FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURY CHURCH BUILDINGS

IN HOLY LAND
By GREGORY T. ARMSTRONG
In earlier articles I have had occasion to discuss churches built
with imperial patronage in the fourth century.
1
Here I wish to
pursue these researches into the following centuries down through
the reign of Justinian. This period saw continued interest in the
Holy Land on the part of the imperial family culminating in the
truly massive building programs of Justinian himself. Aside
from the great economic impact of this activity,
2
the very concept
of the Holy Land, the object of pilgrimage for all inhabitants of
the empire and beyond, was firmly imprinted upon the mind of
Christendom.
I
At the opening of the fifth century, even after 180 years of
official recongition, Christianity was not everywhere the dominant
religion. The imperial interest in and support for church build-
ings to displace pagan temples continued strong and may be il-
lustrated by the city of Gaza.
8
At the beginning of the fifth cen-
tury Gaza had one church and eight pagan temples, including the
cults of Aphrodite and of Marnas. About this time Bishop Por-
phyry appealed for imperial help to close the temples. The Em-
press Eudoxia promised funds for a new church, and an imperial
commissioner was dispatched with troops to destroy the temples.
The marneion, a circular temple, was burned and became the site
for a new church. Some of the old marble was used as pavement,
and Eudoxia sent 32 columns of emerald-tinted marble from
Carytus in Euboea. The work took about five years and was con-
secrated at Easter, April 14, 407. The new building was known
as the Eudoxiana and was cruciform in plan, at the empress's sug-
1
"Imperial Church Building and Church-State Relations, A.D. 313-
363/' Church History, XXXVI (1967), 3-17; "Imperial Church Build-
ings in the Holy Land in the Fourth Century/' The Biblical Archaeologist,
XXX (1967), 90-102.
2
M. Avi-Yonah, "The Economics of Byzantine Palestine," Israel Ex-
ploration Journal, VIII (1958), 39-51.
8
Glanville Downey, Gaza in the Early Sixth Century (Norman, Okla.,
1963).
17
18 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
gestion. Quite possibly the idea for the plan of a cross was de-
rived from the Apostles' Church in Constantinople, and it may
have influenced in turn the Church of the Prophets in Gerasa,
built about A.D. 465. The Chuxch of St. Sergius, built a century
later at Gaza, was also cruciform in plan.
On the other hand, the building of churches did not proceed
without its critics. Jerome, writing about the turn of the century,
noted the attention lavished on church buildings while the selec-
tion of clergy was being neglected. He exhorted the Roman lady
Demetrias to give her wealth for the poor, sick, and hungry.
Others may build churches, may adorn their walls when built
with marbles, may procure massive columns, may deck the
unconscious capitals with gold and precious ornaments, may
cover church doors with silver and adom the altars with gold
and gems. I do not blame those who do these things; I do
not repudiate them. Everyone must follow his own judg-
ment. And it is better to spend one's money thus than to
hoard it up and btiood over it However, your duty is of a
different land.
We may speculate that he avoided any stronger comment for fear
of offending the imperial family and other wealthy patrons of
churches.
Eudocia, the wife of Emperor Theodosius II, made a pil-
grimage to Jerusalem in A.D. 438, the year after her daughter's
marriage to Valentinian III, Emperor in the West. She returned
to Constantinople in 439 with relics of the first Christian martyr,
Stephen, but in the next year she was divorced by the Emperor
and settled permanently in Jerusalem. We cannot elaborate here
on the politics of the situation or on her rivalry with the Em-
peror's sister, Pulcheria, but the result of her stay in the Holy
Land was a number of new churches. The earliest of these was
the Church of the Stoning of St. Stephen in Jerusalem, a basilica
with colonnaded nave and narthex and with an atrium.
4
It was
located beyond the north wall of the city on the road to Sebaste,
or the Nablus road where the modern St. Stephen's Church and
4
Still of great value for this and other churches of Jerusalem is:
Hughes Vincent and F. M. Able, Jerusalem: Recherches de topographie,
d'archologie et d'histoire, Tome 2: Jrusalem nouvelle m four parts
one and two were issued together(Paris, 1914, 1922, 1926).
FIFTH AND SIX1H CENTURY BUILDINGS IN HOLY LAND 19
Convent stand; the gate was known for a time as St. Stephen's
and is now familiar as the Damascus Gate. The basilica's dimen-
sions, according to Vincent, were 33 by 19-30 m. (108 by 63 f t ) .
