Minarets have defined Cairo's skyline since its early history: they are one of the most characteristic features of Islamic architecture. In Egypt, where civilizations have manifested themselves through awe-inspiring structures since antiquity, 'a thousand minarets' reveal the impact of Islamic civilization and urban aesthetics. "The Minarets of Cairo" offers an accessible and vivid insight into the religious, historical and architectural significance of the minaret in Cairo from the Arab Conquest, through the Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. Students and scholars will welcome historian and art historian Doris Behrens-Abouseif's excellent new research and analysis as well as over one hundred illustrated entries for individual minarets, brought to life by Nicholas Warner's masterly architectural drawings and reconstructions. With nearly three hundred illustrations, this beautiful book provides depth and color, displaying to full effect historic Cairo's most impressive monuments.

This book looks at the treatment of Byzantine monuments in the first hundred years of the Greek State. It examines representative restoration interventions on Byzantine monuments in Greece and critically analyses the theoretical principles and the practices adopted. The author records the developmental course of actions taken to salvage the Byzantine heritage, both by the Greek State and by non-governmental agents. It also investigates their ideological and cultural framework, correlating this with European thought. It enhances the impact of the upgrading of Byzantium in Greece on activities for the protection, rescue and restoration of Byzantine ecclesiastical monuments. The study is based on ample archival material, which is published for the first time. This volume is an essential contribution to research into the history of Greek cultural heritage and of European restorations. English language edition

Ethiopia is a land of hidden treasures, and among the greatest are its remote churches, whose richly decorated interiors amaze and astound with their vibrant colours and extraordinary illustration. Yet steeped in ancient legend, and often situated in remote locations, a true appreciation and understanding of these unique churches and their spectacular murals has been restricted to a select few. Now, in Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia, Maria-Jose Friedlander provides a unique guide to the churches, their architecture and decoration. Ranging from the rock-hewn churches of the Tigray region to the spectacular timber-built cave church of Yemrehane Krestos, Maria-Jose Friedlander provides detailed descriptions of the wonderful murals and of the stories behind them. Many of the wall paintings contain inscriptions in Ge'ez - the ancient language of Ethiopia - and full translations of these scripts are given. Detailed plans show the exact location of the paintings within the churches and the superb colour photographs by Bob Friedlander show the many aspects of the churches and their decoration in rich detail.

The round and octagonal churches of Jerusalem were the earliest of their kind. Powerful, monumental structures, recalling imperial mausolea and temples, they enshrined the holiest sites of Christianity. Constantine himself ordered the building of the first ones immediately after the council of Nicaea (325), his main objective being the authentication of Jesus's existence in Jerusalem in accordance with the council's resolutions, but the sites he chose in Palestine also obliterated reminiscences of Jewish or Pagan domination. Holy Sites Encircled demonstrates that all four concentric churches of Jerusalem encircled new holy sites exclusively relating to the corporeal existence of Jesus or Mary, and that they were self-contained, and apse-less because the liturgy, including the Mass, was performed from the venerated centre. Offering intimate concentric spaces, as well as perpetual processions around these sites, they promoted the development of new feasts, shaping the city's liturgy and that of the whole Christian world. They were found especially suitable to compete with former religious landmarks and therefore many of their descendants outside Jerusalem were cathedrals. This volume begins with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which replaced a pagan temple in Jerusalem city centre, and concludes with the Dome of the Rock, a unique Muslim structure, which was built by the Umayyads on the very site of the ruined Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah, using the concentric architecture of Jerusalem to establish their new authority. Illustrating how architectural form links together culture, politics, and society it explores the perceptions and architectural models that shaped these unusual churches and their impact, in both ideas and design, on future architecture.

From approximately the third century BCE through the thirteenth century CE, the remote mountainous landscape around the glacial sources of the Ganga (Ganges) River in the Central Himalayas in northern India was transformed into a region encoded with deep meaning, one approached by millions of Hindus as a primary locus of pilgrimage. Nachiket Chanchani's innovative study explores scores of stone edifices and steles that were erected in this landscape. Through their forms, locations, interactions with the natural environment, and sociopolitical context, these lithic ensembles evoked legendary worlds, embedded historical memories in the topography, changed the mountain range's appearance, and shifted its semiotic effect. Mountain Temples and Temple Mountains also alters our understanding of the transmission of architectural knowledge and provides new evidence of how an enduring idea of India emerged in the subcontinent. Art History Publication Initiative. For more information, visit http://arthistorypi.org/books/mountain-temples-and-temple-mountains

A guide to Britain's churches, which talks about the richness and diversity of over 1500 years of Christian heritage. It also explains the importance of place in the siting of a church, the architectural styles, the layout of the interior in relation to religious practice, the purpose and meaning of stained glass and wall paintings, and more.

