Orthodox Church Architecture (Part II)
While sharing many traditions, East and West in Christianity began to diverge from each other from an early date. Whereas the basilica, a long aisled hall with an apse at one end, was the most common form in the West, a more centralized style became predominant in the East. These churches were in origin 'martyria' focused on the tombs of the Saints--specifically, the Martyrs who had died during the persecutions, which only fully ended with the conversion of Emperor Constantine. They copied pagan tombs and were roofed over by a dome which symbolized heaven.
Orthodox Church Architecture
Historically the Orthodox Church has a definite style Church architecture developed by the attempt to reveal the fundamental experience of Orthodox Christianity: that God is with us. The fact that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Emmanuel (which translated means 'God with us') has come, determines the form of the Orthodox church building. God is with man in Christ through God the Holy Spirit. The dwelling place of God is with man. "We are the temple of the living God..." (2 Corinthians 6:16), and it is exactly this belief and experience that Orthodox Church architecture wishes to convey. It is also of interest that churches are oriented so that the holy Altar faces the East and sunrise, symbolizing Christ, the Light.
The Holy Eucharist
"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had give thanks [Greek eucharistesas]. He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).
September 17 - Sts. Sophia, Faith, Hope and Love
They lived and suffered in Rome in the time of the pagan Roman emperor Hadrian. The wise Sophia (as her name--Sophia--wisdom, indicates) was left a widow and, as a Christian, steeped herself and her daughters in the Christian faith. At the time that Hadrian's persecuting hand stretched out over the virtuous house of Sophia, Faith was twelve years old, Hope was ten years old and Love was nine years old. The four of them were brought before the pagan emperor, with their arms entwined 'like a woven wreath', humbly but firmly confessing their faith in Christ the Lord and refusing to offer sacrifice to the pagan goddess Artemis.
September 16 - Ephemia the Great Martyr
Ephemia, the all-praised and Great Martyr of Christ, lived during the reign of the Roman pagan emperor Diocletians (284-305 A.D.). The holy maiden hailed from the city of Chalcedon of Bithynia on the Bosporus. Her father was the celebrated and wealthy Senator Philophron. Her mother was Theodosiane, conspicuous for her piety and sympathy for the poor. From this root, it did not take long for the goodly scion, Ephemia, to establish a well-known and profound piety and faith in Christ.