Hierarchy in the Grave: The Multi-Compartment Layout of Byzantine Monastic Ossuaries
Hierarchy in the Grave: The Multi-Compartment Layout of Byzantine Monastic Ossuaries

Author(s): Nebojša P. Stanković
Subject(s): History, Archaeology, Architecture, Eastern Orthodoxy
Published by: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju
Summary/Abstract: Byzantine monastic ossuaries—sometimes referred to as ossuary chapels, cemetery chapels, or charnel houses—represent an interesting architectural phenomenon, in both their form and function (Figs. 5.1, 5.2). They draw one’s attention as being significantly different from the standard Byzantine ecclesiastic architecture. However, the ossuaries have rarely been studied by either art historians or liturgists, and a comprehensive explanation of their use and meaning is still a desideratum. Regarding their function, they have been usually considered a variant of funerary chapels. At the same time—in terms of their form and structure—they have been studied as a part of the corpus of unusual two-storied churches.

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