The Epiphany of the logos in the Ambo in the Rotunda (Hagios Georgios) in Thessaloniki

NINO ZCHOMELIDSE

The Epiphany of the logos in the Ambo in the Rotunda (Hagios Georgios) in Thessaloniki

Only fragments of the splendid early medieval ambo that once formed perhaps the most impressive structure inside the Rotunda in Thessaloniki are preserved today in the National Museum of Istanbul (fi gs. 1-3).1 Its conception and design was de-termined by various forms of synergetic infl uence occurring in the transitional pe-riod characterizing the rise of Christianity. My paper explores the performative as-pect of the ambo, which, as I will show in this essay, was rooted in the mythological theater of the Greco-Roman world as it was continued in the Syriac and Byzantine liturgy. The decoration with its suggestive staging of the Nativity and the Epiphany of Christ, related to this function and enhanced the powerful experience of the ritual as a whole.

Shaped like fan, with two circular staircases leading up to the central platform, the ambo roughly follows the circular plan of the Rotunda.2 These formal quali-ties also made it an ideal venue for the performance of the liturgy. The remaining fragments of the structure show a narrative sequence of images that center around the birth of Christ. The journey and the Adoration of the Three Magi and Shep-herds (Mt 2:1-11; Lk 2:15-19) unfold along the niches at the bottom of the am-

1 On the ambo, see Rainer Warland, »Der Ambo aus Thessaloniki. Bildprogramm – Rekon-struktion – Datierung«, in Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 109, 1994, pp. 371-385; Guillame de Jerphanion, »L’ambon de Salonique, L’arc de Galère et l’ambon de Thebes«, in Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia, 4, 1932, pp. 108-132; and Ariane Lourie, The Ambo of the Rotunda in Thessaloniki: A Study of the Early Byzantine Ambo in Northern Greece (Senior Thesis) unpublished, Princeton University, Department of Art and Archaeology 1993. For the Rotunda, see Walter Eugene Kleinbauer, »The Original Name and Function of Hagios Georgios in Thessaloniki«, in Cahiers archéologiques, 22, 1972, pp. 55-60 and Aristotle Mentzos, »Reflections of the Interpretation and Dating of the Ro-tunda of Thessaloniki«, in Eγνατία. Eπιστημoνική επετηρίδα της Φιλoσoφικής Σχoλής. Aριστoτέλειo Πανεπιστήμιo Θεσσαλoνίκης, Tμήμα Iστoρίας και Aρχαιoλoγίας, 6, 2001-2002, pp. 57-80.

2 The original function and dedication of the Rotunda as a church – it was named after Saint George since the Ottoman conquest of the city – is not documented. Three major interpreta-tions are discussed: a function as the cathedral, dedicated to the Holy Archangels (Hagioi Asomatoi) (Teocharides), a function as an imperial palace church (Mentzos), a martyrium, dedicated to Christ and the martyrs (Dyggve), and as a pagan building turned into a monu-mental martyrium copying of the Holy Sepulcher consecrated to Christ (Kleinbauer). For a discussion of this problem, see Kleinbauer, »The Original Name and Function« (note 1), pp. 55-60; and most recently Mentzos, »Reflections« (note 1), p. 60.

F5466 Hoffmann.indd 85F5466 Hoffmann.indd 85 14.02.13 07:2714.02.13 07:27

86 NINO ZCHOMELIDSE

Fig. 2: Ambo of the Rotunda of St. George, reconstruction after Warland, mid-6th century. Istanbul, Archaeological Museum (aus: Warland, »Der Ambo«, in Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 109, 1994, fi gs. 8 and 9)

Fig. 1: Ambo of the Rotunda of St. George, ground plan after Warland, mid-6th century. Istanbul, Archaeological Museum (aus: Warland, »Der Ambo«, in

Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 109, 1994, fi g. 4)


87THE EPIPHANY OF THE LOGOS

Fig. 3: Ambo of the Rotunda of St. George, detail of staircase, mid-6th century. Istanbul, Archaeological Museum (photo: J. Sturm)


