New Church of the Theotokos
The New Church of the , it is sometimes referred to in English as "the Nea" or the "Nea Church".
The church was completed in 543 but was severely damaged or destroyed during the
Primary sources
Two contemporary accounts survive that describe the building of the Nea, but neither author has much to say about the shape and organization of the church complex.
Location
Form and function of the Nea
The Nea was a building of great complexity. Although the longitudinal basilican structure was a relatively common typology for sixth-century churches in Palestine, the forecourt's arrangement, along with the placement of the adjoining hostel, hospital, and monastery remains problematic. According to Procopius, exterior porticoes on the south, west, and northern sides surrounded the structure. Two huge columns stood in front of the western entrance, which was preceded by a colonnaded atrium. In front of the atrium was a round courtyard that opened onto the Cardo. Due to the sparse archaeological evidence and the obscurity of Procopius’ description, this plan is difficult to reconstruct. Despite the obscurity of literary details, Tsafrir has proposed that west of the atrium, there were monumental gates that opened into an area that contained a gatehouse and an arch. Beyond this, Tsafrir has hypothesized two semicircles: one would have connected the church complex to the Cardo, while the other was located across the street and provided access to the hospital and hospice.[6]
In the interior of the church, the nave terminated at a large apse that was flanked by two symmetrical smaller rooms with apses inscribed in their eastern walls. It is unclear whether the nave of the Nea had three or five aisles, but due to the unprecedentedly large dimensions of the church (approximately 100 m long by 52 m wide), archaeologists Yoram Tsafrir and Nahman Avigad both agree that while only two rows of interior columns have been uncovered, two additional rows would have likely been needed to adequately support the roofing structure.[7] In addition to being the largest known basilica in Palestine, the Nea also included a monastery, hostel, and hospital, as attested by
The Nea and the Madaba Map
Date and content
In addition to the contemporary literary accounts and archaeological evidence, the
A closer look at Jerusalem reveals a pictorial representation of the city and its surrounding landscape. It is depicted from a diagonal bird's eye perspective with no topographical impediments. The city's two cardos extend south from the
Providing hierarchies
Not only does the size of the Church of the Resurrection emphasize its importance, its central location on the cardo furthers its reputation as the most sacred and popular pilgrimage site in the Holy City. The Nea is the third most prominent monument in the city after the Holy Sepulchre and Hagia Sion, even though in actuality it was the largest church in Jerusalem. The hierarchic scale of monuments leads one to question how the Nea functioned in relation to the other monuments within the topography of the sixth century.[citation needed][clarification needed]
The selective details of Jerusalem's monuments reveal the Madaba Map to be concerned with providing the viewer with a topographical hierarchy of Old and New Testament places. When viewed as a rendition of Jerusalem that is reflective of the sixth century habitus of Jerusalem, the map reveals a conception of the Christian sacred spaces and their interconnectedness. The shift in Christian topography to the western part of the city is clearly visible. For example, the Temple Mount, the central religious monument to Jewish identity, is relegated to the eastern periphery of the city, eclipsed by the towering Christian monuments that occupy the center of the city. Yoram Tsafrir has identified this area to be an open esplanade, marking the place of the Temple Mount.[9]
The map provides a guide for pilgrims and viewers to the holy spaces, supporting Justinian's campaign to integrate the Nea as a sacred site that matched the holiness of the Holy Sepulchre and Hagia Sion.[10]
Significance
According to Graham (2008), "The Nea gave architectural articulation to a theological opinion or theologoumenon in Jerusalem, and conveyed, architecturally, a message regarding Justinian's imperial policy, imperial presence in Palestine, and a self-conception as a Christian emperor."[11]
Israeli archaeologist Oren Gutfeld believes, based on the results of excavations led by Avigad, that it was Justinian who extended the old Roman Cardo southwards specifically for creating a processional way connecting his Nea Church, with the more important, but smaller Church of the Resurrection (today's Holy Sepulchre Church).[12] Gutfeld also thinks that Justinian built the Nea in the south of the city to balance the Church of the Resurrection further up north.[12]
In order to provide access to the Nea, Justinian extended the cardo south to the Nea and the newly constructed Zion Gate. This decision undoubtedly had political motivations, for it situated the Nea on the main route for pilgrims traveling between the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Holy Apostles.[13] Processions, stational liturgies, and individual worshipers passed between the Holy Sepulchre and Hagia Sion, thus including Justinian's church, but the Nea still failed to gain a place in the Christian collective memory as a site that was as holy as the other two main churches. According to Antoninus of Piacenza, worshipers went straight from the Holy Sepulchre to Hagia Sion, only to double back to the Nea.[14] Furthermore, by the 630s, Patriarch Sophronius does not even mention the Nea in his review of pilgrimage sites in Jerusalem.[15]
The Nea and Solomon's Temple
Justinian attempted to leave his imperial mark on Jerusalem by situating a building of unprecedented size and splendor within the context of Jerusalem's oldest and most sacred monuments. Procopius's panegyric, the de Aedificiis (English: "Buildings"), is perhaps the richest source that survives which offers possible motivations for Justinian's architectural restructuring of Jerusalem. A masterful work of propaganda, de Aedificiis was less concerned with extolling the greatness of the buildings that were constructed, and more so with celebrating the man who built them. In order to situate Justinian within the tradition of grand builders in Jerusalem, Procopius most likely modeled his account after the biblical narrative of Solomon's Temple. There are several literary parallels between the two accounts, the most foremost being that, according to Procopius, both of the building projects were blessed by God. Furthermore, it seems beyond coincidence that the measurements of the Nea are roughly twice the size of the Temple.[16]
Like
The demise of the Nea
The date of the destruction of the Nea Church is not known precisely. According to accounts preserved in The Capture of Jerusalem (Expugnationis Hierosolymae) the conquering
See also
References
- ^ Ben-Dov (1977).