The work was carried out in cooperation with Bishop Juvenal,
and it is considered likely that the Empress was primarily respon-
sible for the magnificent decoration of the building. She was
buried in the church at her death in A.D. 460.
In addition Juvenal seems to have suggested to her the build-
ing of the Church at the Pool of Siloam, completed by 451 and
incorporated within the city by an extension of the city walls also
sponsored by Eudocia. This church was a small domed basilica,
oriented normally, but with the narthex along the north rather
than the west wall, preceded by a small atrium (Fig. 1). This
FIGURE 1 : The Church of the Pool of Siloam* Jerusalem, ca. A.D. 450.
Drawing by Constance D. Goodrich after L. H. Vincent.
arrangement was dictated by the topography, and one descended
by steps into the church and from it into the courtyard on the
south around the pool itself. Eudocia was also remembered for
building monasteries in Jerusalem.
A contemporary building, the work of Bishop Juvenal in the
20 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
name and probably with the support of Emperor Marcian (A.D.
450-457), the successor of Theodosius II, was the Church of the
Tomb of the Virgin. It was located very close to the Gethsemane
Church at the Mount of Olives, in the valley of Joshaphat as the
pilgrim accounts regularly identified it. A proposed reconstruc-
tion of the plan of the building by Vincent has suggested an
octagon, about 15 m. (49 ft.) in diameter, with an extended apse
over the tomb itself on the east face (Fig. 2). The similarity of
2 4 6 8 Om.
FIGURE 2: The Church of the Tomb of the Virgin, Jerusalem, ca. A.D. 455.
Drawing by Constance D. Goodrich after L. H. Vincent.
this centralized structure to the rotunda of the Ascension or
Imbomon Church, to the octagon of the Church of the Nativity,
and even to the Anastasis rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, is self-
evident. It is a martyrium over a sacred shrine, the object of pil-
grimage probably even before the church was built. In this case,
however, there was a competing tradition that located the death
and tomb of the Virgin in Ephesus. The Council of Ephesus in
431, meeting in the great Church of the Virgin Mary, with its
decision in favor of the doctrine of the Theotokos (Mary as the
bearer or mother of God) no doubt secured favorable attention
for that branch of the tradition, but Bishop Juvenal was able to
capitalize on the reaction to the so-called Robber Synod at Ephe-
FIFTH AND SIXTH CTNTURY BUILDINGS IN HOLY LAND 21
sus in 449 and on the heavy pilgrim traffic in the Holy Land with
his new martyrium and ultimately helped the Jerusalem tradition
to prevail. The ambitious Juvenal also secured recognition of the
see of Jerusalem as a patriarchate at the Council of Chalcedon
in 451.
The story of the Christian Church on Mt. Garizim in Samaria
is told by the historian Procopius, a member of the court of Jus-
tinian, in his Buildings* In A.D. 484 the Samaritans attacked the
Christians of Neapolis (Nablus) during the Pentecost festival,
killing many and cutting off the fingers of the bishop, Terebin-
thius. He fled to Constantinople and appealed to the Emperor
Zeno for retribution. Zeno responded by driving the Samaritans
from Mt. Garizim, which was of course sacred to them, and by
building a church dedicated to the Mother of God {Theotokos)
or Mary. He also built a wall of stone about the church, creating
a courtyard not unlike the arrangement at Mamre. Although the
church and the city below were garrisoned, a band of Samaritans
sought to seize the church in the reign of Anastasius I (A.D. 491-
518), but were unsuccessful. The Samaritans began a full-scale
revolt in 529 which saw the slaughter of many Christians and the
destruction of at least five of their churches in the region of
Neapolis. Procopius does not specify which five, but Justinian is
reported to have built a new wall around the enclosure and church
on Mt. Garizim, making it "absolutely impregnable."
The remains of the fortifications and of the church have been
excavated and reveal an enclosure of 73.35 by 62 m. (241 by 203
ft.)presumably the wall of Justinian
6
(Fig. 3). The plan of the
church was octagonal with an apse at the east end, entrances on
north and south, and main entrance with a porch or narthex ef-
fect at the west end. An interesting feature was the use of side
chapels around the central octagon which, together with the side
entrance porches, balanced the narthex and, in part, the apse ex-
tension so that the exterior form remained essentially octagonal.
Moreover, the end walls of the chapels and porches buttressed
the thrust of the dome which was supported by an inner octagon
5
Buildings, trans. H. B. Dewing and Glanville Downey, in Works,
VII, Loeb Classical Library (London and Cambridge, Mass., 1940), V.
vii; pp. 348-355.

