Temple or Church is the Holy place where Christ God is glorified and praised, place where the believers gather for Mass.

The Home of God in different periods has different names:

-House-Home of God;

-Holy Place where God is present and listens to the prayers of the Believers;

-Oratorio-first places where the Christians gathered;

- Basilica -Basilesus- Tzar (Christ is the Tzar above Tzars);

The name Basilica primarily was used for the Great Churches built by the Tzar Konstantin (4th century); They were named so because they looked like the Roman basilicas that were large and spacious state buildings where the juridical trials were held to pass the justice and to trade as well.

The Houses-homes of God were called also Martyriumes, and this was the name for the churches built on Christian graveyards, on the graves of the martyrs…

The Temple of God should be long (big by length), situated towards the sunrise (towards the town of Jerusalem), with subsidiary premises from both sides, to resemble on nave-vessel-ship.

This was the form of the arch of Noah and of the temple of the Tzar Solomon.

Another form of church is the form of cross.

These types of churches were built in the time of the Tzar Konstantin, when he recognized Christianity as an official state religion with the edict of Milan in 313. This form symbolized:

The head of the cross is the sunrise;

The right thigh is midnight;

The left thigh is noon;

The base is the sunset.

Other kinds of church temples are the Rotundas- in a form of circle-rounded. As we already mentioned, the direction of the church must be towards the East, the entrance from the West, where the sunset is. The reason for this is the notion that the night is a symbol of the spiritual darkness and sins, and the one that enters the church-looks towards east to the altar, which signifies the spiritual sun-Jesus Christ himself. He is the light of the world and comes from the east.

The second rule is the church has to be built on a higher, elevated place. The Bible says: Mateja (Mathew) 16 and 18, page 44: Christ says to the apostle Peter (name signifying stone-cliff) to build church in stone, not in sand, so the river-water could not take it away…

• Old Christian, style of Roman basilicas;
• Byzantine;
• Roman;
• Gothic;
• Renaissance style;

 

Old Christian (style of the Roman basilicas)

These churches had a form of long rectangle that finishes hemispherically -by an apse on the eastern side. Very often the church by its length is divided with Corinthian or Roman columns and the whole church is split in an uneven number of naves - vessels, three or five of them.

This is the form of the old basilicas from the 4th to the VI century-there are tens of them in Ohrid, because they could accommodate bigger number of believers.

When the Tzar Konstantin the Great established the town Constantinople / Tzarigrad (Istanbul) as a capital city, in the east a new style began to develop: the Byzantine style. Output of this style is the Roman basilica and the constructors aim at something nobler. The flat roof is abandoned and harmony is being reached. Instead the flat roofs now arches, cupolas and domes are used. As we mentioned before, the flat roof of the basilicas is replaced and on its place came the dome. Above the written cross, marked in basilicas in the middle of the church (the building), on the spot where the four thighs integrate, a dome in large dimensions is built, surrounded by several smaller ones.

The main feature of the Byzantine style is the central construction. All parts of the church in the Byzantine style have their own gravity centre, unlike the Basilicas in the final point of the apse, but in the middle of the base of the cross, in one point, on which the dome is risen.

The dome does not lie on columns, but on a cylindrical base called Tambour, and this base stands on columns. This style of construction reaches its culmination in the time of the Tzar Justnijan (527-565).

On the west the Roman style developed or the so-called style of arches.

Its characteristic is the massive type of construction and the beautiful and rich application of the arches. The portal (front part of the church) is abundantly ornamented with relief impressions. This style is often used at western churches from the 10th to the 13th century.

The characteristic of the Gothic or German style is the application of sharp arch and the construction is mounting to the height in a slender and pyramidal way. The semicircular apse is abandoned and replaced by the polygonal one. The church has many large windows. This style originally developed in France and later on it was accepted in Germany as well. In Italy it is called Gothic (ironically signifying the style of the Barbarians-Goths); This style had been used from 13th to 16th century.

In the 15th century in Italy new spiritual direction began that is characterised with preference towards the Antic of Greece and Rome. Thus, in the construction a new modern style developed, so called Renaissance style. While the construction of the building, the form of basilica was not crucial, but the tendency was to provide as many lightened space as possible, that very much effects the visitor (believer). The system of cupolas and semicircular domes is applied on the whole building and the facades are rich with columns and pilastres.

