Academic literature on the topic 'Cave monasteries'

The research problem lies in the urgent need to preserve the historical, cultural, and architectural and urban planning heritage of cave monasteries due to the risk of their loss. Natural and anthropogenic factors of the destruction of cave temples and monasteries were formulated. Ways to preserve cave temples and monasteries were considered. Principles for the development of design solutions for the revitalization of the adjacent territory and the cave monastery were proposed, such as functional, urban planning, infrastructural, the principle of the identity of the environment. The following algorithm for revitalizing cave monasteries was proposed: a study of the place and history of the emergence of the cave monastery; a study of the resource potential of the object; identification of problems of further development of the territory and underground facility; development of a conceptual proposal for adapting the facility to modern operating conditions.

The article considers the problem of the formation and evolution of Christian monasteries in the cities of the right bank of the Middle Dnister. Whereas the black clergy was very significant in their layer. The Monasteries on the specified territory, as well as on the territory of South-West Rus, appeared in the middle of the XII century. It is shown their importance as a part of the city in spreading the Christian ideology. Also were considered the cave monasteries of the Dnister canyon. The cave monasteries began to operate in the Dnister canyon already from XIth, as it was indicated by the group of researchers. As the first “Cloister” for the monks served the rock shelters, mainsails, caves, widely represented in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. For the installation of the monasteries usually are used the group of the caves and separately placed underground cavities could be settled by the the desert monks who were associated with Byzantine monastic traditions. The structure of the monastery could include the settlements. Probably the monasteries of XII – early XIII century owned so many lands with attached peasants, which was required only to meet their needs and not for benefication. The Orthodox Monasteries of the XII – early XIII century were placed in the territory of ancient rusian cities or in nearby suburbs. Therefore, these sacral objects should be taken as a essential sign that a one or another inhabited locality in XII – early XIII century was a real city. In ancient rusian cities the black clergy in addition to its core missionary activities led an active social life. Key words: monastery, black clergy, monastery, yeremit monasteries, kenovian monasteries, cave monasteries, Zenkivtsi on Prut river, Vasyliv, Kuchelmin.

The paper describes a combination of lithological basis and foundation of cave monasteries of the Middle Podnistrovie. This combination resulted in specific integrated geohistorical monuments (geosites). In the steep rocks of the canyon-like valley of the Dniester, in the process of Christianity, numerous individual or communal caves have been made. Nowadays, only three have remained and continue to be used for their original religious purpose: Bakota, Neporotovo, and Liadova cave monasteries. The place for foundation was not randomly chosen and was conditioned by several factors, the essential ones being geomorphological and sacred aspects. The geologic-geomorphologic factor was determined by presence of high and almost inaccessible rocks that allowed solitude and relative security for the inhabitants from raids of non-Christians. Not the last role belonged to the rocks, in which using simple tools, caves could be cut and rooms organized. It was determined that Bakota rock monastery was founded in opokas of Cenomanian stage, which were highly porous, and were malleable for processing. The tortuous route above the caves of the Bakota monastery was made in solid Sarmatian limestones along the denudation fractures widened by karst processes and by tools. Neporotovo cave monastery has mixed natural-anthropogenic origins and was initiated by karst-suffusion processes in the oolite Sarmatian limestones. Liadova cave monastery as well as Bakota cave monastery were cut from Cenomanian deposits, but in carbon facies, in which Cretaceous-like limestones dominate , which are malleable for making passageways Hydrogeological conditions were important for the building of the monastery, particularly, presence of drinking water. The sacred component was conditioned by religious canon laws and traditions. Each of the studied monasteries has a complex, and often tragic history recorded in archeological materials and archive documents, but the greater part of their thousand years history remains unknown.

