The space of Orthodox worship

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleПространство православного богослужения
3. Language term Russian
4. lemma author Saprykin, Dmitry
5. lemma category Theological works of scientists and engineers - Various approaches to the problem of correlation between science and theology
6. Publication date 2011
7. lemma work Паршин Алексей [Author]. Time and space of the Orthodox worship
8. lemma manifestations Семинар «Русская философия (традиция и современность)»
9. Keywords religion and mathematics
10. Citations
    1. http://www.taday.ru/text/2213575.html
11. Lemma body

    1. AN Parshin, relying on the study of liturgical texts, the structure of the church service, the architectonics of the temple and its decoration and their interpretation in patristic literature, makes an attempt to describe mathematically the space and time in which worship takes place. The author is convinced that "in all Orthodox worship there is not only great art, but also a great science".

       The author distinguishes the following general categories applicable to all concrete forms of time and space encountered in Orthodoxy: hierarchy and similarity of its levels, circle and movement in a circle, reflections and mirrors, the structure of a tree.

       Parshin is looking for a connection between the liturgical space and some kind of mathematical structure. "We see a tree in mathematical sense of the word, i.e. graph with vertices and edges, in which there are no loops, it is infinitely branching and has the property of universality: any "tree" can be embedded into it. " First of all, this refers to the cross, in its graphical expression, and also to the temple structure, both horizontal, with a cross under the central dome and further crosshairs, and vertical, when the tree "grows" from the dome. This same structure is a constituent in other levels (vestments of clergy, the location of temples in city and in the world). Language, word, Logos, which is an integral part of the Orthodox worship, also has a tree-type structure in an intelligible space.

       This tree, the author notes, has a rich group of symmetries. It obviously has something in common with our, Euclidean or Cartesian space, but this sacred space is arranged in a completely different way, not continually, but discreetly. What is the relationship between these two worlds and two spaces? The physical object, the author believes, is located, "lives", simultaneously in these spaces, we can say that it is in a more complex space composed of them. We get what in mathematics is called the product of spaces (or sets).

       The movements that take place during the service in physical space are circular motions, and the movements occurring during the service in liturgical space are ascensions according to the steps of a certain hierarchy. Most clearly, this ascension takes place during the prayer feat of the ascetics.

       The cross and the circle are among the main realities of Orthodoxy. The cross lies at the base of liturgical space, the author argues, which is rather intelligible, and in physical space it is embodied. The circle is an object of physical space, but the movements around the circle also affect the liturgical space. The question posed by us about the structure and connection of these two spaces can also be formulated as the question of how the cross and the circle are correlated, Parshin concludes. The visible basis for an answer to it has already been revealed - it is a cross-domed church, "the peak of Orthodox theological thought", according to the author.