Churches of Göreme
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In the 4th century, small anchorite communities began to form in the region, acting on the instruction of Saint Basil of Caesarea. They carved cells in the soft rock. During the iconoclastic period (725–842) the decoration of the many sanctuaries in the region was held to a minimum, usually symbols such as the depiction of the Christian cross. After this period, new churches were dug into the rocks, and they were richly decorated with colourful frescoes.
Tokalı Kilise
Tokalı Kilise (or the Church of the Buckle), is the largest church in Göreme. Restoration of the church was completed during the 1980s. The only surviving example of its architectural origins is the Church of Mar Yakub in the Tur Abdin region located around present day Mardin.[1]
One noted feature of the church is the main nave containing ninth century frescoes in "provincial" style, the more recent additions are three apses of the 11th-century frescos, which are rendered in "metropolitan" style. The church contains frescos of the twelve apostles, the saints and scenes from the life of Jesus. The church also has a crypt underneath the nave.
Tokalı kilise is formed of four chambers: the Old Church, the larger New Church, the side chapel (parekklesion), and the Lower Church. The Old Church dates to the 10th century. It was originally a single-naved barrel-vaulted church. But its apse was destroyed when the New Church was added at the end of the 10th or early 11th century. Now the Old Church provides entrance to the New Church. The Old Church is decorated with pale hues of red and green painted in strips to represent scenes from the New Testament and depictions of some saints.
Panels of rich indigo painted with pigments from
The New Church was carved out of the eastern wall of the Old Church and decorated with Eastern-style arches and a series of arcades. The Paracclesion, located at the left side of the New Church, is a barrel-vaulted chapel with a single apse. The Lower Church has three aisles and a burial space or krypto.
Fresco Decoration of the Old Church at Tokali Kilise
The most elaborate decorative program of the Old Church at Tokali Kilise is the
Due to its semi-isolated location in the
The style of the frescos are consistent with other imagery of the period and region. The images do not necessarily render reality; the figures do not display convincing volume and the drapery is unnaturalistic being more concerned with a geometric style of representation. The figures are placed in the front of the picture plane which alludes that the artist(s) were not concerned with realistic depth. These stylistic traits (proportions, flatness and geometric abstraction) can also be compared to frescos in other parts of the empire like
The composition of the Christological cycle as whole has symbolic meaning. Considering the medallions containing portraits of the Old Testament prophets is located at the highest point of the vault, the spine, it is representing the beginning or the first age of revelation and they are the figures who foretell the coming of Christ and his deeds on earth. These prophecies are then depicted throughout the rest of the narrative in the Infancy, Miracles and Passion registers that fill the remainder of the vault – the second age of revelation. The narrative continues on the eastern tympanum with the Ascension, when Christ's resurrected body is taken to heaven. This is the beginning of his Holy influence and initiates the third age of revelation. The composition of the narrative as a whole reflects the progression of revelation before, during and after Christ's life on earth.[9]
Fresco Decoration of the New Church at Tokali Kilise
The New Church at Tokali Kilise is a much larger church than the Old Church and therefore has much more decoration. There are two main fresco cycles and a large amount of
A few important scenes were reserved for more prominent locations; the Ascension, Benediction of Apostles, Pentecost, and Mission of Apostles are located in the center and south bays of the nave vault.[10]
The other major narrative cycle in the New Church at Tokali Kilise is the life of Saint Basil. St. Basil was the principal religious figure of the Cappadocian region and it is therefore suspected that the New Church was dedicated to him[11] There are only two known fresco cycles of the life of St. Basil, the other located in a chapel in Balkam Deresi (also in Cappadocia). The cycle in the New Church contains scenes from the earlier part of the narrative while the chapel at Balkam Deresi depicts the later scenes.[12] Located in the transept on the lower walls of the north bay multiple scenes from this local Cappadocian saint were painted in the New Church. The scenes include: The Dispute for the Church of Nicaea, Basil and the Emperor Valens, Prayer of the Arians, Prayer of the Orthodox, Meeting of St. Ephraim and St. Basil, Absolution of the Sinful Woman and Funeral of Basil.[13] Accompanying each fresco is an inscription taken directly from the biographical writings of Pseudo-Amphilochio describing the scene.[14]