88 NINO ZCHOMELIDSE

bo.3 A star appears right above the semicircular platform of the lectern, at the very center of the structure.4 Two niches with fi gures fl ank the platform, showing on the right side the enthroned Mother of God with the Christ Child and on the left side one of the Magi. Below the curved right staircase, three more niches on the left contained fi gures of the Magi during their journey, and on the right in the act of adoration (fi g. 2). To the far left, a shepherd and opposite at the far right, an angel, conclude the program. The iconographic tradition of the program as well as the style of the reliefs points to a mid-sixth-century date within the context of the Byzantine Empire under Justinian (527-565).5 The representation of the Magi in a courtly context is compatible with reliefs in Carthage and the mosaics in the naves of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and San Vitale in Ravenna (fi g. 4).6 The represen-tation of Mary enthroned draws on the new iconography that was developed in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time and that can ultimately be traced to the af-termath of the First Council of Ephesus (431).

According to the reconstructions by Guillaume de Jerphanion and Rainer War-land, the main side of the ambo, its frontal view, appeared like a two-part screen

3 My reading is based on Warland’s convincing reconstruction; see Warland, »Der Ambo aus Thessaloniki« (note 1), p. 378, with figs. 8 and 9. Less probable is the reconstruction by De Jerphanion, »L’ambon de Salonique« (note 1), figs. 24 and 25.

4 On the iconographic motif of the star see Johannes Deckers, Die Huldigung der Magier in der Kunst der Spätantike, Cologne 1982, pp. 20-32; Costantinos Kalokyris, The Star of Bethlehem in Byzantine Art (Iconographic Interpretation), Thessaloniki 1969; Friedrich Wilhelm Deich-mann, »Zur Erscheinung des Sternes von Bethlehem«, in Vivarium: Festschrift Theodor Klau-ser zum 90. Geburtstag, Münster 1984, pp. 98-106.

5 Warland, »Der Ambo aus Thessaloniki« (note 1), p. 385. 6 Compare with the representations of the Virgin on the Monza ampullae from the end of the

sixth century, or the ivory diptych in the Bode Museum in Berlin. For the iconographic tra-dition, see Warland, »Der Ambo aus Thessaloniki« (note 1), p. 382. For the Adoration of the three Magi in Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, see Friedrich Wilhelm Deichmann, Ravenna. Ge-schichte und Monumente, Wiesbaden 1969, pp. 171-199, figs. 257 and 258.

Fig. 4: Adoration of the Magi, early 6th century. Ravenna, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (photo: J. Sturm)



and underscored the theatrical effect of the structure, turning it into a stage for the promotion of the logos and for the performance of liturgical drama.7 The lower level consisted of the fi gurative decoration in a tripartite composition of concave and convex forms. The projecting lectern niche at the top was supported below by an exedra marked by three columns. This central space was fl anked by two niches: one on the left, fi lled with one of the Magi turning in adoration to the center, and one on the right, with the enthroned Virgin and the Christ Child. On the center column of the exedra, a star featured prominently among the geometric design at the top. The upper level of the scene, formed by the parapet, consisted of vegetal and ornamental decoration, among which the cross at the center of the projecting reading niche stood out. Cross, star, and central column formed a central axis, which turned the ensemble into an iconic image and pointed to a Christological understanding of these three motifs. This specifi c typology underscored the func-tion of the ambo as a place for the concealment and revelation of the Divine. The narrative element of the decoration became visible only by moving around the ambo, when the protagonists of the liturgy, the clergy, and the faithful mirrored the movements of the Magi and shepherds coming to venerate the Child in Mary’s lap.

The iconography of the adoration of the newborn Messiah enhances the alle-gorical understanding of the ambo as the place for the epiphany of the logos and, at the same time, it seems to be connected to the liturgical celebration of this event. The Feast of the Epiphany was central in the Byzantine liturgical calendar, marking the end of the Christmas season.8 It also merged the Epiphany of Christ with the pagan practice of commemorating the emperor. In the time of Justinian, the Epiph-any was a feast in which both Christ/God and the emperor were honored.9 The particular iconography chosen for the ambo in the Rotunda plays with precisely this transition of a pagan practice into the realm of Christianity. The iconography emphasizes the imperial connotations of Christ/logos. The motif of the star alludes to the biblical story of the star leading the Magi to the newborn Messiah and harks back to the iconography of the Roman emperor. A star was added to the image of the birth of the emperor to emphasize his status as a god. The typological relation-ships of the star over Bethlehem are evident: the Epiphany of Christ drew on the epiphany of the basileus and created a connection that grounded the historical scene within the imperial court ceremonial. In fact, the luxurious costumes of the Magi in the reliefs are those of the contemporary court, with their characteristic Phrygian hats. The fi gure of the angel can be traced to the magister admissionalium, who supervised the ceremonial devotion of the emperor and is only included in the