The tasks of research of cave temples and monasteries include the analysis of the condition of the studied objects and the adjacent natural and anthropogenic landscape. The article discusses the scientific methods by which it is necessary to conduct archaeological research in accordance with the established procedure at the stages of pre-project analysis, design, as well as any construction and repair and economic activities on the territory of the location of objects of archeology and cultural heritage. In order to conduct a comprehensive analysis of cave monasteries and compare their characteristics, criteria for assessing their condition have been developed. The procedure for conducting archaeological research according to approved scientific methods in the process of pre-project surveys, design, reconstruction, any construction and economic activity is given. The optimal non-destructive research methods are named, which are aimed at collecting scientific information without destroying the object of research itself, and their advantages are revealed. The method of laser scanning of caves is described as an inseparable and promising part of engineering geodesy in the field of architecture, construction and historical and cultural heritage. An example of its approbation is given, on which the advantages of this method are revealed. Analysis and structuring of research methods and their advantages ensures the greatest safety of the object under study during rescue archaeological field work.

Among the recent archaeological finds in Tuyuq are several Old Uighur texts related to Tantric practices in the cave monasteries in the Mongol time. A fragment from Cave 24 preserves an unidentified text related to the Mahākāla rites, which has not been attested before. A fragment from Cave 54 provides us a new kind of manuscript of the Baxšï Ögdisi, which is different from the previously identified manuscripts from Dunhuang and Turfan. Another fragment from Cave 57 preserves a list of dates that can be identified as the days on which the lamp-lighting ceremony influenced by Chinese tantric Buddhism should have been held. Three wooden tablets with Uighur texts probably belong to guest monks or donors. These materials provide precious new information on the ritual and daily life of the Uighur Buddhist community in Tuyuq.

Most of the manuscript monuments of Ukrainian spirituality of the XI-XVII centuries. (chronicles, chronographs, vaults, collections, etc., not to mention hagiographical collections, paternities), preserved in our days, by their origin, origin, content, use, historical fate, are in many cases obliged to the Institute of monasteries and monks. , copyists, compilers, editors, portholes, translators, proofreaders. This statement is supported by research by scientists of several generations of chronicle sources in a wide range - from outstanding chronicles and printed monuments of world and national significance of the level "Words on Law and Grace", "Tales of the Past Years", Kiev-Pechersk Paterik to chronicles, chronographs , chronicles of local importance (Gustinsky, Dobromilsky, Kyiv, Mgarsky, Mezhyhirsky, Ostroh, Chernihiv chronicles, Crown of the Motroninsky monastery, chronicle of Zagorovsky monastery and bog of the others), as well as "chroniclers", diaries, records of outstanding representatives of Ukrainian monasticism - Kiev-cave archimandrites Yosafat Krokowski, Varlaam Yasinsky, saint, abbot of several Ukrainian monasteries Dimitri (Danylo) Tuptalsky, petimantry Tombs, abbot of Brest monastery Afanasii Filipovich and others.

The study of artificial caves and underground complexes, as well as their protection and preservation, remains a pressing problem of modern scientific research. Ancient dungeons, which are located not only in the territories of major cities (mainly in places where there were castle fortifications, trading rows, and monasteries), but also in small towns, cities, and villages, are in unsatisfactory condition. The work is devoted to the analysis of cave complexes and underground premises for historical purposes. Special attention should be paid to the operating conditions. The methods of surveying underground premises are given, in particular, attention is paid to the creation of 3D models. The results of the study of brick on water absorption result. The article pays attention to methods of strengthening damaged structures in operation conditions with modern composite materials based on basalt and carbon fibers

