The Proclamation of the New Covenant: The Pre-Iconoclastic Altar Ciboria in Rome and Constantinople
Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: The altar ciborium is the piece of the liturgical furniture placed in the Christian sanctuary over the holy table ({aa\a onaðXaea) where the bloodless sacrifice of the New Testament and the presence of Jesus Christ within the Divine Liturgy are manifested. The etymology of the term ciborium (eeâfneii) is not clear especially having in mind that the expression itself has several meanings: cup, cupola, dome, and baldacchino, canopy referring both to the covering seats of royalty and over altar. According to St. Germanus, the eighth century patriarch of Constantinople, the term eeâfneii is derivative of the Greek words eeâ, eeâuouo, meaning box, chest, coffer, hence representing tabernacle or ark, and the word fριον meaning the effulgence, or Light of God. Metaphorical language always holds several meanings simultaneously. In this sense, St. Germanus and other theologians connect the ciborium with the Hebrew term keber for the tomb, since the altar and tomb represent the same things in Christian and Jewish eschatology. Others are of the opinion that ciborium is derivative of the Latin term for the holy gifts, cibus, that was held suspended from the tent-like baldacchino. Generally speaking, a ciborium is an open domed or pyramidal roof resting on the same number of columns as the number of corners of the shelter, at least four. The ciborium resembles the tent-like or domed structure, usually connected with both sacred and royal tents, and as such a visual motif it can be traced back several centuries before the Common Era, in numerous representations in almost every ancient Eastern culture with nomadic heritage. Since the focus of this paper is on the ciborium within the Christian church the discussion is narrowed to the Judeo-Christian and Hellenistic tradition. The earliest archeological remains of the altar ciboria date from the sixth century and are found in the churches of St. Alexander and St. Andrew in Rome, and in the churches of Hagios Polyektos and Hagia Euphemia in Constantinople. However, according to the archeological reports and the old representations and descriptions from other sources such as coins or manuscripts, the ciboria were used within the Christian churches at least two centuries prior to that date. Knowledge of the Christian canopy-like architectural structures begins with the Edict of Toleration (313) and development of Christian iconography under Constantine the Great (d. 337). Ciboria commissioned by Constantine and his heirs marked the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome in the basilica martyrium of St. Peter (after 319) and San Paulo fuori le
Source: Athanor
Author: Jelena Bogdanović
Language: English
Subfield: Classics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2249235258