Types of Christian temples rotunda and basilica. Mosaic decor
London, Madrid National Gallery in London, one of the world's finest collections of Western European painting.
Uffizi in Florence, art gallery, one of the largest in Italy. In Zamoskvorechye, in a quiet Lavrushinsky lane, there is a building that is well known to both Muscovites and guests of the capital. This is the Tretyakov Gallery
Let's repeat! The temple in honor of the god Saturn was erected around 489 BC. NS. shortly after the victory over the Etruscan kings of the Tarquinian clan.
The Epic was not invented by him. But only the Iliad is honored Ideal lines of praise, That the Heroes are called to battle.
Luxurious ... surrounded by a beautiful park
1001 wonders of the world In 1889 there was a world exhibition ... Many-sided ... 
Rotunda (Italian rotonda, from Latin rotundus - round) is a round building, usually crowned with a dome. Columns are often located along the perimeter of the rotunda. The rotunda is shaped by ancient Greek tholos, some ancient Roman temples (for example, the Pantheon) and mausoleums, baptisteries, individual Christian churches (mainly Romanesque, Renaissance and classicism), halls, from the 18th century. - park pavilions and gazebos.
Temple architecture Types Cross-domed temple Tent temples Basilica Plan and premises Naos nave Nave Apse Chetverik Chapel Krypt chapel Podklet Chora Gallery Structures Column Column Arcade, Vaults and ceilings Arch Conch Arch Sail Tromp Drum Head Dome Tent Additional buildings Belfry Bell tower Chapel Chapel Baptistery
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Basilica (basilica) (Greek βασιλική - royal house) is a type of rectangular structure, which consists of an odd number (3 or 5) different in height naves. The naves are separated by longitudinal rows of columns or pillars, with independent roofs. The central nave is wider and higher in height, it is illuminated with the help of windows of the second tier and ends with an apse (Latin absida, Greek hapsidos - vault, arch), topped with a semi-dome
The entrance to the basilica is a transverse volume - narthex - narthex, an entrance room, which usually adjoins the western side of Christian churches. In the temples of the early Christian and medieval periods, the narthex was intended for parishioners who did not have permission to enter the main room, the so-called. catechumens ready to accept Christianity
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (Italian Mausoleo di Galla Placidia) - a cross-domed building located next to the basilica The mausoleum dates from around the second quarter of the 5th century and is decorated with the earliest surviving Ravenna mosaics. Although the building is attributed to Galle Placidia, the daughter of Emperor Theodosius the Great, the mausoleum did not become her burial place. In 1996, the mausoleum, among other early Christian monuments of Ravenna, was included in the list of World Heritage Sites under number 788. [
In the upper lunettes on either side of the windows, there are paired images of eight of the twelve apostles. Since there is a window in the middle of each of the four lunettes, the mosaicist was faced with a choice: to depict all 12 apostles and break the symmetry
The disciples of Christ are depicted in full growth with their hands raised to the cross depicted on the ceiling, expressing the gospel call of Jesus: “take up your cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). The apostles are depicted in senatorial togas, their hand raised in the traditional senatorial salute. All the apostles are endowed with specific portrait features, although due to the fact that the iconographic canon in the 5th century has not yet been formed, it is impossible to identify the characters depicted. The exceptions are the apostles Peter (depicted with keys) and Paul (high forehead, typical Jewish features).
Under the window in each lunette, that is, between the figures of the apostles, there are mosaic images of bowls or fountains, from which a couple of doves are drinking (or sitting next to). This is an early Christian (often found in the catacombs) symbolic depiction of souls drinking from a source of living water in paradise.
Insofar as the main character the mosaic is not signed, there are several versions that explain the meaning of the mosaic. The man in white robes is Christ in His second coming. In this case, the book that He holds in His hands is interpreted as one of the books, according to which the living and the dead will be judged (Rev. 20:12). The fire in the center in this case becomes a sign of fiery Gehenna. In white robes, an Angel is depicted with an “open book” (Rev. 10: 1), announcing the day of the Last Judgment.
