A martyrium (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) or martyrion (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

), plural ''martyria'', sometimes anglicized martyry (pl. martyries), is a church or shrine built over the tomb of a

Christian martyr In Christianity, a martyr is a person considered to have died because of their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at t ...

. It is associated with a specific architectural form, centered on a central element and thus built on a central plan, that is, of a circular or sometimes octagonal or cruciform shape.

Etymology

The origin of the name of the Christian martyrium is as follows:

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

''martys'', "witness", to ''martyrion'', "testimony", to

Late Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

and

Ecclesiastical Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Ca ...

''martyrium''.

History

The oldest Christian martyria were built at "a site which bears witness to the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popul ...

, either by referring to an event in Christ's life or Passion, or by sheltering the grave of a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

".Krautheimer, Richard. ''Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture''. Yale University Press, 1986. Fourth edition, with Slobodan Ćurčić. p.518. Martyria, mostly small, were very common after the early 4th century, when

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

became the first Roman emperor to declare religious tolerance for Christianity in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. Martyria had no standard architectural plan, and are found in a wide variety of designs. There was often a sunken floor, or part of it, to bring the faithful closer to the remains of the saint, and a small opening, the ''fenestella'', going from the altar-stone to the grave itself. Later churches began to bring the relics of saints to the church, rather than placing the church over the grave; the first translation of relics was in Antioch in 354, when the remains of

Saint Babylas Babylas ( el, Βαβύλας) (died 253) was a patriarch of Antioch (237–253), who died in prison during the Decian persecution. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine rite his feast day is September 4, i ...

, which were in a sarcophagus, were moved to a new church.

Development

The architectural form of the martyrium was developed from

Roman architecture Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome ...

, mainly based on imperial

mausolea A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

applied this style to the tomb of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

at the Anastasis in Jerusalem (ca. 326–380s) and the Apostles' Church in Constantinople, while also erecting round mausolea for

himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and refer to a previously n ...

and his

daughters A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...

. The first step towards creating a church based on an imperial mausoleum was made around 320, when Constantine connected what was meant to become his own mausoleum with a church structure. The same form was later adopted by early

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...

, which employed it in the creation of a shrine known as the Dome of the Rock in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, built much in the style of the Constantinian rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with which it was meant to create a "dialog of shrines", while looking down on it from a dominant position (the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...

). The central-plan martyrium church became a model for important churches not containing important relics, such as the Constantinian "Golden Octagon" at

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

, and perhaps also the octagonal church of the Caesarea Maritima (built ca. 480–500), the San Vitale in

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

(526–547), and the Palatine Chapel in Aachen (ca. 792–805).

Examples

Martyria that remain in something like their original form include the following:Syndicus, 73-87 * the 4th-century core of the much expanded St. Gereon's Basilica, Cologne * a building with three apses over the

Catacomb of Callixtus The Catacomb(s) of Callixtus (also known as the Cemetery of Callixtus) is one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way, most notable for containing the Crypt of the Popes ( Italian: ''Cappella dei Papi''), which once contained the tombs of sev ...

in Rome *

Santo Stefano Rotondo The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Celian Hill ( it, Basilica di Santo Stefano al Monte Celio, la, Basilica S. Stephani in Caelio Monte) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, ...

in Rome, late 5th century *

Basilica of San Lorenzo, Milan The Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore is a church in Milan, northern Italy. Located within the city's ring of canals, it was originally built in Roman times and subsequently rebuilt several times over a number of centuries. It is close to the media ...

, perhaps 4th century, although the oldest part of the church now evident is an adjoining Imperial mausoleum of the 4th century (compare

Santa Costanza Santa Costanza is a 4th-century church in Rome, Italy, on the Via Nomentana, which runs north-east out of the city. It is a round building with well preserved original layout and mosaics. It has been built adjacent to a horseshoe-shaped church, n ...

in Rome). * Church of the Holy Sepulchre in

, on the most important Christian site of all, founded by

. *

Church of Saint Simeon Stylites The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites ( ar, كنيسة مار سمعان العمودي , Kanīsat Mār Simʿān el-ʿAmūdī) is one of the oldest surviving church complexes, founded in the 5th century. It is located approximately northwestern of ...

, Syria, 5th century, also very large, and now in ruins. Other celebrated Martyria include: * The

Martyrium of Saint Denis, Montmartre The hill of Montmartre became a place of popular pilgrimage after a chapel was erected by the people of Paris, around 475, where Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was martyred. In the ninth century, the chapel, which had become ruined, was r ...

* The Martyrium of Saint Hripsime in the city of Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), Armenia * The

San Pietro in Montorio San Pietro in Montorio (Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain) is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative '' martyrium'' (tomb) built by Donato Bramante. History The Church of San Pietro in ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative martyrium built by

Donato Bramante Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance styl ...

Notes

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