FORMULĂRI STILISTICE ÎN ARHITECTURA TIMIȘOAREI ȘI VÂRȘEȚULUI (SEC. XVIII-XX). STUDIU DE CAZ: PALATELE PRELAȚILOR ORTODOCȘI SÂRBI

Being monuments endowed with ideological dimension, the Orthodox Bishopric Serbijan palaces from Vârșeț and Timișoara present interesting stylistical evolutions, from 18th century’s late Baroque to 20th Century Viennese Secession. Symbolizing the power of Orthodox Church rulers, these constructions adopted the Catholic Baroque style, crossed through the Romantic period with the rebirth of neoclassical values and ended in what was configured at the beginning of the 20th century as the closure with the academic dimension and the introduction of the Secession style. The hypothesis of the paper states the importance of European artistic values in defining identity, as the case of these two palaces with their evolution, an evolution that culminated in synthesis. Art patronage from this perspective has implications for the evolution, as such, the two monuments illustrate Serbian religious authority and its reaction to the modern art. In this case the palaces stand as hallmarks for the ecclesiastical architecture of the Banat, a focal point in the general phenomenon.

Visigoths

The history of the Visigoths constitutes an important period of transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Through a fractured and troublesome process of settlement, political-religious stabilization, and territorial rule, the Visigoths established one of the most influential and developed European kingdoms toward the latter part of their reign. Like the other so-called Barbarian peoples, they oscillated between perpetuation of the omnipresent Roman culture that they had replaced and their own original contributions (Guzmán Armario 2005, cited under General Overviews). Their legislation, form of government, and institutions reached maturity in the 7th century, a point at which they achieved both religious unity and complete territorial rule of the Iberian Peninsula. Numismatic testimony allows us to verify this gradual process of attaining a unique identity. In some cases, they pursued the Roman legacy to an intense degree. We know, for example, that the land-owning aristocracy maintained the latifundium system with the use of slaves or free farmers. From the point of view of the administration of justice, the essential text was the Visigothic Code, or Liber Iudiciorum, which came into effect in the middle of the 7th century and was an adaption of older materials (Pérez-Prendes y Muñoz-Arraco 2004, cited under Institutions) that evolved throughout the second half of the century and constituted a key component in the transformation of medieval Spanish kingdoms. The numerous models issued by the successive councils produced effective social coordination. Because the monarchy was beset by a lack of continuity and problems of succession, during their final days the Visigoths instituted a new procedure for monarchic legitimation: anointment (beginning in at least 672 with Wamba), which became the highest expression of the monarchy, established by the divine grace that crystallized a theocratic power. Its efficacy as a tool of legitimation is evidenced by the fact that it was adopted a century later by the Carolingian monarchy. The continuation of the Roman substrate is also evident in ecclesiastical organization, in which the shelter of an energetic Christianity allowed for a reorganization of spaces in favor of the figure of the bishop (Ripoll and Gurt 2000, cited under Urbanism). The so-called episcopal groups were promoted as visual platforms of the religious and civil power held by the bishops held, who were also promoted as the defenders of urban spaces. Centers for devotion to martyrs were also built outside the cities; these were true centers of social cohesion that actively revitalized suburban areas. The era also witnessed the foundation of important urban centers, some of which stand out for their palatial character: Reccopolis, an initiative of King Leovigild, as a genuine exercise of power emulating the Roman and Byzantine Empires (e.g., Adrianopole, Constantinople, and Nicaea) (Olmo Enciso 2000, cited under Urbanism). Historians traditionally, although not unanimously, have associated Reccopolis with the site of the Cerro de la Oliva (in Zorita de los Canes, Guadalajara, near Madrid). Outside the cities, several rural monastic settlements stand out for their role as nuclei of interaction and cohesion between the important landowners and the Hispano-Roman farming population (Castellanos García 1999, cited under Monasticism). Beyond the phenomenon of the hermitage, which already existed in the 5th century, the period saw the establishment of various monastic rules, yet given our scarce archaeological knowledge, we are far from understanding the ways in which these religious establishments were planned (Campos Ruiz and Roca Meliá 1971, cited under Monasticism). The Visigoths’ revitalization of Roman culture, which took place gradually until the beginning of the 7th century following the Empire’s collapse in the late 5th century, is often ignored; however, on the basis of early writers such as Isidore of Seville, Eugenius of Toledo, Braulio of Zaragoza, Julian of Toledo, and Ildefonsus of Toledo, some authors have begun to talk about a Roman “renaissance” (Díaz y Díaz 1976, cited under Education and Culture). The 7th century in Spain therefore denotes a period of growth that would come to an end with the fall of the kingdom in the early 8th century. Nonetheless, the study of the ecclesiastical architecture that has survived into the current era does not offer any clear conclusions, in part due to the debate surrounding the chronology of many of these structures. Moreover, it has been even more difficult to trace a comprehensive chronology of typologies and, with it, to detect possible liturgical variations based on changing contexts. The standstill in the scholarly debate between “Visigothists” and “Mozarabists” concerning the interpretation of these architectural structures compels us to trust in the progressive results of urban architecture (Ripoll 2012, cited under Architecture and Archaeology). We can conclude by affirming that the Visigothic period signifies a moment of utmost importance, not only for the transfer of a large part of the rich Roman legacy, but also for the subsequent creation of medieval mentalities based on the historical mythification of the period. These would also progressively be drawn into a debate over the national identity of Spain, starting with the beginning of the modern age (Geary 2002, cited under General Overviews), and often at the expense of our knowledge of the rich Andalusi legacy that followed it.

