Chosen Places: Constructing New Jerusalems in Slavia Orthodoxa

276 Pages·2017·1.122 MB·English

by  Jenela Erdeljan

Chosen Places
East Central and Eastern Europe
in the Middle Ages, 450–1450
General Editor
Florin Curta
VOLUME 45
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ecee
Chosen Places
Constructing New Jerusalems in Slavia Orthodoxa
By
Jelena Erdeljan
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: Mosaic over the south entrance of the Hagia Sophia © Photograph by Miloje Djordjević.
This volume was originally published as Изабрана места. Конструисање Нових Јерусалима код
православних Словена. Copyright: The Institute for Theological Research, Faculty of Orthodox Theology
of the University of Belgrade, Serbia, 2013.
This work was translated by Irena Šentevska and subsequently copy-edited by Elizabeth Stone.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Erdeljan, Jelena, author.
Title: Chosen places : constructing new Jerusalems in Slavia Orthodoxa / by
 Jelena Erdeljan.
Other titles: Izabrana mesta. English
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2017] | Series: East Central and
 Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450, ISSN 1872-8103 ; volume 45 |
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017009411 (print) | LCCN 2017012887 (ebook) |
 ISBN 9789004345799 (E-book) | ISBN 9789004314719 (hardback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Kingdom of God. | Theology—Slavic countries—History. |
 Slavic countries—Church history. | Visual culture—Art |
 Jerusalem—History—Religious aspects—Christianity.
Classification: LCC BT94 (ebook) | LCC BT94 .E7413 2017 (print) |
 DDC 281.9/47—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017009411
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 1872-8103
isbn 978-90-04-31471-9 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-34579-9 (e-book)
Copyright 2017 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi and
Hotei Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior written permission from the publisher.
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This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.
To the loving memory of my mother
∵

Contents
Preface ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 State of Research 7
2 Jerusalem—City and Idea 20
Old Testament Times 20
New Testament Times 37
3 Constantinople—Paradigm of a Christian Capital as New Jerusalem 52
Translatio Hierosolymi 52
4 Principles of Construction and Visual Representation of the Jerusalem
Identity of Constantinople 63
5 History and Instruments of Constantinople’s Jerusalemization 72
The Age of Constantine the Great 73
The Age of Theodosius 77
The Age of Justinian 83
The Age of Heraclius 96
The Age of the Macedonians 101
The Age of the Komnenoi 118
The Age of the Palaiologoi 133
6 Capitals of Slavia Orthodoxa in the Late Middle Ages: New Jerusalems as
New Constantinoples? 144
Translatio Constantinopoleos 144
Trnovo 154
Belgrade 175
Moscow 196
Conclusion 222
Bibliography 227
Index of Names 259
Index of Subjects 262

Preface
This book has been long in the making—far longer than in the writing. In
fact, it was there long before it was actually written. It was conceived at cer-
tain entirely private and yet (by no means accidentally) entirely public (New)
Jerusalems. In Belgrade, in Šajkaška and Ljube Stojanovića streets in the neigh-
bourhood of Profesorska kolonija, in Gavrila Principa street in Savamala, at
Kosančićev venac and Varoš kapija, in Čika Ljubina and Kapetan Mišina streets
of Dorćol. In Makedonska street. In Detelinara. In Podaca and Lunjevica. In
Maadi and on Zamalek. In Rehavia. In Olitsika street of Ilisia and Štrosmajerova
street of Petrovaradin.
As the third generation of a family that has lived in and written about
Jerusalem, is attached to the city and its idea, in both past and present, I expe-
rienced the writing of this book as a predetermined task, natural and expected,
as much as it was demanding. To a lesser extent this book is the result of col-
lecting and systematically presenting its facts and particular phenomena. To
a far greater extent it is a measure of an immeasurable indebtedness to Miloš
and Borivoj who laid its foundations with their knowledge, dedication and
love. Over the years they were not the only ones.
As I present this book to the public my gratitude goes to all who set Jerusalem
as my beacon, cultivated and stirred, incited and encouraged me, always see-
ing further ahead than I could.
I am deeply indebted to professor Marica Šuput and academician Elka
Bakalova for their selfless and long-time professional support; and to col-
leagues; and, above all, to true friends from the Department of Art History
at the Faculty of Philosophy (University of Belgrade), Saša Brajović, Ivan
Stevović, Tanja Malevanov and Gordana Veljanović. To my esteemed and dear
colleagues, academician Elka Bakalova, professor Barbara Baert and profes-
sor Vlada Stanković, I extend true gratitude for all their suggestions, which
helped bring this text closer to its audience. I owe sincere and deep gratitude
to the Institute for Theological Research of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology
of the University of Belgrade, which published the original text in Serbian and
worked with dedication to prepare it for print. I was thus granted the honour
and opportunity to attempt a small offering to the house where I, literally, took
my first steps.
The publication of this book in English is a privilege for which I would
like to express my deepest gratitude to the publisher. In particular, to profes-
sor Florin Curta, editor of the East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle
Ages series, for recognizing the intrinsic significance of presenting to Brill’s
x Preface
worldwide audience one possible way to explore the fundamental Judeo-
Christian idea of Jerusalem as the cornerstone of the identities of polities
in the Eastern Orthodox world and, more specifically, in Slavia Orthodoxa in
the later Middle Ages and early modern period, in its various interpretations,
implementations, historical contextualizations and modes of visualization.
To the anonymous reader of this text I am grateful for the suggestions which
brought this study and the matter presented therein closer to the English-
speaking reader. I am thankful for the dedicated efforts of Jakov Djordjević—
doctoral candidate and research assistant at the Department of Art History,
Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, and a promising and talented
young scholar—for his assistance in bringing the system of bibliographi-
cal references and citations in line with the propositions of the publisher.
Transliteration of non-Latin, Slavic names and titles, is in line with the propo-
sitions of the publisher’s General Guide for Manuscript Preparation. All transla-
tions into English of Slavic, mainly Serbian, sources and of excerpts from cited
texts of bibliographical entries are my own.
As I present the book to the public I keep in my mind and my heart the dear
friends of my family, Dr. Francis Amir Ofner and Henry Kamm, my dear čika
Franja and uncle Henry, who are embedded in its creation, and who rejoice in
its (final) materialization as much as they joyfully recognized and encouraged
its creation before the writing even began.
This is a book about, and from, the past. Like every story of the past it is, in
effect, also a story of foundations—one possible way to grasp the fundamental
ideas that underlie the world of medieval man. However, as we know all too
well, the ultimate measure of all things lies with those who claim the future.
In my case, the future, and my hope that the light of Jerusalem shall persist in
generations to come, lies with the two most important readers of this book, my
daughters, Milica and Katarina.
J. E.