The man in white robes is one of the Fathers of the Church, ready to throw heretical writings into the fire. The most common version is that the mosaic depicts St. Lawrence walking to die on a fire burning in the center of the composition. His flowing robes demonstrate the desire of the martyr to accept death for Christ, and the bars in this case are easily interpreted as the instrument of his execution.
In the western and eastern "branches" of the mausoleum, behind the sarcophagi, you can see two more symbolic early Christian mosaics. They have a couple on them. The deer drink greedily from the spring. The plot of the mosaic is inspired by the verses of Psalm 41: "As a deer desires for streams of water, so my soul desires for You, O God!" (Ps. 41: 2). Traditionally, a pair of deer is interpreted as a symbolic image of Christians who converted from Jews and pagans. This plot is found in the catacombs and was actively used later (for example, in the altar mosaic in the Roman basilica of San Clemente
The sarcophagus of Galla Placidia - takes center stage, lacks any decoration and is probably unfinished. Given the unusually large size of the sarcophagus and the absence of any Christian symbols on it, the monument is attributed to a rich and noble pagan. The possibility of the burial of Galla Placidia in it is rejected by modern historians. Nevertheless, the sources of the XIV-XVI centuries (including the Archbishop of Ravenna Rinaldo da Concoregio) claim that through a large window at the back of the sarcophagus (now walled up) one could see the body buried there, seated on a cypress throne. Presumably, we are talking about a body buried in such an unusual way no earlier than the XIII-XIV centuries with the possible intention to imitate the remains of Augusta.
Sarcophagus of Constance - the creation dates back to the 5th century, installed in the left branch of the "cross". On its front wall, Christ is depicted in the form of a lamb, his head is surrounded by a nimbus containing the monogram of Christ - intertwined Greek letters Χ and Ρ. The Lamb stands on a rock from which four streams flow, depicting the four rivers of Eden. To the right and left of the rock are two lambs already without halos, symbolizing the apostles. These images are framed by two palm trees, symbolizing the life of the righteous. In 1738, the sarcophagus was opened, and researchers found two well-preserved skulls with teeth in it.
Dated to the 6th century, installed in the right branch of the "cross". Has a semi-cylindrical lid with a scaly ornament. The front wall depicts the lamb-Christ, standing at the foot of the hill, from which four rivers of paradise flow out, the hill is crowned with a cross, on the crossbar of which two doves are sitting. A cross with a shell is depicted on both side walls (a symbol of death, often used in catacomb painting, from which life is reborn). In 1738, this sarcophagus was also opened, and the bones of a man and a woman were found in it.
Beautiful, inspiring, lightened. It educates, humbles, alarms, soothes - Christianity is thanksgiving.
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Architectural Types of Christian Churches Author Solodkova T.M. lecturer at the St. Petersburg College of Music. Objectives of the work
- 1. To acquaint with the history of the formation of the architectural styles of the Christian church.
- 2. Show different styles of Christian temples.
- 3. To trace the logic of the development of architectural thought.
- 4. Understand the unity of the diversity of Christian churches as a visible embodiment of church symbolism.
The temple is an architectural structure intended for the performance of divine services and religious rites.
Styles history
- Since Christian worship, in contrast to pagan rituals, was performed inside the temple, the Byzantine architects were faced with the task of creating a temple with a large room in which a large number of people could gather. In those days, construction equipment did not have the ability to construct structures that would cover significant spans. Therefore, when it was necessary to create an extensive interior space, compromise solutions were used. In architecture Arab countries the flat roof of the mosque hall rested on a forest of internal columns. The builders of Christian temples acted differently. For this purpose, they used the combination of several smaller spaces.
