Symbolism in Coptic Architecture: The power of "meaning" in architectural expression
International Journal of Architecture and Infrastructure Planning • 2014
Publication Information
Authors
Nelly Ramzy
Keywords
Coptic architecture, Coptic symbols, symbolism, sacred language, architectural
language
Journal
International Journal of Architecture and Infrastructure Planning
Publisher
PUB Journals
Volume
1
Issue
1
Pages
1-12
publication.type
International
Paper Link
Open Link
Supplementary Materials
Not Available
Abstract
New trends in architecture tend to pursue to duplicate the positive, pleasant effects of historical buildings, away from direct copying from their form or their style. By addressing human cognition to try to decode their meanings, symbols, which were traditionally seen as a sacred language, were used in religious buildings to establish a visual discourse with the worshipers. This paper aims at analyzing the patterns symbolic language in Coptic architecture, where symbols acted as the vocabulary underpinning a certain visual/spiritual discourse. In this, it explores the hypothesis that Coptic churches' design, with their modest, yet impressive structures, depended on a specific symbolic system that addresses humans' spiritual cognition through its related metaphysics to create spiritual, agreeable effect. It reaches a conclusion that the symbolic concept in these churches was not about randomly scattered symbols here or …
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