7 De Jerphanion, »L’ambon de Salonique« (note 1), p. 131, fig. 25; Warland, »Der Ambo aus Thessaloniki« (note 1), p. 379, fig. 8.

8 Konrad Onasch, Das Weihnachtsfest im orthodoxen Kirchenjahr. Liturgie and Ikonographie, Berlin 1958.

9 Ruth Macrides & Paul Magdalino, »The Architecture of Ekphrasis: Construction and Con-text of Paul the Silentary’s Poem on Hagia Sophia«, in Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 12, 1988, pp. 47-82, in part. p. 64.


90 NINO ZCHOMELIDSE

apocryphal gospels.10 The adventus of the Roman emperor, as seen on ancient monuments of triumph such as the arch of Constantine, features the emperor be-ing greeted as the rising sun (fi g. 5). In Thessaloniki, the motif was appropriated into a precise biblical context: the Adoration of the Christ Child as a king by the three Magi. The decoration of the Arch of Galerius, in the immediate vicinity of the Rotunda, includes a relief of captive Persians approaching the emperor with gifts, and might have inspired the makers of the ambo directly (fi g. 6).11

This same connection between God/Christ and the emperor is made in an im-portant liturgical text, a specifi c kontakion composed by Romanos the Melode (d. between 551 and 565), which was performed at the inauguration of the restored Hagia Sophia in Constantinople on Christmas Eve, 562.12 The text compares the Creator God and the emperor in the fi rst strophe, when addressing the Lord as be-

10 Warland, »Der Ambo aus Thessaloniki« (note1), p. 381.11 De Jerphanion, »L’ambon de Salonique« (note 1), pp. 107-132; Der Reliefschmuck des Galeri-

usbogens in Thessaloniki, ed. Hans Peter Laubscher, Berlin 1975 (Archäologische Forschun-gen, 1); Emanuel Mayer, Rom ist dort wo der Kaiser ist – Untersuchungen zu den Staatsdenk-mälern des dezentralisierten Reiches von Diocletian bis zu Theodosius II, Mainz 2002, pp. 47-65, in part. pp. 59-60.

12 Andrew Palmer (with Lyn Rodley), »The Inauguration Anthem of Hagia Sophia in Edessa. A New Edition and Translation with Historical and Architectural Notes and a Comparison with a Contemporary Constantinopolitan Kontakion«, in Byzantine & Modern Greek Stud-ies, 12, 1988, pp. 117-169.

Fig. 5: Imperial Triumph and the Rising Sun, detail, 315 CE. Rome, Arch of Constantine (photo: J. Sturm)



ing responsible for the splendor of the sky above and the beauty of the dwelling below (the church) by using »ktistēs« a term that applies to both.13

All these observations sustain the thesis that the Rotunda, after its conversion into a church, functioned as a palace chapel; an idea supported also by the splendid mosaic decoration.14 Aristotle Mentzos has rightly stressed the triumphal aspect of the mosaics showing Christ in the center of the dome, surrounded by a register of splendidly clothed fi gures, interpreted as saints, prophets, angels, or the Twenty-Four Elders. The staff in Christ’s hand, the vegetative garlands, as well as the fi gures in the second zone, indicate that the mosaics draw iconographically from the cere-monial practices of the Late Roman imperial court, the adventus ceremony in par-

13 »O Lord, thou hast demonstrated at once both the splendour of | the firmament above and the beauty of thy dwelling here below, | this holy tabernacle of thy glory; make firm the latter for ever | and ever and accept the prayers which we offer in it unceasingly, | by the interces-sion of the Mother of God, to thee«, ibid., p. 140 and p. 144.

14 Mentzos, »Reflections« (note 1), pp. 67-70 argues convincingly for the function of the Ro-tunda as a palace church, rather than a martyrium.