For several years chapels have been at the heart of Black Country life. A follow-up to "Black Country Chapels", this illustrated book provides an account not only of the buildings themselves, but also of the active social life that surrounded them. It is useful to those born and brought up in the Black Country.

Temples for a Modern God is one of the first major studies of American religious architecture in the postwar period, and it reveals the diverse and complicated set of issues that emerged just as one of the nation's biggest building booms unfolded. Jay Price tells the story of how a movement consisting of denominational architectural bureaus, freelance consultants, architects, professional and religious organizations, religious building journals, professional conferences, artistic studios, and specialized businesses came to have a profound influence on the nature of sacred space. Debates over architectural style coincided with equally significant changes in worship practice. Meanwhile, suburbanization and the baby boom required a new type of worship facility, one that had to attract members and serve a social role as much as it had to to honor the Divine. Price uses religious architecture to explore how Mainline Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, and other traditions moved beyond their ethnic, regional, and cultural enclaves to create a built environment that was simultaneously intertwined with technology and social change, yet rooted in fluid and shifting sense of tradition. Price argues that these structures, as often mocked as loved, were physical embodiments of a significant, if underappreciated, era in American religious history.

A small church nestling deep in the countryside is instantly evocative. Why is it there at all? Whom does it serve? This companion volume to the author's successful titles on the smallest churches of Wales and England is a county-by-county guide to the smallest gems of Scottish ecclesiastical architecture. John Kinross provides the reader with descriptions of over 50 of the country's loveliest and most interesting churches and chapels, many of which have a fascinating history and their own unique features. These buildings deserve our attention and further study, and the book offers maps and directions on how to find these churches for those inspired to seek them out.

This is the first volume concerned solely with the archaeology of a major late 17th-century building in London, and the major changes it has undergone. St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London was built in 1675-1711 to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren and has been described as an iconic building many times. In this major new account, John Schofield examines the cathedral from an archaeological perspective, reviewing its history from the early 18th- to the early 21st-century, as illustrated by recent archaeological recording, documentary research and engineering assessment. A detailed account of the construction of the cathedral is provided based on a comparison of the fabric with voluminous building accounts which have survived and evidence from recent archaeological investigation. The construction of the Wren building and its embellishments are followed by the main works of later surveyors such as Robert Mylne and Francis Penrose. The 20th-century brought further changes and conservation projects, including restoration after the building was hit by two bombs in World War II, and all its windows blown out. The 1990s and first years of the present century have witnessed considerable refurbishment and cleaning involving archaeological and engineering works. Archaeological specialist reports and an engineering review of the stability and character of the building are provided.

This eclectic selection of papers looks at historic and contemporary issues concerned with the redundancy of churches, and their subsequent reuse and maintenance. When did it come to be thought preferable to reuse the buildings rather than demolish them? What is the role of the Church of England, and how has the law changed over time? How have ideas evolved about the acceptability of different uses - by members of other religions, for commercial purposes, and involving for instance licensed premises and martial arts? And how are heritage bodies entrusted with former churches, such as the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, the Churches Conservation Trust and the Norwich Historic Churches Trust (NHCT), coping with the challenges of maintaining and converting the buildings in an age of austerity? Papers presented at conferences organized by the NHCT and its Friends in 2014 and 2015 are supplemented by four specially written contributions on aspects of the NHCT itself: its history, its guiding principles, the Heavenly Gardens project to enhance churchyards, and the experiences of a tenant. The NHCT is entrusted with the care of 18 of Norwich's redundant medieval churches, and works not only to maintain them but to increase awareness of architectural, historical and other related aspects of our medieval ecclesiastical heritage. All profits from the sale of this book go to support its work.

