Ein neuer Tempel Salomons in Jerusalem? Der Bau der Nea-Kirche (531–543) durch Kaiser Justinian

Abstract

TheRomanEmperor Justinian(reg.527-565) reshaped the urban structure of Jerusalem especiallybyexpanding the cardo maximus and by the construction of a new Church of Mary,t he so-called Nea.What might have been his intention, and what symbolic and theological messages did Justinian associate with the building of the Nea in Jerusalem?I nt his paper Ic onsider the theory that Justinian wanted his church to outdo the JewishT emple: accordingly,h ei ntended the Nea to be not onlyanew church of Mary in Jerusalem, but alsotoacertain extent anew and better Temple of Solomon.After sketchingabrief overviewofJustinian'sbuilding activity in the HolyLand I discuss the literary and archeological evidence regarding the Nea itself.Indications or arguments to support my assumption come from topography, archeology,l iterature, and especiallyf rom the Jerusalem liturgy.Unlikea lmosta ll other churches in Jerusalem the Nea was not directlyc onnected to anyb iblical site.Ac onnection to the events of the Gospels could be created by integrating the church liturgically into the calendar of feast days in Jerusalem.This was accomplished by tying the dedicationdate of the Nea to "the presentation of Mary".During this feast,the Mother of God was presumably celebrated in hymns as ναὸς ἔμψυχος and by similar expressions.We thus mayc onfirm that the Nea towered over the Temple of Solomon not onlyp hysically: as its liturgical integration into the church calendar makes clear, since it was dedicated to the Mother of God (theotokos)a st he true, genuine Temple of God,i ta lso surpassed the JewishT emple theologically.This concept applied by Justinian mayalso explain whythe Nea had largely vanished from the scene alreadyinthe tenth century:since the Nea was not tied to a lieu de mémoire in an arrows ense, but rather derivedi ts significancef rom an artificial theological concept which lost its plausibilityafter the Muslim rebuilding of the Temple mount,itcould vanish from the sacredtopographyofJerusalemunmourned and unsung -despite its former monumentality and liturgical prominence.

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