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10 /28 TO BHMA - APRIL 2013 The Greek Australian VEMA TO BHMA - APRIL 2013 11 /29

Christian Architectural Symbolism and the Holy Monastery of the Mother of God
Pantanassa: A Macrohistorical Reflection, Part 2
Introduction opens up to a complex surrounded by trees and shrubs, sa icon, however, the Mother of God holds the Lord inal art) in order to witness to the truth. This brings us to
making it seem as though the inchoate yet fertile bush- within a mandorla, whereas in Hagia Sophia the Christ- the final remark of this paper, that whilst the church of
In part one of this article we traced in brief a macrohis- land, teeming with all sorts of life, has a new point of ori- child rests upon her lap holding a scroll. Both images of Panagia Pantanassa, standing in continuity with both
tory of early Christian and Byzantine architecture, begin- entation; a sacred citadel gently watching over God’s Christ give the blessing of peace, with the only differ- Byzantium’s architectural standards and creative propen-
ning with the early house churches and basilicas and cul- creation. Approaching the complex through this road sur- ence being in the use of materials. Indeed, one of the sities, is almost complete, still, a lot of work needs to be
minating in the cross-in-square designs that became, a- rounded by the fragile landscape, one is struck by the unique contributions of Pantanassa to traditional Byzan- done. The amenities and internal furnishings of not just
long with the dome, a prevalent means of communicat- ambience of a terrain already marked in the past by this tine iconography has been to incorporate indigenous the church, but the surrounding buildings - including the
ing the fact that the Christian sanctuary was an imago et land’s original inhabitants. Aboriginal carvings can be techniques, such as Aboriginal dot-painting, that can be monks’ quarters - remain incomplete. The brothers have
axis mundi (image and center of the world). We saw that discerned on the stones flanking its southwestern side, so seen in the halos of both this icon of the Virgin and in the had to struggle against intractable zoning restrictions and
Justinian’s church of Holy Wisdom, or Ἁγία Σοφία, was that as one makes the transition from the outskirts of the image to the right of the altar, which is that of the Lord other adversities to get where they are today, and what
archetypal in this regard. The present article will address church to the building itself, one has the impression of Pantokrator whose blue vestment, signifying divinity,8 they have managed to achieve must be ascribed to their
the extent to which the motifs of Byzantine ecclesial ar- having embarked on a journey from the shadows of for- embraces and appropriates the red, which is his (and our) diligence, the support of God’s people, and, most impor-
chitecture have transcended local and temporal bound- mer beliefs which have now been surpassed by the full- humanity.9 With his left hand he gives the blessing, and tantly, to the providence of the Lord and his holy Moth-
aries by becoming emphatically manifested in the most ness of the truth in Christ; represented by the golden with his right he holds a scroll declaring - “I am the light er. As a testament to their patient endurance, the brothers
unlikely of contexts; in the katholikon of the holy Moth- crosses adorning the bell-tower and the katholikon. of the world” (Jn 8:12).10 It is envisaged that the icono- now inhabit their own version of the ancient house
er of God Pantanassa overlooking the fertile Dubbo Val- Standing in front of the complex, one is confronted by a graphical program of the entire church will begin once church mid-way up the mountain; though this is not
ley and its adjoining National Parks in Mangrove Moun- large a series of connected buildings which, from left to the monastery has sufficient funds, the concrete structure without its breathtaking charm. Near a fully furnished
tain, in the central coast of New South Wales, Australia. right (or, geographically, from North to South) consist of accommodating precisely this purpose. To this end, one chapel dedicated to the Syrian saints Ephraim (c. 306-
It will begin by contextualising the katholikon in light of the bell-tower already mentioned, the outer shell of a li- of the brothers has expressed his desire, already achieved 373) and Isaac (d. c. 700), are the current living quarters
its creative continuity with Byzantine ecclesial architec- brary, kitchen, and refectory. The entry to the church through numerous icons painted by his hand, to appro- of the monks, a kitchen, a guesthouse, and other facili-
ture – a theme that will be returned to throughout – be- grounds is to the right of the refectory, and as one enters priate elements from the land - pebbles and dirt - into his ties. With the further support of God’s people, and by the
fore turning to the katholikon as an imago mundi. It will he or she can see that these buildings face the western pigments, effecting with these holy images an authentic intercessions of the holy Theotokos - the ‘Queen of All’
then assess the multivalenced significance of the katho- façade of the church proper. Extending from the north- Figure 1 – The exterior of the katholikon of the Holy Mother of God Pantanassa. The slightly elevated structure to the right, Christianisation of the natural surrounds. Such an ap- - they hope to one day complete the complex on top of
likon, Mangrove Mountain itself, and the large cross at ernmost apex of these buildings to the northeast (i.e., im- crowned with two domes, constitutes the nave, narthex, and altar area of the church proper; the lower structure to the left proach emphatically points to the fact that Christians are mount Mangrove, thereby injecting further, divinely-in-
the base of the mountain - upon which is suspended an mediately to the right of the library) are two connected (with a single dome) is the chapel dedicated to St John Chrysostom. called to sanctify, by the grace of God, all places at all spired life into what we have already described as Aus-
icon of the ‘King of glory’1 - as mutually inclusive axes buildings, the monks’ quarters and the amenities, whose times. This sentiment is reflected not just in the architec- tralia’s very own ‘Byzantium.’
