In this article we will talk about where the Orthodox architecture of churches comes from, what it symbolizes by itself and on what principles it is built, as well as what importance is attached to different types of churches.
It's no secret that
Christianity in Russia is not a native religion. Orthodoxy came to us from distant Byzantium. And the principles of church building were based on the temples of Byzantium. But although initially Russian architects tried to copy the
architecture of the churches, over time, the construction of churches acquired a unique style and their own sacred meaning.
We can say that the technology of how to build a cross-domed church came from Byzantium to Russia. It has its own distinctive features, since it necessarily has a dome, which is located on four pillars, symbolizing the four cardinal points and four evangelists. After the four main ones, there are twelve or more pillars, the intersections of which form the signs of the cross and divide the temple into zones, each of which has its own name and purpose.
According to the research of historians and religious scholars, the cross-domed church originates from the Roman catacombs.
In the catacombs on the site of the dome there was always a source of natural light, it symbolized the light of God or Jesus Christ. Of course, the above-ground cross-domed temple looks incomparably more magnificent than the catacombs. But still, some of the architectural similarities survived.
The development of construction technology in Russia is initially different from the Byzantine one. After all, the main building material was wood, from which churches with domes in the form of tents were often built, because it is difficult to make a dome of a traditional shape from wood. Even over time, stone churches began to appear with domes in the form of tents. True, in the seventeenth century the construction of such temples was banned.
However, in Russia, and later in Russia, despite the wooden construction, more than one Byzantine cross-domed church was built. Basically, these are white-stone single-dome and five-domed churches.
To date, the architecture of Orthodox churches has advanced far ahead, when viewed from the originally Byzantine. But still, there are many features and principles of the construction of temples.
One of the distinguishing principles was the greater number of domes. And if initially one- and five-domed churches were built, now there are much more of them. One-dome churches are dedicated to the unity of God and his creations.
The two domes speak of the double creation of God, people and angels, as well as the double nature of Jesus Christ (God and man).
Three domes are used as a symbol of the trinity.
Four domed temples symbolize the four evangelists and the cardinal points.
Five-domed speak of the exaltation of Jesus Christ.
The seven-domed is a testament of the seven sacraments and the seven virtues.
The temple with nine domes testifies to nine angelic ranks.
The temple with thirteen domes is a symbol of Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles.
Twenty-five domes of the temple speak of the prophecy of St. John the Evangelist.
And thirty-three domes testify to the full years of Jesus.
No other number of domes is provided. But it is important to note that each element of the temple carries a sacred meaning. Since Byzantium, architecture has stepped far forward. However, all Orthodox churches are still being built according to the cross-domed principle.