Fig. 6: Caesar Galerius and Surrendering Persians, detail, c. 300 CE. Thessaloniki, Arch of Galerius


92 NINO ZCHOMELIDSE

ticular.15 The splendor and the ceremonial aspect of the mosaics in the Rotunda, oscillating between the heavenly realm of Christ and the earthly domain of the em-peror, is paralleled by the same typology that characterizes the ambo’s decorative program.

More complexities and the wide range of culturally diverse sources that deter-mined the ambo and its program are revealed when taking a closer look at a par-ticular genre of Early Christian liturgical texts. Metric homilies help us better un-derstand the theatrical dimension of the ambo when we investigate them with regard to the place of their recital.16 As sermons, these texts are exegetical, albeit in poetic form, and center thematically on three biblical fi gures: Mary (Annunciation, Nativity), John the Baptist (Baptism of Christ, John announcing to the Old Testa-ment patriarchs their imminent liberation from hell), and Christ (Nativity, Bap-tism, Temptation, Passion). Composed as dialogues with distinct characters and scenes, these texts are dramatic in nature, and were recited from the elevated place reserved for the readings of the Holy Scriptures in the church. As an important part of the Liturgy of the Word, the homilies were probably performed at the ambo, which took on the role of the stage in the pagan theater.

The emergence of metric homilies in the Christian liturgy is connected with the understanding of the liturgy as the drama of Christ. Patristic theologians had devel-oped this idea in contrast to the »theater of the daemons«, which they condemned, wherein pagans gathered to see the reenactment of the ancient myths on the stage.17

It is telling, however, that at the same time that theater buildings were literally de-stroyed and theologians explicitly fought against visiting the plays, the terminology of the theater and that of the architectural space of churches merged. The position developed by Augustine is perhaps the most important concerning Early Christian attitudes toward the theater and understanding the liturgical drama. While he joins the theological battle against the performances of the ancient myths and gods, he nourishes a more positive evaluation of the dramatic arts and distinguishes between different levels of theater taught at the time.18 The Eastern theologian John Chrys-ostom (354–407) followed this same pattern, labeling the theater a house of perver-sion and sin and denouncing Christians for attending performances, particularly before and after having participated in the mass.19 At the same time he counters the pagan theater with the concept of the Christian spiritual and true theater.20

15 Ibid., pp. 70-79.16 For the metric homilies and the origins of the Byzantine theater, see George La Piana, Le rap-

presentazioni sacre nella letteratura bizantina dalle origini al sec IX, Grottaferrata 1912, pp. 34-152; Id., »The Byzantine Theater«, in Speculum, 11, 1936, pp. 171-211.

17 Christine Catharina Schnusenberg, The Relationship between the Church and the Theatre, Lanham 1988, p. 12.

18 Ibid., pp. 28-29.19 John Chrysostom, Homily Against the Games and Theatres. For the English translation, see

Wendy Mayer & Pauline Allen, John Chrysostom, London/New York 2000, pp. 119-125.20 Schnusenberg, The Relationship (note 17), p. 33, and Ead., The Mythological Traditions of Li-

turgical Drama. The Eucharist as Theater, New York 2010, p. 259.



Early Christian theologians, while fi ghting the ancient theater of the pagan gods, grounded the practices of Christian worship in those very concepts of the mi-mesis of the gods in classical drama. In this understanding, the liturgy of the mass performed in the church becomes the true theater of Christ, and the main elements of the liturgical furnishings, altar and ambo, are the stage for the reenactment of the History of Salvation. In the new religious theater, altar and ambo constantly change their meanings according to the biblical event to which the liturgy refers. The ambo’s primary function in this context is that of the stage of the divine logos, quite literally. At the same time the ambo serves as the stage for the bishop, abbot, or cleric who represents Christ/logos in the liturgy, acting in the drama of salvation.

The emergence of the metric homily should be understood in this context. George La Piana has shown that the recitation of these homilies in the church blended with the other liturgical practices of singing psalms, litanies, anthems, ac-clamation, and hymns with soloists and groups of singers. He was able to connect the genre of the metric homilies to the origins of the Byzantine theater, because in manuscripts they were called encomia, which are the liturgical commemorations of Christ, Mary, and John the Baptist that were part of complex liturgical perfor-mances on specifi c feast days (panegyrics).