mundi. The article will then conclude with a few reflec- atrium also faces the northwestern façade of the church, tural motifs and artistic styles mentioned above - signifi-
tions on the profound significance of the presence of meaning that the auxiliary structures, in the form of an cant though they are - but in the entire Pantanassa proj- 1 The solemn title ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης (i.e. ‘the King of glory’) is taken
holy Mother of God Pantanassa Monastery in the Aus- L-shape, have as their immediate point of orientation the ect; where prayers and hymns invoking the merciful in- from Psalm 24:8 and reiterated by St Paul with specific reference to the
tralian context. place of worship (see figure 6). Approaching the en- tercessions of the holy Virgin frequently rise up with the crucifixion in 1 Corinthians 2:8.
2 Such as, for instance, the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Theotokos
trance to the church, one observes the intricate brick- incense as a pillar of smoke. In this way, the worship in Redfern, NSW; a Victorian-style gothic church which is furnished inside
Byzantine Features in The Holy Mother work adorning the façade with its half-barrel tiled domes which takes place in the katholikon, effectuates, by with an iconostasis, ambo, and many traditional Byzantine icons.
of God Pantanassa extending their crosses to the open sky. There are three God’s grace, another axis mundi; the entire movement of 3 The katholikon of Megiste Lavra (Ιερά Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας), the
domes, and the trinitarian symbolism is potent as one the liturgy and other services themselves helping to es- oldest church on Mt Athos, also has three domes distributed widely apart,
a feature which according to Krautheimer became “a hallmark of monastic
The katholikon of Pantanassa Monastery (see figure 5) passes beneath the aged iron bark door-head and makes tablish a correspondence between heaven and earth. churches all through northern Greece and the Balkans.” Early Christian
somehow recapitulates the historical evolution of Byzan- the transition from neutral to sacred space, even within and Byzantine Architecture, 375.
tine architecture in a context that, until the nineteenth the narthex with its small icons - one of St Anna holding Concluding Remarks 4 Cf. Timothy E. Gregory, A History of Byzantium, Blackwell History of
the Virgin-child and another of Christ - flanking either the Ancient World Series (UK: Blackwell publishing, 2010), 266-267.
century, had never been exposed to Orthodox Christiani- 5 For more information, see Vasiliki Limberis’ Divine Heiress: The Virgin
ty. As the Greek migrants poured into Australia during side of the entry into the nave. To the left of the narthex Tracing the development of Christian architecture from Mary and the Creation of Christian Constantinople (London: Routledge,
the last century, many churches sprang up, some of in the northwestern extremity of the building is a chapel the early period with its house churches to the rise of 1994).
which attempted to merge conventional Byzantine pat- dedicated to St John Chrysostom (c. 347-407), the holy basilicas in the age of Constantine, we saw in part one of 6 See St Gregory of Nyssa’s The Life of Moses, trans. Everett Ferguson and
this article that Church architecture is shaped by both the Abraham J. Malherbe, The Classics of Western Spirituality Series (New
terns with modern designs; others emulating the basilica archbishop of Constantinople and patron of the principal York: Paulist Press, 1978); idem St Dionysius the Areopagite, The Mystical
style, and still others purchasing existing churches - such liturgical service of Eastern Orthodox Christians; a fit- socio-political context and the Christian mentality. To Theology 1, trans. Colm Luibheid, The Classics of Western Spirituality
(l) Figure 2 – Bird’s eye view of the katholikon overlooking the Dubbo Valley and its adjoining National Parks. The auxiliary
as gothic ones with vaulted ceilings - in order to establish ting dedication, given the church’s aforementioned reca- buildings can be seen in an L-shape around the church, including the refectory, kitchen, and library (facing the entrance to the
this end, the rapid spread of Christianity in the succeed- Series (New York: Paulist Press, 1987), 135-137.
