This portion, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the larger part of the buildings interior by a curtain. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, the third part was the entrance court. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition only men can enter the altar portion behind the iconostasis, the word comes from the Greek εἰκονοστάσι, which means icon stand. The nave is the body of the church where most of the worshippers stand. The sanctuary is one to three steps higher than the nave. The Iconostasis does not sit directly on the edge of the sanctuary and this forms a walkway in front of the iconostasis for the clergy, called a soleas. In the very center of the soleas is an extension, often rounded, called the ambon, on which the deacon will stand to give litanies during the services, the iconostasis, though often tall, rarely touches the ceiling. Acoustically, this permits the ekphoneses of the clergy to be heard clearly by the faithful, in small, modern churches the iconostasis may be completely absent, in such cases it is replaced by a few small icons on analogia, forming a virtual divide. The iconostasis typically has three openings or sets of doors, the Beautiful Gates or Holy Doors in the center, and the North and South Doors to either side. The Beautiful Gates are sometimes called the Royal Doors, but that more properly belongs to the central doors connecting the narthex, or porch. They remain shut whenever a service is not being held, modern custom as to when they should be opened during services varies depending upon jurisdiction and local custom. The North and South Doors are often called Deacons Doors because the use them frequently. Icons of sainted deacons are often depicted on these doors, alternatively, they may be called Angels Doors, and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel are often depicted there. The South Door is typically the entrance door, and Michael is depicted there because he is the Defender, the North Door is the exit and these doors may also be casually referred to as the side doors
21.
Apse
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In architecture, an apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an Exedra. Smaller apses may also be in other locations, especially shrines, an apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault. Commonly, the apse of a church, cathedral or basilica is the semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir or sanctuary, in relation to church architecture it is generally the name given to where the altar is placed or where the clergy are seated. An apse is occasionally found in a synagogue, e. g. Maoz Haim Synagogue, the apse is separated from the main part of the church by the transept. Smaller apses are sometimes built in other than the east end. The domed apse became a part of the church plan in the early Christian era. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the apse is known as diaconicon. Various ecclesiastical features of which the apse may form part are drawn here, The chancel, directly to the east beyond the choir contains the High Altar. This area is reserved for the clergy, and was formerly called the presbytery. Hemi-cyclic choirs, first developed in the East, came to use in France in 470, famous northern French examples of chevets are in the Gothic cathedrals of Amiens, Beauvais and Reims. The word ambulatory refers to an aisle in the apse that passes behind the altar and choir. An ambulatory may refer to the passages that enclose a cloister in a monastery, or to other types of aisles round the edge of a church building
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Prothesis (altar)
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The Prothesis is the place in the sanctuary in which the Liturgy of Preparation takes place in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches. The Prothesis is located behind the Iconostasis and consists of a table, also known as the Table of Oblation, on which the bread. It is most often placed on the side of the Altar. Originally, the Prothesis was located in the room as the Holy Table. During the reign of the Emperor Justin II, it came to occupy its own chamber to the north of the sanctuary, having a separate apse. Another apsed chamber was added on the side for the Diaconicon. So that from this time forward, large Orthodox churches were triapsidal, smaller churches still have only one chamber containing the Altar, the Prothesis and the Diaconicon. In the Syriac Churches, the ritual is different, as both Prothesis and Diaconicon are generally rectangular, and the former constitutes a chamber for the deposit of offerings by the faithful. Consequently, it is placed on the south side, if by doing so it is more accessible to the laity. In the Coptic Church, the men enter the Prothesis to receive holy Communion. Altar Diaconicon Photo of Prothesis The Altar is in the background, behind the line of priests
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Diaconicon
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The diaconicon will usually have cabinets or drawers where the vestments and church hangings may be safely stored. Here will also be kept the reserved charcoal, and a place for heating the zeon, towels and other necessary items will be kept here also. Only bishops or priests may sit in the sanctuary, however, deacons, during the reign of Justin II, owing to a change in the liturgy, the Diaconicon and Prothesis came to be located in separate apses at the east end of the Sanctuary. Before that time there was only one apse, in the churches in central Syria of slightly earlier date, the diaconicon is rectangular, the side apses at Kalat-Seman having been added at a later date. It can also refer to the liturgical book specifying the functions of the deacon
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Liturgy
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Liturgy is the customary public worship performed by a religious group, according to its beliefs, customs and traditions. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy is a response to and participation in. Ritualization may be associated with events such as birth, coming of age, marriage. It thus forms the basis for establishing a relationship with a divine agency, methods of dress, preparation of food, application of cosmetics or other hygienic practices are all considered liturgical activities. Technically speaking, liturgy is a subset of ritual, when ritual is undertaken to participate in a divine act or assist a divine action, it is liturgy. If the ritual does not have this purpose it is not liturgy, a daily activity such as the Muslim salah and Jewish synagogue services would be ritual but not liturgy. If the Temple were re-established, the ritual undertaken by the Judaic priesthood within the Temple would be liturgy, for a simple definition, liturgy is basically the pattern/way of worship the worshippers, worship. So you could use orthodox liturgy which would have different aspects to the Eucharistic liturgy or the catholic liturgy. The word liturgy, derived from the term in ancient Greek, leitourgia. In origin it signified the often expensive offerings wealthy Greeks made in service to the people, and thus to the polis, through the leitourgia, the rich carried a financial burden and were correspondingly rewarded with honours and prestige. The leitourgia were assigned by the polis, the State and Roman Empire, the performance of such supported the patrons standing among the elite and the popular at large. The holder of a Hellenic leitourgia was not taxed a specific sum, but was entrusted with a particular ritual, however groups of rich citizens were assigned to pay for expenses such as civic amenities and even payment of warships. Eventually, under the Roman Empire, such obligations, known as munera, devolved into a competitive, Buddhist