Even more interestingly, these metric homilies are connected with the Syrian sughitho, a particular form of hymns composed as dialogues, which were performed at the Syrian bema.21 This type of an ambo, developed in Syria and Mesopotamia from the fourth century onward, was positioned in the center of the nave, where it created an elevated and exposed space that was used for liturgical readings.22 The far end of these large structures was shaped as an exedra, with concentric rows of benches, mirroring the synthronon in the apse, and a miniature throne. At the east-ern side of the bema, directly in front of the apse, an opening permitted access to the structure. In the Greek and Byzantine tradition, the term βήμα still today re-fers to the space in the church before the sanctuary. In the Syriac tradition, in con-trast, the bema is the platform for the reading of the scriptures and their interpreta-tion to the faithful. In this context, it relates to the Liturgy of the Word, not to the

21 I owe my interest in the Syrian bema and the Syriac liturgy to a comment made by Gerhard Wolf. On the performance of the Syrian sughitho, see Anton Baumstark, Geschichte der Syri-schen Literatur, Bonn 1922; Erich Renhart, Das syrische Bema. Liturgisch-archäologische Un-tersuchungen, Graz 1995, pp. 147-148; Palmer (with Rodley), »Inauguration Anthem« (note 12), p. 130; for their connection with the Byzantine metric homilies see La Piana, Le rappre-sentazioni sacre (note 16), p. 181.

22 André Grabar, »Les ambons Syriens et la fonction liturgique de la nef dans les églises an-tiques«, in Cahiers archéologiques, 1, 1945, pp. 129-133; Jean Lassus & George Tchalenko, »Ambons syriens«, in Cahiers archéologiques, 5, 1951, pp. 75-122; Robert F. Taft, »Some Notes on the Bema in the East and West Syrian Traditions«, in Orientalia Christiana Periodica, 34, 1968, pp. 426-359; Renhart, Das syrische Bema (note 21); Emma Loosley, The Architecture and Liturgy of the Bema in Fourth- to Sixth-Century Syrian Churches, Kaslik-Liban 2003.


94 NINO ZCHOMELIDSE

Eucharist.23 I have shown elsewhere that the understanding of the Early Christian pulpit as a stage for the divine logos was connected to this specifi c type.24

In the Syrian sughitho, the story of the Nativity is an important theme. For ex-ample, a poem composed by Narsai sometime in the second half of the fi fth cen-tury is dedicated to the story of the Adoration of the Magi after Mt 2:1-13.25 The text is a lively dialogue between the protagonists of the Virgin Mary and the Magi, which is preceded by the introduction of a lector or narrator. He begins with the description of the shining star, the light that announces that the light has come to earth, which shines over the world and illuminates Persia, from where the voyage of the Magi departs. This focus on the star and light metaphor takes up the fi rst six strophes and begins: »At the birth of the Son a light arose | and banished the dark-ness from the world, | and the world radiated to praise | the radiance of the Father, who arose in Juda«.

Seemingly drawing on this tradition, Romanos the Melode composed several metric homilies, which reconstruct the main events in the lives of Christ and the Virgin in a dramatic way. A particularly beautiful hymn is the homily on the Nativ-ity of Christ. Just as in the Syriac sughitho, the orator introduces the events of the New Testament, which are reenacted in the specifi c liturgy: »Today the Virgin gives birth to him who is above all being; and the earth offers a cave to him whom no one can approach. Angels with shepherds give glory, and magi journey with a star; for to us there has been born a little child, God of all time«. The language is par-ticularly rich in the evocation of the space where the events develop: »Bethlehem has opened Eden, come, let us see; we have found delight in secret, come, let us receive the joys of Paradise within the cave«.26 The text continues with the herme-neutical aspect of the Nativity, in keeping with the genre of the homily. »In it has appeared a root never watered, blossoming forth forgiveness; in it has been found a well never dug, a well from which David once longed to drink. In it a virgin has given birth to a child, and at once has brought an end to the thirst of Adam and of David«. The evocation of the Epiphany in the dramatic homily by Romanos would have its most powerful effect when performed in the liturgy, from an ambo deco-rated with the very subject of the biblical text and the homily.

