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Hierotopy (from Ancient Greek: ἱερός, sacred + Ancient Greek: τόπος, place, space) is the creation of sacred spaces viewed as a special form of human creativity and also a related academic field where specific examples of such creativity are studied. The concept and the term were 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. As an academic field, hierotopy spans traditional disciplines of art history, archeology, cultural anthropology, ethnology and religious studies, but does not coincide with neither of them and has its own subject and methodology. Hierotopy is not to be identified with the phenomenology of the sacred, which was studied in the works of Mircea Eliade, Rudolf Otto, Pavel Florensky - it is rather concerned with specific historically defined human activity to create the media of communication to the higher world. Hierotopy may have an aspect of mysticism, but it is in first place a process of conscious creativity, the forming of the sacred space with the help of architecture, images, rituals, light, smells and other media.

According to hierotopic approach, icons and other artefacts of sacred art are viewed not as isolated objects, but as components of hierotopic projects, which are studied in their conceptual and artistic entirety and historical development. A figure of the author, creator of the sacred space, recieves its due appreciation. He is viewed as an artist, whose work is somewhat similar to the creativity of today's film directors, which organize the work of various specialists and put together their respective contributions[2]. For example, 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. Not only churches and sanctuaries, but also landscapes[3] and architectural compounds [4] and even cities[5] and countries[6] may become products of hierotopic creativity. The topics of hierotopic studies are versatile and range from the role of light in church architecture[7], religious ceremonies and feasts [8] to folk customs [9], comparison of hierotopic models of various cultures[10][11]. The images of space in small forms of art and in literature also fall within the scope of hierotopic studies.

Four international symposia (2004, 2006, 2009, 2011) have been organized on hierotopical subjects.

Spatial icons

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Spatial icon is one of the main concepts of hierotopy. This term is used to describe the perception of sacred spaces. Spatial icons are images that are invoked in the space of a temple or a sanctuary and form its sacred medium[12]. Hierotopic creativity is a sort of art, which can be described as the creation of spatial icons. This concept applies to the perception of the interior of a temple, including architecture, images, dramaturgy of light and liturgical ritual in their unity, and also to the studies of "sacred landscapes", such as the New Jerusalem Monastery near Moscow, and of various rituals creating iconic medium, such as the Donkey walk in Medieval Moscow [13]. Spatial icons are essentially dynamic and performative; the formal boundary between the image and the beholder does not exist. Beholders are involved in action and become to a certain degree co-creators of spatial icons[14].

Transfer of sacred spaces

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The transfer of sacred spaces is an important form of hierotopic creativity. The original/primary sacred space typically/often appeared as a result of hierophany, that is was seen as sanctified/consecrated/made sacred via a divine visitation or omen. This primary/original sacred space was consciously reproduced in the course of hierotopic creativity and was present in a newly created sanctuary or temple as a spatial icon. For example, in the Biblical history the construction of the First Temple can be viewed as a reproduction of the sacred space of the Tabernacle. On the other hand, the First Temple itself can be seen as a prototype in the hierotopy of Christian churches. Multiple reproductions of "New Jerusalems" intended to establish a link to the space of the Holy Land, that is to the places where the Gospel story of the life of Jesus Christ, his crusifixion and his miraculous resurrection, unfolds, are known in the Christian tradition of both East and West[15]. The sacred space of the Holy Sepulcher is consciously reproduced in the sanctuary of any Christian church.

Image-paradigms

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The perception of sacred spaces has been analyzed by Lidov in terms of image-paradigms[16][17]. According to his conception, an 'image-paradigm' is an image-vision created with the help of various means with the intention to invoke the same image in the mind of a viewer-participant of a spatial icon. An 'image-paradigm', essentialy not an illustrative picture, was a means of communication between the creators of sacred spaces and their beholders, a kernel meaning of the whole hierotopic project. The image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, which was present in any Byzantine church without being directly pictured, is one of the most significant image-paradigms in the Christian tradition [18].

