TheNew Church of theTheotokos, orNew Church of the Mother of God, was aByzantine church erected inJerusalem byEmperorJustinian I (r. 527–565). Like the laterNea Ekklesia (Νέα Ἐκκλησία) inConstantinople, it is sometimes referred to in English as "the Nea" or the "Nea Church".
The church was completed in 543 but was severely damaged or destroyed during thePersianconquest of the city in 614. It was further used as a source of building material by theUmayyads a few decades later.[1] Meager remains of the once huge church were discovered at excavations in theOld City'sJewish Quarter, with the southeast corner slightly protruding outside the 16th-centurycity walls.[2]
Two contemporary accounts survive that describe the building of theNea, but neither author has much to say about the shape and organization of the church complex.Cyril of Scythopolis, a Christian monk who lived in 525–558, records that the church was begun by thePatriarch Elias but left unfinished until Justinian allocated funds for its completion at the behest ofSt. Sabas in 531.[3] A more detailed account of the church and its construction comes fromProcopius, the principal historian of the sixth century and the primary source of information for the rule of the Emperor Justinian. In hisDe Aedificiis, he writes that "in Jerusalem he [Justinian] dedicated to the Mother of God a shrine with which no other can be compared."[4] TheNea was situated onMount Zion, the highest hill in the city, near theChurch of the Holy Apostles (built in 347) and theBasilica ofHagia Sion (built in 390). Due to the rugged topography, the architect Theodoros first had to extend the southeastern part of the hill and support the church with huge substructures. This account by Procopius corresponds with the excavations ofYoram Tsafrir, as well as a tablet uncovered on the vaulted subterranean cistern that securely dates the building to 543.[5]
Mount Zion was not a new site in Jerusalem for Christian patrons to erect their monuments, and as a result of past projects, monasteries, churches, and cult sites already existed there. Consequently, the highest available spot for theNea to be constructed was on the southeastern slope of the hill, a far way down from the hegemonic vistas afforded to the Basilica ofHagia Sion that perched on the mount's peak. Yet by choosing this site, Justinian was attempting to position theNea within the hierarchical power structure that was connected to the topographical highpoints of Jerusalem. There are numerous motivations behind establishing a building such as theNea on a height. The limited accessibility and semiotic significance of heights afford political and ideological control to its inhabitants, who maintain a panoptic view of control over those below. Heights traditionally held religious significance as well, as attested in the numeroustheophanic accounts shared byJudaism,Christianity, andIslam (resources requested for this statement, particularly for Islam). The decision to build on Mount Zion furthermore situated theNea within the dialogue of the other two sacred religious buildings that occupied highpoints in the city, theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre onGolgotha and the Basilica ofHagia Sion on Mount Zion.[citation needed]
TheNea was a building of great complexity. Although the longitudinalbasilican structure was a relatively common typology for sixth-century churches in Palestine, the forecourt's arrangement, along with the placement of the adjoininghostel,hospital, and monastery remains problematic. According to Procopius, exteriorporticoes on the south, west, and northern sides surrounded the structure. Two huge columns stood in front of the western entrance, which was preceded by a colonnadedatrium. In front of the atrium was a round courtyard that opened onto theCardo. Due to the sparse archaeological evidence and the obscurity of Procopius’ description, this plan is difficult to reconstruct. Despite the obscurity of literary details, Tsafrir has proposed that west of the atrium, there were monumental gates that opened into an area that contained a gatehouse and an arch. Beyond this, Tsafrir has hypothesized two semicircles: one would have connected the church complex to the Cardo, while the other was located across the street and provided access to the hospital and hospice.[6]
