scholarly journals Belgrade as new Jerusalem: Reflections on the reception of a topos in the age of despot Stefan Lazarevic

2006 ◽  
pp. 96-110
Author(s):  
Jelena Erdeljan
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Entire Space ◽  
Divine Presence ◽  
New Jerusalem ◽  
Visual Identity ◽  
The Status ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
Urban Matrix

In the Vita of despot Stefan Lazarevic, Belgrade is compared to Jerusalem The use of this topos is aimed at a social construction of meaning within the framework of historically determined cultural discourse, based on the premise that culture itself can be observed as a complex system of signs constantly open to redefinition. This implies that the approach to its more profound understanding must rely on a method based on reconceptualization of the problem of text and context. Therefore, the true object of investigation becomes the relation between text and society whose activities are themselves perceived as a sort of behavioral text, in which that relation functions as two homologous systems of signs. As a result, our attention is focused on activities which produce social and cultural phenomena and objects ? actually on the means by the use of which a world filled with meaning is created. Apart from texts, those means, as real as the text itself, belong to the instruments of creating sacred space or hierotopy, a phenomenon historically recognized as translatio Hierosolymi. Beyond any doubt, in the eyes of homo medievalis, the absolute paradigm of hierotopic activity is Constantinople the capital of the Empire and universal model through the emulation of which or through the appropriation of whose elements of identity (ranging from cults of saints to visual identity) throughout history, and in particular in the later middle ages (especially following the events of 1204), a growing number of other points in the Christian oikoumene gains the status of center as a God-chosen and God-protected place ? Arta, Trebizond and Nicea, Paris and Venice, Novgorod and Moscow, to name just the most prominent examples In investigating the case of Belgrade, attention is focused on the modes and vehicles of hierotopy which in the days of despot Stefan Lazarevic (1402-1427) were laid as the foundation of likening Belgrade and Jerusalem as the utmost example of sacral space and their relation to the universal prototype of translatio Hierosolymi realized in Constantinople. Although related to that of Trnovo (relics of Agia Paraskevi were translated from Bulgaria to Serbia and encomiastic rhetoric developed within the Trnovo literary school was adopted in the Serbian milieu through the engagement of Constantine the Philosopher from Kostenec as the author of the highly learned and sophisticated text of the despot's Vita), the program of Belgrade appears to have more universal pretensions. Its emulation of Constantinople as a means of sacralisation is corroborated by a considerable number of phenomena in its hierotopy: the dedication of the city to the Virgin, the presence of her miracle working icon of the Hodegetria type (possibly even relics related to Mary), visions of her intercession and protection in the skies above the city, but above all the presence of imperial relics of the highest rank namely those of the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, and the holy empress Theophano (wife of Leo VI the Wise, dynastic saint of the Macedonians). As for topography, in the text of the despot's Vita the entire city is referred to as eptalophos polls, a notable Constantinopolitan epithet, while the location of its metropolitan see with the church of the Dormition of the Virgin is, in accordance with its dedication, likened to the Valley of Kidron and Gethsemane. Thus, although it is not the first sacral focus of the Serbian medieval state, Belgrade, as opposed to its monastic predecessors in that role ? Chilandar, Studenica and Zica, is the first such center created on an urban matrix and with a program of hierotopy focusing not on national but rather universal cults, a locus envisaged as the point of salvation drawing all the nations of the oikoumene. Such a concept of Belgrade as the capital of the Serbian state in the days of despot Stefan Lazarevic is only one constituent part of a broader phenomenon of appropriating Constantinopolitan models as instruments in the process of sacralisation of the entire space of his state aimed at welcoming the eschatological reality expected to arrive with the year 7000. At the same time, this process was perceived as a political instrument, a true shield of divine protection against imminent Turkish threat. In the act of translating and mapping of sacred space, in asserting the occurrence and circulation of divine presence throughout the despot's land, other places, alongside Belgrade, also played an important role. Belgrade, politically certainly of utmost importance, together with its holy mountain located in its immediate vicinity, on Mt. Kosmaj, marks the northernmost point of that hallowed ground. Its southern perimeter is marked by Krusevac, Kalenic, Ljubostinja and other sacral focuses of so-called Morava Serbia while its ideal center so to speak, could be located in Manasija itself, despot Stefan's mausoleum or, in the words of Constantine the Philosopher, that other city which has the path towards celestial Jerusalem and is its likeness. .