A. M. Schneider, "Rmische und byzantinische Bauten auf dem Ga-

rizim," Zeitschrift des deutschen Palstinapereins, LXVIII (1949-51),
211-234.
22 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
1 0 8 6 4 2 0 y>m
g

r
y m
i
'
FIGURE 3: The Church of the Theotokos, Mt. Garizim, ca. A.D. 484,
with enclosing wall from the reign of Justinian. Drawing by Charles
Johnson, Jr., after A. M. Schneider.
of columns and pillars. The exterior dimensions were 37 by 30 m.
(121 by 98 f t ) ; the interior, 21.40 m. (70 ft.) across; the dome,
about 13 m. (4iy
2
ft.) in diameter. The narthex was paved with
slabs of marble, and fragjments of mosaic pavement were found
in the side chapels. Colored and golden glass cubes indicate that
the walls, at least of the apses, were decorated with mosaics, and
one would expect these to have included biblical scenes. This
church has been described by Krautheimer as "a new variant on
the type of the martyria erected since Constantinos day in the
Holy Land."
7
Besides the other centralized churches in the Holy
Land which we mentioned, this one may be compared with Santa
Costanza and San Stefano Rotondo in Rome, fourth and fifth
7
Richard Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture
(Harmondsworth, Middlesex, and Baltimore, 1965), p. 117.
FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURY BUILDINGS IN HOLY LAND 23
century buildings respectively. The Theotokos Church on Mt.
Garizim is an example of a centralized church which was not a
martyrium in the strict sense, for there was no specific sacred
place or object here, i.e. no cave or footprint or well, simply the
whole mountain.
II
The last of the great church builders in the Holy Land until
the age of the crusaders was the Emperor Justinian (A.D. 527-
565). Dedicated to the reestablishment of the Roman Empire to
its Constantinian extent, he erected countless fortresses and
churches along the frontiers. The typical fortification was similar
to the enclosure on Mt. Garizim only somewhat larger. A church,
as often as not dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was essential for
the defense of the empire against the barbarians, for sacraments
and relics represented a power greater than human armies.
Whether the monastic enclosures of Egypt and Syria were the
controlling precedent for such frontier settlements, may be left
an open question. In any case we find many examples.
Procopius speaks in general terms about these fortified out-
posts, and we detect the missionary fervor that seems to have ac-
companied their building and the extension of the empire to its
old limits. The Monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai is one
important instance which still stands, with walls, monastic build-
ings, church, and barracks. It was a great fortress in the wilder-
ness, defending in part against the Arab nomads but primarily
a monument to the sacred site of the giving of the Law to Moses.
The church seems to have been dedicated to the Virgin from the
beginning, although there is a magnificent mosaic of the Trans-
figuration in the apse, and it still contains the beams with the in-
scriptions acknowledging the patrons, Justinian, Theodora, and
the local governor. The plan is basilican with the site of the burn-
ing bush located within a sort of open martyrium behind the apse.
The recent work of Professors George Forsyth and Kurt Weitz-
mann at Mt. Sinai has given us a fresh appreciation of the treas-
ures of the monastery and the beauty of the church.
8
Besides the five churches among the Samaritans mentioned
8
George H. Forsyth, "Island of Faith in the Sinai Wilderness," and
Kurt Weitzmann, "Mount Sinai's Holy Treasures," National Geographic,
CXXV, 1 (January, 1964), 82-106, 107-127.
24 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
above, Procopius also lists several monasteries in Jerusalem, Beth-
lehem and their environs, wells at some other monasteries, and a
church dedicated to the Virgin at Jericho, all of which Justinian
restored or built. It is possible that this last church is to be identi-
fied with the early Byzantine basilica found at Tell Hassan in
Jericho and reported upon by D. C Baramki.
9
At least the mosaic
pavements resemble those of fourth or fifth century date found
in the Church of the Nativity, which Justinian also restored.
Procopius* failure to include the Church of the Nativity among
Justinian's building projects remains a puzzle, although a late
date might account for this. Still there can be no question that the
church was completely rebuilt in the sixth century, even if the
dating of the work ranges from earlypre-Justinianto late
after 560. It is this building which still stands, one of a very few
churches in the Holy Land to survive basically unchanged through
the Middle Ages. Tradition has it that the Persian warriors of
the early seventh century saw the Persian dress of the wise men
on the narthex faade and spared the building as one of their
own. The Arabs also respected the church, and it has been chiefly
earthquake, fire, and neglect which have brought about the pres-
ent deteriorated structure.