liturgy is a formalized service of veneration and worship performed within a Buddhist Sangha community in nearly every traditional denomination and sect in the Buddhist world. It is often done once or more times a day and can vary among the Theravada, Mahayana, the liturgy mainly consists of chanting or reciting a sutra or passages from a sutras, a mantra, and several gathas. Depending on what practice the practitioner wishes to undertake, it can be done at a temple or at home, the liturgy is almost always performed in front of an object or objects of veneration and accompanied by offerings of light, incense, water and food. Jewish liturgy are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism and these prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book. In general, Jewish men are obligated to pray three times a day within specific time ranges, while, according to the Talmud, women are only required to pray once daily, as they are generally exempted from obligations that are time dependent. Additional prayers, Musaf are recited by Orthodox and Conservative congregations on Shabbat, major Jewish holidays, a fifth prayer service, Neila, is recited only on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement
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Baptism
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Baptism is a Christian sacrament of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally. The canonical Gospels report that Jesus was baptized—a historical event to which a degree of certainty can be assigned. Baptism has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of Jesus Christ. In some denominations, baptism is also called christening, but for others the word christening is reserved for the baptism of infants, Baptism has also given its name to the Baptist churches and denominations. The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the candidate to be immersed, in v.16, Matthew will speak of Jesus coming up out of the water. The traditional depiction in Christian art of John the Baptist pouring water over Jesus head may therefore be based on later Christian practice, other common forms of baptism now in use include pouring water three times on the forehead, a method called affusion. Martyrdom was identified early in Church history as baptism by blood, later, the Catholic Church identified a baptism of desire, by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving the sacrament are considered saved. Today, some Christians, particularly Christian Scientists, Quakers, The Salvation Army, and Unitarians, do not see baptism as necessary, among those that do, differences can be found in the manner and mode of baptizing and in the understanding of the significance of the rite. Most Christians baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, much more than half of all Christians baptize infants, many others hold that only believers baptism is true baptism. Some insist on submersion or at least partial immersion of the person who is baptized, others consider that any form of washing by water, as long as the water flows on the head, is sufficient. The term baptism has also used to refer to any ceremony, trial, or experience by which a person is initiated, purified. The Greek verb baptō, dip, from which the verb baptizo is derived, is in turn hypothetically traced to a reconstructed Indo-European root *gʷabh-, the Greek words are used in a great variety of meanings. John the Baptist, who is considered a forerunner to Christianity, the apostle Paul distinguished between the baptism of John, and baptism in the name of Jesus, and it is questionable whether Christian baptism was in some way linked with that of John. Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism, though whether Jesus intended to institute a continuing, the earliest Christian baptisms were probably normally by immersion, complete or partial. Though other modes may have also been used, at the hour in which the cock crows, they shall first pray over the water. When they come to the water, the water shall be pure and flowing, that is, then they shall take off all their clothes. The children shall be baptized first, all of the children who can answer for themselves, let them answer. If there are any children who cannot answer for themselves, let their parents answer for them, after this, the men will be baptized
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Martorana
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The Martorana Also Co-Cathedral of St. Mary of the Admiral is the seat of the parish of San Nicolò dei Greci, a Co-cathedral overlooking the Piazza Bellini in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. The church is characterized by the multiplicity of styles that meet, because, with the succession of centuries, it was enriched by various other tastes in art, architecture and culture. Today, it is, in fact, as a church-historical monument, the name Ammiraglio derives from the founder of the church, the Greek admiral and principal minister of King Roger II of Sicily, George of Antioch. The foundation charter of the church, in Greek and Arabic, is preserved and dates to 1143, the church had certainly been completed by the death of George in 1151, and he and his wife were interred in the narthex. After the Sicilian Vespers of 1282 the islands nobility gathered in the church for a meeting that resulted in the Sicilian crown being offered to Peter III of Aragon, in 1193-94, a convent of Benedictine nuns was founded on adjacent property by Eloisa Martorana. In 1433-34, under the rule of King Alfonso of Aragon, this convent absorbed the church, the nuns extensively modified the church between the 16th century and the 18th century, making major changes to the structure and the interior decoration. The nuns of the Martorana were famous for their moulded marzipan, although the convent no longer exists, frutta di Martorana are still one of Palermos most famous and distinctive foodstuffs. In 1935 Benito Mussolini returned the church to the control of Palermos Greek Orthodox community, today, it is used by the Italo-Greek Catholic Church for their services and shares cathedral status with the church of San Demetrio in Piana degli Albanesi. The original church was built in the form of a compact cross-in-square, the three apses in the east adjoin directly on the naos, instead of being separated by an additional bay, as was usual in contemporary Byzantine architecture in the Balkans and Asia Minor. The campanile, which is decorated with three orders of arches and lodges with mullioned windows, still serves as the main entrance to the church. Significant later additions to the include the Baroque façade which today faces onto the piazza. In the late 19th century, historically-minded restorers attempted to return the church to its original state, certain elements of the original church, in particular its exterior decoration, show the influence of Islamic architecture on the culture of Norman Sicily. A frieze bearing an inscription runs along the top of the exterior walls, although its text is in Greek. The recessed niches on the walls are likewise derive from the Islamic architectural tradition. In the interior, a series of wooden beams at the base of the bear a painted inscription in Arabic. On account of these Arabic elements, the Martorana has been compared with its Palermitan contemporary, the Cappella Palatina, the church is renowned for its spectacular interior, which is dominated by a series of 12th century mosaics executed by Byzantine craftsmen. The depiction of Roger was highly significant in terms of its iconography, in Western Christian tradition, kings were customarily crowned by the Pope or his representatives, however, Roger is shown in Byzantine dress being crowned by Jesus in the byzantine fashion. Roger was renowned for presenting himself as an emperor during his reign, the mosaic of the crowning of Roger carries a Greco-Latin inscription written in Greek characters
