religious architecture

The history of architecture is concerned more with religious buildings than with any other type, because in most past cultures the universal and exalted appeal of religion made the church or temple the most expressive, the most permanent, and the most influential building…

…buildings that were almost certainly religious shrines were uncovered—a find of some interest, since temples are virtually unknown in Anatolia at this period. Rectangular shrine chambers seemed to be arranged in pairs, with ritual installations recalling the Horns of Consecration and Tree, or Pillar, cults of Minoan Crete. A palace…

…were the subjects of numerous architectural experiments; while some were constructed on a central plan (Germigny-des-Prés, Aachen with its internal octagon shape), most remained faithful to the traditional T-shape basilican type. Liturgical considerations and the demands of the faith, however, made certain modifications necessary, such as crypts on the east…

The great building campaign of medieval times has been called the “cathedral crusade,” an equally impassioned counterpart of the great military adventures to recover the Holy Land.

architecture, painting, and sculpture from the beginnings of Christianity until about the early 6th century, particularly the art of Italy and the western Mediterranean. (Early Christian art in the eastern part of the Roman Empire is usually considered to be part of Byzantine art.) The…

…century it was thought that Christian art and architecture began after the death of Christ or, at least, in the second half of the 1st century ce. But later discoveries and studies showed that a truly Christian style did not exist before the end of the 2nd or beginning of…

The development of church architecture was stimulated by Constantine’s great buildings at Jerusalem and Rome, and his example as a church builder was emulated by his successors, most notably by Justinian in the 6th century. The exteriors of these churches remained simple, but inside they were richly ornamented with…

…focus of worship in Greek religion was the altar, which for a long time was a simple block and only much later evolved into a monumental form. It stood in the open air, and, if there was a temple, generally the altar was positioned to the east of it. The…

…comprised a complex of three structures—the monastery (vihara), the hall of worship (caitya), and the sacred tumulus (stupa)—all of which were freestanding structures in the north but were initially rock-cut monuments in the Deccan. The Jains found more patrons in the Deccan. Literary sources of the period mention Hindu temples,…

These extremely simple structures consisted of a shrine room, called a garbhagrha (“womb house,” or sanctum sanctorum), which contained an image of the deity and opened onto a porch. Over the centuries, additional structures were added until the temple complexes covered many acres. In the peninsula the early…

Temple architecture was divided into three main styles—nagara, dravida, and vasara—which were distinguished by the ground plan of the temple and by the shape of the shikhara (tower) that rose over the garbhagrha (cubical structure) and that became the commanding feature of temple architecture. The north…

Religious architecture remained faithful to the early Christian model (churches of basilican type, baptisteries, and vaulted mausoleums with central plans). Because of the development of the cult of saints and the practice of burying ad sanctos, mausoleums became common in churches. As had been the…

…was paid primarily to religious buildings, and all sculpture served religious purposes. The elaboration and adornment of palaces was an innovation of Assyrian times (see below Assyrian period).

The mystery religions developed different types of edifices for their purposes. Every Greek city had temples and precincts of Dionysus. The Isis Mysteries adopted the Greek temples, frequently adding a cupola. Many Isis temples were modest in size, but the temple at Pergamum (modern…

Religious buildings, especially churches, have until recently been consistently traditional expressions of style or symbolism. The church and church architecture flourished during the Middle Ages, and the style of church architecture that became the dominant symbol was the Gothic style. Until the recent past, churches…

…words, tones, gestures, rituals, and architecture.