Сакральная топика русского города (8). К истории русских надвратных храмов

S. S. Avanesov

S. S. Avanesov Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1081-4871

Keywords: overgate church, Russian city, visual semiotics, sacred space

Abstract

This publication continues a series of articles devoted to the study of the traditional Russian city as a religious visual semiotic system. The article shows the list of Russian overgate churches built in the period from the 11^th to the 21^st century. This catalog allows assessing the intensity of the construction of such temples in different historical periods. The maximum number of built overgate churches belongs to the 17^th century, and the highest rate of their construction – to the 21^st century. The article also presents information about the dedication of Russian overgate churches, taking into account the fact that the dedication of the same churches could change. Most of the churches are grouped by category of dedication: prophets, apostles, saints, holidays, and icons. In addition, information about the time of the construction of such churches in Veliky Novgorod and about the territories culturally gravitating towards it is presented as an example of the local history of overgate churches. Here the churches are divided into two categories: urban and monastic. In conclusion, there is a brief analysis of the overgate church as an element of urban space. With this the author uses the ideas of Aldo Rossi about the semiotic role of an architectural structure as a sign of a historical event, about the relationship between architectural composition and cultural style, about the meaning of the syntactic position of a building in an urban text, about the visual semiotics of a city as overcoming of own boundaries of architecture. In this context, both overgate church and sacred composition in which it is included turn out not only to be material objects, religious architectural structures, works of art of a certain era, objects of aesthetic attitude, but also semiotic constructs, signs and texts, visual messages and testimonies, as well as forms of visual confession of the deepest worldview beliefs.

Author Biography

S. S. Avanesov, Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2020-2-144-170

Sergey Avanesov
Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Russia
iskiteam@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1081-4871

Abstract
This publication continues a series of articles devoted to the study of the traditional Russian city as a religious visual semiotic system. The article shows the list of Russian overgate churches built in the period from the 11^th to the 21^st century. This catalog allows assessing the intensity of the construction of such temples in different historical periods. The maximum number of built overgate churches belongs to the 17^th century, and the highest rate of their construction – to the 21^st century. The article also presents information about the dedication of Russian overgate churches, taking into account the fact that the dedication of the same churches could change. Most of the churches are grouped by category of dedication: prophets, apostles, saints, holidays, and icons. In addition, information about the time of the construction of such churches in Veliky Novgorod and about the territories culturally gravitating towards it is presented as an example of the local history of overgate churches. Here the churches are divided into two categories: urban and monastic. In conclusion, there is a brief analysis of the overgate church as an element of urban space. With this the author uses the ideas of Aldo Rossi about the semiotic role of an architectural structure as a sign of a historical event, about the relationship between architectural composition and cultural style, about the meaning of the syntactic position of a building in an urban text, about the visual semiotics of a city as overcoming of own boundaries of architecture. In this context, both overgate church and sacred composition in which it is included turn out not only to be material objects, religious architectural structures, works of art of a certain era, objects of aesthetic attitude, but also semiotic constructs, signs and texts, visual messages and testimonies, as well as forms of visual confession of the deepest worldview beliefs.

Keywords: overgate church, Russian city, visual semiotics, sacred space

References

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About author

Sergey S. Avanesov
Dr. Sci. (Philosophy), Professor, Head of the Department of Theology,
Director of the Research and Educational Centre
for Humanitarian Urbanistics.
Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University, Russia.
E-mail: iskiteam@yandex.ru

For citation:
Avanesov S. S. Sacred Topics of Russian Cities (8). On the History of Russian Overgate Churches. Journal of Visual Theology. 2020. 2.
P. 144–170.
https://doi.org/10.34680/vistheo-2020-2-144-170