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Palermo
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Palermo is a city of Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence, Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians as Ziz, Palermo then became a possession of Carthage, before becoming part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. The Greeks named the city Panormus meaning complete port, from 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when the city first became a capital. The Arabs shifted the Greek name into Balarme, the root for Palermos present-day name, eventually Sicily would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860. The population of Palermo urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 855,285, in the central area, the city has a population of around 676,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Palermitani or, poetically, panormiti, the languages spoken by its inhabitants are the Italian language, Sicilian language and the Palermitano dialect. Palermo is Sicilys cultural, economic and touristic capital and it is a city rich in history, culture, art, music and food. Palermo is the main Sicilian industrial and commercial center, the industrial sectors include tourism, services, commerce. Palermo currently has an airport, and a significant underground economy. In fact, for cultural, artistic and economic reasons, Palermo was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean and is now among the top tourist destinations in both Italy and Europe. It is the seat of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Arab-Norman Palermo. The city is going through careful redevelopment, preparing to become one of the major cities of the Euro-Mediterranean area. Roman Catholicism is highly important in Palermitano culture, the Patron Saint of Palermo is Santa Rosalia whose Feast Day is celebrated on 15 July. The area attracts significant numbers of each year and is widely known for its colourful fruit, vegetable and fish markets at the heart of Palermo, known as Vucciria, Ballarò. Palermo lies in a basin, formed by the Papireto, Kemonia, the basin was named the Conca dOro by the Arabs in the 9th century. The city is surrounded by a range which is named after the city itself. These mountains face the Tyrrhenian Sea, Palermo is home to a natural port and offers excellent views to the sea, especially from Monte Pellegrino
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Eucharist
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The Eucharist /ˈjuːkərɪst/ is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches. Through the Eucharistic celebration Christians remember Christs sacrifice of himself on the cross, the elements of the Eucharist, bread and wine, are consecrated on an altar and consumed thereafter. Communicants may speak of receiving the Eucharist, as well as celebrating the Eucharist, Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. While all agree there is no perceptible change in the elements, Catholics believe that they actually become the body. Some Protestants view the Eucharist as an ordinance in which the ceremony is not as a specific channel of divine grace. Do this in remembrance of me, the term Eucharist is that by which the rite is referred by the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr. Today, the Eucharist is the still used by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians. Other Protestant denominations rarely use this term, preferring either Communion, one remains hungry, another gets drunk. Communion or Holy Communion are used by some groups originating in the Protestant Reformation to mean the entire Eucharistic rite. The term Communion is derived from Latin communio, which translates Greek κοινωνία in 1 Corinthians 10,16, the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ. The phrase appears five times in the New Testament in contexts which, according to some and it is the term used by the Plymouth Brethren. The Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar are common terms used by Catholics, Lutherans and some Anglicans for the consecrated elements, Sacrament of the Altar is in common use also among Lutherans. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the term The Sacrament is used of the rite. Among the many terms used in the Catholic Church are Holy Mass, the Memorial of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The term Mass is probably derived from the fact that the Roman rite celebrates the Eucharist with unleavened bread and this explains why the Eastern Catholic Liturgies are never referred to as the Mass. Eastern rite Liturgies are celebrated with leavened bread, although the prevailing theory is that it is derived from the Latin word missa, a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin, Ite, missa est. The reverse is more likely. The word dismissal probably came about because the Mass signaled the time for the Catechumens to leave, thus, the term Misa came to imply a mission, because at the end of the Mass the congregation are sent out to serve Christ
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Chora Church
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The Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora is a medieval Byzantine Greek Orthodox church preserved as the Chora Museum in the Edirnekapı neighborhood of Istanbul. The neighborhood is situated in the part of the municipality of the Fatih district. In the 16th century, during the Ottoman era, the church was converted into a mosque, the Chora Church was originally built as part of a monastery complex outside the walls of Constantinople, to the south of the Golden Horn. The last part of name, Chora, referring to its location originally outside of the walls. The original church on site was built in the early 4th century. However, when Theodosius II built his formidable land walls in 413–414, the church became incorporated within the citys defences, but retained the name Chora. The name must have carried meaning, as the mosaics in the narthex describe Christ as the Land of the Living and Mary. Early in the 12th century, the church suffered a partial collapse, the church was rebuilt by Isaac Comnenus, Alexiuss third son. However, it was only after the phase of building. The powerful Byzantine statesman Theodore Metochites endowed the church many of its fine mosaics. Theodores impressive decoration of the interior was carried out between 1315 and 1321, the mosaic-work is the finest example of the Palaeologian Renaissance. In 1328, Theodore was sent into exile by the usurper Andronicus III Palaeologus, however, he was allowed to return to the city two years later, and lived out the last two years of his life as a monk in his Chora Church. Around fifty years after the fall of the city to the Ottomans, Atık Ali Paşa, due to the prohibition against iconic images in Islam, the mosaics and frescoes were covered behind a layer of plaster. This and frequent earthquakes in the region have taken their toll on the artwork, in 1948, Americans Thomas Whittemore and Paul A. Underwood, from the Byzantine Institute of America and the Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, sponsored a restoration program. From that time on, the building ceased to be a functioning mosque, in 1958, it was opened to the public as a museum — Kariye Müzesi. The Chora Church is not as large as some of the other surviving Byzantine churches of Istanbul but it is unique among them, because of its almost completely still extant internal decoration. The building divides into three areas, the entrance hall or narthex, the main body of the church or naos. The building has six domes, two in the esonarthex, one in the parecclesion and three in the naos, the main, west door of the Chora Church opens into the narthex
30.
