Liturgy and architecture : from the early church to the Middle Ages

247 Pages·2016·10.59 MB·English

by  Doig

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Frontispiece: Engraving of Old St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, c. 1450; reconstruction by
H.W. Brewer, 1891.
LITURGY AND ARCHITECTURE
So frequently church buildings are treated as beautiful objects without appreciating why they vary
from place to place and century to century, or how they were meant to function in the worship of
God. Allan Doig is a sure guide to the drama of Christian liturgy and the ways in which it has
shaped the spaces in which it is performed.
Diarmaid MacCulloch, University of Oxford, UK
The most important influences on the form of a building include functions, architectural traditions
and innovations, availability of materials, and money. In the case of churches one of the chief
functions is housing the liturgy, a subject which, to say the least, is difficult to pin down. Allan
Doig’s book performs the sterling service of synthesising – and analysing – great swathes of
the disparate research on the subject, producing a clear overview of how the Christian liturgy
interacts with architecture from the first century to the sixteenth. It will be greatly welcomed by
architectural historians.
Eric Fernie, Courtauld Institute of Art, UK
This is a panoramic survey of Christian church architecture as viewed through the lens of liturgy.
It commands both of these complex fields with ease and with welcome attention to political history
as well. I know nothing of comparable range and readability.
Richard Pfaff, University of North Carolina, USA
In this book Allan Doig explores the interrelationship of liturgy and architecture from the Early
Church to the close of the Middle Ages, taking into account social, economic, technical, theological
and artistic factors. These are crucial to a proper understanding of ecclesiastical architecture of all
periods, and together their study illuminates the study of liturgy. Buildings and their archaeology
are standing indices of human activity, and the whole matrix of meaning they present is highly
revealing of the larger meaning of ritual performance within, and movement through, their space.
The excavation of the mid-third-century church at Dura Europos in the Syrian desert, the grandeur
of Constantine’s Imperial basilicas, the influence of the great pilgrimage sites, and the marvels
of soaring Gothic cathedrals, all come alive in a new way when the space is animated by the
liturgy for which they were built. Reviewing the most recent research in the area, and moving
the debate forward, this study will be useful to liturgists, clergy, theologians, art and architectural
historians, and those interested in the conservation of ecclesiastical structures built for the liturgy.
The Revd Dr Allan Doig is Fellow, Chaplain and Tutor for Graduates at Lady Margaret Hall, and
a member of the Faculty of Theology in the University of Oxford.
LITURGY, WORSHIP AND SOCIETY
SERIES EDITORS
Dave Leal, Brasenose College, Oxford, UK
Bryan Spinks, Yale Divinity School, USA
Paul Bradshaw, University of Notre Dame, UK and USA
Gregory Woolfenden, St Mary’s Orthodox Church, USA
Phillip Tovey, Ripon College Cuddesdon, UK
The Ashgate Liturgy, Worship and Society series forms an important new ‘library’ on liturgical
theory at a time of great change in the liturgy and much debate concerning traditional and new
forms of worship, suitability and use of places of worship, and wider issues concerning interaction
of liturgy, worship and contemporary society. Offering a thorough grounding in the historical and
theological foundations of liturgy, this series explores and challenges many key issues of worship
and liturgical theology, currently in hot debate within academe and within Christian churches
worldwide - issues central to the future of the liturgy, to public and private worship, and set to make
a significant impact on changing patterns of worship and the place of the church in contemporary
society.
Other titles in the series:
Liturgical Space
Christian Worship and Church Buildings in Western Europe 1500–2000
Nigel Yates
The Baptismal Liturgy of Jerusalem
Fourth- and Fifth-Century Evidence from Palestine, Syria and Egypt
Juliette Day
First Communion
Ritual, Church and Popular Religious Identity
Peter McGrail
Early and Medieval Rituals and Theologies of Baptism
From the New Testament to the Council of Trent
Bryan D. Spinks
Reformation and Modern Rituals and Theologies of Baptism
From Luther to Contemporary Practices
Bryan D. Spinks
Towards Liturgies that Reconcile
Race and Ritual among African-American and European-American Protestants
Scott Haldeman
Liturgy and Architecture
From the Early Church to the Middle Ages
ALLAN DOIG
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, UK
RO Routlegde
U
T
LE
D Taylor & Francis Group
G
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published2008 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprintof the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright© 2008Allan Doig
Allan Doig has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified
as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage orretrieval s ystem, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification
and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Doig, Allan
Liturgy and architecture: from the early church to the Middle Ages. – (Liturgy, worship and society)
1. Liturgy and architecture 2. Church architecture 3. Church history – Primitive and early church, ca. 30–600
4. Church history – Middle Ages, 600–1500
I. Title
246.9’5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Doig, Allan.
Liturgy and architecture: from the early church to the Middle Ages / Allan Doig.
p. cm. – (Liturgy, worship, and society)
ISBN 978-0-7546-5272-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-0-7546-5274-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Liturgy and architecture. 2. Church architecture. I. Title.
NA4605.D65 2008
246’.909–dc22
2007036257
ISBN 9780754652748 (pbk)
For Belinda, John, Jamie, and Nick
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Contents
List of Plates xi
List of Figures xiii
Preface xvii
Acknowledgements xix
Introduction xxi
1 The Earliest Christian Worship and its Setting 1
2 Constantine, Continuity and Change in the Fourth Century 21
3 The Emergence of the Byzantine Rite and the Church Building as Sacrament 53
4 Late Antiquity in the West and the Gallican Rite 85
5 Carolingian Architecture and Liturgical Reform 109
6 Monasticism, Pilgrimage and the Romanesque 135
7 Gothic Architecture and the Latin Rite: From Origins to the Close of the Middle Ages 169
Bibliography 197
Index 211