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Hierotopy (from Ancient Greek: ἱερός, sacred + Ancient Greek: τόπος, place, space) is the creation of sacred spaces, which is viewed as a special form of human creativity, and a related academic field, which spans antropology, art history and religious studies. The term was coined in 2001 by Russian art-historian and byzantinist Alexei Lidov[1]. Hierotopy accounts not only for artistic images and the symbolic world they form, but also for the entire collection of various media that serve to organize a sacred space. The architectural settings, images and rituals, as well as sounds, perfumes and lighting carve out an immaterial but real space and are collectively referred to as spatial icons[2]. From this perspective, almost all objects of Christian art were originally conceived as elements of hierotopic projects. King Solomon with his Temple, Emperor Justinian, who masterminded the construction of Hagia Sophia, and Abbot Suger, instrumental in the conception of the first Gothic Cathedrals, can be considered as leaders of pivotal hierotopic projects[3]. A few re-creations of the Holy Land in both Western Europe and the Byzantine East are also remarkable examples, the Russian New Jerusalem Monastery complex near Moscow being the largest (50 sq. km).
One crucial element of hierotopic studies concerns the place and function of icons in sacred spaces. In hierotopy, an icon is viewed as a component of the sacred space. According to the Byzantine conception, the icon was not merely a simple object or a flat image, but a veritable spatial vision emanating from the image into the environment in front of it. More than simply representing an event or a story from the Scriptures, icons were thought to bring the faithful into a live interaction with the space opened by the icon and the various media involved. The veneration of wonderworking icons sometimes took the form of complex performative installations clearly intended to open up a sacred space around the icon. This type of hierotopy is illustrated particularly well by the weekly performance that was developed in 12th century Byzantium around the icon of the Hodegetria of Constantinople[4]. Another remarkable example can be found in the Muscovite Palm Sunday ceremony of the 16th and 17th centuries, the donkey walk[5]. In these examples, the space, where the ceremony took place, was conceived as a true spatial icon, a dynamic re-enactment of biblical events or iconographic themes. The participants in these events were not passive spectators, but co-creators of the sacred space itself.
The perception of sacred spaces has been analyzed by Lidov in terms of image-paradigms[6]. According to his conception, image-paradigms are spatial images associated with sacred spaces. Image-paradigms are visions invoked in the minds of the faithful, which reflect the experience of a sacred space in its wholeness and are distinct from any illustrative picture. The reconstruction of particular image-paradigms forms a special field of studies. In particular, the image-paradigm of the New Jerusalem was the most perceptible, existing practically in every Byzantine church. The Heavenly Kingdom was not formally depicted, but appeared as a kind of vision created by various media which included not only architecture and iconography but also rituals: liturgical prayers, choral singing, organization of lighting and fragrance[7].
A few international symposia (2004, 2006, 2009), conferences, workshops and round tables in Russia, the US, Europe, and Japan have been organized on hierotopical subjects.
Another version of beginning
Hierotopy (from Ancient Greek: ἱερός, sacred + Ancient Greek: τόπος, place, space) is the creation and study of sacred spaces. Hierotopy as the making of sacred spaces is as a special form of human creativity. Hierotopy as an academic field spans antropology, art history and religious studies.
References
- ^ A. Lidov. Hierotopy. The creation of sacred spaces as a form of creativity and subject of cultural history. In : Hierotopy. The creation of sacred spaces in Byzantium and Medieval Russia. Ed. by A.Lidov. Moscow, Indrik, 2006
- ^ A. Lidov. Spatial Icons as a Performative Phenomenon. In: Spatial Icons. Textuality and Performativity. Edited by A. Lidov, Moscow 2009
- ^ A. Lidov. The Creator of Sacred Space as a Phenomenon of Byzantine Culture in: L’Artista a Bisanzio e nel mondo cristiano-orientale. Edited by Michele Bacci. Pisa, 2007
- ^ A. Lidov. The Flying Hodegetria. The Miraculous Icon as Bearer of Sacred Space. In: The Miraculous Image in the Late Middle Ages and Renaisssance. Edited by E. Thuno, G. Wolf. Rome, 2004
- ^ M. Flier. The Iconology of Royal Ritual in Sixteenth-Century Moscovy in: Byzantine Studies. Essays on the Slavic World and the Eleventh Century. New York, 1992
- ^ A. Lidov. 'Image-Paradigms' as a Notion of Mediterranean Visual Culture: a Hierotopic Approach to Art History. In: Crossing Cultures. Papers of the International Congress of Art History. CIHA-2008. Melbourne, 2009, pp.177-183
- ^ A. Lidov. Spatial Icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture. Moscow, Feoria, 2009, 352 pp.
Further reading
- Hierotopy. Christian Sacred Spaces. Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity. Cambridge, 2010 (see bibliography in [1])
- Nicoletta Isar. Vision and Performance: A Hierotopic Approach to Contemporary Art in: Hierotopy. Comparative Studies of Sacred Spaces, Indrik, Moscow, 2009.
- S. Curcić. Cave and Church. An Eastern Christian hierotopical synthesis. in: Hierotopy. Creation of Sacred Spaces in Byzantium and Medieval Russia, Moscow, 2006
- A. Lidov. Hierotopy : The Creation of sacred spaces in Byzantium and medieval Russia. Moscow, Indrik, 2006 [2]
- New Jerusalems: Hierotopy and iconography of sacred spaces. Edited by A. Lidov. Moscow, Indrik, 2009 [3]
- A. Lidov. Spatial Icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture. Moscow, Feoria, 2009, 352 pp.
- Bissera V. Pentcheva. The Sensual Icon. Space, Ritual, and the Senses in Byzantium. Pennstate Press, 2009. abstractsample chapter