- These were three-aisled wooden-beamed basilicas resting on two rows of marble columns with Corinthian capitals separating the naves from each other; entered the temple through the atrium and the narthex. Unlike basilicas of the Roman type, here the side aisles had a second tier (a gallery for women, or ginaikonite), and the apse became emphatically polygonal from the outside. In Greece, the basilical type was used long time- in simplified, and more developed form, with the use of cylindrical vaults in the main and side naves and with small service rooms (sacristy and deaconnik) on the sides of the apse. Examples: St. Philip in Athens (only the foundation has survived) and the church in Kalambaka (both 6th century, with wooden rafters as floors), St. Anargyrs and St. Stephen's in Kastoria (both 11th century, with cylindrical vaults) and the Cathedral of St. Sofia in Ohrid, Macedonia (founded in the 9th century, rebuilt around 1037-1050) with cylindrical vaults and three apses on the east side.
The composition of the interior organically includes a strictly developed, canonical system of paintings and mosaics, subordinate to the structure of the building and the symbolism of its parts. The type of cross-domed temple in its various versions has also become widespread in church architecture in Russia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, etc.
The cross-domed church. Incision
Church of st. Irina in Constantinople. 532, rebuilding after 740. The interior of the Temple of Sophia in Thessaloniki. The beginning of the 8th century. An example of the transformation of a basilica into a cross-domed structure is the cathedral Sofia in Thessaloniki built between 690 and 730 Its interior also consists of a domed cross and walkways with choirs separated by arcades. Here, massive pillars are unusually arranged, on which the dome and the adjoining arches of the arms of the cross are held. They are cut by passages that visually divide them into narrower supports. The emergence of these passages indicates the gradual transformation of the sub-dome space into a three-aisled space. The side naves, separated by arcades, remain detached from the central cruciform interior and serve as a bypass around it.- An example of the transformation of a basilica into a cross-domed structure is the cathedral Sofia in Thessaloniki built between 690 and 730 Its interior also consists of a domed cross and walkways with choirs separated by arcades. Here, massive pillars are unusually arranged, on which the dome and the adjoining arches of the arms of the cross are held. They are cut by passages that visually divide them into narrower supports. The emergence of these passages indicates the gradual transformation of the sub-dome space into a three-aisled space. The side naves, separated by arcades, remain detached from the central cruciform interior and serve as a bypass around it.
The main cathedral of Georgia - Svetitskhoveli - was built in 1010-1029. It is designed in the form of a three-nave temple with rows of pillars in the interior, but unlike the Echmiadzin Cathedral, it has proportions strongly elongated from west to east. There is no tetracon allusion in it. There are more similarities with Ani Cathedral, which has the same elongated basilica plan. The pillars bearing the dome have an interesting feature. On the inside, they have more ledges, as if encircling the dome square.
Byzantine cross-domed temples
Mireleion. Church in the palace of the emperor Roman Lacapenus in Constantinople. X century.
Church of Our Lady of Pammakarista in Constantinople. 1292-1294 The interior of the temple is on four columns. View of the altar apse. Column capital and side vaults of the church. Monastery of Pantokrator in Constantinople. XII century. From the history of architectural thought
Nomendantskaya road. Mausoleum of Constance
The composition of the centric building by Leonardo da Vinci "Temple in the City" from the treatise Averlino
Mediolan (Milan). Church of San Lorenzo, 70s IV.
Trinity Church Grinevo Centricity is absorbed by the basilicas here Check yourself
- 1. What architectural structures are called temples?
- 2. Name the main types of Christian churches, give a brief description.
- 3. Give examples of centric temples.
- 4.Give examples of cross-domed temples
- 1. Temple - an architectural structure intended for the performance of divine services and religious rites.
- 2. Basilica (These were three-nave basilicas with wooden beams Basilica - a rectangular elongated building with a flat ceiling and a gable roof.), Centric (These are centric churches, crowned with a dome. evangelical events), cross-domed types (a square-shaped building, inside which two intersecting arms, covered with vaults, form a cross.)
- 3. Rotunda over the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Church of San Vitale in Ravenna.
- 4. Church of st. Irina in Constantinople. Temple of Sophia in Thessaloniki. Church in the palace of Emperor Romanus Lacapenus in Constantinople.