In this thesis the rock-cut monuments of Byzantine Cappadocia on the central Anatolian plateau of modem-day Turkey are considered from a new perspective and within a new structure. Studies which have investigated the churches of Cappadocia have not hitherto been framed around theoretical considerations, largely because of the absence of written sources which relate directly to the region. However, there is a body of documentary evidence contemporary with the majority of the Cappadocian churches which can be profitably analyzed to provide a framework within which the architectural disposition and liturgical planning of churches are considered. The documentary evidence of liturgical practices drawn from liturgical commentaries, hagiographic texts, typika and episcopal lists, together with all available evidence of patronage included in epigraphic sources in the churches is considered and analyzed. Discussion proceeds from documentary to archaeological evidence, focussing on the critical elements, the altar and the apse screen, the use of which is described in the literary evidence. In this synthetic approach, particular architectural dispositions and liturgical arrangements are shown to cluster in geographical patterns, the reason for which is demonstrated through an examination of other structures including refectories and funerary chambers. Scholars have undertaken systematic exploration in Cappadocia from the beginning of this century but the focus of their work has been primarily directed toward the decoration of the churches. Much of the material concerning liturgical planning has not been published and has been documented in this thesis for the first time based on fieldwork surveys undertaken between 1986 and 1988. The data of this fieldwork are collated in the appendix where one hundred and twenty-seven monuments are recorded including thirty-five hitherto unpublished and forty previously incompletely-published churches. A glossary in the appendix defines the relevant architectural terminology. More than six hundred rock-cut structures are believed to be located in Cappadocia, their highest concentration in Goreme. Although the total picture in Cappadocia cannot be satisfactorily reconstructed as losses have been considerable and are continuing, there is no reason to assume that the material which is extant is not representative of the situation which once existed in the region. That so many monuments are located within a confined area may suggest it was easier to carve a new church out of the tufaceous rock than to adapt an existing one to recent liturgical requirements. However, consideration of the liturgical furnishings and the question of how the architectural disposition and liturgical planning relate to specific ecclesiastical practices provide evidence that many of the churches had purposes other than normal liturgical use.
v. 1. The text. -- v. 2. The Appendix (3 parts)

博士
國立臺灣科技大學
建築系
99
Following the development of global modernization and the flow of cultural and economic power, the trend of architectural modernization has spread worldwide and had a significant impact on the constructive culture in different regions. During the developmental shift from modernization to globalization, the topic of modernization has become the focus of the architectural field in every country, region, and cultural circle. Architectural modernization has been the basis for further exploration of original local cultures, and produced dialog and conflict alike over modernization, localization, and tradition. 　This study investigates the construction of Buddhist Monasteries that were constructed with modern architectural techniques. Rather than focusing on the modern architectural trends imported into Taiwan from Japan during the colonial period and later directly from the West, this study takes localized features as the point of departure for analyzing the unique design characteristics Buddhist monasteries have taken on during the course of modernization. It is shown that the impact of cultural globalization, provincial architecture has either implicitly or explicitly been developed into the mainstream via the inspiration of “outside” cultures. With respects to monastic architecture, the Chung Tai Chan Monastery, and the Namaste Dagoba designed by architect C. Y. Lee, stands out as an outstanding alternative formation of the modernized spirit of Buddhism in both Straits. As globalization continues to gain momentum, localization is emerging as a widespread reaction to cultural homogeneity, and the expression of a unique identity is taking on increasing importance for nations, societies, and religions. This study discussed the major trends of modernization techniques on Buddhist monasteries in Taiwan, namely classical Chinese modernization, Western modernism, and Postmodernism. How these trends are manifested on these Buddhist monasteries are compared and contrasted to demonstrate how modern Buddhist architectural techniques are exemplified in today’s Taiwan. At the same time, the authors expect to refer to comparative studies works designed by architect C. Y. Lee between Straits, to obtain an in-depth understanding of the possible influence of modernization on different societies and its historical roots.

This chapter examines the historical and conciliar framework of monastic exemption, with a particular interest in tracing its formation and development between the fifth and eighth centuries. Such a focus outlines its growth during the early Middle Ages, which determined the monastery’s place within the local diocesan context. The construction, and subsequent deconstruction, of this relationship underpins this book’s ongoing investigation, which seeks ultimately to understand how and why papal protection became a coveted asset among French monasteries. To make this understanding possible, this chapter asks what came before the surge and why. It argues for an emerging pattern and character of exemption under the Franks, which proved central to developing notions of spiritual and physical protection under the popes. As a consequence of this novel mentality, a monastery’s relationship with its surrounding environment permitted greater degrees of freedom and protection than ever before. This unique transformation took time to develop, forging alliances that effectively shifted individual monasteries away from their Frankish protectorate towards the burgeoning spiritual centre in Rome.

