Worship and art
Description
Exhibition Space Text DescriptionThe center of public worship in Byzantium was the church. There the faithful gathered to celebrate the most important events from the life of Christ and the Virgin, to honor the memory of the saints, to listen to homilies and to pray. There a wide range of ecclesiastical services were celebrated, first and foremost the divine liturgy.
For the Byzantines, the church was not only the House of God writ small; it was “whole universe” in miniature. This conception left its imprint on the architectural configuration and adornment of the church: art became the handmaiden of worship.
Exhibits
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Theotokos Glykophilousa (“Episkepsis”)
Icons and Wood-Carvings This particular type of the Virgin, in which the two faces are touching, cheek to cheek, is known as the Glykophilousa. This ... -
Double-sided icon with the Crucifixion and the Virgin Hodegetria
Icons and Wood-Carvings The icon, which is the oldest in the museum, has three different layers of painting on the front. From the earliest, dating f... -
Virgin from a depiction of Deesis
Wall-paintings Virgin from a depiction of Deesis i.e. the intercession by the two people closest to Christ, the Virgin and St John the Bapti... -
Marble slab of a templon epistyle
Sculpture Marble slab of a templon epistyle, from a representation of the Great Deesis, with the figures of the Apostles, James, son of... -
Glass flask for holy water or myrrh
Glass flask for holy water or myrrh
Minor Arts The flask is made of blown, colourless glass. The iridescence seen on the surface is due to oxidation of the glass after bein... -
Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil
Manuscripts, Codices, Early Printed Books, Engravings and Drawings The parchment manuscript with the text of the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil is a representative scroll sample of the Byzantin...
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