Byzantine art

[Лина Хеккель]

Church of Chora Monastery in Constantinople, or museum Kahrie Jami in Istanbul

Part I.

On the history

In 1204, members of the Fourth Crusade conquered and sacked Constantinople. It was a blow from which Byzantium was unable to have never recovered. Empire as a whole state in fact has ceased to exist. And only in 1261 Mr. Michael VIII Paleologu managed to conquer Constantinople from the Latins.
Since that time the last period of the history of Byzantine culture, which is called "Paleologovskim Renaissance". It will last until 1453 - the year of the conquest of the Byzantine Empire by Turkish troops.

The first third of the XIV century - a time to which the final stage of construction of the church choir. Despite the looming threat from the Turks, the economic decline of the Byzantine Empire, it was the heyday of Byzantine art, culture and literature. At this time, the rules of Andronicus II Palaeologus, son of Michael VIII liberator of Constantinople. But unlike his father, Andronicus II was more cultural figures, emperor-patron, rather than shrewd politician. This led to the fact that after a long struggle for power, intrigue and betrayal fellow he was forced to abdicate and go into a monastery.
Andronikos II knew the ancient philosophy, literature and art. And of course, that the governor is going around such intellectual elite circle of learned men.
One of them was Theodore Metohija, scientist, philosopher, writer, restorer and customer mosaics and murals in the monastery church choir.

After the restoration of the Empire all the powers of the central government have been thrown on the restoration of Constantinople, the resumption of construction activities. And although the new system a little, a lot finish building, decorated with paintings and mosaics.

One of the most valuable extant monuments of this time and is the Church of the Saviour Monastery of Chora. Sam monastery ensemble has survived. The church is located in the old picturesque district of Istanbul close to the walls of Theodosius, and today serves as a museum (after the restoration works 1948) and is called Kahrie Jami.

About the name

In addition to the Church of Chora Monastery, you can find the name "Church of Christ the Saviour in the Fields." What does this name? There are several interpretations.
The Greek word "choir" in this context can be understood both literally and symbolically. The first walls of the monastery was founded at the beginning of V century outside the walls of Constantine, in the suburb that gave the name "in the fields." And later when Theodosius II built the new city walls, which included a monastery in the city, the name is still preserved. Symbolically, the choir is seen as "holy, sacred space, like womb of the Virgin Mary or a paradise. In theology ikonopochetateley term "chorus" is the cornerstone by which substantiates the fundamental difference between the icons on the idol. Perfect Icon is always absolutely spatially and always very specific, just as Christ may dwell together in heaven, and manifest their flesh in the sacrament of the Eucharist. What connects these two rational irreducible unit is the "chorus" - a spatial existence of God. This understanding of "choirs" vividly realized in a picturesque iconographic program.

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Part II

On Architecture

It is known that the first building of the church choir belongs to the 5 in BC But it was razed.
In its place in the years 1077-81. was erected a new church, built mother-in-the emperor Alexis Comnenus - Maria Duca.
The church choir was completed after coming to power Paleologo, 1315-21/54 in years. Churchwarden acts already mentioned Logofet (court adviser) Theodore Metohija.
When Metohija monastery became a big complex with a public hospital, dining room, a monastery of monks took to and from Central Asia and other regions of the empire, owned a vast and rich library. When it was rebuilt nave, narthex added two, external and internal, to the west and the south - pareklession (side chapel), which you can get in only through the narthex.
The records Metohija writes about his intention to leave the monastery in old age - something that in the long light of what happened.
With the advent of the grandson of Andronicus II, Andronicus III, in 1328 Mr. Metohita political career came to an end, and he was expelled from Constantinople. In 1330 he succeeded Mr. return to the capital of the empire and settle in the monastery founded by him. He had lived there for two years normal monk, then, in 1332g. died. His tomb is located in the south aisle of the church choir.

As a result of mutations and dostroek, the temple combines the architecture of 11 and 14 centuries. On the one hand, it has major forms typical of early Byzantine architecture, on the other - a complex plastic walls, monuments pozdnevizantiyskoy inherent in architecture.
Yet the main value of the house, and the main interest - is his pictorial decorations.

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On the mosaics and frescoes

Area churches are not very large in comparison with other Byzantine buildings, it covers an area of ​​742.5 m², but its main advantage is not the amount, and in the interior. Inner space of the temple is divided into three major areas: input (two narthex), nave or central part of the temple and the side chapel. The decoration of the church combines two techniques: mosaics and frescoes. In the mural is made pareklession. Rest of the space of the temple walls are decorated with mosaics and marble slabs.

Ekzonarteks a corridor width of 4 m and a length of 23 m. On the south side it has a passage in paraklession, so that there can only be reached through the narthex.
Mosaic ekzonarteksa:
Ekzonarteksa program is mainly devoted to the earth's history of Christ.
Above the entrance to the temple and ualtarnoy barriers on west-east axis placed various images of the Virgin and Child with odnakovo signed "Chora tou achretou" («nevmestimogo container or the space of Togo, who is out of space"), on the one hand, pointed to the miracle Incarnation, when the earth Virgo has contained nevmestimogo God, and with another - claimed a spatial sense of God's existence. These images from the second two mosaic image of Christ in the lunettes above the entrances to the narthex and nave, which is also signed "Chora ton zenton" (translated as "living space"). Perhaps, this inscription is partly determines the iconographic program ekzonarteksa which tells the story of Christ's earthly life.
Some of the stories depicted in ekzonartekse: Son of Joseph and the journey to Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary before the scribes of King Herod
At the time of Emperor Augustus decreed a census throughout the Roman Empire. It was the first census when Quirinius in Syria. Therefore, each went to his hometown to register. Joseph also went up from Galilee town of Nazareth into Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the family of David. He went to the census, with Mary ... (according to the Gospel of Luke).
Christ's birth, Magi before Herod, questions of King Herod, Herod the Order of the Massacre of the Innocents, Massacre of the Innocents.