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UNIT 5

BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE

I. Read the text and translate it in the written form.

Noted for its rich use of ornamental domes, colorful mosaics, and lav-
ish decorations, the Byzantine style of architecture has found new life on
American soil due to its structural integrity and cultural associations.

Perhaps no other single style of architecture combines ancient ecclesi-
astical forms with sacred artworks as lavishly as the Byzantine. And
throughout New York State, one can find magnificent examples of the

style in its purist form as well as in adaptations that have been used in the
designs of religious properties of all denominations. The style developed
during the Byzantine Empire (500 A.D. and thereafter) and is character-

ized by complex vaulting with domes, large open spaces, and lavish deco-
ration with mosaics, gilding, and paintings of Christian subjects. Today,
the style is most strongly associated with Orthodox Christian Greek immi-

grants, who beginning in the early 20th century built churches that ex-
pressed their cultural traditions.
In 323 A.D., Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman
Empire to the Greek town of Byzantium and established a formal culture

of church and state. Byzantium was renamed Constantinople (current day
Istanbul) and became the seat of this ecclesiastical government. Today, the
term "Byzantine" refers to the entire Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantine

art represents the final, Christian stage of Antiquity. The relocation of the
capital to Byzantium resulted in the division of the Roman Empire by the
beginning of the 5th century followed by a religious split: the Eastern, or
Orthodox Church, was headed by the Emperor and his appointed patriarch;

and the Western, or Catholic church, was headed by the Bishop of Rome
and separate from the powers of the state.
Early Christian architecture, the first built expressions of the new faith

in Constantinople, was based on a new building type called the basilica.
The form and use of this building, derived from Roman courthouses, be-
came the basic model for Western medieval church architecture and re-

mained important in Byzantine architecture. The basilica form featured a
rectangular nave with columns supporting a pitched roof; an altar and apse
at the east end; and an atrium or narthex at the west end, often with an ex-

onarthex (an open porch with columns).
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