10
A tenth-century Alexandrian chronicle of the Patriarch Euty-
chius attributes the new building to a complaint from St. Sabas,
a Jerusalem monastic leader, about the small and dimly lit church
while on a mission to Constantinople. Justinian responded by
sending a legate to raze the old church and build a new one
grander than any in Jerusalem. When the legate returned, the
emperor was not satisfied with his report, accused him of pocket-
ing most of the funds and erecting an inadequate basilica, and
finally ordered him beheaded. This report would put the date of
the work around A.D. 530, but it has no basis or support in the
well-authenticated Ufe of St. Sabas. More likely disrepair and
hasty original construction, damage from earthquake or firethe
roof was timberand the need for a more spacious choir area
occasioned by developments in the liturgy are to be considered
9
"An Early Byzantine Basilica at Tell Hassan, Jericho," Quarterly of
the Department of Antiquities in Palestine, V (1936), 82-88.
10
For a general historical and descriptive guide see: R. W. Hamilton,
The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (Jerusalem, 1947) ; also J. W.
Crowfoot, Early Churches in Palestine (London, 1941), pp. 77-85, for an
excellent discussion of the sixth-century building.
FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURY BUILDINGS IN HOLY LAND 25
among the reasons for undertaking a complete rebuilding.
In fact, Justinian's church retained the basic basilican plan of
the original but expanded greatly the choir area into a large tre-
foil transept and chancel, well suited to accommodate crowds of
pilgrims (Fig. 4). The effect is almost a Latin cross. In addition,
"
FIGURE 4: The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, sixth century.
Drawing by Charles Johnson, Jr., after . T. Richmond.
two new staircases into the grotto of the Nativity were introduced,
and the grotto was roofed overassuming that it had been open
before. A narthex was added and the west wall extended about
3 m. or one set of columns at the same time. The length of the
basilica from narthex to apse became an imposing 64 m. (210
ft.), yet still only a little more than half the length of the in-
terior of old St. Peter's in Rome (112 m., 367 f t) and much less
than Hagia Sophia's 100 m. (328 ft.) from narthex to apse. The
atrium was rebuilt along the traditional colonnaded pattern, per-
haps more rectangular than square this time. There were also
new marble pavements and mosaics, although most of the exist-
ing interior wall mosaics are of much later date. The columns and
capitals follow so closely fourth century models that they were
long thought to be Constantinian, but there are too many of them
to have been taken from Constantinos basilica. One other inter-
esting discovery made in the 1930's was the indication of another
uncompleted trefoil arrangement for the choir that appears to
have preceded the present one; the fragments market "M" on
Fig. 4 are the basis for this hypothesis.
11
Overall the new church
11
L. H. Vincent, "Bethlem, le Sanctuaire de la Nativit, d'aprs les
fouilles rcentes," Revue Biblique, XLVI (1937), 112-113.
26 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
was more spacious, but it broke no new ground architecturally.
The special favor of Justinian was manifested on the Holy
City, Jerusalem, in several waysreduction of taxes, privileges,
hospitals, monasteries, and a great church dedicated to the Theo-
tokos or Virgin Mary. An architect, Theodore, was sent to Jeru-
salem from the capital, and Archbishop Peter was made general
administrator over the project. The immediate direction of the
work was placed in the hands of Bishop Barachos of Bakatha, a
town located in the vicinity of Philadelphia. His appointment
illustrates the necessity of making church biddings meet the pre-
vailing liturgical and theological requirements. It was also the
case that architects then occupied more the status of craftsmen
than of trained professional persons. The Nea or New Church,
as it was commonly called, was to surpass all the wonders of the
ancient worldapparently a standard requirement for Justinianic
buildings.
Procopius reports that Justinian called for it to be set on the
highest hill of the city, and specified the length and breadth,
although this necessitated the erection of an elaborate substructure
of unusually large stone blocks to create an adequate foundation
and site. New roads even had to be cut for the wagons bringing
the blocks, and cedar timbers had to be imported for the roof.
The procurement of suitable columns was another problem, be-
cause the site was not on the seacost; Procopius credits the solu-
tion to divine intervention. "But when the impossibility of this
task was causing the Emperor to become impatient, God revealed
a natural supply of stone perfectly suited to this purpose in the
nearby hills, one which had either lain there in concealment pre-
viously, or was created at that moment."
