Theology and Form: Contemporary Orthodox Architecture in America

by Nicholas Denysenko

Overview

How do space and architecture shape liturgical celebrations within a parish? In Theology and Form: Contemporary Orthodox Architecture in America, Nicholas Denysenko profiles seven contemporary Eastern Orthodox communities in the United States and analyzes how their ecclesiastical identities are affected by their physical space and architecture. He begins with an overview of the Orthodox architectural heritage and its relation to liturgy and ecclesiology, including topics such as stational liturgy, mobility of the assembly, the symbiosis between celebrants and assembly, placement of musicians, and festal processions representative of the Orthodox liturgy. Chapters 2–7 present comparative case studies of seven Orthodox parishes. Some of these have purchased their property and built new edifices; Denysenko analyzes how contemporary architecture makes use of sacred space and engages visitors. Others are mission parishes that purchased existing properties and buildings, posing challenges for and limitations of their liturgical practices. The book concludes with a reflection on how these parish examples might contribute to the future trajectory of Orthodox architecture in America and its dialogical relationship with liturgy and ecclesial identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268100155
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	05/30/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Nicholas Denysenko is associate professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University.

Nicholas Denysenko is the Emil and Elfriede Jochum Professor and Chair at Valparaiso University. He is the author of Theology and Form: Contemporary Orthodox Architecture in America (University of Notre Dame Press, 2017).

Read an Excerpt

My reading of the liturgical sources and analyses of the architectural evidence demonstrated a powerful symbiosis between liturgy and architecture in Byzantine Church history. There was never a question of variation within this tradition, which I gleaned from my reading of Mango and his description of various church edifices throughout the Byzantine Commonwealth. In the scholarly community, however, the discussion focused on the relationship between liturgy and architecture, which conveniently suggested that architectural form follows liturgical function. My consultation of contemporary Catholic scholarship on liturgy and architecture yielded a similar result. Of course, such a conclusion makes sense because liturgy is what the community does when it gathers in its designated space. In my own limited experience, I learned that the contemporary descendants of the Byzantine rite modified the interior space of buildings they could afford to accommodate the liturgy they had inherited. Immigrants happily decorated the walls with icons and constructed iconostases of varying sizes and styles. During my tenure as music director at St. Mary Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis, we occasionally celebrated the Divine Liturgy at a local nursing home. On those monthly trips, we would bring icons of the Mother of God and Jesus and place them on music stands for a makeshift iconostasis, using a small, auxiliary table for the prothesis rite, separate and distinct from the altar. I recall a similar pattern of set­up and take­down at Christ the Savior Orthodox mission in Anoka, Minnesota

After the monastic hegemony became complete in Byzantine liturgical history, the liturgy was somewhat reduced in its movements, with the monastery church becoming the primary model instead of the cathedral with its ambo, courtyard, and baptistery. The basic tripartite church structure of narthex, nave, and sanctuary, with an iconostasis dividing the nave from the sanctuary, remained reasonably constant, and came to America with the missionaries and immigrants beginning in the late eighteenth century. So the architectural heritage of American Orthodoxy retained some semblance of symbiosis with the liturgy, but this dynamic was weakened and continued to exist largely on the account of the need to have a basic space to celebrate the liturgy in accordance with its requirements.

This basic liturgy/architecture symbiosis existed in the churches I have described here, but as the reader can see from my brief descriptions, there were other factors contributing to the architectural design besides liturgy. In the case of St. Katherine, the community built a church closely resembling the Sophia cathedral in Kyiv, a manner of expressing community identity on the exterior. Furthermore, the parish constructed a cultural center and museum that is much larger than the church to accommodate its many non­liturgical activities and rituals. St. Katherine was an exception to the axiom of form following function since the architectural program expressed multiple community identities and priorities besides the liturgy. St. Matthew’s architectural design was inspired by the community’s dedication to promoting a strong lay ecclesiology while providing evangelistic outreach to the local community distinct from other Orthodox communities in the area. St. Matthew’s priorities were likewise inscribed on its architectural design, and while its blueprint and rationale differs significantly from that of St. Katherine, St. Matthew is also an exception to the form/ function axiom.

These initial observations formed by my limited experience in the two parish communities motivated me to study the issue further. I began with a series of questions: What is the status of the architectural form/function axiom in American Orthodox structures? If parish communities inscribe their values on their architectural programs, what are those values and how do they blend with the liturgical elements of ecclesial architecture? Given the increasing theological and ecclesiological plurality in American Orthodoxy, is it possible to identify a trend in American Orthodox architecture, and if so, should one promote it? These are the questions I intend to pursue in this study.