Jeanne Halgren Kilde's survey of church architecture is unlike any other. Her main concern is not the buildings themselves, but rather the dynamic character of Christianity and how church buildings shape and influence the religion. Kilde argues that a primary function of church buildings is to represent and reify three different types of power: divine power, or ideas about God; personal empowerment as manifested in the individual's perceived relationship to the divine; and social power, meaning the relationships between groups such as clergy and laity. Each type intersects with notions of Christian creed, cult, and code, and is represented spatially and materially in church buildings.
Kilde explores these categories chronologically, from the early church to the twentieth century. She considers the form, organization, and use of worship rooms; the location of churches; and the interaction between churches and the wider culture.
Church buildings have been integral to Christianity, and Kilde's important study sheds new light on the way they impact all aspects of the religion. Neither mere witnesses to transformations of religious thought nor simple backgrounds for religious practice, church buildings are, in Kilde's view, dynamic participants in religious change and goldmines of information on Christianity itself.

Aspects of Georgia's unique history can only be told through its extant rural churches. As the Georgia backcountry rapidly expanded in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the churches erected on this newly parceled land became the center of community life. These early structures ranged from primitive outbuildings to those with more elaborate designs and were often constructed with local, hand-hewn materials to serve the residents who lived nearby. From these rural communities sprang the villages, towns, counties, and cities that informed the way Georgia was organized and governed and that continue to influence the way we live today. Historic Rural Churches of Georgia presents forty-seven early houses of worship from all areas of the state. Nearly three hundred stunning color photographs capture the simple elegance of these sanctuaries and their surrounding grounds and cemeteries. Of the historic churches that have survived, many are now in various states of distress and neglect and require restoration to ensure that they will continue to stand. This book is a project of the Historic Rural Churches of Georgia organization, whose mission is the preservation of historic rural churches across the state and the documentation of their history since their founding. If proper care is taken, these endangered and important landmarks can continue to represent the state's earliest examples of rural sacred architecture and the communities and traditions they housed.

Experiencing the resonant acoustics of the church of Hagia Sophia allowed the Byzantine participants in its liturgical rituals to be filled with the Spirit of God, and even to become his image on earth. Bissera Pentcheva’s vibrant analysis examines how these sung rites combined with the church’s architectural space to make Hagia Sophia a performative place of worship representative of Byzantine religious culture in all its sensory richness. Coupling digital acoustic models and video with a close examination of liturgical texts and melodic structures, Pentcheva applies art-historical, philosophical, archeoacoustical, and anthropological methodologies to provide insight into the complementary ways liturgy and location worked to animate worshippers in Byzantium. Rather than focus on the architectural form of the building, the technology of its construction, or the political ideology of its decoration, Pentcheva delves into the performativity of Hagia Sophia and explains how the “icons of sound” created by the sung liturgy and architectural reverberation formed an aural experience that led to mystical transcendence for worshippers, opening access to the imagined celestial sound of the angelic choirs. Immersive, deeply researched, and beautifully illustrated, this exploration of Hagia Sophia sheds new light on sacred space, iconicity, and religious devotion in Byzantium. Scholars of art and architectural history, religious studies, music and acoustics, and the medieval period will especially appreciate Pentcheva’s field-advancing work.

Monson's Church Notes, covering 227 parishes, were compiled before the 19th century spirit of renovation in Lincolnshire. Hence their value, for much of what he records disappeared during the passion for renovation.

The religious buildings of the Jewish community in Britain have never been explored in print. Lavishly illustrated with previously unpublished images and photographs taken specially by English Heritage, this book traces the architecture of the synagogue in Britain and Ireland from its discreet Georgian- and Regency-era beginnings to the golden age of the grand "cathedral synagogues" of the High Victorian period. Sharman Kadish sheds light on obscure and sometimes underappreciated architects who designed synagogues for all types of worshipers--from Orthodox and Reform congregations to Yiddish-speaking immigrants in the 1900s. She examines the relationship between architectural style and minority identity in British society and looks at design issues in the contemporary synagogue. Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

For twenty-five years I have been involved in extensive infrastructural projects for churches as a volunteer project manager. These were multi-million-dollar projects that delivered the wealth of experience set down in this book. They have opened my eyes to project strategies that work, and those that do not work. The book is a vital tool for church operators and organizational leaders alike. Church and communal projects do not only pose engineering challenges, but are predominantly a hearts-and-minds issue. The book covers how a church project should be conceived, planned, and executed. It thrashes issues such as the part-time status of building committee members, the use of uncompleted facilities in concurrent operations, contractor selection, managing stakeholder expectations, and the technical and spiritual qualifications of project officials. It outlines viable options for funding church projects and strategies for preserving church infrastructural investments. A Christian and civil engineer, Chris Ekpekurede is a public speaker and motivator. He was chief engineer in a subsidiary of the Royal Volker Stevin of Holland, and the head of corporate civil engineering for Shell Petroleum Development Company. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers, and the Institute of Human and Natural Resources. He is the author of Getting to Maximum and Take Your Service to Maximum. His fourth book, Laughing Over Serious Matters, is in the offing. An expert in church projects, he says, "The quality of our worship also shows in how we manage church projects." Publisher's website: http: //sbpra.com/ChrisEkpekurede

