Communication with God or higher powers must take place in a special place. The temple serves this good purpose. What is a church, a temple and a mosque? We will talk about this later in the article.
Orthodox Christian Churches
In Christianity, and in particular in Orthodoxy, the temple is called the church. Similar places of worship are built according to certain rules. As you know, Orthodoxy came to Russia from Byzantium, the successor to the Great Roman Empire. Ancient architects built the first Russian churches, taking Byzantine and Greek churches as a model . The main distinguishing features of Orthodox churches were then and are now the following compositional solutions:
- The space of any church is divided into three main parts - the temple itself, the altar and the narthex.
- Any church is symmetrical about an axis.
- In its central part, the Orthodox church has a cubic shape.
- The church is crowned with semicircular bulbous domes.
- In the interior and exterior, arches are widely used.
- The walls are often decorated with niches.
- Narrow long windows.
- Modest strict exterior and rich magnificent interior.
Built immediately after baptism, Christian churches in Russia were truly enormous in size. As an example, St. Sophia Cathedral and in Kiev the first Russian church. What is a cathedral? This is the same church, but richer and more monumental. Such a temple was usually considered the main one in any area. Later, Russian architects began to build churches of much smaller sizes.
What are Muslim temples?
Muslim temples are called mosques. They are also being erected according to certain canons. A typical mosque has the following elements:
- Columns designed to strengthen the outer walls. They are called their guldast.
- Deep niches in the walls (aivans).
- Large and small domes.
- Patio.
As in Orthodox churches, arches are often used in mosques. Another characteristic architectural element for them are massive carved doors, which are often decorated with metal rivets in the shape of stars. Since the image of living beings is forbidden by Islamic canons, instead of icons inside the Muslim temple on the walls, passages from the Koran are used. Also commonly used decor such as ornament.
A mosque is actually a very beautiful temple. What is a minaret? This is another indispensable element of the Muslim religious building. It is a tower from which the muezzin calls upon believers to prayer. Each mosque has several such structures.
Pagan temples
What did the pagan temple look like ? What is a temple? These questions are actually not as simple as they might seem at first glance. Information about such buildings in Russia has practically not been preserved. The fact is that the chroniclers in our country were mostly Christian monks. It is unlikely that they would begin to extol the beauty of pagan temples. However, judging by the remains of an ancient structure discovered near Kiev, next to which numerous animal bones were found, the pagan temple was an ellipse in the section with rectangular extensions oriented to the cardinal points.
Judging by the surviving records of foreign travelers, the walls of pagan temples were chopped. Outside, they were decorated with carved, painted images of gods and goddesses, as well as animals and people. The center of the pagan temple was the altar. It was located in front of the room. There was no ceiling over him. At the back were images of the gods. And not only the good ones, but also those whom they feared. Windows in the temple were not provided. Therefore, twilight always reigned inside. The roof of the pagan temple was made of shingle. There was a second roof, at a height of about a third of the walls. Most likely, she served to protect ordinary people who came to the temple from rain. The fact is that only priests had access to the pagan temple.
So, we examined what is the meaning of the word temple in paganism. This is the place of secret rites and sacrifices. Not a single such building has been preserved to this day. You can, of course, think that before the Christianity the Slavs had no temples at all, and they performed their rituals directly in the open. However, the evidence of foreign travelers nevertheless suggests the opposite.
Monument Temples
Now consider what a temple monument is. Over time, the temples in our country have been replaced by Orthodox churches, the construction of which was mentioned above. In fact, every ancient church is an architectural monument. However, the monument itself can also be called a modern newly built temple. But only if it was erected in honor of some significant event. Monuments are also considered churches built in memory of the fallen soldiers or some saints.
Monument temples in Russia
In Russia there are many such temples. For example, this is the Church of All Saints in Kulishki in Moscow, erected in memory of the Battle of Kulikovo. The very first monastery, once built in the capital - St. Danilovsky - is also a monument. It was erected in honor of St. Daniel the Stylite.
So what is the meaning of the word temple? A temple is a place where a person communicates with a god or divine powers, a building built with special love and in accordance with the canons of a particular religion.