Kalenderhane Mosque
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Kalenderhane Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul, converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. With high probability the church was dedicated to the Theotokos Kyriotissa. The building is referred to as Kalender Haneh Jamissi and St. Mary Diaconissa. This building represents one among the few extant examples of a Byzantine church with domed Greek cross plan, the first building on this site was a Roman bath, followed by a sixth-century hall church with an apse laying up against the Aqueduct of Valens. Later – possibly in the seventh century – a much larger church was built to the south of the first church. A third church, which reused the sanctuary and the apse of the one, can be dated to the end of the twelfth century. It may date to between 1197 and 1204, since Constantine Stilbes alluded to its destruction in a fire in 1197, the church was surrounded by monastery buildings, which disappeared totally during the Ottoman period. After the Latin conquest of Constantinople, the building was used by the Crusaders as a Roman Catholic church, after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the church was assigned personally by Mehmed II to the Kalenderi sect of the Dervish. The Dervishes used it as a zaviye and imaret, and the building has been known since as Kalenderhane, the Waqf was endowed with several properties in Thrace, and many hamams in Istanbul and Galata. Some years later, Arpa Emini Mustafa Efendi built a Mektep, in 1746, Hacı Beşir Ağa, the Kizlar Ağası of the Topkapı Palace, built a mihrab, minbar and mahfil, completing the conversion of the building into a mosque. Ravaged by fire and damaged by earthquakes, the mosque was restored in 1855 and it was abandoned in the 1930s, after the collapse of the minaret due to lightning, and the demolition of the Medrese. Moreover, the minaret and the mihrab were rebuilt, which allowed the mosque to reopen for worship, the building has a central Greek Cross plan with deep barrel vaults over the arms, and is surmounted by a dome with 16 ribs. The structure has a typically middle Byzantine brickwork with alternating layers of brick, the entry is via an esonarthex and an exonarthex in the west side. An upper gallery over the esonarthex, following the plan of the one existing in the Church of the Pantokrator, was removed in 1854. Also the north and south aisles along the nave were destroyed, the tall triple arches connecting the aisles with the nave are now the lower windows of the church. The sanctuary is on the east side, however, the reconstructed mihrab, two small chapels named prothesis and diakonikon, typical of the Byzantine churches of the middle and late period have survived. The interior decoration of the church, consisting of colored marble panels and moldings. This is the oldest known representation of the saint, and may have painted only a few years after his death in 1226
31.
Cappadocia
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Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in the Nevşehir, Kayseri, Kırşehir, Aksaray, and Niğde Provinces in Turkey. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revolt, in these lists of countries, the Old Persian name is Haspaduya, which according to some researchers is derived from Iranian Huw-aspa-dahyu- the land/country of beautiful horses. Others proposed that Kat-patuka came from the Luwian language, meaning Low Country, subsequent research suggests that the adverb katta meaning down, below is exclusively Hittite, while its Luwian equivalent is zanta. Therefore the recent modification of this proposal operates with the Hittite katta peda-, Herodotus tells us that the name of the Cappadocians was applied to them by the Persians, while they were termed by the Greeks Syrians or White Syrians Leucosyri. Cappadocia appears in the account given in the book of Acts 2,9. The Cappadocians were named as one group hearing the Gospel account from Galileans in their own language on the day of Pentecost shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Acts 2,5 seems to suggest that the Cappadocians in this account were God-fearing Jews. The region is mentioned in the Jewish Mishnah, in Ketubot 13,11. This division had come about before the time of Xenophon. The kingdom of Cappadocia still existed in the time of Strabo as a independent state. Cilicia was the given to the district in which Caesarea. The only two cities of Cappadocia considered by Strabo to deserve that appellation were Caesarea and Tyana, not far from the foot of the Taurus, Cappadocia lies in central Anatolia, in the heartland of what is now Turkey. The relief consists of a plateau over 1000 m in altitude that is pierced by volcanic peaks. The boundaries of historical Cappadocia are vague, particularly towards the west, to the south, the Taurus Mountains form the boundary with Cilicia and separate Cappadocia from the Mediterranean Sea. To the west, Cappadocia is bounded by the regions of Lycaonia to the southwest. This results in an area approximately 400 km east–west and 250 km north–south, due to its inland location and high altitude, Cappadocia has a markedly continental climate, with hot dry summers and cold snowy winters. Rainfall is sparse and the region is largely semi-arid, Cappadocia was known as Hatti in the late Bronze Age, and was the homeland of the Hittite power centred at Hattusa. After ending the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great tried to rule the area one of his military commanders. But Ariarathes, a Persian aristocrat, somehow became king of the Cappadocians, as Ariarathes I, he was a successful ruler, and he extended the borders of the Cappadocian Kingdom as far as to the Black Sea
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Cattolica di Stilo
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The Cattolica di Stilo is a Byzantine church in the comune of Stilo, Calabria, southern Italy. The Cattolica was built in the 9th century, when Calabria was part of the Byzantine Empire, the name derives from the Greek word katholiki, which referred to the churches provided with a baptistery. It is one of the most important examples of Byzantine architecture, the Cattolica follow a plan with inscribed cross, typical of the middle Byzantine age. The interior is divided by four columns into five similar spaces, the square central space and the angled ones are covered by domes. The angled ones have tambours with the diameter, while the central dome is slightly taller and larger. The western sides lies on free rocks, while the southern area, the interior was once entirely covered with frescoes. The left apse has a built in 1577, when the church was converted to the Latin rite. The interior has several inscriptions in Arabic, which have led scholars to suspect it could have been also used as a Muslim oratory. One inscription translates to There is only one true God
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Stilo
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Stilo is a town and comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It is 151 kilometres from Reggio Calabria, the economy of the commune is mainly based on agriculture, with production of cereals, oil, wine and cheese. There are mines of iron and lead, at 10 kilometres from the city is the promontory of Cape Stilo, where in 1940 the Battle of Punta Stilo was fought by the Italian and British Navies. The origins of Stilo are connected to the destruction of the ancient Greek colony of Caulonia by Dionysius II of Syracuse, tommaso Campanella Francesco Cozza Vallata dello Stilaro Allaro Ecomuseo delle ferriere e fonderie di Calabria
34.