Unlike majority of the rock-cut churches the patronage of the New Church is surprisingly known. Located on the nave cornice a fragment of sentence was written which translates to: 'Your (most holy church) was completely decorated by Constantine out of love for the monastery (of the heavenly angles). He adorns his new work with twenty venerable images…' (it continues with descriptions of the twenty mentioned scenes). A second inscription located in the north apse is translated as: 'The bema was decorated by … Nikephoros, at the expense of Leon, son of Constantine. You who read (this), pray for them through the Lord. Amen.' Through these two inscriptions it is inferred that the painter was Nikephoros and there were two patrons, Constantine and his son Leon. Neither patron is identified by a title meaning one of two things. Either they were people of minor importance or they were so important and well known that it was unnecessary to include their titles. Considering it would have been very expensive to fund such elaborate fresco decoration it is more likely that they were wealthy and therefore well known, thus no titles were necessary. Stylistically the New Church frescos are similar to paintings of the same time period found in Constantinople which suggests that the patrons may have paid for a workshop to come to Cappadocia specifically to decorate the New Church. This fact also points to wealthy patrons.[15] As for Nikephoros, the artist name mentioned in the second inscription, it should not be assumed that he was the only artist. It is more likely that he was the master of the workshop responsible for the frescos and therefore received the credit for the work. In this scenario Nikephoros would have had multiple apprentices helping him with the many tasks associated with creating frescos. It is also unclear in the second inscription as to exactly what part of the decoration Nikephoros was responsible for. However, with much research and evidence the leading scholar on Tokali Kilise, Ann Wharton Epstein, argues that Nikephoros was responsible for the entire decoration of the New Church.[16]
Elmalı Kilise
Elmalı Kilise (or the Apple Church) a smaller cave church. Was built around 1050 and has carved into four irregular pillars the sign of a Greek cross with these pillars support its central dome. Restoration on the church was completed in 1991, but the frescos continue to chip off, revealing a layer of earlier paintings underneath. The church's paintings depict scenes of the saints, bishops, and martyrs. and to the right of the altar, a Last Supper with the symbolic fish (the letters of the word fish in Greek,
Azize Barbara Kilisesi
Azize Barbara Kilisesi, (or the Church of Saint Barbara) Barbara was a Greek martyr who was imprisoned by her father in order to protect her from the influences of Christianity. Barbara nevertheless found a way to practice her faith and her father tortured and killed her.
Built in the late 11th Century, the church was possibly built as a tribute to the Martyr-Saint. The church has the same layout as Çarikli Kilise. The church has a cross-dome with one central
Yılanlı Kilise
Yılanlı Kilise (the Snake Church) is a simple barrel-vaulted church with a low ceiling and long nave. It is named for the fresco of Saints
Karanlık Kilise
Karanlık Kilise (or the Dark Church) was a monastic compound built in the 11th century. It is a domed church with one main apse, two small apses and four columns. It was decorated with scenes from the New Testament: Christ Pantocrator, Nativity, Adoration of the Magi, First Bath, Last Supper, Betrayal of Judas, Crucifixion, Anastasis.
After the Turkish invasion it was used as a pigeon house until the 1950s. After 14 years of scraping pigeon droppings off the walls, these newly restored frescos, depicting scenes from the
Çarıklı Kilise
Çarıklı Kilise (the Church with Sandals) the name comes from the two footprints at the bottom of the Ascension fresco at the church's entrance (this fresco is said to be an exact copy of the one contained at the
List of all the churches
Göreme (including Open-Air Park)
- Dark Church (Karanlık Kilise), (Pantocrator Church)
- Tokalı Kilise (Church of the Buckle)
- Sandals (Çarıklı) Church
- Apple (Elmalı) Church
- El Nazar Church
- Kizlar Monastery, “The nunnery”
- Yusuf Koç Church, (St. Theodorus Church)
- Saklı (Hidden) Church, St. Aya Lonnes Church.
- Ayvalı Monastery, formerly ('St. John's Church') also known as St. loannes, 'San Giovanni' church.
- Direkli Kilise, located in Göreme Historical National Park
- St. Basil Church (Chapel of St. Basil)
- St. Barbara Church (St. Barbara Chapel)
- St. Catherine Church (St. Katherine Chapel)
- St. Onuphrius Church (Yılanlı Kilise)
- Kılıçlar Kilise (Virgin Mary Church)
- Pantocrator Church
- Üzümlü Kilise (Chapel of St. Stylite Nichitas) located in the Red Valley
- St. Agentangeus Church (Üç Haçlı Kilise), located in the Red Valley
- Haçlı Kilise ('Crusader Church') St. Aganthangelus Church
- Aynalı Kilise, ('Mirrored Church'), dedicated to Theotokos, also known as Hagios Georgeos loannes Church.
Other churches
- St. Sergios Church
- St. Hieron's Tomb (Mausoleum Chapel)
- St. Eustathios Church
- St. Simeon Church near Çavuşin, Pasabagi.
- St. John the Baptist Chapel (Hagios Ioannes Prodromos), Çavuşin
- Çavuşin Church, Nikephoros II Phokas Church.
- Keşlik Monastery, known as Archangelos Monastery (St. Michael and St. Stephen Churches) located in Ürgüp
- Ali Reis (St. Nino) Church, located in Ortahisar
- Church of St. Theodore (Pancarlık Kilisesi), located in between Ortahisar and Ürgüp
- Zindan Church, located in Ortahisar.