This study profiles seven contemporary Eastern Orthodox communities in the United States, and analyzes how their space and architecture shapes their liturgical celebrations and ecclesial identities. It begins with an introductory presentation on the historical development of Orthodox architecture, primarily focusing on the post-iconoclastic synthesis emerging in the Middle Byzantine period. I discuss the reciprocal relationship between architecture and liturgy by addressing topics such as stational liturgy, the mobility of the assembly, the relationship between celebrants and assembly, placement of singers, and festal processions (such as Holy Week and Pascha) representative of the Orthodox liturgy. A theological synthesis of the dialogical relationships between architecture, liturgy, and the specific contexts of the parish communities is offered as a foundation. I then focus on the seven Orthodox communities in America that purchased or constructed their own properties. The people constituting these communities are quite diverse, as are their regions, socioeconomic contexts, and particular ecclesial identities.

excerpted from the introduction

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Orthodox Architecture: Honoring the Past

2. St. Katherine Ukrainian Orthodox Church

3. St. Matthew Orthodox Church

4. Holy Virgin Cathedral

5. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

6. St. Vladimir’s Seminary and New Skete Monastery

7. Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church ( JOY) Mission

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

In this important work, Nicholas Denysenko channels the grandeur of this expression to the reader through a comprehensive and interdisciplinary study of seven contemporary Eastern Orthodox parishes in the United States, ‘and analyzes how their space and architecture shapes their liturgical celebrations and ecclesial identities.’” —Worship

"By focusing on the architecture of seven distinct American Orthodox churches, Denysenko’s richly rendered study shows that even the most tradition-sensitive liturgies are celebrated in spaces that reflect evolving values, practical circumstances, and cultural contexts of their congregations through time and across space. Rather then reviewing archetypes or models, and intentionally setting aside the ideal of form following function, Denysenko attends to the ways diverse worshipping communities faithfully shape their worship space while being shaped by it in turn." –Robin Jensen, Patrick O'Brien Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame

"In this book, Nicholas Denysenko takes Orthodox church architecture out of the realm of theory and into that of practice. He challenges the paradigm that yokes the design of formalist church space to liturgy by investigating the ways in which parishioners shape their churches to satisfy a host of needs. Immigrant cultural identity, community heritage and future, and lay empowerment are the most prominent among the many layers of use and meaning that the author skillfully peels back. The analysis presented in this book is essential reading for anyone interested in Eastern Orthodoxy in America, religious architecture generally, or the life of immigrant communities." —Jeanne Halgren Kilde, author of Sacred Power, Sacred Space: An Introduction to Christian Architecture and Worship

“This book makes a unique contribution to its field. It is broadly and intentionally cross-disciplinary in its character, embracing architecture, liturgical theology, aesthetics, sociology, and oral history. In this way it manages to give an especially detailed portrait of Orthodoxy in America that has no precedent. It is also a very personal work—only someone with the author’s broad training and his highly attuned sense of the visual and the liturgical could possibly write such an informed and also deeply sympathetic work.” —Peter C. Bouteneff, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary

“Sheds an insider’s light on Orthodoxy in the US.” —Church Times

“The third and last part of the volume collects the two most innovative and stimulating contributions for pastoral reflection and also for theological speculation on the consequences of Christian iconography.” —Ecclesia orans

From the Publisher

"By focusing on the architecture of seven distinct American Orthodox churches, Denysenko's richly rendered study shows that even the most tradition-sensitive liturgies are celebrated in spaces that reflect the evolving values, practical circumstances, and cultural contexts of their congregations through time and across space. Rather than reviewing archetypes or models, and intentionally setting aside the ideal of form following function, Denysenko attends to the ways that diverse worshipping communities faithfully shape their worship space while being shaped by it in turn."

Robin Jensen

This book makes a unique contribution to its field. It is broadly and intentionally cross-disciplinary in its character, embracing architecture, liturgical theology, aesthetics, sociology, and oral history. In this way it manages to give an especially detailed portrait of Orthodoxy in America that has no precedent. It is also a very personal work—only someone with the author’s broad training and his highly attuned sense of the visual and the liturgical could possibly write such an informed and also deeply sympathetic work.

Dr. Peter C. Bouteneff

"In this book, Nicholas Denysenko takes Orthodox church architecture out of the realm of theory and into that of practice. He challenges the paradigm that yokes the design of formalist church space to liturgy by investigating the ways in which parishioners shape their churches to satisfy a host of needs. Immigrant cultural identity, community heritage and future, and lay empowerment are the most prominent among the many layers of use and meaning that the author skillfully peels back. The analysis presented in this book is essential reading for anyone interested in Eastern Orthodoxy in America, religious architecture generally, or the life of immigrant communities."

Jeanne Halgren Kilde