One cannot help but note the weight given to the star in the homilies. Moreover, the cave emphasized by Romanos in this specifi c homily corresponds with the space of the exedra under the lectern niche of the ambo, which is a powerful visual

23 For an exhaustive discussion of the term βήμα, see Renhart, Das syrische Bema (note 21), pp. 87–122.

24 See my forthcoming book, Art, Ritual, and Civic Identity in Medieval Southern Italy, Univer-sity Park/PA, 2013.

25 Franz Feldmann, Syrische Wechsellieder von Narses. Ein Beitrag zur altchristlichen syrischen Hymnologie nach einer Handschrift der Königlichen Bibliothek in Berlin, Leipzig 1896, pp. 6-11.

26 Saint Romanos the Melodist, Kontakia On the Life of Christ, ed. Archimandrite Ephrem Lash, San Francisco 1995, p. 3.



element in the frontal view of the pulpit. Although there is no evidence that this particular hymn was performed from the ambo in the Rotunda in Thessaloniki at the Feast of Epiphany, such liturgical celebrations, including dramatic dialogues or metrical homilies similar to the one by Romanos or the Syriac sughitho, would have been customary in an important church of the second most important city of the Justinianic empire. From the ambo and with these hymns, the celebrating priest revived the events of the lives of Christ, his Virgin Mother, and the saints according to the liturgical calendar for the imagination of the faithful. The dramatic character of the homilies with their dialogic form was complemented by hermeneutical com-ments making moral or dogmatic statements. The homilies connected the Liturgy of the Word to the ancient theater and should be regarded as part of the origins of Byzantine sacred drama, which fl ourished particularly in the sixth and seventh cen-turies.27

The connection between the visual representation of the Epiphany of Christ on the ambo in the Rotunda and its performance through the liturgical readings of the feast day pronounced from it stands behind this iconographic choice. Moreover, the theme of Christ becoming man that is linked to the elaboration on the logos in the prologue of John’s Gospel, relates to the symbolic value of the ambo as the car-rier of the narrative itself. The fi rst verses of John’s text describe that the Word be-came fl esh (Jn 1:14) and that the light glanced in the darkness (Jn 1:5). The repre-sentation of the Epiphany of Christ transmits the content of the Gospel of John, not only into a picture but also into a structure that served as a physical support for the dissemination of the logos. The Word made fl esh relates to the star that appears prominently in the center of the program. The Word is then complemented by the power of the column below, which bears the main body of the pulpit and the cross above it, constituting a symbolically charged axis that evokes the Word becoming man. The symbolic front of the ambo in the Rotunda corresponds with the narra-tive character of the fi gurative niches that visually mediate the dogma of the Chris-tian God becoming man to the viewer. Already formulated at the Council of Ephe-sus in 431, this dogma had been severely challenged, especially in Byzantium. Only toward the end of the sixth century did the theological discussion end, leading to a new iconographic type for the representation of the Virgin: jeweled, crowned and enthroned with the Christ Child in her lap.

The program of the ambo in the Rotunda thus successfully combines two theo-logical concepts: the liturgical Feast of the Epiphany, represented typologically in the New Testament narrative, is tied to the symbolically charged architectural structure of the ambo as a bearer of the divine logos. At the time when the ambo was made, the latter issue had fi nally been accepted in the theological circles in Byz-antium and the West, after a long period of crucial debate. The iconography of the ambo in the Rotunda exemplifi es the multilayered relationships between its func-tion as a stage for the liturgical drama and its symbolic value. The ceremonial com-

27 La Piana, Le rappresentazioni sacre (note 16), p. 53.


96 NINO ZCHOMELIDSE

ponent was visually activated, when one or several clerics solemnly ascended the ambo and pronounced the readings and chants before returning to their seats in the synthronon of the apse. It was at this precise moment that the ambo, in relationship with the mosaic program of the Rotunda, unfolded its complex and intertwined web of meaning.


The Epiphany of the logos in the Ambo in the Rotunda (Hagios Georgios) in Thessaloniki

Documents

Transcript of The Epiphany of the logos in the Ambo in the Rotunda (Hagios Georgios) in Thessaloniki