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Name: Lily Seach

Tutor: Michele Vescovi

Module: Body, Space and Image in Medieval Europe and across the

Mediterranean

Title: Discuss the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem focusing on the architecture of the

Constantinian church, its functions and models

Word count: 1928

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Discuss the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem focusing on the

architecture of the Constantinian church, its functions and

models

Shortly after discovering the tomb of Jesus Christ, Emperor

Constantine directed the bishop of Jerusalem, Macarius, to

build the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at this site in

Jerusalem1. It became a complex build due to the fact that the

Church had to be built around the tomb of Christ as to not

move it. Nonetheless, Constantine wished it to be a grand and

intricate monument in which to emulate the centrality of the

new Christian faith to the empire, a gesture that immediately

captured the Christian imagination2. The Church of the Holy

Sepulchre representing the centrality of the Christian faith

which was also interpreted as the centre of the world during

the Middle Ages, for it quickly became that for Christian

pilgrims3. This idea has in fact been echoed within Medieval

World Maps, such as the Psalter World Map (Figure 1), which

portrays Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre as the direct centre

with God depicted at the top as the creator and father of the

world. One then needs to investigate why Constantine chose 1 Gregory T. Armstrong. “Constantine’s Churches: Symbol and Structure” In Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 33, No. 1 (March, 1974): 5.2 Karen Armstrong. “Chapter 9: The New Jerusalem” In a History of Jerusalem (London: Harper Collins, 1996), 1823 Armstrong. “Constantine’s Churches: Symbol and Structure”. 5.

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this particular structure for the Church of the Holy

Sepulchre. For instance, there is evidence to suggest

Constantine perhaps related the church on designs of a

martyrium, as seen in Constantine’s St. Peter’s. However, in

this sense a martyr shrine is seen as the Christian equivalent

of the mausoleum, a house to honour the burial places of the

martyrs in their cemeteries4. Therefore, Constantine was

possibly motivated by both of these designs in order to

reflect the function of the Church.

Through interpretation of a fourth century plan of the Church

of the Holy Sepulchre, the complex structure includes an

atrium than connected the complex with the main street to the

East, a five aisled basilica with its apse in the west, a

porticoed courtyard containing the Rock of Calvary in the

south-east corner, and the great Anastasis Rotunda which

housed the tomb of Christ5. Each section of the Church is

considered to hold a different function, for instance the

atrium can represent the place of preparation for the

worshipper and through here they would enter into the house of

4 J. B. Ward-Perkins. “Imperial Mausolea and Their Possible Influence on Early Christian Central-Plan Buildings” In Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 25, No. 4 (December, 1966): 297-298.5 Robert Ousterhout. “Rebuilding the Temple: Constantine Monomachus and theHoly Sepulchre” In Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 48, No. 1 (March, 1989): 67

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prayer, the five aisled basilica6. Its three doors were left

ajar so that pilgrims would be able to catch a glimpse of the

splendours of the Church and feel moved to enter7. The basilica

is thought to represent the gathering place for communal

worship which is echoed through the Constantinian building of

St. Peter’s; of which serves as a martyrium for Saint Peter

and a funerary gathering hall designed for large masses8. The

courtyard in front of the tomb was designed to accommodate

crowds of pilgrims and a garden was planted there in memory of

the garden where the women had first seen the resurrection of

Christ9. This representation of an open courtyard embodied as a

holy garden reflects a link between the earthly and the

heavenly, thus emphasising the pilgrims experience and

imagination regarding the time and life of Christ. Within the

Anastasis Rotunda, the tomb itself had been cut back, leaving

only the rock actually containing the burial chamber to rise

as an isolated block from the surface. It is an octagonal

aedicule covered by a dome which features an oculus at the top

centre10. The oculus gave direct access to heaven from the holy

place, as seen in the Pantheon, creating a link between the

6 Armstrong, “Constantine’s Churches: Symbol and Structure”. 16.7 Armstrong. “Chapter 9: The New Jerusalem”. 181-1828 Richard Krautheimer. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1986). 56.9 Armstrong. “Chapter 9: The New Jerusalem”. 182.10 Armstrong, “Constantine’s Churches: Symbol and Structure”. 16.