Bema
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The bema, or bima, is an elevated platform used as an orators podium in ancient Athens. In Jewish synagogues, it is known as a bimah and is for Torah reading during services. In an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, a bema is the area around the aron kodesh. In antiquity it was made of stone, but in times it is usually a rectangular wooden platform approached by steps. The Ancient Greek bema means both ‘platform’ and ‘step’, being derived from bainein, the original use of the bema in Athens was as a tribunal from which orators addressed the citizens as well as the courts of law, for instance, in the Pnyx. In Greek law courts the two parties to a dispute presented their arguments each from separate bemas, the bimah in synagogues is also known as the almemar or almemor among some Ashkenazim. The post-Biblical Hebrew bima, ‘platform’ or ‘pulpit’, is almost certainly derived from the Ancient Greek word for a raised platform, among the Sephardim, it is known as a tevah or migdal-etz. It is typically elevated by two or three steps, as was the bimah in the Temple, at the celebration of the Shavuot holiday when synagogues are decorated with flowers, many synagogues have special arches that they place over the bimah and adorn with floral displays. The importance of the bimah is to show that the reader is the most important at that moment in time, a raised bimah will typically have a railing. This was a requirement for safety in bimah more than 10 handbreadths high. A lower bimah will typically have a railing as a measure to prevent someone from inadvertently stepping off. The bimah became a fixture in synagogues from which a portion from the Torah. In Orthodox Judaism, the bimah is located in the center of the synagogue, in other branches of Judaism, the bimah and the Ark are joined together. The ceremonial use of a bema carried over from Judaism into early Christian church architecture and it was originally a raised platform with a lectern and seats for the clergy, from which lessons from the Scriptures were read and the sermon was delivered. In Western Christianity the bema developed over time into the chancel and it may be approached by one or several steps. The bema is composed of the altar, the soleas, Orthodox laity do not normally step up onto the bema except to receive Holy Communion. Ambo Templon Tribune Media related to Bimot at Wikimedia Commons
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Sicily
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Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
36.
Triconch
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A tetraconch, from the Greek for four shells, is a building, usually a church or other religious building, with four apses, one in each direction, usually of equal size. The basic ground plan of the building is therefore a Greek cross and they are most common in Byzantine, and related schools such as Armenian and Georgian architecture. It has been argued that they were developed in areas or Syria. Apart from churches, the form is suitable for a mausoleum or baptistery, normally, there will be a higher central dome over the central space. The Basilica of San Lorenzo, Milan is possibly the first example of a grander type, in middle Byzantine architecture, the cross-in-square plan was developed, essentially filling out the tetraconch to form a square-ish exterior. Either of these types may also be described precisely as cross-domed. In these types the semi-dome of the apse usually starts directly from the central domed space, the ruined Ninotsminda Cathedral of c.575 in Georgia is perhaps the oldest example in that country. The Armenian and Georgian examples are later than others but a distinctive. In Armenia, the plan developed in the 6th century. The ruined so-called Cathedral of Bosra, of the early 6th century, is the earliest major Syrian tetraconch church, though in Syria the type did not remain as popular as in the Caucasus. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, world-famous for its mosaics, is almost a tetraconch and these end in a flat wall with no semi-dome, and the entrance end is slightly longer. A famous revival of the formula in the West is Bramantes first design for the Basilica of St. Peter. A triconch building has three apses, normally omitting the one at the liturgical west end, which may be replaced with a narthex. Many churches of both types have been extended, especially to the west by addition of naves, so that came to resemble more conventional basilica-type churches. The church in Istanbul of St. Mary of the Mongols is an example, atroshenko and Judith Collins, The Origins of the Romanesque, Lund Humphries, London,1985, ISBN 0-85331-487-X Hill, Julie. The Silk Road Revisited, Markets, Merchants and Minarets, AuthorHouse,2006, ISBN 1-4259-7280-2, Google books Kleinbauer, zvartnots and the Origins of Christian Architecture in Armenia, The Art Bulletin, Vol.54, No. 3, pp. 245–262 JSTOR Graphic model of a 7th-century Armenian simple tetraconch church
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Mount Athos
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Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. It is governed as an autonomous polity within the Greek Republic under the official name Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos is home to 20 monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Mount Athos is commonly referred to in Greek as the Holy Mountain, other languages of orthodox tradition also use names translating to Holy Mountain. In the classical era, while the mountain was called Athos, the free movement of people and goods in its territory is prohibited, unless formal permission is granted by the Monastic States authorities, and only males are allowed to enter.6 square kilometres. The actual Mount Athos has steep, densely forested slopes reaching up to 2,033 metres, the surrounding seas, especially at the end of the peninsula, can be dangerous. In ancient Greek history two fleet disasters in the area are recorded, In 492 BC Darius, the king of Persia, in 411 BC the Spartans lost a fleet of 50 ships under admiral Epicleas. Though land-linked, Mount Athos is practically only by ferry. The Agios Panteleimon and Axion Estin travel daily between Ouranoupolis and Dafni, with stops at some monasteries on the western coast, there is also a smaller speed boat, the Agia Anna, which travels the same route, but with no intermediate stops. It is possible to travel by ferry to and from Ierissos for direct access to monasteries along the eastern coast, the number of daily visitors to Mount Athos is restricted, and all are required to obtain a special entrance permit valid for a limited period. Only males are permitted to visit the territory, which is called the Garden of Virgin Mary by the monks, residents on the peninsula must be males aged 18 and over who are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church and also either monks or workers. Athos in Greek mythology is the name of one of the Gigantes that challenged the Greek gods during the Gigantomachia, Athos threw