Shaping the Sacred: Light and the Experience of Worship in Middle Byzantine Churches

Nesbitt, Claire

Abstract

Byzantine churches have been extensively studied in terms of their architectural development and in their role as places to display religious art. However there has been less research into one of the most fundamental aspects of the Byzantine ritual experience, illumination. In practical terms, churches had to be illuminated sufficiently for worship to take place. In experiential terms, lighting can be seen as the medium by which the iconographic programmes and liturgical practices were staged and enhanced. This paper considers the archaeological and textual evidence linking physical illumination of buildings with the experience of their sacred function.

Citation

Nesbitt, C. (2012). Shaping the Sacred: Light and the Experience of Worship in Middle Byzantine Churches. Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 36(2), 139-160. https://doi.org/10.1179/0307013112z.0000000009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Apr 13, 2011
• Journal: Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
• Print ISSN: 0307-0131
• Electronic ISSN: 1749-625X
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 139-160
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/0307013112z.0000000009
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1509816