From Mortuary to Cemetery

1980 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-31
Author(s):  
Charles A. Tamason
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Burial Practices ◽  
Lateral Wing ◽  
The Status ◽  
City Walls ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Middle Ages

On 11 August 1779 the magistrates of Lille published a minutely detailed ordinance designed to reform funeral and burial practices in that northern French city. Since the Middle Ages it had been the practice in Lille, as in other French cities, to bury the deceased within the parish grounds. Depending upon the status of the deceased, burial would take place under the choir of the church(solennels);under a lateral wing(demi-solennels);or in one of the two exterior cemeteries adjoining the church—the first of which was for ordinary parishioners(bourgeois), the second for unbaptized children. Briefly, the Ordinance of 1779 established a common cemetery outside of the city walls and forbade further burials in the five parish cemeteries of Lille. The four traditional distinctions by rank were maintained in the new cemetery and a system of funeral hearses drawn by horses was introduced by the magistrates to transport the deceased to the new cemetery. The ordinance was the product of several years of negotiation among the magistrates of Lille, the Bishop of Tournai, and royal authorities at Versailles. This reform was partially the result of a new campaign for urban hygiene orl’air purand an attempt by the magistrates to appropriate valuable urban property since the ordinance stipulated that parishes would sell their cemetery land to the magistrates.

Holy Land or Holy Lands? Palestine and the Catholic West in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance

2000 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 228-249
Author(s):  
Norman Housley
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Electrical Charge ◽  
Holy Land ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Late Middle Ages ◽  
Physical Setting ◽  
The Status ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Church

In one passage in his famous account, Friar Felix Faber described how ‘some dull and unprofitable pilgrims’ to Jerusalem in 1480 mocked the excited behaviour of the devout in the courtyard in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, ‘calling them fools, hypocrites and Beghards’. The incident is revealing of the spectrum of reactions provoked by the experience of the Holy Land in late medieval and Renaissance Europe. Here more than anywhere else, tension was generated by the inescapable paradox of Christology, God become man, and the conflicts which it set up between the immanent and the representational, the universal and the elect, the eschatological and the timeless. This occurred, moreover, within a physical setting which constantly reminded the sensitive pilgrim of the difficulty of reconciling the Old and New Dispensations. But the same electrical charge which caused the Holy Land as sacred space to provoke diverse and at times contradictory responses, endowed the Holy Land as idea with a remarkable attraction. There took place a number of different ‘migrations of the holy’, to use John Bossy’s phrase. To a large extent the status of the geographical Holy Land was weakened by these developments, but in at least one respect it was strengthened.

The Jewish Community of Late Byzantine Thessalonica: the Problem of Determining Its Status

Istoriya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7 (105)) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Natalia Zhigalova
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Community ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
The Status ◽  
Byzantine Period ◽  
Byzantine Era ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

In this article, the author turns to an examination of the status of the Jewish community in Thessalonica in the late Byzantine period. The author concludes that both in the Byzantine era and during the Venetian rule in Thessalonica, the Jewish community of the city was subjected to numerous restrictions and prohibitions on the part of the official authorities. The reason for this was the initial isolation of the community, as well as the fact that the Jews, in contrast to the rest of the townspeople, owned vast financial resources and rented trading floors, ousting local entrepreneurs from there. The Jewish community in Thessalonica, quite numerous by the standards of contemporaries, in the XIV and XV centuries was in a state of permanent conflict with the church authorities of the city and, probably, had some influence on the communities of Judaizing Christians.

Saving paradise: Could Detroit be the New Jerusalem?