The oldest-the very first Christian temples were comprised of three parts:

• Pronaos of the church or detention (hall)
• Nave-vessel (the main central part)
• Alter of the church or Prezviterium

1. In front of the church there was outer pronaos, it was uncovered place around which there was Portico or covered corridor with columns. The uncovered part was called Atrium in whose middle there was fountain where the people that were entering could wash their hands in order to show the cleanness of the spirit, that is necessary for the priers (in front of God to be with clean hands).

This was the part for attendance of the big sinners who were crying and praying God, and they were forbidden to enter the covered part. Here stayed the poor people as well. In our current Macedonian churches there is no pronaos.

From the external pronaos one could enter the internal pronaos, called nartex separated from the church’s nave with wall or columns. Usually it was called Heaven because it contained painted compositions with presentation of Adam and Eve in the Heaven (word of Hebrew origin, signifying Garden, place with exotic vegetation).

This was the place for the Penitents and Listeners. Also in this part there was Baptistery with water for washing hands.

From the internal pronaos people could enter through three doors in the naos, or more precisely, the main nave of the church. The symbol of the main nave-naos, called navis, means: "We, the people of this temporary world, are sailing through the life like through stormy and restless sea, chased and thrown here and there in a chaos, therefore we are coming to the nave-vessel of the church to find deliverance and shelter.

2. The nave had three parts: Middle or main part, and two subsidiary parts, separated with wooden columns or wooden partition. The right nave-the southern one was appropriated for the men and the northern one for the women, and they had separate entrances. In the main, central nave towards the altar on an elevated place the Pulpit was placed-podium with several stairs for reading the liturgies, the holy books and the lists of the live and passed away deserving church members.

The third part of the church was called ALTAR

This is the place where the Holy Secrets were exercised. This part of the church has form of semicircle or shell and therefore it was named konha or apse. In the middle of the altar the Holy Throne was placed on which the Holy Evharistija (Communion) was exercised. From both sides of the altar there were premises, rooms: from the right northern side the Holy bread, wine and the putir (glass for communion) were kept, necessary for the Holy communion and the name of this part was Proskomidija. In the left room the Holy books and church attires were kept and this part was called Gjakonikon (Deacon’s room)

Alter, Ara or Zrtvenik (sacrificial table) is the most holy part of the church where the Honourable Table is -on which the non-blood sacrifice is practised and Jesus Christ is always present here in a form of bread and Wine (during the Last Supper, Jesus Christ told to his students-apostles: "Eat the bread, this is my body, drink the wine this is my blood."

Left of the Throne (the Honourable Table), as we already mentioned there is a premise called Proskomidija-Sacrificial table. Here the gifts and presents of the believers are left, the bread and the wine, and the Holy Liturgy is being prepared. This premise symbolises the Nativity of Christ as well as the grave where he was buried. Usually here is the painted image of the Dead Christ.

The main nave of the church-Naos, where the believers are standing during the Mass, is separated from the altar space with iconostasis, marble or wooden partition with icons. As a rule the iconostasis has three doors- northern door, mid door and southern door. The mid door is called "Carski Dveri" (Royal Doors) because through this door enter the Tzar, the Archbishop and nobody else. The other two doors are called Deacon’s and Angel’s doors, because Deacons enter through them, and they represent the Angels.

The lower and large icons of the iconostasis are called prestolni (Throne icons, non-movable). They contain paintings of the patron to whom the church is dedicated, Holy Mother of God, St.Jovan Krstitel (St.John Baptist) and Jesus Christ.

The upper icons are called praznicni (Festive or Processional Icons-taken out during festivities) and they have painted scenes of the Miracles and Agonies of Jesus and images of the Holy Apostles.

The word Paraklis signify the word Missal.

These are small chapels build from private persons to pray for their families (this kind of churches we find in Ohrid as Bolnicki churches, St.Kliment and Small St.Vrac)

In the beginning they did not exist because the Christianity was in secrecy, instead there were messengers, people who were informing the believers about the time of the Mass. After the recognition of Christianity in 313, firstly the trumpet was used for announcing the Mass, then banging in wood and even in 5th and 6th century the bells were invented. After this invention there was a need of building belfries and towers for placing the bells. The belfries were always built from the rear side of the church, and as the time was passing by, they were built as individual constructions.

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