Lecture 14: Byzantine Jerusalem

This is the period where Jerusalem is no longer Jewish, as the state transitions to a nation based on Christianity. Accompanying this transition is the rise of new sites and locations that are deemed more important than the Temple Mount. The Byzantine era lasts from 312 to 637 CE, and as just mentioned, it is marked by the rise of Christianity, where Jerusalem assumes a more spiritual role. Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple in Mark 13 and Luke 21, thereby making the physical existence of the Temple less important than the personal embodiment of faith.

Events of the Early Church began with Jesus' Ascension from the Mount of Olives sin Acts 1, followed by the Descending of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 (bringing the idea of God's presence in every believer). Then the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 debates kosher rules, and whether Christianity should follow Judaism in their sacrificial rituals and whether they need circumcision. Jerusalem is further spiritualized in these contexts, as is quoted in John 4.

There is much scholarly debate over whether the New Testament Apocalypses about Jerusalem--namely the predictions of the Temple's destruction by Jesus--is actually a prediction, or a hindsight that was later attributed to Jesus.

In either case, Jerusalem's sanctity is found in the belief that Jesus died, as buried, and then resurrected in the city, despite the fact that Christianity is constantly spiritualized away from physical entities.

Events of the Byzantine era date back to 285 CE, when Emperor Diocletian spites the administration of the Roman empire between the West and the East. He institutes a tetrarchy between himself, Caesar Maximian, Caesar Constantius, and Caesar Galerius. This causes a struggle for power between the rulers after Constantius' death; the struggle allows Constantine to usurp power, letting him rise as a sole leader.

Constantine rules from 312 5o 337 CE, and he is most known for legalizing Christianity in 313 under the Edict of Milan. He believed that he could unify the kingdom through Christianity, beginning his conquest under the name of Christ. From this, he inadvertently or intentionally politicizes Christianity to an extent. In 324 CE, he holds the Council of Nicaea to establish exactly what it means to be an orthodox Christian. in 330 CE, he establishes his capital in the Bosphorus Straight, and names it after himself, Constantinople. There is current debate over whether Constantine "used" Christianity for political or religious goals.

Meanwhile, Constantine's mother, Helena makes the first Christian Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, dedicates the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. She then rededicates the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Chapel of Helena 330 CE). This location, believed to be the burial grounds of Jesus, assumes a role as the new Axis Mundi, marking the Christian influence in Jerusalem, as opposed to the Temple Mount in the Jewish era.

After Constantine, Julian "the Apostate" undoes many of his predecessors reforms and attempts to rebuild the Temple. He does not succeed, however, and his successor, Theodosius names Christianity as the official state religion. During this time, the Nea (New) Church is built in honor of St. Mary, along with the Church of Holy Zion.

Important to note is that descriptions of the Nea Church closely reflect those of Solomon's Temple: two pillars, made of cedar. Also, following these architectural commemorations is the movement of Bible legends from the Temple Mount to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (i.e., The Binding of Isaac, The tomb as "theophany," and the location of Adam's burial).

Finally, the Madaba Map, a mosaic map of the sixth century depicts the Christian presence in Jerusalem, as the Temple Mount is no longer in the center of Jerusalem; instead, the most important feature according to this map, is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.