a massive rock against Poseidon which fell in the Aegean sea and became Mount Athos. According to another version of the story, Poseidon used the mountain to bury the defeated giant, homer mentions the mountain Athos in the Iliad. Herodotus mentions the peninsula, then called Acte, telling us that Pelasgians from the island of Lemnos populated it and naming five cities thereon, Sane, Cleonae, Thyssos, Olophyxos, Strabo also mentions the cities of Dion and Acrothoï. Eretria also established colonies on Acte, at least one other city was established in the Classical period, Acanthus. Some of these cities minted their own coins, the peninsula was on the invasion route of Xerxes I, who spent three years excavating a channel across the isthmus to allow the passage of his invasion fleet in 483 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great, the architect Dinocrates proposed carvingg the entire mountain into a statue of Alexander, the history of the peninsula during latter ages is shrouded by the lack of historical accounts. Archaeologists have not been able to determine the location of the cities reported by Strabo. It is believed that they must have been deserted when Athos new inhabitants, according to the Athonite tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was sailing accompanied by St John the Evangelist from Joppa to Cyprus to visit Lazarus
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Antiphon
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An antiphon in Christian music and ritual is a responsory by a choir or congregation, usually in the form of a Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work. Antiphony is now used for any call and response style of singing, such as the kirtan. Antiphonal music is music that is performed by two semi-independent choirs in interaction, often singing alternate musical phrases, antiphonal psalmody is the singing or musical playing of psalms by alternating groups of performers. An antiphony is also a choir-book containing antiphons, the mirror structure of Hebrew psalms renders it probable that the antiphonal method was present in the services of the ancient Israelites. According to the historian Socrates of Constantinople, antiphony was introduced into Christian worship by Ignatius of Antioch, Antiphons have remained an integral part of the worship in the Byzantine and Armenian Rite. The practice was not found in the Latin Church until more than two centuries later, Polyphonic Marian antiphons emerged in England in the 14th century as settings of texts honouring the Virgin Mary separately from the mass and office, often after Compline. Towards the end of the 15th century, English composers produced expanded settings up to nine parts, with increasing complexity, the largest collection of such antiphons is the late 15th century Eton Choirbook. As a result, antiphony remains particularly common in the Anglican musical tradition, the Greater Advent or O Antiphons are antiphons used at daily prayer in the evenings of the last days of Advent in various liturgical Christian traditions. Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture, in the Roman Catholic tradition, they are sung or recited at Vespers from December 17 to December 23. In the Church of England they have traditionally used as antiphons to the Magnificat at Evening Prayer. More recently they have found a place in liturgical documents throughout the Anglican Communion. Use of the O Antiphons was preserved in Lutheranism at the German Reformation, when two or more groups of singers sing in alternation, the style of music can also be called polychoral. Specifically, this term is applied to music of the late Renaissance. Polychoral techniques are a characteristic of the music of the Venetian school, exemplified by the works of Giovanni Gabrieli. Polychoral music was not limited to Italy in the Renaissance and it was popular in Spain and Germany and there are examples from the 19th and 20th centuries, from composers as diverse as Hector Berlioz, Igor Stravinsky and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Marian antiphon Polyphony Polyphonic form Polyphonic singing Polychoral compositions Latin church music by George Frideric Handel — includes three antiphons, Antiphon O Sapientia quae ex ore Altissimi. Antiphon O Adonai II Great Advent Antiphon File, Schola Gregoriana-Antiphona et Magnificat. ogg
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Christ Pantocrator
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In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator refers to a specific depiction of Christ. Pantocrator or Pantokrator is, used in context, a translation of one of many names of God in Judaism. When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek as the Septuagint, in the New Testament, Pantokrator is used once by Paul. Aside from that one occurrence, John of Patmos is the only New Testament author to use the word Pantokrator, the most common translation of Pantocrator is Almighty or All-powerful. In this understanding, Pantokrator is a word formed from the Greek words πᾶς, pas, i. e. all and κράτος, kratos, i. e. strength, might. This is often understood in terms of power, i. e. ability to do anything. Another, more literal translation is Ruler of All or, less literally, in this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek for all and the verb meaning To accomplish something or to sustain something. This translation speaks more to Gods actual power, i. e, the Pantokrator, largely an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic theological conception, is less common by that name in Western Catholicism and largely unknown to most Protestants. In the West the equivalent image in art is known as Christ in Majesty, Christ Pantocrator has come to suggest Christ as a mild but stern, all-powerful judge of humanity. The icon of Christ Pantokrator is one of the most widely used images of Orthodox Christianity. Some scholars consider the Pantocrator a Christian adaptation of images of Zeus, the development of the earliest stages of the icon from Roman Imperial imagery is easier to trace. The image of Christ Pantocrator was one of the first images of Christ developed in the Early Christian Church, in the half-length image, Christ holds the New Testament in his left hand and makes the gesture of teaching or of blessing with his right. The gessoed panel, finely painted using a wax medium on a panel, had been coarsely overpainted around the face. It was only when the overpainting was cleaned in 1962 that the ancient image was revealed to be a high quality icon. The left hand holds a book with a richly decorated cover featuring the Cross. An icon where Christ has a book is called Christ the Teacher. Christ is bearded, his brown hair centrally parted, and his head is surrounded by a halo, the icon is usually shown against a gold background comparable to the gilded grounds of mosaic depictions of the Christian emperors. Often, the name of Christ is written on each side of the halo, as IC, christs fingers are depicted in a pose that represents the letters IC, X and C, thereby making the Christogram ICXC
40.
