Christian temples of the Nakh peoples as manifestation of religious contaminations

Abstract

The article reveals that the general principle of localization of temples and sacred complexes on the territory of the Nakhs’ residence corresponded to the radial-route model of space development: the most revered temple was necessarily located in the center of the ethnic community, temples and cult complexes existed in every patronymic community and patronymic family. Ensembleness is one of the leading characteristics of the temple architecture of this period. The hierarchical principle has received the greatest development. It is revealed that the identity of the variants of “folk” church building is determined to a greater extent by the nature of the introduction of traditional culture features into it, however, in this case, its formation was largely influenced by the Christian cultures of various directions existing in the specified territory (Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Nestorianism), as well as Islam. The significant influence of Nestorian Christian culture on the process of formation of the features of the church building of the Sunny Valley strip of Nestorian Christian culture is indicated.

Keywords

• church building
• religious contaminations
• architectural shaping of churches