pitulation of the Byzantine ecclesial legacy which St ing centuries where it had become the official religion of 7 This interpretation of the cross as the foundation or basis of the world has
their parishes. These experimental designs have resulted katholikon), as well as the monk’s quarters, office and amenities (facing its northern side). (r) Figure 3 – View from the narthex been inspired by Fr Dr Doru Costache’s ruminations on the subject in his
in some fascinating hybrid-churches2 that are for the John was so instrumental in shaping. Both the narthex into the nave of the katholikon, one can see the dome supported by pendentives distributing the weight of the ceiling down the the Eastern Roman empire centered in Constantinople Patristic Studies lectures at St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological
most part in keeping with the Byzantine penchant for and the nave are domed; with the third dome covering columned arches, as well as some of the internal furnishings in their infancy stages. opened up the pursuit of new, experimental designs that College, where I learnt that it has been articulated variously in both the
creativity and innovation. But what one finds in Pan- the westernmost part of the nave. Reflecting in triadic further reflected the worldview of God’s people. What scriptures and the fathers. In the former, one can find it in Revelation 13:8
gan predecessors should come as no surprise, insofar as would become paradigmatic for the contemporary Or- where the author refers to the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the
tanassa definitely stands apart. As mentioned above, this symbolism the celestial sphere, the domes are each world.” A patristic example can be found as early as the second century
church, the body of which has recently been almost en- pierced by eight windows designating the kingdom of they both belonged to the same cultural context that the thodox Church can be best discerned in the reign of the apologist St Justin Martyr who interprets the statement in Plato’s Timaeus,
tirely completed (with the exception of some external heaven, and they are supported by pendentives resulting Church nevertheless transfigured through its experience emperor Justinian; specifically in his church of Holy that the Demiurge placed the World Soul at the centre of the universe in the
brickwork and internal furnishings such as icons), looks from four arches, much like those found in Hagia Sophia of the life in Christ. What we see in Pantanassa is a dou- Wisdom. It was this church, along with its predecessor form of an X (the Greek letter chi) as the Son of God being ‘placed’ by God
the Father in the centre of the cosmos. Asserting that Plato learnt this from
as though it has been transported directly from medieval but on a smaller scale. The pendentives supporting the ble-symbolism of the centre as both the mountain and the Sts Sergius and Bacchus, that would become standard Moses, Justin continued with a typological interpretation of Moses setting
Constantinople. Certainly, one can find such traditional domes in fact give the impression of smaller squares church constitute profound examples of axes mundi. designs incorporating symbolic architectural motifs from up of a salvific figure of brass over the tabernacle (Num 21:9), identifying
looking churches, incorporating the cross-in-square de- within the structure, which is itself a cross-in-square de- There is, admittedly, a third example, towards the bottom the earlier period - the octagon as the eighth day, the it with the cross of Christ. Hence, for St Justin, both the cross and the Lord
sign, so that what we have said above about Holy Wis- of the mountain where an enormous icon of the crucified cross-in-square as an imago mundi et axis mundi - under are perceived as centers of the universe, or axes mundi. The First Apology
sign - with vaults/arches to support its multi-domed roof- 60, trans. Thomas B. Falls, The Fathers of the Church Series (Washington
ing - throughout the Balkans, but many have been weath- dom - the archetypal church for Byzantium - is applica- ‘King of glory’ has been erected above a flowing stream. a new domed structure designating the celestial vault. DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1965), 97-99.
ered by time. What one can see in the Australian ‘bush’ ble, almost fourteen hundred years later, to a church in Suspended on the cross, here the Master’s body extends Surprisingly, all of these architectural features can be 8 Cf. Egon Sendler, The Icon: Image of the Invisible, trans. Steven Bigham
is, paradoxical as this may sound, a ‘new’ Byzantine the Australian bush, namely; that the eighth day symbol- to the four cardinal points, thereby signifying even more found in the holy monastery of the Mother of God Pan- (Hong Kong: Oakwood Publications, 1981), 155-56.
potently the cosmic significance of his sacrifice, not to tanassa in the twenty-first century Australian context; 9 Ibid, 156-57.