Daphni Monastery
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Daphni or Dafni is an eleventh-century Byzantine monastery eleven kilometers northwest of central Athens in the suburb of Chaidari, south of Athinon Avenue. It is situated near the forest of the name, on the Sacred Way that led to Eleusis. The forest covers about 18 km2, and surrounds a laurel grove, Daphni is the modern Greek name that means laurel grove, derived from Daphneion. The Daphni Monastery was founded towards the end of the sixth century A. D. on the site of the Sanctuary of Apollo which had been desecrated by the Goths in 395, the Sanctuary of Apollo was built in the Ionic style using the thinnest and smallest columns. The columns stand on a base with a scroll at the top. A few of the columns of the temple have been preserved, one of the four Ionic columns of the ancient Sanctuary of Apollo remains at the site, as it was re-used in the Daphni Monastery. The other columns were removed and taken to London by Thomas Bruce, the first monastery on the site was constructed in the style of a castle with a basilica in the middle. It was fortified with enclosing walls and small cells that were usually just inside the walls, the walls were attached to the church rather than standing free around the perimeter of the property and one of the columns from Apollo was built into the southern wall of the church. Some of the blocks of porous stone were also salvaged and used in the western outer wall of the church. This first monastery fell into decline when Greece was severely damaged following invasions of barbarians from the North, during a period of renewed prosperity In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Daphni Monastery was restored. A new octagonal church, a refectory and a chapel for the cemetery were built, the old basilica was completely demolished except for the enclosing walls and cells from the former church which were incorporated into the new church. Traces of old frescoes found on the show a person with bands, perhaps Emperor Basil II. The craftsmanship used in the church construction suggests Basil II brought in workers from Constantinople, the Daphni Monastery fell into decline after it was sacked by Frankish crusaders in 1205. The region became part of the Duchy of Athens under Othon de la Roche, Othon gave the Daphni Monastery to the Cistercian Abbey of Bellevaux, who added their own cloister and twin pointed arches in the Gothic style to the façade of the church. The Daphni Monastery became a burial place for Knights. In 1458, immediately after the coming of the Turks and the visit of Sultan Mehmed II to Athens, the Cistercians abandoned the Daphni Monastery and these monasteries are famed as masterpieces of middle Byzantine architecture, and are especially noted for their sumptuous interior gold mosaics. The exterior of the church has a style, which is very common for middle Byzantine churches in Greece. The cloisonné style of masonry consists of blocks of stone separated or framed on all four sides by bricks
41.
Mosaic
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A mosaic is a piece of art or image made from the assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It is often used in art or as interior decoration. Most mosaics are made of small, flat, roughly square, pieces of stone or glass of different colors, some, especially floor mosaics, are made of small rounded pieces of stone, and called pebble mosaics. Others are made of other materials, mosaics have a long history, starting in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. Pebble mosaics were made in Tiryns in Mycenean Greece, mosaics with patterns and pictures became widespread in classical times, Early Christian basilicas from the 4th century onwards were decorated with wall and ceiling mosaics. Mosaic fell out of fashion in the Renaissance, though artists like Raphael continued to practise the old technique, Roman and Byzantine influence led Jews to decorate 5th and 6th century synagogues in the Middle East with floor mosaics. Mosaic was widely used on buildings and palaces in early Islamic art, including Islams first great religious building, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Mosaic went out of fashion in the Islamic world after the 8th century, modern mosaics are made by professional artists, street artists, and as a popular craft. Many materials other than stone and ceramic tesserae may be employed, including shells, glass. The earliest known examples of made of different materials were found at a temple building in Abra, Mesopotamia. They consist of pieces of colored stones, shells and ivory, excavations at Susa and Chogha Zanbil show evidence of the first glazed tiles, dating from around 1500 BC. However, mosaic patterns were not used until the times of Sassanid Empire, mythological subjects, or scenes of hunting or other pursuits of the wealthy, were popular as the centrepieces of a larger geometric design, with strongly emphasized borders. Pliny the Elder mentions the artist Sosus of Pergamon by name, describing his mosaics of the left on a floor after a feast. Both of these themes were widely copied, most recorded names of Roman mosaic workers are Greek, suggesting they dominated high quality work across the empire, no doubt most ordinary craftsmen were slaves. Splendid mosaic floors are found in Roman villas across North Africa, in such as Carthage. The tiny tesserae allowed very fine detail, and an approach to the illusionism of painting, often small panels called emblemata were inserted into walls or as the highlights of larger floor-mosaics in coarser work. The normal technique was opus tessellatum, using larger tesserae, which was laid on site, there was a distinct native Italian style using black on a white background, which was no doubt cheaper than fully coloured work. In Rome, Nero and his architects used mosaics to cover surfaces of walls and ceilings in the Domus Aurea, built 64 AD
42.
Fresco
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Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
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Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
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Hosios Loukas
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Hosios Loukas is a historic walled monastery situated near the town of Distomo, in Boeotia, Greece. It is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine architecture and art, the monastery of Hosios Loukas is situated at a scenic site on the slopes of Mount Helicon. It was founded in the early 10th century AD by the hermit, Venerable St. Luke, the hermit was famous for having predicted the conquest of Crete by Emperor Romanos. It was unclear if he was referring to Romanos I, the emperor at the time, however the island was actually reconquered by Nicephorus Phocas under Romanos II. It is believed that it was during the reign that the monasterys Church of the Theotokos was constructed. The main shrine of the monastery is the tomb of St. Luke, originally situated in the vault, the monastery derived its wealth from the fact that the relics of St. Luke were said to have exuded myron, a sort of perfumed oil which produced healing miracles. Pilgrims hoping for help were encouraged to sleep by the side of the tomb in order to be healed by incubation. The mosaics around the tomb represent not only St. Luke himself, the Church of the Theotokos, the oldest in the complex, is the only church known with certainty to have been built in mainland Greece in the tenth century. This centralized parallelogram-shaped building is the oldest example of the type in the country. The walls are opus mixtum and display curious pseudo-kufic patterns, the Church of the Theotokos adjoins a larger cathedral church, or Katholikon, tentatively dated to 1011-12. The Katholikon is the earliest extant domed-octagon church, with eight piers arranged around the perimeter of the naos, the hemispherical dome rests upon four squinches which make a transition from the octagonal base under the dome to the square defined by the walls below. The main cube of the church is surrounded by galleries and chapels on all four sides, Hosios Loukas is the largest of three monasteries surviving from the Middle Byzantine period in Greece. It differs from the Daphnion and Nea Moni in that it is dedicated to a military saint. The Katholikon contains the best preserved complex of mosaics from the period of the Macedonian Renaissance, however, the complex is not complete, the original image of Christ Pantocrator inside the dome is missing, as are the figures of archangels normally placed between the upper windows. There is evidence that the monastery was reputed all over Byzantium for its lavish decoration, apart from revetment, carving, gold and silver plate, murals, and mosaics, the interior featured a choice assortment of icons, chandeliers, silk curtains, and altar cloths. Only a fraction of items are still in situ, most notably colored marble facings. Notwithstanding the losses, the Katholikon gives the best impression available anywhere today of the character of an interior in the first centuries after the end of Iconoclasm. Beneath the great domed Katholikon is a crypt, accessible only by a stairwell on the southern side