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-465
Author(s):  
Tim Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Present State ◽  
New Jerusalem ◽  
New City ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
New Spirituality

The church has inherited a conflicted understanding of “city” both from its biblical roots and from its experience in modern America. John’s vision in Revelation could be a window for both resisting a retreat from the city and imagining “city” in new spiritual terms. Much depends on what we think we are looking for. Using reports about the present state of affairs in Detroit as a living commentary on John’s vision of a New Jerusalem, what are the “former things” that have “passed away?” What needs to pass away for imagining a new city—a New Jerusalem? What glimpses are there of that new reality? Adapted from a sermon in 2010, this article attempts to name the questions and to kindle some imagination about a new spirituality for the city.

‘What could be more Christian than to allow the Sikhs to use it?’ Church Redundancy and Minority Religion in Bedford, 1977–8

2015 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 399-411
Author(s):  
John Maiden
Keyword(s):  
Race Relations ◽  
Sacred Space ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Congregations ◽  
British Council ◽  
Minority Religion ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
Migrant Groups

In 1985, Faith in the City, The Church of England’s report on Urban Priority Areas, commented that Christians frequently had an excess of church buildings, while ‘people of other faiths are often exceedingly short of places in which to meet and worship’. The challenge of securing sacred space has been common to migrant groups in Britain, and during the 1970s sharing of space between national historic denominations and migrant religious groups was identified by the British Council of Churches (BCC) and its Community and Race Relations Unit as a leading issue for interreligious relations. In the case of the Church of England, ancillary parish buildings were occasionally shared with non-Christian religious congregations for limited use: for example, later that decade the church halls of All Saints, Gravelly Hill, Birmingham, were being used by Muslims and Hindus for festivals and clubs.

scholarly journals Embracing a vision of the New Jerusalem (Rv 21:1−22:5) to impact on life and society

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin H. Pohlmann
Keyword(s):  
Primary Role ◽  
City Of God ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
New Jerusalem ◽  
Heavenly City ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church ◽  
Society Today ◽  
Holy City

Apocalyptic biblical literature has played a significant role in motivating and mobilising Christians. As part of this genre, the Apocalypse of John has played this mobilising role within the church throughout its history. Jerusalem is often incorporated into this genre to conjure up different emotions and images to impact many different people. For example, the Jew annually recites the words to fellow Jews at every Passover meal: ‘Next year in Jerusalem’. Most Christians know the hymn ‘The holy city’, originally penned by Frederic Weatherly in 1892. It lifts many a spirit as it conjures up the idea of a beautiful, perfect, heavenly city of God. However, there is more to this apocalyptic vision, which will be explored in this article. The city upholds the hope of decent godly living today. Whilst Jerusalem is a city with an extremely chequered history, it remains to be the launching pad of a dream that believers can embrace in order to impact society for the better. The vision in Revelation 21–22 is the launch of the ‘idea’ of God’s intention for society today, and the ‘implementation impetus’ is the primary role of the church. In the greater scheme of things, the world community is the target group for a better society for everyone.Aanneming van ’n visioen van die Nuwe Jerusalem (Op 21:1–22:5) ten einde ’n invloed op lewe en die samelewing uit te oefen. Apokaliptiese Bybelliteratuur het ’n beduidende rol in die motivering en aansporing van Christengemeenskappe gespeel. Die Openbaring van Johannes het hierdie motiveringsrol deurgaans in die geskiedenis van die kerkas deel van dié genre vertolk. Jerusalem is dikwels hierby ingesluit om ’n verskeidenheid van emosies en beelde op te roep ten einde ’n impak op ’n verskeidenheid mense te maak. Die Jood, byvoorbeeld, haal jaarliks die volgende woorde teenoor mede-Jode tydens die Paasmaaltyd aan: ‘Volgende jaar in Jerusalem’. Die meeste Christene ken die gesang ‘The holy city’ wat oorspronklik deur Frederic Weatherly in 1892 geskryf is. Dit hef menige gelowiges se gemoedere op omdat dit die beeld van ’n pragtige, perfekte stad van God oproep. Daar is egter meer aan hierdie openbaringsuitsig wat in hierdie artikel verder ondersoek word. Die hemelstad bekragtig die hoop vir ’n godvrugtige lewe vandag. Alhoewel Jerusalem ’n stad met ’n uiters veelbewoë geskiedenis is, is dit tog die beginpunt vir hierdie droom van gelowiges om die samelewing te verbeter. Die visioen in Openbaring 21–22 is die bekendstelling van die ‘idee’ van God se bedoeling vir ons hedendaagse samelewing en die ‘vervullende beweegkrag’ is die primêre rol van die kerk. Holisties beskou, is die wêreldgemeenskap die teikengroep vir ’n beter samelewing vir almal.

