The concept of the spatial icon, introduced by

Alexei Lidov Alexei Mikhailovich Lidov (Russian language, Russian: Алексей́ Михай́лович Ли́дов; March 9, 1959 – May 29, 2025) was a Russian art history, art historian and Byzantine studies, Byzantinist, an author of the concepts '' ...

, plays a central role in hierotopy and is used to describe the perception of sacred spaces. Spatial icons are image-visions, that are evoked, for example, in the space of a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

. The spatial icon encompasses a broad range of components involved in the formation and definition of sacred spaces. It is a consciously created spatial image that transcends the material objects involved in its formation. A variety of plastic elements, including everything from buildings to decoration, and from

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s to

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

artifacts, work together to form a spatial icon. Sacred

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s and iconic images often play an integral role in the creation of a comprehensive spatial image. Various dynamic and performative media also play a significant role, such as rituals and song, as well as the artistic manipulation of natural light, lighting and sounds, and also elements dealing with odor and touch. From this point of view,

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

churches can be seen as spatial icons in which divine image-visions, such as

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

Heavenly Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the Mess ...

, were incarnated in the sacred space by means of the various media employed without being directly depicted. The temples and sanctuaries of various

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

s were originally conceived, designed and created as spatial icons. In the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

tradition in particular, impressive examples of spatial icons are to be found in re-creations of the Holy Land, or "New Jerusalems". In many cases, spatial icons were the work of specific authors; their art could be compared with that of contemporary

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

s, for in both cases, there is the coordinated effort of various artists and specialists in shaping a single, comprehensive vision. Performativity, as well as various dynamic elements, is a significant feature of spatial icons. Unlike a statue or building, they are constantly in motion, changing with the movement and activity of ritual and celebration, as well as with the alteration of light, odor and the movements of those participating and inhabiting them. The Tuesday performance surrounding the Hodegetria icon in Constantinople and the Donkey walk taking place in

MoscowM. Flier. "The Image of the Tsar in the Muscovite Palm Sunday Ritual" in ''Spatial icons. Performativity in Byzantium and Medieval Russia'', ed. A. Lidov, Moscow: Indrik, 2011, pp. 533-562. are classical examples of iconic performativity in the

Eastern Christian Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

tradition. In both cases, the city itself was temporarily transformed into the matrix of a spatial icon; the participants involved in these rituals were thus veritable co-creators of the sacred space along with the artists, priests and celebrants responsible for leading it. Another example of this performative element at work in spatial icons can be found in the ritual creation and destruction of the

sand mandala Sand mandala (, THL ''kyinkhor''; ) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. Once complete, the sand mandala's ritualistic dismantling is accompanied by ceremonies and viewin ...

in the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

tradition.

Notes

{{reflist

External links

on-line library of hierotopic works

Round-table discussion on spatial icons at the International Congress of Byzantine Studies, 2016
History of art Iconography Religious art Constantinople

Notes

Further reading

External links