church. Indeed, whilst the church has often been ac- ism of both the domes and the cruciform shape of the 10 It is this light that one is meant to contemplate when beholding the sun
claimed as a traditional Athonite monastery - and legiti- building’s interior are meant to extend outwards to the mention that from him spring the waters of life eternal and it was this monastery that was the focus of the pres- streaming through the windows of the church’s domes, that of the “unwan-
mately so3 - its style can also be traced to the Byzantine four cardinal points represented by the symbol of the (Jn 4:13). Moreover, the location of the cross at the base ent paper (i.e. part two of this article). The church, orna- ing day (τῇ ἀνεσπέρῳ ἡμέρᾳ)” as our paschal troparian exclaims. Greek
square, thereby encompassing the whole of God’s cre- of both the mountain and the church - as though it were menting the lush Mangrove Mountain, is a testament to Orthodox Holy Week and Easter Services, A New English Translation,
patronage of the holy Mountain,4 with architectural fea- trans. George L. Papadeas (Florida: Patmos Press, 2007), 456.
tures resembling the churches of Constantinople, a city ation as an imago mundi. the basis of the other two axes mundi - brings to mind the the Byzantine ecclesial legacy both in its incorporation
that, just like Mt Athos, was acknowledged as under the Church’s belief, reflected in both scripture and the fa- of the aforementioned eschatological and cosmic sym-
supreme protection of the Theotokos, the ever-Virgin thers, that the cross is the foundation of the world(s).7 bolism (making it an imago mundi) but also in its dedi- Note: I am grateful to the Very Reverend Abbot Eusebios Pantanassi-
Panagia Pantanassa as an Axis Mundi Figure 4 – One of the three domes in the katholikon of Returning to the church building at the top of the moun- cation to the Theotokos, the patron saint of Constantino- otis for inviting me to write this article, and for permitting me to pho-
Mary.5 and its Interior Design tograph the monastery of Pantanassa. I am also indebted to Fr Dr Doru
Pantanassa. The square projecting the four horizons emerges tain, its monolithic concrete interior, far from seeming ple and ‘the joy of the creation.’ The location of the
from the pendentives that support the dome, itself symbolic of Costache for all of his encouragement and pertinent insights.
entirely bare, creates an apophatic ambience that is strik- church atop a natural axis mundi, as well as the large
The Holy Mother of God Pantanassa Related to all of this, the church’s location on a mountain the celestial vault, and pierced by eight windows denoting the ingly ‘interrupted’ by the very few icons of the Virgin cross with an icon of the King of glory extending to the
as an Imago Mundi is also significant. Returning to the concept of the axis eschatological kingdom.
Theotokos holding the Christ-child and of Christ Pan- four horizons, testifies to the multivalent symbolism of Mario Baghos
mundi, an example of natural ‘centers of the world’ can on Mt Sinai, as a metaphor for the mystical experience.6 tokrator, some of which were painted by the hand of one the center that can be discerned in all traditional soci- Associate Lecturer in Patristic Studies
In light of all this, the aforementioned description that be discerned in the geographical constitution of moun- Material examples can be found in the spiritual culture of of the brothers. The two icons flanking either side of the eties, past and present, and especially Byzantium. The and Church History
Pantanassa is a ‘Byzantium in the Bush’ is concretely re- tains as they reach towards heaven. We have many ex- the aforesaid societies, namely in temples, which were altar area are conspicuous in design; with the icon of the iconographical program, whilst still in its infancy, reiter- St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College
alised firstly, in its dedication to the Theotokos as the amples in both the Old and New Testament scriptures also meant to recapitulate the cosmos in the way we have Panagia veiled in blue and holding the golden-draped Je- ates the Byzantine desire - embedded in the Gospel - to
‘Queen of All,’ and secondly, in its utilisation of Byzan- (Zion, Sinai, Tabor) of mountains as the locus of a theo- just seen above with reference to both Hagia Sophia (in sus (symbolising the ‘sun of righteousness’) reminiscent transform the immediate context by appropriating its
tine architectural features, which I will now attempt to phany, and patristic literature has often employed the part one of this article) and Pantanassa. That Christians of a mosaic that can still be seen in Hagia Sophia’s apse ‘raw material’ (i.e. the ‘externals’ of cultures, in this case * Photos 1, 3 and 4 by Mario Baghos. Photo 2 generously
describe. The gravel dirt road leading to the monastery motif of the mountain, specifically the ascent of Moses inherited and built upon such a disposition from their pa- in what would have been the altar area. In the Pantanas- the pigments and stylistic elements pertaining to Aborig- provided by the Very Reverend Abbot Eusebios Pantanassiotis

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