Dominican contemplative life came to the United States through the efforts of an American girl, Julia Crooks, and a French priest, Damien Saintourens, OP. Each founded a monastery in New Jersey, which evolved into a network of cloistered religious houses for women. As Mother Mary of Jesus, Julia made perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament central to the lifestyle of her nuns, while Saintoursens dedicated his sisters to perpetual recitation of the rosary. Both networks reached peak numbers in the late 1960s, then slowly declined in the years following Vatican Council II. However, the new millennium has produced a resurrection of sorts in some houses, thus assuring the survival of a lifestyle “ever ancient, ever new.”

Abstract After the 12th century, Bhutan attracted a series of religious masters and treasure revealers (tertons) who rejuvenated teachings by revealing ters hidden by Guru Rinpoche and Khando Yeshey Tshogyal. Overtime, the country came to be dotted with temples. Buddhism flourished and has been perpetuated, since the 17th century, as the state religion, with Kagyud and Nyingma existing in harmony. Learning in the state monasteries were divided into the father-guru’s dharma (pha chos) and the son-disciple’s dharma (bu chos). Guru’s dharma consisted of the three interwoven instructions and the disciple’s dharma referred to ritual dance, sand mandala art, and ritual chants. Levels of vows among the monks as they progressed through the monastic hierarchy culminated in full bodhisattva and secret-mantra vows. The hierarchical ranks among monks were indicated by their dress styles. The chapter goes into routines of their sleep, study, prayers, meals, washing, and bathing, and provides glimpses of the state monasteries’ kitchens and refectories. Daily food offerings have been made to the founder of Bhutan, Zhabdrung Rinpoche, whose holy body is preserved in a golden stupa in Punakha dzong and which plays a profound role in the life of the nation.

Chapter 1 provides the historical background to Chinese migration and the spread of Buddhism to maritime Southeast Asia between the nineteenth century and the 1940s to set the stage for the discussion of the three monks in this study. In rough chronological order, this chapter tells the history of Chinese migration to colonial Southeast Asian states, arrival of Chinese Buddhism, and the South China Sea Buddhist networks that connected China and Southeast Asia. During this period, Buddhist monks came to the Malay Archipelago and propagated ideas of Buddhist modernism to the overseas Chinese communities. By the end of the 1940s, communist victory in the Chinese civil war led to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and the evacuation of the Kuomintang government to Taiwan; this period also marked the beginning of decolonization in maritime Southeast Asia.

Eastern models of monastic life spread to Ukrainian and Belarusian lands from Byzantium. Thefirst female Orthodox monasteries in Kyivan Rus appeared shortly after the adoption of Christianityby Prince Volodymyr the Great (988). Instead, the first women’s Uniate monasteries appearedin the Rzeczpospolita after 1596, when most of the hierarchs of the Kyiv Orthodox Metropolisconcluded a union with the Roman Church in Brest, founding the Uniate Church. The “cradle”of the Uniate monasticism is considered to be the Trinity Monastery in Vilnius. Its nuns were involvedin the foundation or reform of a number of monasteries in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.Favorable circumstances for the Uniate Church and its monasticism came only at the end of theseventeenth – beginning of the eighteenth century. At this time, we record about 30 cells. The great territorial changes that occurred in the Uniate Church required the unification of theliturgical sphere. Also, the Church needed to more clearly define its identity in matters of doctrineand organization. These and other factors caused Metropolitan Leo Kiszka to convene a councilin Zamość in 1720. This council also paid attention to the problems of women’s monasteries. Itsdelegates raised the issues of observance of the vow, control of the bishop over the monasteries,novitiate and profession, dowry of candidates, election of the abbess, education of girls in themonastery, competence of monastic confessors. The decisions of this assembly on female monasticismtestify to the influence of both Eastern and Western traditions. Its fathers preserved the mainprinciples of monastic life inherent in the Christian East: the independence of monasteries, theirsubordination to the authority of the local bishop, and the election of the abbess by the community.However, Zamoyski resolutions also adopted some models approved by the Council of Trent, aswell as papal constitutions and Latin canon law (enclosure, magister novitius, etc.).During the eighteenth century, the Eastern tradition was preserved in the monasteries of theKyivan Uniate Metropolitanate. Some changes made by the Zamoysky Council were not intendedto depart from the Eastern tradition, but only to improve the functioning of the monasteries undernew conditions. Rather, these changes were adopted in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where nunnerieshad long been developing the Uniate tradition, which contained certain Latin borrowings.Instead, in the monasteries of Lviv and Przemyśl dioceses certain changes will be obvious only atthe end of the eighteenth century.

