Domus Aurea (Antioch)

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A possible representation of the church of Antioch (right) next to the imperial palace, on the edge of the hunting mosaic from the fifth century, found in Daphne, near Antioch

Domus Aurea ("Golden House") or the Great Church in Antioch on the Orontes was the cathedral in which the Patriarch of Antioch preached. It was one of the churches whose construction began under the rule of Constantine the Great . It is believed that it was located on an island where a Hellenistic palace was located in the Seleucid period Antioch. The church became a matter of dispute between the Christians and Julian the Apostate , who closed it down in response to the burning of an ancient temple of Apollo in nearby Daphne . A series of earthquakes, fires, and Persian attacks ravaged the church between 526 and 587 and was ultimately not rebuilt after another earthquake in 588.

Edification

The floor plan of the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, completed in 548, could be based on the model of the Domus Aurea

Construction of the church began in 327 during the reign of Constantine the Great and was completed under Constantius II . The church was consecrated on January 6, 341 in the presence of Constans and Constantius II and an assembly of 97 bishops. It was built on an island between the two great arms of the Orontes , on which the imperial palace was also located. It has not yet been possible to determine the exact position of the church.

The only known (possible) representation of the Domus Aurea is the Megalopsychia hunting mosaic (also "Yakto mosaic") from the second half of the 5th century, found in an ancient suburb of Antioch, Daphne (Yakto). A section on the edge of the mosaic of the hunting scene shows buildings from Antioch, including one that is interpreted as the Imperial Palace and the Domus Aurea. Although part of an octagonal building can be seen on the mosaic, it remains unclear whether this represents the Great Church and whether the illustration with other buildings allows it to be located on the river island. In the absence of clear pictorial representations, one must rely on literary descriptions of the building. In his Life of Constantine, Eusebius describes the Domus Aurea as having an octagonal plan and many chambers surrounding it. The dome-shaped roof, made of wood, was of great height and gilded on the inside. The floor was polished marble, and every part of the building was lavishly clad in brass, gold, and precious stones. It has been suggested that the church be similar in plan to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, built in 540.

Closure by Emperor Julian

Emperor Julian entered Antioch in 362, shortly after he had also become ruler of the eastern part of the Roman Empire after the death of Constantius II. He was the last non-Christian emperor of the Roman Empire. Julian chose Antioch as his base of operations, partly to be able to coordinate his planned campaign against the Persians and partly to promote the resurgence of Hellenism in the Eastern Roman Empire . He had the body of Saint Babylas removed from the Martyrion near the Temple of Apollo in Daphne because he suspected that the body had silenced the oracle of Apollo. When the temple burned down a little later, Julian was angry and suspected the Christians. He had the Great Church closed.

Earthquake and fire

The earthquake in May 526 badly damaged the Great Church, but it remained standing. But a fire that burned inside the church for seven days after the earthquake caused it to collapse. The church was rebuilt by Ephraim , the comes Orientis , which contributed significantly to his appointment as Patriarch of Antioch in 528. On November 29, 528, another earthquake hit the city and the Great Church was destroyed again. Once again it was restored by Ephraim and consecrated in 537/538, only to be destroyed a third time by fire in 540 when Antioch was infected by attacking Persians under Chosrau I. It was rebuilt one last time by Emperor Justinian I , but was damaged by earthquakes 551, 557 and 577, which caused the dome to move north.

destruction

The last destruction of the church was on October 31st, 588 (or possibly 587), when Antioch was struck again by a severe earthquake. It is reported that although the actual church was destroyed, the dome on the ruins came to rest in an upright position. After this earthquake no further attempts were apparently made to rebuild the church. The area around the cathedral does not seem to have been populated any more at this time, since Antioch had lost its capital function in the Eastern Roman Empire and the river island was no longer enclosed by the ramparts.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John ND Kelly: Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom - Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop . Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY 1998, ISBN 0-8014-8573-8 , pp. 2-3 ( books.google.co.uk ).
  2. ↑ Timothy David Barnes: Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire . Harvard University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-674-00549-X , pp. 57 ( books.google.co.uk ).
  3. ^ A b C. Saliou: A propos de la ταυριαν πλη: remarques sur la localization présumée de la Grande Eglise d'Antioche de Syrie . In: Syria . 77, 2000, pp. 217-226. doi : 10.3406 / syria.2000.7655 . Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  4. ^ Luke Lavan: Street space in late antiquity . In: Elizabeth M. Jeffreys, FK Haarer, J. Gilliland (Eds.): Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies: London, August 21-26, 2006 . tape 1 . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., Aldershot 2006, ISBN 0-7546-5740-X , pp. 68-69 ( books.google.co.uk ).
  5. ↑ a b c H. N. Kennedy: The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East (=  Variorum Collected Studies . Volume 860 ). Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., Aldershot 2006, ISBN 0-7546-5909-7 , pp. 185-187 ( books.google.co.uk ).
  6. ^ WRW Stephens: Saint Chrysostom His Life And Times. A sketch of the church and the empire in the fourth century . Kessinger Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-4179-4869-8 , pp. 95 ( books.google.co.uk - first edition: 1872).
  7. ^ GW Bowersock: Julian the Apostate . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1997, ISBN 0-674-48882-2 , pp. 95-99 ( books.google.co.uk ).
  8. ^ W. Witakowski: Chronicle: Known Also as the Chronicle of Zuqnin (=  Translated texts for historians . Volume 22 ). Part 3. Liverpool University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-85323-760-3 , pp. 46-47 ( books.google.co.uk ).
  9. ↑ MR Sbeinati, R. Darawcheh, M. Mouty: The historical earthquakes of Syria: an analysis of large and moderate earthquakes from 1365 BC to 1900 AD . (PDF) In: Annals of Geophysics . 48, No. 3, 2005, pp. 355-356. Retrieved September 25, 2011.