- : "Art. A modern illustrated encyclopedia. " Ed. prof. A.P. Gorkina; M .: Rosman; 2007.):
- "Popular art encyclopedia. " Ed. V.M. Polevoy; M .: Publishing house " Soviet encyclopedia", 1986.
- Galina Kolpakova. Art of Byzantium. Early and middle periods. SPb., "ABC-CLASSIC", 2004.
- A. I. Komech ANCIENT RUSSIAN ARCHITECTURE OF THE LATE X - BEGINNING XIIB. BYZANTINE HERITAGE AND THE FORMATION OF AN INDEPENDENT TRADITION.
- History of Russian art. Volume 1. M., "Northern Pilgrim", 2007
- A.Yu. Ghazaryan. Reconstruction of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral in 620
The beginning of the construction of temples After the Edict of Milan in 313, Christianity was officially recognized and soon became the state religion of the empire. The new status of the Church required the creation of large churches, adapted for the increasingly complex liturgy and accommodating many visitors. Already during the time of Emperor Constantine, the construction of churches began - the Lateran Basilica of San Giovanni and the Church of St. Peter in Rome, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, the temples of St. Sophia and the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
Basilica The shape of the ancient temple was not suitable for the construction of a Christian church, due to deep religious contradictions. Unlike a pagan temple, which was considered the dwelling of a deity, a church is a prayer house where many people gather. Basilica is the old name for public buildings. In Ancient Athens, this was the name of the Basileus' house that stood on the market square. The Romans transferred this name to large buildings located in forums, where public meetings, legal proceedings and commercial transactions took place. The basilica turned out to be convenient for Christians due to its spaciousness.
Structure of a Christian Basilica An elongated rectangular building, longitudinally divided into three or five parts, called naves or ships. The middle nave is wider and higher than the side naves. Its upper tier is cut with windows for lighting. The naves were divided not by a blank wall, but by an arcade. The central nave ends with a semicircular ledge - the apse, where the altar is located. The apse was oriented to the east, to the Holy Sepulcher.
Unlike basilicas in Roman forums, vaulted ceilings were not used here. They are crowned with a gable roof supported by wooden beams and rafters. The vault covered only the apse (its vault was called the conch). The apse was not large, so a transverse nave (transept) was erected between it and the longitudinal naves, equal in height to the central one. He gave the building the symbolic shape of a cross.
In front of the entrance to the basilica there was a walled courtyard with an open gallery (atrium). In the center there was a reservoir that provided water for holy cleansing (ablution in front of the entrance to the temple). In the absence of a courtyard, the entrance to the temple was a room fenced off from the naves from the west (narthex), intended for the repentant or catechumens. The external appearance of the premises is deliberately modest. Inside is dazzling luxury.
Basilica of St. Peter in Rome According to legend, the Apostle Peter was executed during the reign of Emperor Nero between 64 and 67 years. His grave became a place of pilgrimage. Peter in the eyes of Christians was the head Catholic Church thanks to the words of Christ: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18) Peter was considered the first Roman bishop, the founder of the throne, who later came to be called papal.
St. Peter's Basilica The five-nave basilica. The apse was placed over the tomb of the apostle, which was believed to be near Nero's circus at the Vatican Hill. There was a canopy over the altar, supported by 4 twisted columns brought from Greece by order of Constantine. The length of the temple with the atrium is 220 meters, the height of the central nave is 25 meters. The walls were painted with frescoes, mosaics glittered on the triumphal arch and conch of the apse.
The centric buildings of this period are memorial structures, or martyries. They arise from the widespread in Ancient rome type of mausoleum - tombs. In addition, the Pantheon is taken as a model for the vault and closed static space. Different planning solutions: round structures, octahedrons or hexahedrons, any polyhedrons inscribed in squares, an equilateral cross.
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Christianity- one of the three world religions along with Islam and Buddhism. It is based on faith in Jesus Christ 16 - the God-man who came into the world with the aim of atoning human sins by death on the cross. Having resurrected on the third day and ascended on the fortieth day, he showed the possibility of resurrection and eternal life for every person who believes in him. The life and deeds of Jesus Christ are set forth in the four canonical Gospels included in the biblical book of the New Testament.