Desde mediados del siglo XX y de manera exponencial nuestros pueblos se han ido vaciando. Si las personas abandonan un lugar, el patrimonio cultural que se encuentra en él cae inevitablemente en el olvido. Muchos de los castillos, iglesias, monasterios y yacimientos arqueológicos de nuestros pueblos se encuentran en ruinas y, por tanto, corren grave peligro de desaparecer. Desde el año 2007 la Asociación Hispania Nostra está dando voz a todo este legado histórico mediante su Lista Roja del patrimonio en peligro, contando ya con más de mil bienes repartidos por todo el territorio nacional. Por otro lado, el siglo XXI ha traído consigo una nueva forma de comunicación: las redes sociales. Estas plataformas están siendo utilizadas para divulgar de manera directa el patrimonio, incluyendo el que se encuentra en peligro, existiendo ya casos de éxito como son los proyectos de Arte en Ruinas o La Huella Románica. En este artículo se abordará un caso de estudio concreto de divulgación del patrimonio en peligro a través de la red social Instagram, que se ha llevado a cabo mediante una estrategia de comunicación adaptada a las necesidades del momento, analizando sus resultados.

The shortest titulature would consist of the ruler's name and title. Broader ones contained territorial indicators – namely lands ruled by the ruler, the ruler's byname and formulaic phrase of devotion to God (the Dei gratia phrase) usually in the form of by the grace of God, which emphasizes the source, i.e. the origin of the ruler's sovereignty in the country, which is in compliance with the understandings of those times. Titulatures are to be found in written documents (charters and letters) issued in the ruler's chancellery, within the intitulations at the beginning, and in the signature at the end of the document. In written documents, of various origins, which attest the relations between the ruler and the external factors, titulatures are to be found either within the inscription (address) of the documents sent or in documents in which the ruler represents a political factor. Other than that, titulatures are to be found on seals, coins, founder's inscriptions, inscriptions next to portraits/frescoes resembling the rulers, on objects-gifts to churches or monasteries, on manuscripts, and just as importantly, in narrative sources (domestic and foreign), contemporary or somewhat younger. Through all the listed examples above, we are able examine the titulature of King Milutin. Firstly, attention is focused on the ruler's name, as an essential part of the titulature. The subject of study is the king's baptismal name Milutin, rarely present in official use, the ruling name Stefan and the name Uroš, which was carried by the king's father and to which we will pay special attention to. The constant highlighting of the fact that Milutin is the direct descendant of previous kings, throw genealogical elements found in a number of more extensive titulatures, had a special political-practical and ideological significance for King Milutin, with which he sought to legitimize his rule, since he had taken the throne from his older brother in extraordinary circumstances. In this work, we shall try to classify the titulatures of King Milutin by their types, sources in which they appear, according to content, constituent elements, extent, etc. Special attention will also be paid to the innovations of the content, that is, the changes in the titulature that came as a consequence of political events.