References

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  1. ^ A. Lidov. Hierotopy. The creation of sacred spaces as a form of creativity and subject of cultural history. In: "Hierotopy. Creation of Sacred Spaces in Byzantium and Medieval Russia". Ed. A.Lidov, Moscow, "Progress-Tradition", 2006, pp. 32-58
  2. ^ A. Lidov. The Creator of Sacred Space as a Phenomenon of Byzantine Culture. L’artista a Bisanzio e nel mondo cristiano-orientale. A cura di Michele Bacci. Pisa, 2003, p.135-176.
  3. ^ Sh. Tsuji. Creating an Iconic Space. The Transformation of Narrative Landscape. In: "Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia", Moscow, "Indrik", 2011, pp. 627-642
  4. ^ G. Zelenskaya. New Jerusalem near Moscow. Aspects of the Conception and New Discoveries. In: "New Jerusalems. Hierotopy and iconography of sacred spaces", Moscow, 2009, с. 745-773
  5. ^ E. Kirichenko. The Church and the City: on the Symbolic and Structural Unity of the Russian Sacred Space. In: "Hierotopy. Comparative studies of sacred spaces", Moscow, "Indrik", 2009, с. 292-322
  6. ^ V. Petrukhin. Hierotopy of the Russian Land and the Primary Chronicle. In: "Hierotopy. Creation of Sacred Spaces in Byzantium and Medieval Russia", Moscow, 2006, pp. 480-490
  7. ^ A. Godovanets. The Icon of Light in the Architectural Space of Hagia Sophia. In: "Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia". Ed. A. Lidov, published by Indrik, Moscow, 2011, pp. 119-142
  8. ^ L. Beliaev. The Hierotopy of the Orthodox Feast: on the National Traditions in the Making of Sacred Spaces. In: "Hierotopy. Comparative studies of sacred spaces". Ed. A. Lidov, Moscow,"Indrik", 2009, pp. 270-291
  9. ^ A. Moroz. “Sacred” and “Horrible” Places. Creation of Sacred Spaces in Traditional Culture. In: "Hierotopy. Comparative studies of sacred spaces". Ed. A. Lidov, Moscow, “Indrik”, 2008, pp. 259-269
  10. ^ N. Isar. Vision and Performance. A Hierotopic Approach to Contemporary Art. In: "Hierotopy. Comparative studies of sacred spaces". Ed. A. Lidov, Moscow, “Indrik”, 2008, pp. 341-375
  11. ^ M. Chegodaev. The Hierotopy of the Ancient Egyptian Sarcophagus. In: "Hierotopy. Comparative studies of sacred spaces". Ed. A. Lidov, Moscow, “Indrik”, 2008, pp. 18-37
  12. ^ A. Lidov. Hierotopy: Spatial icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture. Moscow, “Theoria”, 2009. Ch. 2. Spatial Icons. The miraculous performance with the Hodegetria of Constantinople. pp. 39-70, pp. 311-316
  13. ^ M. Flier. The Image of the Tsar in the Muscovite Palm Sunday Ritual. In: "Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia". Ed. A. Lidov, Moscow, "Indrik", 2011, pp.533-562
  14. ^ A. Lidov. The Byzantine World and Performative Spaces. In: "Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia". Ed. A. Lidov, Moscow, "Indrik", 2011, pp. 17-26.
  15. ^ A. Lidov. New Jerusalems. Transfering of the Holy Land as Generative Matrix of Christian Culture. In: "New Jerusalems. Hierotopy and iconography of sacred spaces". Ed. by A. Lidov, published by “Indrik”, Moscow, 2009, pp. 5-10.
  16. ^ Image-paradigms as a category of visual culture. Hierotopic approach to the art history.Russian Journal of Art History(Iskusstvoznanie) 2011, 3-4, pp.109-122
  17. ^ 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
  18. ^ A. Lidov. Hierotopy: Spatial icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture. Moscow, "Theoria", 2009. Ch. 10. Image-Paradigms as a New Notion of Visual Culture. pp. 293-305, 335-337.

Further reading

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  • Hierotopy. Christian Sacred Spaces. Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity. Cambridge, 2010 (see bibliography in [1])
  • Hierotopy: The Creation of sacred spaces in Byzantium and medieval Russia. Edited by A. Lidov. Moscow, Indrik, 2006 [2]
  • New Jerusalems: Hierotopy and iconography of sacred spaces. Ed. A. Lidov. Moscow, Indrik, 2009,910 pp. [3]
  • A. Lidov. Hierotopy: Spatial Icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture. Moscow, "Theoria", 2009, 352 pp.
  • Bissera V. Pentcheva. The Sensual Icon. Space, Ritual, and the Senses in Byzantium. Pennstate Press, 2009. abstractsample chapter
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