In the interior of the church, thenave terminated at a large apse that was flanked by two symmetrical smaller rooms with apses inscribed in their eastern walls. It is unclear whether the nave of theNea had three or fiveaisles, but due to the unprecedentedly large dimensions of the church (approximately 100 m long by 52 m wide), archaeologists Yoram Tsafrir andNahman Avigad both agree that while only two rows of interior columns have been uncovered, two additional rows would have likely been needed to adequately support the roofing structure.[7]In addition to being the largest known basilica in Palestine, theNea also included a monastery, hostel, and hospital, as attested byAntoninus of Piacenza, who visited the basilica of St. Mary in 570, "with its great congregation of monks, and its guest houses for men and women. In catering for travelers they have a vast number of tables, and more than three thousand beds for the sick."[8] It is unclear where these other buildings were located. Based on archaeological finds of a southern revetment wall of theNea church complex, and assuming that the complex was symmetrical, archaeologists estimate the overall width of the complex at 105 m.[citation needed]
In addition to the contemporary literary accounts and archaeological evidence, theMadaba Map preserves a sixth-century perception of the topography, cities, and monuments of theMediterranean. The mosaic was discovered on the floor of the Church of St. George inMadaba,Jordan, and has been dated from 560–565, less than twenty years after the inauguration of theNea in 543, and it is the oldest surviving cartographic representation of theHoly Land. The map depicts the Mediterranean world fromLebanon in the North to theNile Delta in the South, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Eastern Desert. The city of Jerusalem is given prominence by its size and the mosaicists' devotion to the detail of its monuments. No city represented in the map is larger. The central location of Jerusalem in the mosaic further supports Jerusalem's importance in the minds of the map's creators.[citation needed]
A closer look at Jerusalem reveals a pictorial representation of the city and its surrounding landscape. It is depicted from a diagonal bird's eye perspective with no topographical impediments. The city's two cardos extend south from theDamascus Gate, with the main cardo horizontally bisecting the walled city. The street is opened up so that each of its colonnaded sides is equally visible. The Church of the Resurrection, as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was known at the time, is the largest building on the map, suggesting its importance in the city's architectural hierarchy. It is situated perpendicular to the main cardo on its western side. All components of the church – the rotunda, the basilica, the atrium, the eastern façade, and the exterior stairs – are visible. Although the Holy Sepulchre is geographically located to the north of theTetrapylon, the main road running perpendicular to the cardo fromDavid's Gate, on the map it is situated where thedecumanus should be.[citation needed][clarification needed]
Not only does the size of the Church of the Resurrection emphasize its importance, its central location on the cardo furthers its reputation as the most sacred and popular pilgrimage site in the Holy City. TheNea is the third most prominent monument in the city after the Holy Sepulchre andHagia Sion, even though in actuality it was the largest church in Jerusalem. The hierarchic scale of monuments leads one to question how theNea functioned in relation to the other monuments within the topography of the sixth century.[citation needed][clarification needed]
The selective details of Jerusalem's monuments reveal the Madaba Map to be concerned with providing the viewer with a topographical hierarchy ofOld andNew Testament places. When viewed as a rendition of Jerusalem that is reflective of the sixth century habitus of Jerusalem, the map reveals a conception of the Christian sacred spaces and their interconnectedness. The shift in Christian topography to the western part of the city is clearly visible. For example, theTemple Mount, the central religious monument to Jewish identity, is relegated to the eastern periphery of the city, eclipsed by the towering Christian monuments that occupy the center of the city. Yoram Tsafrir has identified this area to be an open esplanade, marking the place of the Temple Mount.[9]
The map provides a guide for pilgrims and viewers to the holy spaces, supporting Justinian's campaign to integrate theNea as a sacred site that matched the holiness of the Holy Sepulchre andHagia Sion.[10]
According to Graham (2008), "TheNea gave architectural articulation to a theological opinion ortheologoumenon in Jerusalem, and conveyed, architecturally, a message regarding Justinian's imperial policy, imperial presence inPalestine, and a self-conception as a Christian emperor."[11]