Orientalism, as a variant of exoticism in the Romantic period, adopted a series of topics linked to distant countries and oriental cultures, including Spanish lands, especially Andalusian. This phenomenon was especially prolific in the world of the arts around the Alhambra, «doubly romantic for its medieval and oriental origin» (Raquejo, 1989).Alhambrism was developed by traveling writers in the early 19th century, eager for suggestive scenarios in which to recreate their poems and stories. Later it spread to the plastic arts, with painters such as François Antoine Bossuet, John Frederick Lewis, David Roberts, Gustave Doré or Jenaro Pérez Villaamil. In the case of architecture, Alhambrism was nourished by parallel sources. On the one hand, the awakening to the conservation of the Alhambra as a monument witness to a dreamy period in the history of Spain, and the first interventions by Rafael Contreras, still under babbling and unscientific criteria. On the other hand, the impulse to decorativism through the seminal studies of Owen Jones and Jules Goury, convinced that «in the Alhambra the exemplary paradigm of the most perfect ornamental and chromatic system of all historical styles had existed was hidden» (Villafranca).Music also found fertile ground for creativity in the Alhambra between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, within the nationalist romantic movement. However, it was mainly the Spanish composers who chose the Alhambra to reflect the national identity: Tárrega, Turina, Albéniz, Bretón, De Monasterio, to which we should add a Debussy influenced by Falla.The communication aims ultimately to investigate through analysis the musical resources used by the last-mentioned composer, Claude Debussy, to evoke with sounds the architecture and the sensual atmosphere of the Alhambra in one of the most representative works of Alhambrism in music: La Puerta del Vino (The Wine Gate).