The First Church of Russian Emigration in Berlin: The Fate of the Masterpiece

This article dwells upon the tragic history of the architecturally unique Russian Community House with a church. It was built by the design of an architect Nikolai Vasilyev (1875–1958). The presentation of the material in the article begins with the history of the Orthodox embassy house churches in Berlin. Despite the long historical and matrimonial ties between Russian and Prussian Reigning Royal Houses, there was no separate capital Orthodox church edifice in Berlin. The rector of the embassy church A. Maltsev advocated the construction of it, but the First World War interfered with the plans to build a new Orthodox church in Berlin. However, the increase of the Orthodox community after 1917 at the expense of the emigrants made the construction of a new church edifice even more essential. The design was developed by N. Vasilyev. Considering the need to create a multifunctional building, which should be located among a dense urban development and blend in style with the neighboring buildings, the architect embodied his old designs for monastery structures in the Neo-Russian style, carrying the idea of the “Temple-Castle” (designs of the Metochions of Kalyazinsky Alexander Nevsky Monastery and Feodorovsky Gorodetsky Monastery in St. Petersburg). The building, which included premises for various purposes, was crowned with a church in the spirit of Novgorod ecclesiastical architecture with an open gallery for processions. This unique architectural monument suffered a sad fate – the building was sold for debts and bought by German Labor Front (DAF). The former community house was a subject of a complete reconstruction in accordance with the plans for the administrative development of the district. However, a plot of land was allocated to the Russian community for the construction of a new church edifice, which was consecrated in 1938, but that new church was no longer as interesting and unique from an architectural point of view as the first temple. Thanks to the analysis of archival materials it was found out that the reconstruction was not completed and the former community house survived in its original form (only the domes were dismantled) during the Second World War. The building was converted to a hotel only in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

Choreographing the liturgy: exploring continuity, change and the liturgy in the ecclesiastical buildings of Gillespie, Kidd & Coia

This is a study of a process of architectural analysis on Gillespie, Kidd & Coia (1927–1987), an architectural practice often famed for their original approach, especially for their longstanding client, the Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow. It is primarily concerned with the results of their approach over many years; of the effects or trends apparent in their work as an oeuvre, rather than with their initial architectural intentions; and builds on the work of other scholars by discussing the firm's work within the context of the twentieth century's rather fluid liturgical landscape. An alternative method is suggested for reading their ecclesiastical architecture, based not only on difference within their work, but also on its interconnections.

'Unfortunately Romanesque' Two Churches of the 1840s in Hampshire

The nineteenth century witnessed almost unprecedented church building activity in Hampshire. New district churches appeared in rapidly expanding urban parishes and most existing structures, including those in rural areas, underwent substantial restoration, refurbishment and enlargement. This paper compares two of these churches from the 1840s: St. Peter's, Southampton and St. Nicholas', Newnham. Despite their apparent differences, they share a number of characteristics in common, most obviously their Romanesque style and inclusion of a Rhenish helm spire. The history of their construction will be examined in the context of the contemporary revival of medieval ecclesiastical architecture and developments in Ecclesiology (the study of church buildings, furnishings and decoration). Consideration will be given to how the Rhenish helm came to be adopted at both churches and to what extent St. Peter's influenced the design and arrangements at Newnham. This article will also consider whether the same architect was involved.

Power, Patronage and the Production of Catholic Material Culture in Nineteenth-Century Ireland

This chapter examines Catholic religious authority in the context of the production and consumption of ecclesiastical architecture and art. It moves beyond consideration of this material culture from nation-state or formalist art-historical perspectives to explore the levels of human autonomy and agency that came to bear on building and decorating projects at the turn of the nineteenth century. Using a case study model, it analyses the multiple forms of authority inscribed in Catholic Church buildings whose aesthetic shifted from the modest to the sublime during the period. In so doing, it demonstrates the impact of religious power on architects, transnational commercial art industry businesses, and lay donors, and produces a more nuanced cross-disciplinary picture of the multiple cultural meanings, tangible and intangible, of nineteenth-century ecclesiastical architecture and the people behind its production.

Ecclesiastical Gothic Revivalism

This chapter argues that the ecclesiastical Gothic revivalism of the nineteenth century was the consequence of a wider change in contemporaries’ understandings of the nature of church buildings themselves. The product of new ideas about faith and time as well as novel notions about the nature of architecture, this revival was every bit as revolutionary and as distinctively Victorian as contemporaries believed it to be. Thus, although it is now impossible to argue that the Gothic Revival of the nineteenth century completely replaced one style with another, it is possible to see that a Gothic revival of the nineteenth century helped change conceptions of ecclesiastical architecture most profoundly, not least by transforming churches into vehicles of communication in their own right.