The Cathedral of Zvartnoc is one of the masterpieces of the 7th century Armenian architecture, revealing important medieval traditions of the Christian East․ Two aspects of Zvartnoc Cathedral will be discussed : analyzing the theories on reconstruction of the church proposed by the Armenian and foreign scholars including its influence on Transcaucasian architecture in the middle ages. The second is to seek to understand the political as well as liturgical function of Zvartnoc especially drawing attention on the “circular construction” located in the centre of the Cathedral. It has remained debatable among art historians whether it was crypt housing the relics of the first Armenian saint Grigor Lusavorich or it was used as baptismal font. The propose of the thesis is to discuss its possible usage as “baptismal font” considering its typological features and chronology . The first chapter refers to the discovery of the site and to TorosToramanian’s large comprehensive study on the reconstruction of Zvartnoc . Some examples of other churches resembling Zvartnoc founded in Transcaucasia are also considered. The second chapter provides historical inquiry of the period from fourth to seventh century, the circumstances of the foundation of Zvartnoc Cathedral and Nerses III Catholicos’s activity, his acclesiastical diplomacy and relations with Byzantine Empire. Through iconographic analyzes of the decorative program some peculiarities of Armenian prevalent sculptural styles of the time is also presented. In the final chapter the circular construction and a small baptismal font are examined , considering similar examples in the Middle east. Some Canons of the Armenian Euchologion will be presented concerning the administration of baptism as instructed by the Armenian Apostolic church. The Cathedral of Zvartnoc offers rich material on the Eastern Christian art and architecture. It functioned as cathedral and martyrirum baptistery church expressing one of the characteristics of the Armenian church.
La Cattedrale di Zvartnots è uno dei capolavori dell'architettura armena del VII secolo e rappresenta le importanti tradizioni medievali dell'Oriente cristiano․ Saranno discussi due aspetti della cattedrale di Zvartnots: il primo riguarda le teorie sulla ricostruzione della chiesa proposte dagli studiosi armeni e stranieri, compresa la sua influenza sull'architettura transcaucasica nel Medioevo. Il secondo obiettivo è cercare di comprendere la funzione politica oltre che liturgica di Zvartnots:, richiamando soprattutto l'attenzione su una “costruzione circolare” situata al centro della Cattedrale. In merito ad essa gli storici dell'arte discutono ancora se fosse la cripta che ospitava le reliquie del primo santo armeno Grigor Lusavorich, o se fosse usata come fonte battesimale. La tesi si propone di discutere il suo possibile utilizzo come “fonte battesimale”, considerando le sue caratteristiche tipologiche e cronologiche. Il primo capitolo riguarda la scoperta del sito e l'ampio e completo studio di Toros Toramanian sulla ricostruzione di Zvartnots. Vengono anche presi in considerazione alcuni esempi di altre chiese simili a Zvartnots fondate in Transcaucasia. Il secondo capitolo fornisce il contesto storico del periodo dal quarto al settimo secolo d.C., le circostanze della fondazione della cattedrale di Zvartnots e l'attività di Nerses III Catholicos, la sua diplomazia ecclesiastica e le relazioni con l'Impero bizantino. Attraverso analisi iconografiche del piano decorativo vengono presentate anche alcune peculiarità degli stili scultorei armeni prevalenti dell'epoca. Nel capitolo finale vengono esaminati la costruzione circolare e una piccola fonte battesimale, considerando esempi simili in Medio Oriente. Verranno presentati alcuni Canoni dell'Euchologion armeno riguardanti l’amministrazione del battesimo secondo le istruzioni della Chiesa Apostolica Armena. La cattedrale di Zvartnots offre un ricco materiale sull'arte e l'architettura cristiana orientale. Ha avuto la funzione di cattedrale e di chiesa del battistero del martyrirum, esprimendo una delle caratteristiche della Chiesa armena.
Molteplice funzione ecclesiastica della Cattedrale di Zvartnots
HARUTYUNYAN, MERI
2020/2021
Abstract
The Cathedral of Zvartnoc is one of the masterpieces of the 7th century Armenian architecture, revealing important medieval traditions of the Christian East․ Two aspects of Zvartnoc Cathedral will be discussed : analyzing the theories on reconstruction of the church proposed by the Armenian and foreign scholars including its influence on Transcaucasian architecture in the middle ages. The second is to seek to understand the political as well as liturgical function of Zvartnoc especially drawing attention on the “circular construction” located in the centre of the Cathedral. It has remained debatable among art historians whether it was crypt housing the relics of the first Armenian saint Grigor Lusavorich or it was used as baptismal font. The propose of the thesis is to discuss its possible usage as “baptismal font” considering its typological features and chronology . The first chapter refers to the discovery of the site and to TorosToramanian’s large comprehensive study on the reconstruction of Zvartnoc . Some examples of other churches resembling Zvartnoc founded in Transcaucasia are also considered. The second chapter provides historical inquiry of the period from fourth to seventh century, the circumstances of the foundation of Zvartnoc Cathedral and Nerses III Catholicos’s activity, his acclesiastical diplomacy and relations with Byzantine Empire. Through iconographic analyzes of the decorative program some peculiarities of Armenian prevalent sculptural styles of the time is also presented. In the final chapter the circular construction and a small baptismal font are examined , considering similar examples in the Middle east. Some Canons of the Armenian Euchologion will be presented concerning the administration of baptism as instructed by the Armenian Apostolic church. The Cathedral of Zvartnoc offers rich material on the Eastern Christian art and architecture. It functioned as cathedral and martyrirum baptistery church expressing one of the characteristics of the Armenian church.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/1896