Крайняя малочисленность связанных с христианством находок и их неравномерное распределение во времени создает значительные трудности при восстановлении истории Фанагорийской христианской общины. Восполнить лакуны до некоторой степени помогают имеющиеся сведения об истории христианства в других центрах Северо-Восточного Причерноморья, неотъемлемой частью которого являлась Фанагория. Несомненно, новая религия проникает в Фанагорию, как и в другие центры Боспорского царства, в последней четверти 3 в. из Малой Азии, откуда готы, возвращаясь из своих пиратских набегов, привозили пленных христиан. Именно к периоду после морских походов варваров относятся первые зафиксированные на Боспоре признаки христианства: различные вещи с христианскими символами, христианские участки на некрополе в Керчи. Незначительное количество раннехристианских памятников говорит о том, что в этот период распространение религии в регионе происходило, главным образом, благодаря деятельности миссионеров, и число приверженцев христианства было невелико. С включением Боспора в сферу влияния Византийской империи церковь и государство предпринимают совместные усилия по христианизации региона: скорее всего, именно в это время по обе стороны Керченского пролива строятся церкви, в Фанагории учреждается епископская кафедра и строится христианский храм, внутреннему убранству которого, скорее всего, принадлежали два мраморных резервуара для воды, сигмовидный стол и рельеф с изображением Орфея, найденные при раскопках на «Нижнем городе». Форма и материал, из которого изготовлен один из найденных резервуаров, позво ляет интерпретировать его как крещальную купель. Причем небольшая глубина найден ной емкости не означает, что в ней крестили только детей, поскольку в большинстве случаев крещение совершалось без полного погружения: стоявшего в купели крещаемого просто обливали водой. Однако уже с 4 в. при крещении начали использовать стоячую воду, а наполнять купель предписывалось вручную. Поэтому объяснить назначение двух отверстий в фанагорийском резервуаре в случае его использования в качестве купели трудно. Лучше объясняет наличие двух отверстий другой возможный вариант использования резервуара: в качестве реликвария, в котором хранились мощи, их частицы или какие-то другие реликвии. Через верхнее отверстие в реликварий на хранящиеся в нем мощи наливали масло, которое выливалось через отверстие в нижней части. Что касается чаши с ручками-выступами вдоль края, то подобные емкости, как правило, определяют либо как купели для крещения детей, либо, чаще, как чаши для освященной воды, которую в раннехристианское время использовали для ритуального омовения рук перед входом в храм. Известные автору точные аналогии фанагорийскому сосуду происходят исключительно с территории провинций Мезия Секунда и Фракия. Не исключено, что именно оттуда фанагорийская емкость была привезена войсками, присланными на Боспор Юстинианом для подавления восстания против ставленника Византии Грода. Мраморный сигмовидной стол с арочной каймой также мог входить в состав инвентаря христианского храма. В церковном обиходе использование таких столов было вторичным, взятым из светской жизни и идет от раннехристианской традиции совместных поминальных трапез, совершавшихся над могилами мучеников. Позже их использовали в храмах в качестве престолов и столов для приношений, а также в трапезных монастырей. Несмотря на то, что сигмовидные столы, в частности столы с арочной каймой, использовали как в светском, так и христианском обиходе, их находки вне контекста обычно связывают с христианскими храмами. Однако в подобных случаях нельзя исключать возможность их использования и в качестве обычного обеденного стола. Наконец, с христианством может быть связана мраморная плитка с изображением Орфея, образ которого перешел в христианскую иконографию из языческого искусства. Незначительные размеры и сильная потертость фанагорийского фрагмента, к сожалению, не позволяют уверенно определить религиозный статус изображения, который, как правило устанавливают по составу «слушателей» и контексту. Строго говоря, из перечисленных находок только одну, мраморную чашу с вырезанным крестом, можно отнести к предметам интерьера христианского храмового комплекса безусловно. Сигмовидный стол могли использовать и в христианском культе, и по его прямому назначению – в качестве обеденного стола. Образ Орфея одинаково использовался как язычниками, так и христианами. Разным целям мог служить и мраморный резервуар. Но среди аргументов за и против их использования в христианском культе, все же превалируют первые. Кроме того, обнаружение всех предметов на довольно небольшом участке «Нижнего города» позволяет надеяться на то, что в ходе будущих раскопок здесь будет открыт христианский храм, и таким образом подтвердится предложенная интерпретация найденных предметов. Храм, к которому, возможно, относились перечисленные находки, по-видимому, был разрушен в середине 6 в. Тогда же, скорее всего, прекратила существование и Фанагорийская епархия. Какие-либо сведения о фанагорийских христианах более позднего времени полностью отсутствуют, но, судя по информации о христианских общинах, имевшихся в других центрах региона, а также в городах Хазарского каганата, были они и в Фанагории, которая в этот период, скорее всего, входила в состав Зихийской епархии. У нас нет сви детельств о притеснениях христиан в городах Хазарского каганата. Наоборот, согласно сведениям, содержащимся в письменных источниках, жизнь христиан там протекала до вольно спокойно. О благосклонном отношении хазарской элиты к христианству говорят и браки с византийским императорским домом, в частности брак Юстиниана II и сестры кагана Феодоры, после заключения которого он «уехал в Фанагорию и жил там с Феодорой» (Theoph. Chron. 704–705; пер. И.С. Чичурова). 