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pilgrim and Christ and thus emphasising their experience. This

unique free standing feature is described as ‘embellished with

choice columns and an abundance of ornament, making the

venerable cave gleam with shining decorations’11. The design

for the rotunda reproduces the miracle of Christ’s

resurrection from the dead, the cave an emblem of Christ’s

victory, and the tomb itself reproduces the entire Christian

experience12. The letter in which Constantine writes to

Macarius, the bishop of Jerusalem, describes his desires for a

grand monument, “brought to light the pledge of the Saviours

passion, should be adorned by beautiful buildings…all

excellences of evert city are surpassed by this foundation”13.

This suggests that Constantine wished to create a grand and

miraculous building structurally and architecturally in order

to emulate the Christian miracle in which it represented. The

architecture and layout of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on

the whole ensured that worshippers approached the inner

sanctum step by step so that they had time to prepare their

minds and hearts14.

11 Martin Biddle. The Tomb of Christ. (Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing Limited, 1999). 69. 12 Armstrong. “Chapter 9: The New Jerusalem”. 184.13 Averil Cameron and Stuart G. Hall. ”Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus to Macarius” In Eusebius: Life of Constantine. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999). 134.14 Armstrong. 187.

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With this considered, one can make comparisons regarding

architectural structure between the Holy Sepulchre and the

Constantinian basilica St Peter’s. For instance, St Peter’s

also contained separated compartments which suited different

functions to fulfil the aim of accommodating burials and

commemorative services as well as funeral banquets15. Although

the Holy Sepulchre was designed to achieve a slightly

different function, the structure is similar in a sense that

it can hold masses of pilgrims at one moment, and on this note

the architecture aids the performance of specific functions.

For instance, the courtyard placed at the entrance of St.

Peter’s almost mirrors the atrium of the Holy Sepulchre which

can also be read as a place of preparation for the pilgrim.

The basilica itself is vastly similar in both buildings; they

are both five aisled basilicas and longitudinal in structure.

However, within the basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, a transept

is absent. Nonetheless, the function of the transept within

St. Peter’s reflects the function of the Anastasis Rotunda in

the Holy Sepulchre. The transept of St. Peter’s is separated

from the nave and aisles by a triumphal arch, enabling the

transept to entirely serve as the site of the martyr’s

shrine16. With this considered, the Anastasis Rotunda of the

15 Krautheimer. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. 5116 Krautheimer. 56.

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Holy Sepulchre is a completely separate piece of architecture,

an octagonal aedicule covered by a dome, it is designed to

serve and honour the tomb of Christ. Therefore, although the

transept of St. Peter’s and the Anastasis Rotunda are

different structurally, functionally they are similar. Due to

the fact that Constantine wanted the Holy Sepulchre to be

“not only a basilica superior to those in all other places”,

may be the reason for going one step further in creating an

intimate aedicule completely separate from the main basilica17.

Nevertheless, despite the similarities between the two

buildings, it does not necessarily mean that the Church of the

Holy Sepulchre was modelled from St. Peters. Conceivably, the

idea of the combination of a martyrium and the ability to

accommodate large masses favoured Constantine’s architectural

choices.

Although there are notable similarities between the

architectural structure of St. Peter’s and the Church of the

Holy Sepulchre, it is arguable that it was in fact the desire

to portray a martyrium. The martyrium later became used to

refer to a martyr’s tomb, which can be mirrored through

Eusebius’ description of Christ’s tomb at its discovery: “the

17 Cameron and Hall. ”Victor Constantinus Maximus Augustus to Macarius”. 134.

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venerable and most holy martyrion of the Savior’s