ARCHITECTURE AND CHURCH POWER IN LATE ANTIQUITY: CANOSA AND SAN GIUSTO (APULIA)

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-168
Author(s):  
Giuliano Volpe
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

Two Early Christian complexes will be presented here: one urban (San Pietro in Canosa), and one rural (San Giusto in the territory of Lucera). Both cases represent clear evidence of the Christianising policy promoted by the Church in the cities and countryside, especially during the 5th and 6th centuries A.D., which led to a new definition of urban and rural landscapes. The Early Christian complex of San Pietro in Canosa—the most important city in Apulia et Calabria in Late Antiquity—and the Early Christian complex of San Giusto, most likely the seat of a rural diocese, are notable expressions of ecclesiastical power in the city and the countryside during the transitional period between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

City Outreach

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica M. Barron ◽  
Rhys H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Church Leadership ◽  
Public High School ◽  
Church Members ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Status ◽  
Congregation Members ◽  
Before School ◽  
The City ◽  
The Church

Although Downtown Church is still a fairly new congregation, it has developed two significant outreach ministries. The church sponsors a team in a community basketball league— made up of congregation members and some external “ringers” who are terrific players but not regular church members. And it sponsors a “before-school” support program at a public high school in a low-income, crime-ridden neighborhood in the city. Both of these programs are similar to efforts made by many congregations, but they also reveal how the church leadership struggles to handle issues of race and inequality beyond its own walls. Here, “racial utility” becomes apparent, as the pastoral leadership often uses black members to help it establish credibility, either with others in the city basketball league or with the public school system. At the same time, many of the church members involved with the programs recognize that even as they are being used for their race, they are in turn using the status of the white leadership to gain entrance into situations they might not have been able to achieve on their own.

Ritual Settings I

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-59
Author(s):  
Robert G. Ousterhout
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Space ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Regular Part ◽  
Initiation Rite ◽  
Church Building ◽  
The City ◽  
Common Prayer ◽  
The Church

How did the church building become sacred space? Early Christians understood two models of sacred presence. In the first, sanctity was invoked by the congregation coming together in common prayer, an experience that was formalized into the liturgy. In the second, sanctity was represented by the presence of relics or the tombs of martyrs and saints. In Rome, the early churches inside the walls of the city were primarily liturgical; those outside the walls were commemorative, set in relationship to the tombs of martyrs and the surrounding catacombs and cemeteries. Subsequent centuries witnessed a collapsing of the two categories. At the same time, the building vocabulary expanded, with baptisteries serving as symbolic settings for the initiation rite and mausolea offering special settings for privileged burials. By the fifth century, monasticism became a regular part of the Christian landscape.

The Status Quo Solution for Jerusalem

1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad F. Emmett
Keyword(s):  
Sacred Space ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
Reasonable Solution ◽  
Holy Places ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Church

Sharing sovereignty of political territory is not practiced often, yet it seems to be the only reasonable solution for the complex issue of Jerusalem. Using the holy places of Jerusalem as a model, the author shows how sharing sacred space, albeit on a very small scale, can be done peacefully. For more than a century Greeks, Latins, Armenians, and Copts have shared the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in an interlocking system of scattered sovereignty. Such a system also could work between Israelis and Palestinians as they share the sacred space of Jerusalem.

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