The formation of a spiritual space based on the Christian faith and the establishment of a religious ritual led to the need for religious buildings. In architecture, two types of churches (houses of God), dating back to the buildings of Ancient Rome, were established - the rotunda and the basilica.
In the form of a rotunda with a clearly marked central axis, baptisteries for baptism or mausoleums for the burial of saints were built. The oldest are the mausoleum of Constance in Rome and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. The cruel form of Copstaptia's mausoleum in Rome (IV century) recalls the eternity of the Church of Christ. Its interior space is divided by columns into a bypass zone and a central one crowned with a dome. The mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravena (5th century) has a special cross shape, symbolizing Jesus Christ. At the intersection of the arms of the cross, it is crowned by a square tower that hides the dome end inside (see color incl., Fig. 21). It was in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia that the transition from a round dome to rectangular walls was first made using four spherical triangles - sails.
A Christian basilica, for example Sapta Maria Maggiore in Rome (IV century), is likened to a ship that delivers Christian to the Kingdom of Heaven, and is intended for the administration of church worship and the storage of relics. Santa Maria Maggiore, like any basilica, is an elongated rectangular building, divided from the inside by a colonnade into three parts. Thanks to the vaults - flat wooden beams with rafters resembling the keel of a ship, the passage was called the nave (Latin navis - ship), and the middle nave is always higher and wider than the side ones.
The basilica is illuminated through windows cut in the upper part of the walls above the colonnade of the central nave and on the side walls. The entrance is located on one of the short sides. It leads to the narthex, a room reserved for people preparing for baptism. The opposite short wall ends with an apse - a semicircular ledge with large windows. Its inner space, covered by a semi-dome and raised above the general floor level, is called an altar. The border between the central nave and the altar, where parishioners are not allowed, resembles a triumphal arch in outline. There is a tower in front of the façade and a vast open courtyard, surrounded by a colonnade like a Roman atrium.
Extremely simple in form, devoid of any decoration on the outside, early Christian temples inside were richly decorated with mosaics. Moreover, the mosaic does not just cover the walls, but, as it were, replaces them. Since it consists of small pieces of smalt of different sizes, different degrees of transparency and is laid out at different angles, the light is not reflected from the rough surface, but as if scattered, softening the edges and dissolving the planes in its transparent stream. The interior is perceived as a transformed world, as a symbol of the soul. which shines the more, the plainer its bodily shell.
Overground Christian churches became widespread only starting from the 4th century, when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the dominant religion, but the first structures that have come down to us date back to the 2nd century. The main type of early Christian ground temple was the basilica - one of the most harmonious and perfect architectural forms of late antiquity. The prototype of the Christian church in the form of a basilica was the civil buildings of ancient Rome with an extended plan and a niche for a presidium in the end wall. Such structures were intended for court hearings. Actually, the very word "basilica" comes from the Greek "basileus", which means king and judge. The Christian Basilica is a rectangular building, oriented from west to east, in the east side of which there is an altar. From the side of the altar, the basilica ends with a semicircular extension, called the apse, and the entrance is located on the west side. Often large basilicas are divided by rows of columns into several longitudinal parts or naves, the central of which is the largest. The basilica of the early Christians already contains all the basic elements of the Christian church, which is traditionally divided into three parts, which have both utilitarian significance for the organization of Christian worship, and symbolic meaning in religious beliefs about the building of the church. These parts are the presbytery, the middle part of the temple and the narthex or narthex. The area of the presbytery serves for the conduct of services and is occupied only by the clergy; here is the altar of the church (or the main altar, if there are several). The middle part of the church accommodates baptized Christians praying or attending services. The porch serves for the so-called catechumens, that is, people who have not yet received baptism, but are going to do so. At the same time, the apse is the place of the implementation of the main Christian sacrament of the Eucharist, which reminds of the incarnation of Christ, of his human nature. For example, among the most famous churches built by Constantine are three famous