LITURGY AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE. THE REDUCTION OF SACRAL SPACE OF CHURCHES IN THE CITIES OF JUND AL-URDUNN
LITURGY AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE. THE REDUCTION OF SACRAL SPACE OF CHURCHES IN THE CITIES OF JUND AL-URDUNN

Author(s): Piotr Makowski
Subject(s): Archaeology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: church; sacral space; restoration; earthquake; Early Islamic period; Jund al-Urdunn
Summary/Abstract: The following paper attempts to examine the process of narrowing of sacral space in churches during the Early Islamic period through the prism of urban changes in the cities of Jund al-Urdunn. An analysis of selected examples shows that after the destruction caused by earthquakes, many churches were only partially restored. Because of the enormous restoration efforts or decreasing needs of Christian communities, they were usually reduced only to the area of the nave or aisles, leaving the remaining parts of the previous edifice in a state of ruin. The phenomenon under discussion seems to be an underestimated aspect of the remarkable continuity of sacral topography during the first centuries after the Islamic conquest. It can be considered also as a symptom of a changing approach to the urban space and the particular resilience of Christians.

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