International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Ryo Higuchi
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; 
[e-mail]
The Problems of Middle Byzantine Cross-in-Square Churches: 
Towards a Better Understanding of the Locality and Development 
of Byzantine Architecture
The gap—or ‘dark age’—between early and middle Byzantine architecture is one of the most 
serious problems facing scholars. Few buildings remain from the period, which makes it difficult for 
us to understand the continuity of early and middle Byzantine architecture. In other words, we do 
not know where Byzantine architecture’s particular characteristics, which appear after the dark age, 
come from. For example, the so-called cross-in-square, one of the most generalised and favoured 
church types in middle Byzantine architecture, is clearly different from earlier buildings because of 
its three-dimensional characteristics. Moreover, prior to this cross-in-square, buildings with similar 
plans existed outside the Byzantine Empire. Therefore, the cross-in-square has been considered 
a key to our understanding of the development and locality of Byzantine architecture. However, 
recent studies dealing with the cross-in-square have tended to focus on buildings in certain areas 
and specific sites rather than the buildings in their entirety. This may be a result of the uneven 
geographical spread of the remaining churches and their uncertain dates of construction.
Previous studies have reported on or mentioned 154 cross-in-square churches in the middle 
Byzantine period. More than 80% (127) of these still retain their upper construction. The majority 
of these (91) are located in modern Greece, with others found in Turkey (24), Cyprus (12), Bulgaria 
(11), Italy (8), Macedonia (4), Albania (1) and Montenegro (1). Greece not only contains most of these 
buildings, but it also has various types of cross-in-square. However, we do not know whether Greece 
contained more of these churches or whether these buildings have survived better there than elsewhere.
The construction date of most of these 150 churches is debated. Even though they are 
regarded as middle Byzantine buildings, only 25 of them have an inscription with a foundation 
date or literature referring to the building. Another 17 can be determined as middle Byzantine 
by the date of painted icons, coins, or used timber. The others are regarded as middle Byzantine 
because of their similarity in design, materials or construction methods to other buildings in other 
places. They are often compared for dating purposes to buildings in Constantinople, which has 
less than 10% of the existing cross-in-square churches and almost no variation in cross-in-square 
types. They are also compared to other buildings in nearby areas without sufficiently considering 
the nature of these areas, although such consideration may be important for our understanding 
of the locality of Byzantine architecture. Deciding whether different cross-in-square churches are 
similar is problematic because we are often compelled to rely on non-objective criteria. In addition, 
similarity itself does not always indicate the contemporaneity of buildings; sometimes an influence 
from one to the other may take time, and sometimes newer buildings may be constructed based on 
retrospective ideas.

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Given these problems, it is time to reconsider—even if somewhat tentatively—cross-in-square 
in its entirety based on various recent studies. It is necessary to compare each building with the entire 
body of cross-in-square buildings, focusing especially on the three-dimensional characteristics 
of cross-in-square which have often been overlooked in previous studies. This will enhance our 
understanding of the locality and development of Byzantine architecture. It will also help remedy 
the problems associated with dating the construction of these churches.