- Mustafapaşa
- Mustafapaşa
- Mustafapaşa
- Kalaşa Mevkii Church, Mustafapaşa
- Church of Timios Stavros, or Church of the Holy Cross, also known as Alakara Kilise, or Tarihi Kilise in Mustafapaşa.
- Mustafapaşa
- St. Joachim and St. Anne Church, Kizilçukur valley
- St. Paul Church
- Kolonlu Kilise
- St. Daniel Chapel
- Cemalların Kilise
- Gıdıların Kilise
- Kadir Durmuş church located near Uçhisar
- Geyikli Church ('Deer church').
- Balikli Church ('Fish church').
- Canbazli, also known as Cambazlı Church
- Harım Kilise
- Sarıca Kilise
- Tavşanlı Kilise
- Ala (Alaca) Kilise
- Kepez Kilise
- Sarnıç Kilise ('Column church')
- Karabulut Church ('Dark cloud').
- St. Theodore Church, located in Yeşilöz, Ürgüp
See also
- Ihlara Valley
- Soğanlı Valley
- Ihlara
- Cappadocia
- Rock-cut architecture of Cappadocia
- Christianity in Turkey
- Derinkuyu Underground City
- Kaymaklı Underground City
- Demre
- Ephesus
- Kuştul Monastery
- Last House of the Virgin Mary
- Mokissos
- Monastery of Mardin
- Sümela Monastery
- Underground cities in Avanos
- History of Roman and Byzantine domes
References
- ^ Cooper, J. Eric (2012). Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadoia. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 209.
- ^ Cooper, J. Eric (2012). Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadoia. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 210.
- ^ Epstein, Ann Wharton. Tokali Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington DC: Harvard University Press, 1986. 16.
- ^ Kostof, Spiro. Caves of God: The Monastic Environment of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1972. 169–181.
- ^ Rodly, Lyn. Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 215.
- ^ Epstein, Ann Wharton. Tokali Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington DC: Harvard University Press, 1986. 17.
- ^ Kostof, Spiro. Caves of God: The Monastic Environment of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1972. 178.
- ^ Epstein, Ann Wharton. Tokali Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington DC: Harvard University Press, 1986. 40–42.
- ^ Kostof, Spiro. Caves of God: The Monastic Environment of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1972. 191.
- ^ Rodly, Lyn. Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 216.
- ^ Van Dam, Raymond. Becoming Christian: The Conversion of Roman Cappadocia. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press, 2003. 169.
- ^ Kostof, Spiro. Caves of God: The Monastic Environment of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1972. 164
- ^ Rodly, Lyn. Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 216.
- ^ Epstein, Ann Wharton. Tokali Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington DC: Harvard University Press, 1986. 77.
- ^ Rodly, Lyn. Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 217–218.
- ^ Epstein, Ann Wharton. Tokali Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington DC: Harvard University Press, 1986. 33–34.
Further reading
- Caves of God: Cappadocia and its Churches by Spiro Kostof Publisher: Oxford University Press, US (August 3, 1989) ISBN 978-0195060003
- KARAHAN, Anne. “The Impact of Cappadocian Theology on Byzantine Aesthetics: Gregory of Nazianzus on the Unity and Singularity of Christ”. In: Ed. N. Dumitraşcu, The Ecumenical Legacy of the Cappadocians. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, Chapter 10, 159–184. ISBN 978-1-137-51394-6
- KARAHAN, Anne. Final report of research project financed by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond 2009–2012, The Image of God in Byzantine Cappadocia: An Investigation of Its Relation to Divine and Human in Fourth-Century Cappadocian Thinking, 2012, https://web.archive.org/web/20190711044421/http://srii.org/content/upload/documents/7c6add2c-82ed-4e8c-b4f3-0458bb86a190.pdf
- KARAHAN, Anne. “Beauty in the Eyes of God: Byzantine Aesthetics and Basil of Caesarea”. In: Byzantion. Revue Internationale des Études Byzantines 82 (2012): 165–212.
- KARAHAN, Anne. “The Image of God in Byzantine Cappadocia and the Issue of Supreme Transcendence”. In: Studia Patristica 59 (2013): 97–111.
- KARAHAN, Anne. “En betraktelse av östkristen treenighetstro och motivet filoxenia i den bysantinska klippkyrkan Çarıklı i Kappadokien”. In: Eds. G. Innerdal, K-W. Sæther, Trinitarisk tro og tenkning – Festskrift til Svein Rise. (Kyrkjefag Profil 25). Kristiansand: Portal forlag, 2015, 85–105. ISBN 978-82-8314-065-1
- Rodly, Lyn. Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
- Epstein, Ann Wharton. Tokali Kilise: Tenth-Century Metropolitan Art in Byzantine Cappadocia. Washington DC: Harvard University Press, 1986.