12
Colonnades or stoas
surrounded the church except on the east, and there were two
immense columns at the main portal. The narthex and atrium
were also laid out with columns. The whole complex was entered
by a gateway or propylaeum which faced on another courtyard
enclosed at the ends by two semicircular structures, probably col-
onnades. The effect of this last court may have been similar to
the present St. Peter's square in Rome, although much smaller.
Other evidence indicates that this church was begun as early
as A.D. 513 by Patriarch Elias of Jerusalem, was called to Jus-
tinian's attention by St. Sabas around 530, and was dedicated on
Procopius* Buildings, V,vi.l9; p. 347.
FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURY BUILDINGS IN HOLY LAND 27
November 20, 542 or 543. Although the building has not sur-
vived, it appears prominently near the center of the city in the
Jewish Quarter on the Madaba mosaic map, and Vincent has pro-
posed a site southwest of el-Aksa mosque and the Maram at the
Hret el-Moghrbeh that would seem to fit the requirements of a
high hill and terracing for the substructure.
13
This location also
fits the pilgrim accounts of the period. The church, second only
to the Holy Sepulchre, well illustrates the place that Mary had
attained in popular devotion next to Christ. Whereas virtually
every early Christian church was dedicated to Christ, by the sixth
century preference was given to the Virgin or to local saints.
The age of Justinian was the greatest single period of building
activity in Palestine. At Gerasa, for example, no fewer than
eight entire churches are dated between A.D. 526 and 565, plus
whatever improvements were made in the same period on exist-
ing buildings.
14
The variety of forms was also greater and the
decoration more elaborate than previously. The Persian occupa-
tion from 614 to 628 and the subsequent rise of Islam brought
a speedy end to this magnificent age. In this regard the Madaba
mosaic map is of special interest, for it gives a unique documenta-
tion for most of the churches discussed in this and my earlier
article.
15
Among them are the Holy Sepulchre, St. Sion, Gethse-
mane, the Pool of Siloam, and the Nea at Jerusalem; the Eleona
and Ascension may have been on the map originally. Three
churches are shown at Jericho; one at the Well of Jacob near
Shechem; the Church of the Oak and Spring at Mamre; the Eu-
doxiana at Gaza; and a church of John the Baptist at Bethabara
attributed to the Emperor Anastasius I, which we have not dis-
cussed. At Bethlehem the map seems to show the new wall of
Justinian around the atrium of the Church of the Nativity but not
the new churchanother argument for the late date, since the
map is dated about A.D. 560. AH indications are that the map set
13
Vincent, Jrusalem, s.v.
14
Carl H. Kraeling, ed., Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (New Haven,
1938). For Justinian's building activity of hospitals, old age homes, and
other philanthropic institutions, see now Demetrios J. Constantelos, Byzan-
tine Philanthropy and Social Welfare, Rutgers Byzantine Series (New
Brunswick, N.J., 1968), pp. 159-162, et al
15
Victor Roland Gold, "The Mosaic Map of Madeba," The Biblical
Archaeologist, XXI (1958), 50-71; Michael Avi-Yonah, The Madaba
Mosaic Map (Jerusalem, 1954).
28 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
forth the familiar pilgrimage sites and routes of the fifth and
sixth centuries. The church in which it is located was itself
probably one of the many built during the age of Justinian.
Ill
What may one say concerning the larger significance of this
building activity? Surely it is amazing that, despite the assaults
on the empire from the barbarians and the Persians and the re-
sultant economic and military strains, and despite the internal
doctrinal struggles in the church of the fifth and sixth centuries,
church building went on. Indeed, it continued on a scale which,
in the sixth century, exceeded the age of Constantine and probably
equalled the public building programs of Hadrian. Clearly the
building of churches was important to the emperors. By tradition
the emperor was the source of all public building operations, but
especially the Christian Byzantine emperor was conceived as the
vicegerent of God and thus the creator of material things. Gian-
ville Downey has studied this concept of imperial "creating" and
noted the special importance of building activities in Byzantine
panegyrics and imperial biographies.
16
The intervention and as-
sistance of divine providence in Justinian's building of the New
Church of the Tbeotokos in Jerusalem has already been cited.
The involvement of the emperor in church building is, of
course, indicative of the relationship of church and state. There
was no clear distinction between these two entities; the empire
was a Christian commonwealth reflecting the heavenly kingdom,
and the emperor was in partnership with God. Justinian in par-
ticular represented what is often called Caesaropapism.