- ISBN 9780199236664. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ Cyril Sc. V. Euth. 175.1
- ^ Procopius, Buildings 5.6.1.
- ^ The tablet reads: "And this is the work which our most pious Emperor Flavius Justinianus carried out with munificence, under the care and devotion of the most holy Constantinus, Priest and Hegumen, in the thirteenth [year of the] indiction."
- ^ Tsafrir (2000), pp. 149-164. Tsafrir tentatively proposes this reconstruction, making sure to note that "the complex of the propylaea, the arch, the exedrae on the western side of the atrium, and the arrangement of the hospice and hospital are still unclear" (163).
- ^ Tsafrir (2000), p. 162.
- ^ Piacenza Pilgrim, Itinerary 23.1-3.
- ^ Tsafrir (1999), p. 158.
- ^ Graham (2008), pp. 59-61.
- ^ Graham (2008), p. 62.
- ^ a b Gutfeld (2013)
- ^ Tsafrir (2000), p. 160. The 6th century date for the construction of the southern cardo is based on the size of the flagstones, pottery evidence, and the bases of the capitals that belong to the Byzantine period.
- ^ Antoninus Placentinus, Itin., 19-24.
- ^ Sophronios, Anacr., 20.51-82.
- royal cubits, as compared to the Temple's measurements of 100 x 50 royal cubits.
- ^ Josephus, War, 5.184-89; Procopius, Buildings 5.6.9-13.
- ^ 1 Kings 6.9–10; Procopius, Buildings 5.6.14-15.
- ^ Procopius, Buildings 5.6.22; 1 Kings 7.15–22.
- ^ Taylor (2008), pp. 51-59.
Bibliography
- Ben-Dov, Meir. "Found After 1400 Years—The Magnificent Nea", Biblical Archaeology Review, December 1977
- Cyril of Scythopolis, The life of Euthymius (Vita Euthymii)[clarification needed]
- Graham, Susan (2008). "Justinian and the Politics of Space". Jon L. Berquist and Claudia V. Camp, eds. Constructions of Space II: The Biblical City and Other Imagined Spaces. New York: T & T Clark.
- Gutfeld, Oren. "The Emperor's New Church on Main Street, Jerusalem". BAR. Vol. 39, no. 6 (Nov/Dec 2013). Biblical Archaeology Society. Retrieved 30 November 2013 – via "Who Built the Cardo in Jerusalem?", presentation of Gutfeld's article by Robin Ngo, 15 Nov. 2013.
- Josephus, The Jewish War[clarification needed]
- Piacenza Pilgrim, Itinerary.[clarification needed]
- Procopius, De Aedificiis (Buildings), book 5, chapter 6.
- Anacreontic20
- Taylor, Joan E.: "The Nea Church", Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan/Feb 2008, Vol 34, No 1, pp. 51–59.
- Trampedach, Kai (2015): "Ein neuer Tempel Salomons in Jerusalem? Der Bau der Nea-Kirche (531–543) durch Kaiser Justinian." Millennium 12, pp. 155–178, DOI:10.1515/mill-2015-0107.
- Tsafrir, Yoram (1999). "The Holy City of Jerusalem in the Madaba Map". In The Madaba Map Centenary 1897-1997, ed. by Michele Piccirillo and Eugenio Alliata, Jerusalem.
- Tsafrir, Yoram (2000). "Procopius and the Nea Church in Jerusalem". Antiquité Tardive 8, pp. 149–164.