Profile

Email

bouchra.tohme@gmail.com

Science ID

FB1A-459F-6CF6

Ciênciavitae

ORCID

Lab2PT Group

SpaceR - Space and Representation

Scientific Area

Arts; Architecture

Supervision

João Cabeleira Jorge Correia

Project Title

The ‘Rum’ Church Architecture in the XX century: The Enduring Embodiment of Byzantine Culture and Symbolism in the Orthodox Church of Lebanon

Abstract

The architectural style of the Eastern Orthodox Church temples in Lebanon in the twentieth century, in most countries that were under the Byzantine Empire, has undergone slight changes over time after the fall of the Empire. Orthodoxy is traditional for several reasons, one of which is that it is founded on Tradition: both the Holy Tradition and the cultural traditions (custom). Between the Byzantine Rite and the elements- mostly architectural- there is no simple, clear, and direct correspondence. It is quite impossible to understand the rationale behind the liturgy, arts, and architecture, without a historical context of the Church. Both liturgy and architecture have “an internal logic”, and their development is at different rates. The relationship between the Byzantine Rite and architecture goes through the Orthodox Church along with the meaning of the Byzantine Empire for the Church. The Byzantine architectural style of the churches is dynamic and had a lot of development during the time of the Empire. The adoption of this style by the Orthodox Church in Lebanon in the twentieth century is related to a complex matrix that starts with Tradition and goes through the prosperity that the Empire gave the Church in the first centuries and finishes with memory and symbolism.

Keywords

Byzantine architecture, Orthodox Church, Liturgy, Lebanon

Organic Unity

School of Architecture, Art and Design of the University of Minho