Transformations and Intercultural Contacts between East and West |
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A well-organized church system was established on and already Christianized Cyprus since the beginning of the 4th century. Unexceptionally, the first monumental edifices of Christian cult on the island were built ex novo by the end of the same century. The constant construction of religious buildings continued during the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries as a result of the political stability, the economic prosperity and the religious importance of Cyprus during these times. Its connection with the Aegean, Constantinople, Rome and the pilgrimage centers of the Holy Land has further favored its cultural developments. The moment of greatest splendor of the Church of Cyprus, extends from the half of the 6th to the first half of the 7th century. In a period of tremendous instability and thread due to the Persian and Arab invasions, Cyprus acquired an important role as the naval, commercial and religious center of the area. The religious architecture of these decades is marked by some major interventions on existing cult buildings, as well as by the construction of new basilicas in both rural areas and urban centers. Thus, this period is considered as one of the most archaeologically visible phases of Cypriot antiquity. |
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| Even if a lesser number has been known by textual evidence, archaeological material informs us that there were at least seventy four basilicas. Despite the abundance of architectural evidence and material culture, the published record remains restricted. Nonetheless, scholarship on Early Christian archaeology on the island is currently increasing and moving towards a more careful stratigraphic analysis, proposing accurate reconstructions of the chronological phases and the archaeological contexts. Nevertheless, the study of Early Christian architecture needs further elaboration, and a published corpus of the Early Christian ecclesiastical monuments of Cyprus remains a desideradum. | |
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Following the collection of this evidence during the doctoral dissertation of Doria Nicolaou, the main target of this project, financed by the WissenschaftsCampus Mainz, is the contextualization of Early Christian ecclesiastical architecture of Cyprus and the realization of such a corpus. All the religious buildings dating between the 4th and the mid-7th century are catalogued and discussed. The corpus aims to act as a comprehensive working tool for the standardization of data, including unpublished archaeological and archival evidence, followed by characteristic illustrations, plans according to a uniform model and updated bibliographic references. Thus, the corpus will be a stimulus towards new research on Early Christian archaeology of Cyprus, advancing innovative interpretations on ecclesiastical architecture, tracing the role of Church in Cypriot society, and positioning the island within the framework of international networks and interactions of the Late Antique and Early Byzantine orbis. |
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Episcopal Basilica of Paphos, Chrysopolitissa, as viewed from the SE, © Doria Nicolaou.