Israeli archaeologist Oren Gutfeld believes, based on the results of excavations led by Avigad, that it was Justinian who extended the old Roman Cardo southwards specifically for creating a processional way connecting his Nea Church, with the more important, but smaller Church of the Resurrection (today's Holy Sepulchre Church).[12] Gutfeld also thinks that Justinian built the Nea in the south of the city to balance the Church of the Resurrection further up north.[12]
In order to provide access to theNea, Justinian extended the cardo south to theNea and the newly constructedZion Gate. This decision undoubtedly had political motivations, for it situated theNea on the main route for pilgrims traveling between the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Holy Apostles.[13] Processions, stational liturgies, and individual worshipers passed between the Holy Sepulchre andHagia Sion, thus including Justinian's church, but theNea still failed to gain a place in the Christian collective memory as a site that was as holy as the other two main churches. According to Antoninus of Piacenza, worshipers went straight from the Holy Sepulchre toHagia Sion, only to double back to theNea.[14] Furthermore, by the 630s, PatriarchSophronius does not even mention theNea in his review of pilgrimage sites in Jerusalem.[15]
Justinian attempted to leave his imperial mark on Jerusalem by situating a building of unprecedented size and splendor within the context of Jerusalem's oldest and most sacred monuments. Procopius's panegyric, thede Aedificiis (English: "Buildings"), is perhaps the richest source that survives which offers possible motivations for Justinian's architectural restructuring of Jerusalem. A masterful work of propaganda,de Aedificiis was less concerned with extolling the greatness of the buildings that were constructed, and more so with celebrating the man who built them. In order to situate Justinian within the tradition of grand builders in Jerusalem, Procopius most likely modeled his account after the biblical narrative ofSolomon's Temple. There are several literary parallels between the two accounts, the most foremost being that, according to Procopius, both of the building projects were blessed by God. Furthermore, it seems beyond coincidence that the measurements of theNea are roughly twice the size of the Temple.[16]
LikeHerod's engineers, who had to extend the southern end of the Temple platform, so too did Justinian's architects;[17] and just as Solomon importedcedars fromHiram of Tyre for the Temple's roofing, Justinian had cedars brought in from Lebanon.[18] Procopius alludes to the monumental columns Jachim and Boaz that flanked the entrance into the Temple when describing those that decorated the entrance into theNea.[19] Finally, there is an etymological link between theNea and the Temple in Procopius' work. The New Testament uses two different Greek words for "Temple." More frequently "hieron" refers to the general temple precincts (e.g.,Matthew 21:14–15). To refer to the actual Temple, or the inner sanctum, the New Testament uses "naos" (e.g.,Matthew 23:16–17). This latter term was appropriated and reinterpreted by Procopius, thus relocating the sacred term to apply to the newly builtNea. The implications of creating a new sacred space dedicated to the Virgin that attempted to appropriate the sacred mythology of Solomon's Temple are quite profound. Not only was Justinian's attempt at producing sacrality charged with political motivations, but for sixth-century Christians, theNea undoubtedly symbolized the supremacy of Christianity and the Virgin over the abandoned Temple Mount that represented Judaism.[citation needed]
The date of the destruction of the Nea Church is not known precisely. According to accounts preserved inThe Capture of Jerusalem (Expugnationis Hierosolymae) the conqueringPersians and their Jewish allies destroyed the church and killed the clergy in614. The extent of the damage is unclear asPatriarch Sophronius delivered his Nativity sermon in the Nea Church in 634. Further damage to the church may have occurred from an earthquake in 746. In 808, a reference to the church appeared in theCommemoratorium de casis Dei and, in 870, it was mentioned by Bernard the Monk who stayed in a hospice next to the church. In the tenth century, Eutychius, theMelkite Patriarch ofAlexandria, noted the Nea Church ruins. The damage by the Persians, in 614, may have been severe as the Persians may have searched for treasure believed stored within the church as speculated from Procopius' report of the Emperor Justinian sending sacred items to Jerusalem.[20]
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