DURHAM CATHEDRAL is regarded as the finest Romanesque building in Europe. Along with the neighbouring castle it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 - one of only two English cathedrals to hold such an honour. In an online poll held by the Guardian in 2011 to find Britain's favourite building, Durham Cathedral enjoyed a runaway victory. Many superlatives have been heaped on this magnificent church, standing high above the ancient medieval city, on its protective peninsula formed by the River Wear. It is at once spiritual, powerful and poetic, the mystic heart of the North East. Built by the Normans to house the shrine of St Cuthbert, and also containing the shrine of St Bede, the Father of English History, its inward beauty matches its exterior. The first impression of the nave, on entering at the west end, is both incomparable and unforgettable. This book is a journey in words and images through this wonderful building. It seeks to present the Cathedral's many facets: architectural, historical, artistic, spiritual and humane. Its authors have come to admire and love this building over two lifetimes, and offer their personal interpretation of it as an invitation to a pilgrimage. They hope that this is a book to remember the Cathedral by. Perhaps it can be more than a souvenir: rather, a book that captures the spirit of the place and keeps it alive for all who have come to cherish it as the authors do.

In late 19th century America, profound socio-economic and technological changes contributed to the rejection of traditional church architecture and the development of a radically new worship building, the neo-medieval auditorium church. These Protestant churches contained extraordinary new auxiliary spaces, including kitchens, dining rooms, and lounges. Their real showpieces, however, were always the sanctuaries, radial-plan auditoria best described as 'theatres', with their elaborate pulpit stages, sloping floors, and curving pews. Many contained proscenium arches, marquee lighting, and theatre seats. Jeanne Halgren Kilde focuses on how the buildings helped to negotiate supernatural, social, and personal power. Their extraordinary interiors, she says, profoundly altered religious power relations. Borrowed directly from the architecture of the theatre, these worship spaces underscored performative and entertainment aspects of the worship service. By erecting these buildings, argues Kilde, middle class religious audiences demonstrated the move toward a consumer-oriented model of a religious participation that gave them unprecedented influence over the worship experience and church mission.

Primarily tranquil places to bury the dead and to grieve, churchyards are important for many other reasons. They tell us of our past, protect plants and animals for the future and provide peaceful spaces in which to sit and think. "The Churchyards Handbook" gives practical advice on all aspects of churchyard management and should be of use to parish priests, churchwardens and archdeacons as well as those involved with the funeral business. It explains the law relating to churchyards and offers constructive guidance on the difficult subjects of memorials and cremated remains. The proper care of the archaeology and history of churchyards is discussed, as is the importance of the churchyard as a haven for wildlife.

From modest chapels to majestic cathedrals, and historic synagogues to modern mosques and Buddhist temples: this photo-filled, pocket-size guidebook presents 1,079 houses of worship in Manhattan and lays to rest the common perception that skyscrapers, bridges, and parks are the only defining moments in the architectural history of New York City. With his exhaustive research of the city's religious buildings, David W. Dunlap has revealed (and at times unearthed) an urban history that reinforces New York as a truly vibrant center of community and cultural diversity.

Published in conjunction with a New-York Historical Society exhibition, "From Abyssinian to Zion" is a sometimes quirky, always intriguing journey of discovery for tourists as well as native New Yorkers. Which popular pizzeria occupies the site of the cradle of the Christian and Missionary Alliance movement, the Gospel Tabernacle? And where can you find the only house of worship in Manhattan built during the reign of Caesar Augustus? Arranged alphabetically, this handy guide chronicles both extant and historical structures and includes

- 650 original photographs and 250 photographs from rarely seen archives

- 24 detailed neighborhood maps, pinpointing the location of each building

- concise listings, with histories of the congregations, descriptions of architecture, and accounts of prominent priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, and leading personalities in many of the congregations