resurrection”18. However, not only is site of the tomb

described as a martyrium but a pilgrim’s account associates

the term martyrium with the Constantinian basilica19. By the

end of the 4th century, ‘martyrium’ was only regarded when

describing the basilica. However, there are certain

similarities between the structure of the Anastasis Rotunda

and that of mausolea, especially when considering the fact

that early Christian architecture evolved from pagan funerary

architecture20. In addition to this, Mausoleums were created to

house and to honour the burial places of the martyr’s in their

cemeteries21. Although the Anastasis Rotunda does not host the

body of Christ, it does act in the same way in the sense that

it is designed to honour the resting place of Christ prior to

his resurrection. When analysing the plan for the Mausoleum of

Augustus, there are notable similarities between that and the

Anastasis Rotunda. An example being the circular plan

accompanied by a circular corridor, thus allowing the visitor

to walk all the way around the tomb of the martyr without any

interruption. The circular plan was fairly common within

18 Robert Ousterhout. “The Temple, the Sepulchre and the Martyrion of the Savior” In Gesta, Vol. 29, No. 1. (University of Chicago Press, 1990). 51.19 Ibidem.20 Ward-Perkins. . “Imperial Mausolea and Their Possible Influence on Early Christian Central-Plan Buildings”. 297.21 Ibidem.

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mausolea, and was clearly an influential factor to plan and

function of the Anastasis Rotunda. Therefore, the martyr

shrine can be seen as the Christian equivalent of the

Mausoleum, and the function of the Anastasis Rotunda is

contemplated to be between a martyrium and a mausoleum22.

However, mausolea were not the only pagan design with a

circular plan, bath houses also contained this feature23.

Nonetheless, the function of the mausolea coincides with that

of the Rotunda, therefore this design deriving from mausolea

seems more feasible.

Another possible influence to the structure of the Holy

Sepulchre is the Temple of Jerusalem that was destroyed in

70AD. J. Wilkinson has suggested that parts of the early

liturgical celebration at the Holy Sepulchre were structured

following the model of the ceremonies at the temple, such as

the parallel between the offering at the temple and the

weekday morning hymns at the Holy Sepulchre24. An architectural

similarity can be seen in the tomb aedicule which was topped

by a pediment containing a shell motif which is related to the

Ark within the Holy of holies at the Temple25. The symbolic

22 Ward-Perkins. 298. 23 Ibidem.24 Ousterhout. “The Temple, the Sepulchre and the Martyrion of the Savior”. 45. 25 Ousterhout. 48.

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association of the Temple and the Sepulchre may have been

initiated by Eusebius himself as he wished to demonstrate the

continuity from Temple to Church26. However, both structures

are of different scales, and nowhere are we told that the Holy

Sepulchre was a copy of the temple27.

On the whole, the Holy Sepulchre can be seen as a

revolutionary, not evolutionary, building designed by

Constantine, of which its architecture expresses the triumph

of the new religion28. Although Constantine wished it to be a

grand monument that excelled all other basilicas, it is

thought that he was architecturally motivated through the

combination of mausolea and martyrium which together served

the function of the Church.

26 Ousterhout. 46.27 Ousterhout. 52.28 Ward-Perkins. . “Imperial Mausolea and Their Possible Influence on Early Christian Central-Plan Buildings”. 299.

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Images

Figure 1 Psalter World Map, Westminster, c.1265

Bibliography

Armstrong, Gregory T. “Constantine’s Churches: Symbol and

Structure” In Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 33, No. 1

(March, 1974)

Armstrong, Karen. “Chapter 9: The New Jerusalem” In a History of

Jerusalem (London: Harper Collins, 1996)

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Biddle, Martin. The Tomb of Christ. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing

Limited, 1999.

Cameron, Averil and Stuart G. Hall. ”Victor Constantinus Maximus

Augustus to Macarius” In Eusebius: Life of Constantine. Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1999.

Ousterhout Robert. “Rebuilding the Temple: Constantine Monomachus and the Holy Sepulchre” In

Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 48, No. 1 (March, 1989)

Ousterhout, Robert. “The Temple, the Sepulchre and the Martyrion of

the Savior” In Gesta, Vol. 29, No. 1. (University of Chicago Press,

1990)

Richard Krautheimer. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. New Haven;

London: Yale University Press, 1986.

Ward-Perkins, J. B. “Imperial Mausolea and Their Possible Influence

on Early Christian Central-Plan Buildings” In Journal of the Society of

Architectural Historians, Vol. 25, No. 4 (December, 1966)