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Boeotia
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Boeotia, sometimes alternatively Latinised as Beotia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece and it was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its largest city is Thebes, Boeotia lies to the north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It also has a coastline on the Gulf of Euboea. It bordered on Megaris in the south, Attica in the southeast, Euboea in the northeast, Opuntian Locris in the north and Phocis in the west. The main mountain ranges of Boeotia are Mount Parnassus in the west, Mount Helicon in the southwest, Cithaeron in the south and its longest river, the Cephissus, flows in the central part, where most of the low-lying areas of Boeotia are found. Lake Copais was a lake in the center of Boeotia. It was drained in the 19th century, lake Yliki is a large lake near Thebes. The earliest inhabitants of Boeotia, associated with the city of Orchomenus, were called Minyans, pausanias mentions that Minyans established the maritime Ionian city of Teos, and occupied the islands of Lemnos and Thera. The Argonauts were sometimes referred to as Minyans, also, according to legend the citizens of Thebes paid an annual tribute to their king Erginus. The early wealth and power of Boeotia is shown by the reputation and visible Mycenean remains of several of its cities, especially Orchomenus, the origin of the name Boeotians may lie in the mountain Boeon in Epirus. Some toponyms and the common Aeolic dialect indicate that the Boeotians were related to the Thessalians and they moved south and settled in another rich plain, while others filtered across the Aegean and settled on Lesbos and in Aeolis in Asia Minor. Others are said to have stayed in Thessaly, withdrawing into the hill country, many ancient Greek legends originated or are set in this region. The older myths took their form during the Mycenean age when the Mycenean Greeks established themselves in Boeotia. Many of them are related to the myths of Argos, and others indicate connections with Phoenicia, Boeotia was also notable for the ancient oracular shrine of Trophonius at Lebadea. Graea, an ancient city in Boeotia, is thought to be the origin of the Latin word Graecus, from which English derives the words Greece. The major poets Hesiod and Pindar were Boeotians, on the other hand, the lack of good harbours hindered its maritime development. The importance of the legendary Minyae has been confirmed by archaeological remains, the Boeotian population entered the land from the north possibly before the Dorian invasion
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Squinch
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A squinch in architecture is a construction filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome. Another solution of this problem was provided by the pendentive. After the rise of Islam, it was used in the Middle East in both eastern Romanesque and Islamic architecture and it remained a feature of Islamic architecture, especially in Iran, and was often covered by corbelled stalactite-like structures known as muqarnas. It spread to the Romanesque architecture of western Europe, one example being the Normans 12th-century church of San Cataldo and this has three domes, each supported by four doubled squinches. The word squinch comes from the Persian word سه+کنج) سکنج), pendentive Media related to Squinches at Wikimedia Commons
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Pendentive
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A pendentive is a constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom. In masonry the pendentives thus receive the weight of the dome, prior to the pendentives development, the device of corbelling or the use of the squinch in the corners of a room had been employed. Pendentives were commonly used in Orthodox, Renaissance, and Baroque churches, hagia Sophia Squinch Heinle, Erwin, Schlaich, Jörg, Kuppeln aller Zeiten, aller Kulturen, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-421-03062-6 Rasch, Jürgen, Die Kuppel in der römischen Architektur. Entwicklung, Formgebung, Konstruktion, Architectura,15, pp. 117–139
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Ascension of Jesus
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The Ascension of Jesus is the departure of Christ from Earth into the presence of God. Heavenly ascents were fairly common in the time of Jesus, signifying divine approval or the deification of an exceptional man. The Ascension of Jesus is an important theme in Christian art, the world of the Ascension is a three-part universe with the heavens above, a flat earth centered on Jerusalem in the middle, and the underworld below. Heaven was separated from the earth by the firmament, the visible sky, humans looking up from earth saw the floor of heaven, made of clear blue lapis-lazuli, as was Gods throne. There is a consensus among scholars that the brief Ascension account in the Gospel of Mark is a later addition to the original version of that gospel. Luke-Acts, a work from the same anonymous author, provides the only detailed account of the Ascension. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. and to Mary Magdalene after his Resurrection, Do not hold me, for I not yet ascended to my father. Various epistles also refer to an Ascension, seeming, like Luke-Acts and John, to equate it with the post-resurrection exultation of Jesus to the right hand of God. Although it signifies an equal participation in glory and majesty, it is taken to be a certain place about which the Lord, speaking in the Gospel, says. The apostle Peter also says, Heaven must receive Christ until the time of restoring all things, despite this, the Ascension itself has become an embarrassment. As expressed in a statement by theologian Rudolf Bultmann in his essay The New Testament and Mythology. No one who is old enough to think for himself supposes that God lives in a local heaven, and if this is so, the story of Christs. Ascension into heaven is done with, the Feast of the Ascension is one of the ecumenical feasts of the Christian liturgical year, along with the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost. The Ascension has been a frequent subject in Christian art, by the 6th century the iconography of the Ascension had been established and by the 9th century Ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches. The Rabbula Gospels include some of the earliest images of the Ascension, many ascension scenes have two parts, an upper part and a lower part. The ascending Christ may be carrying a banner or make a sign of benediction with his right hand. The blessing gesture by Christ with his hand is directed towards the earthly group below him. In the left hand, he may be holding a Gospel or a scroll, the Eastern Orthodox portrayal of the Ascension is a major metaphor for the mystical nature of the Church