2 Что же касается археологических свидетельств, то число связанных с христианством находок 8–10 вв. чрезвычайно мало, и их невозможно связать непосредственно с христианским населением Фанагории. Extremely low amounts of finds related to Christianity and their uneven distribution over time presents difficulties in reconstructing the history of the Phanagorian Christian community. The information on the history of Christianity in other centres of the North-Eastern Black Sea, a region where Phanagoria played a crucial part, can help fill the blanks to a certain extent. Without any doubt, the new religion arrived to Phanagoria, as well as to the other centres of the Bosporan kingdom, in the last quarter of the third century AD from Asia Minor, when the Goths brought Christians as captives from their pirate raids. The first recorded signs of Christianity in the Bosporos belong to the period after the sea campaigns of the “barbarians”. These include personal possessions with Christian symbols and Christian burial plots in the necropolis in Kerch. A small number of early Christian monuments points to the fact that during this period the spread of Christianity in the region heavily relied on the activities of missionaries, while the number of christians was still small. Later, after the inclusion of the Bosporos in the sphere of influence of the Byzantine Empire, the church and the state were making joint efforts to Christianize the region: most likely, it was at this time that Christian churches were built on both sides of the Kerch Strait, an episcopal chair was established in Phanagoria and a Christian church was built, decorated with two marble water tanks, a sigmoid table and a relief depicting Orpheus. All this was found during the excavations in the “Lower City” trench. 2 Чичуров 1980, 62. Христианство в Фанагории. Археологические свидетельства 71 The shape and material from which one of the found tanks is made allows for its interpreta tion as a baptistery. The small depth of the found container does not necessarily mean that only children were baptised in it, since in most cases baptism was performed without complete immersion. The baptised stood in the font and water was poured over him. However, from the fourth century AD stagnant water was used for baptism, and the font had to be filled manually. It is, therefore, difficult to explain the purpose of the two holes in the Phanagorean reservoir if it was used as a font. Their presence is better explained by another possible use of the tank – as a reliquary. Oil was poured into the reliquary through the upper opening to cover the relics stored in it, and then came out through the opening in the lower part. Regarding the bowls with protruding handles along the edge, such vessels are considered to serve either as fonts for child baptism, or, more often, as bowls for consecrated water, which, during the early Christian times, were used to wash hands before entering the temple. Their exact analogies, known to the author, come exclusively from the provinces of Moesia Secunda and Thrace. It is possible that it was from there that the Phanagorian container was brought by the troops, which were sent to the Bosporos by Justinian to suppress the uprising against the Byzantine ruler named Grod. A marble sigmoid table with an arched border could also be part of the inventory of a Christian church. In church life, the use of such tables was secondary. It comes from secular life, from the early Christian tradition of communal meals served on the graves of martyrs. Later they were used in temples and monasteries as thrones and tables for offerings. Despite the fact that sigmoid tables, particularly those with an arched border, were used both in secular and Christian everyday life, they are usually associated with Christian churches when found out of context. However, one cannot exclude the possibility of them being used as a regular dining table. Finally, a marble tile with the image of Orpheus, which came to the Christian iconography from pagan art, can also be associated with Christianity. Unfortunately, due to its insignificant size and severe damage, this fragment does not allow us to determine the religious status of the image with any degree of certainty. Usually such assumptions can be made based on the amount of depicted listeners and the find’s context. Strictly speaking, only one of the listed finds, a marble bowl with a carved cross, can be attributed to the items from the interior of the Christian temple. The sigmoid table could be used both in the Christian cult and for its original purpose, as a dining table. The image of Orpheus was used by both pagans and Christians. A marble tank could possibly also serve different purposes. However, between the arguments “for” and “against” its use in a Christian context, the former prevail. In addition, the discovery of all the objects together in a rather small area of the “Lower City” excavation site allows us to hope that, during future excavations, a Christian church will be discovered here, confirming our interpretations. The temple to which the finds may have belonged was apparently destroyed in the middle of the sixth century AD. At the same time, most likely, the Phanagorian diocese also ceased to exist. There is no information on Phanagorian Christians during later periods, but, judging by the information about the Christian communities that existed in other centres of the region, as well as in the cities of the Khazar Khaganate, Christians were present in Phanagoria, which, during this period was likely a part of the Zikhia diocese. So far, we have no evidence of the oppression of Christians in the cities of the Khazar Khaganate. On the contrary, according to the information from written sources, the life of Christians there was a rather calm one. The favourable attitude of the Khazar elite towards Christianity is also evidenced by marriages with the Byzantine imperial family. Of particular interest is the marriage of Justinian II and the sister of the Khagan, Theodora, after which he “left for Phanagoria and lived there with Theodora”. As for archaeological evidence, the number of finds associated with Christianity from the 8th to 10th centuries AD is extremely low, and it is impossible to connect them directly with the Christian population of Phanagoria.