basilica churches: at the Holy Sepulcher, on the Mount of Olives and in Jerusalem. All three buildings have one common feature- they end with a cave in which some episode from the life of Christ took place. The basilica in Bethlehem ended in the cave where the Savior was born; the temple on the Mount of Olives - a cave where Christ talked with his disciples. The Jerusalem complex consisted of the Basilica of Constantine in the East and the Rotunda of the Resurrection in the West, which flanked the cave of the Holy Sepulcher. Thus, the apse of these temples is combined with the places symbolically associated with the Eucharist. In addition, the apse always faces east, as the life-giving sun rises here and many literal and symbolic meanings are associated with this side of the world. Christians believed that paradise is in the east, that the east is a symbol of good, and the west is a symbol of evil and the abode of devilish forces. The movement from west to east (from the entrance of the church to the altar) symbolizes purification and rebirth. The apis of the early Christian basilica, as a rule, looked like a cylinder with a hemispherical vault, which symbolized the vault of heaven. This design of the apse became, perhaps, the most widespread and was reproduced in many types of Christian churches in subsequent eras. In early Christian basilicas, the interior of the church was divided into naves. There could be three or five of them, the central nave was always wider and higher. In the upper part of the walls of the basilica, windows were made to illuminate the interior. During the time of Constantine, the five-aisled basilica was especially widespread. The colossal basilicas of the Constantine era with an abundance of powerful columns, covered with wooden roofs and gilded from the inside, have not reached our time and about their appearance can only be judged by the descriptions. Although large cathedrals with five apses continued to be built throughout the history of ecclesiastical art, gradually the five-aisled basilica church was replaced by a three-aisled one. In addition to the longitudinal naves, in the early Christian basilicas there were transverse naves forming a transept. The transept arose out of the need to accommodate more believers near the altar of the church and completed the building in the altar area, forming the letter "T" in the plan. Later, in the basilicas, the transept moved closer to the middle of the building, and the plan of the temple took the form of a Latin cross. In addition to the nave and transept, early Christian basilicas had another architectural element - the deambulatory. This is a covered passage around the presbytery, which served as an extension of the nave and allowed believers to move around the altar without disrupting the course of worship. In early Christian basilicas, deambulatory was rare, and became widespread in Romanesque and Gothic churches, starting from the 11-13th century. In early Christian basilicas, men and women were kept separately in specially designated areas. The gender division was adopted from the Jewish tradition: in synagogues, women were placed upstairs in special choirs. Also in the basilicas in the side naves, there were special galleries-empores or so-called "matroneums", intended for women. One of the most famous temples-rotunda is the church in Rome called San Stefano Rotondo. Also, the centric structure was used for the construction of baptisteries and martyries, which were built in memory of the martyrs. A classic example for the first type of building is the Lateran Baptistery, which was built by Constantine the Great, giving it the shape of an octagon. The second type of temple was very similar to the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher, which is still located in Jerusalem on the site of the supposed tomb of Christ. In the 8-9 centuries, Europeans began to build another type of rotunda churches - dorsal ones, for example, the "Royal Chapel", erected in Aachen. And when many countries organize crusades, their participants build the so-called votive or knightly churches, which look like a palatium with a rotunda.
In the places where the crusaders stayed, they erected chapels, mausoleums, chapels, which were given the shape of a rotunda. According to the ideas of the writers of the Middle Ages, the rotunda was a structure with an ideal shape. According to the legend told by Scharfenberg in the poem "Titurel", the eponymous king found at the site where he planned to build the temple, a detailed plan of how it was supposed to look. It was a rotunda. Such temples were built in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and other Central European countries. This is associated with the actions of Cyril and Methodius in this region.
In Russia, rotundas did not take root, as they were associated with an alien religion. But you can still find rotundas with apses and towers, quadrifolium rotundas, multifaceted churches. During the Renaissance, the architect D. Bramante built an antique rotunda in Tempietto. This happened thanks to the influence of Leonardo da Vinci and other enlighteners, who glorified the great Sun and wanted to build a temple for him.