17
He saw
himself commissioned by God to impose the orthodox faith on the
empire and its citizens, and church buildings became a public
symbol of the one true faith and of the emperor's own faithful-
ness. The churches were a form of propaganda, just as every
religious ceremony in which the emperor participated was also a
16
"Imperial Building Records in Malalas," Byzantinische Zeitschrift,
XXXVIII (1938), 1-15, 299-311.
17
Deno J. Geanakoplos, "Church and State in the Byzantine Empire:
A Reconsideration of the Problem of Caesaropapism," Church History,
XXXIV (1965), 381-403; idem, "Church Building and 'Caesaropapism,'
A.D. 312-565," Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, VII (1966), 167-
186.
FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURY BUILDINGS IN HOLY LAND 29
political demonstration.
18
Thus to found a church was a religious
act of personal piety but at the same time an act of state. To build
a church, particularly to demolish a pagan temple and build a
church, was to honor God and to show one's faithfulness to God
and before the realm. Thereby one acquired Christ or the Virgin
or a martyr saint as a protector and intercessor. But beyond this
personal value the religious act set forth the true faith and
brought a blessing for the empire.
For the Byzantine empire the foundation of society was the
Christian faith. No citizen should be allowed to forget it; no
public acknowledgment of it should be omitted; no emperor
dared neglect it. In time of crisis, religious power was as impor-
tant as military. Church building was but the outward manifesta-
tion of a larger policy of state and church.
A particular obligation of the Emperor was to care for the
well-being of the Christian Church, for it was in the har-
monious cooperation of the Church that the Empire would
find a firm civilising bond to hold it together. This principle,
handed down from the time of Constantine the Great, was
always one of the chief objects of imperial policy. Organ-
ising the Church so as to make it a prop of the state was
thus not only an essential task, but also a traditional right
which devolved on the Emperor.
19
Any reason why the Holy Land? The holy places, hal-
lowed by Scripture and the martyrs, held a special attraction. In
some instances they were even sites held sacred by pagan as well
as Jew and Christian and about which hovered the presence of
the divine from some ancestral experience. Such places gave con-
creteness and tangibility to the divine and to the faith, especially
underlining the historical character of Christianity and its fore-
runner, Judaism. Thus they were admirably suited to the expres-
sion of that religious unity on which rested the commonwealth.
Moreover, the Holy Land stood apart from the centers of political
power. Jerusalem was no rival or political threat to Constan-
tinople, Rome, Alexandria, or Antioch, and it was hardly even an
18
Berthold Rubin, Das Zeitalter lustinians, I (Berlin, I960), 141-142.
19
W. Ensslin, "The Government and Administration of the Byzantine
Empire," The Cambridge Medieval History, IV, 2nd ed., Part II (Cam-
bridge, 1967), 10.
30 THE GREEK ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
ecclesiastical rival, having been under Caesarea which was in turn
under Antioch until receiving independence as a patriarchate
in 451.
Jerusalem on earth was rather the prototype of the heavenly
Jerusalem. To honor it with magnificent churches was simply
another piece of the emperor's mimesis of God. Jerusalem could
and did function as a center of spiritual unity, for, according to
the concept of the heavenly Jerusalem, it was the center of the
whole universe, the omphalos or navel of the world.
20
The Di-
vine Liturgy of James, the Holy Apostle, includes among the in-
tercessions the paragraph:
We present them to Thee also, O Lord, for the holy places,
which thou hast glorified by the divine appearing of Thy
Christ, and by the visitation of Thy all-holy Spirit; especially
for the glorious Zion, the mother of all the churches; and
for Thy Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church throughout
the world: even now, O Lord, bestow upon her the rich gifts
of Thy all-holy Spirit.
21
Here again is the reverence for the holy places and the focus on
Zion and Jerusalem. It is well-known too that the Jerusalem lit-
urgy and calendar were models for other churches. The emperors
shared fully in the natural veneration of all Christians for the
Holy Land and also felt a special duty toward it as the vicegerents
of God. Even Charlemagne manifested this concern, not to men-
tion his crusading successors. The way of pilgrimage was a way
of salvation for all, individual and society alike.
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE
20
Andr Piganiol, "L'Hmisphairion et lOmphalos des Lieux Saints,"
Cahiers Archologiques, I (1945), 7-14; Andr Grabar, Martyrium; Re-
cherches sur la culte des reliques et l'art chrtien antique, I: Architecture
(Paris, 1946), 235-239.
21
The Ante-Nicene Fathers, VII (Grand Rapids, 1951), 545.