31
votes
Accepted
Was Hagia Sophia built over a pagan temple?
Going beyond E.B. or Wikipedia:
The official website of the Hagia Sophia Museum (at its former domain, link now dead) stated
The first church [at the H.S. site] was constructed by Emperor Konstantios ...
- 2,456
24
votes
Accepted
Tombstone-covered floor in Churches
Yes, this was perfectly common. It was seen as a privilege to be buried inside the church (the closer to the altar, the better). These are not cenotaphs, these are actual tombs, with people slowly ...
- 5,631
14
votes
Accepted
What does it mean to grant a church to a priory?
The quick answer (If there is one) is that Simon didn't control those churches(which were essentially the homes/estates of secular canons), he just set aside and funded the construction of the new ...
- 37.2k
13
votes
Where in a city would a cathedral be built?
To understand where a cathedral might be placed, it is important to understand the function and history of cathedrals.
Note that the history is likely to depend on many different factors, and be ...
- 77k
11
votes
Accepted
What is the name of a particular architectural structure from a Gothic Church?
According to "Die Wehrkirchen in Siebenbürgen" by George Oprescu, these are arrow slits ("Schießscharten"). This is a feature that is rare for churches outside of Transsylvania, ...
- 7,750
11
votes
What media did Irenaeus used to write his letters?
First, note that Eusebius doesn't tell us what material Irenæus used, but what material he himself didn't use. Today I could make the same poetic distinction, albeit a somewhat lamer version:
He sent ...
- 1,205
8
votes
What clergy went on the second Bering expedition?
Peter Laurisden mentions "seven priests" among the first detachment that left with Bering from St. Petersberg in 1733. On the same page he also describes a "list of names of those engaged", but I am ...
- 17.9k
7
votes
Accepted
How old is the practice of wearing your "Sunday Best" to church?
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED2) lists Sunday best and Sunday's best under the lemma Sunday, but does not provide literary citations for these terms. The oldest instance I could find dates to the ...
- 1,268
7
votes
How did the Church of England view the local legend and festivities surrounding Gog and Magog?
I would've still expected the Church (at least in the 16th century) to view these with contempt, issue an edict against it, or ban it altogether.
The Church of England does not seem to have ever ...
- 30.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Was the interior of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople ever covered with mosaic icons?
It was a very richly decorated building. I would say: it still is. Architectural simulations of the kind depicted in the question are obviously far from complete. But the complete lack of images, ...
- 80.2k
7
votes
Do any churches continue to display length measures?
Yes. These ell standards on churches were installed to prevent trade disputes, especially with tailors. The churches whose ells are pictured here are the St. Walpurgis-Kirche in Apfelstädt and ...
- 27.5k
7
votes
Accepted
How much knowledge of the past was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries?
It is difficult to say exactly how much was lost. We have some sources that enable us to say what manuscripts were held by some monasteries, for example the library at Peterborough, or that at Syon ...
- 77k
6
votes
Accepted
What clergy went on the second Bering expedition?
Here's a link to an article in Russian that explores the question of which priests were attached to Bering's expedition. According to it, one of the priests was a Lutheran pastor (excuse me if I get ...
- 8,657
5
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of how people are arranged in Mass/Worship Service?
The arrangement of modern Christian gatherings is the result of the development of early church architecture.
In the early days, up to the fourth century, Christians worshipped along with Jews in ...
- 77k
5
votes
Tombstone-covered floor in Churches
Not only was this common, it was hard to change. In my country (Portugal) there was even a popular uprising in 1846 caused by, among other things, the prohibition on burials inside churches.
- 4,621
5
votes
Accepted
Was there a church around 1800 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky?
According to I. V. Viter, in 1767 the town population couldn't support the church, so it was moved to nearby Paratunka.
According to Svetlana G. Federova and her coauthor Yakov M. Svet, Captain ...
- 27.5k
4
votes
What is or was a Bond Major?
Definitely not "band major", Trelawny was local gentry and politically well-connected at a national level (hence governorship of Jamaica); that would have been far beneath his dignity. I ...
- 41
3
votes
How was Galileo's approach to mathematics different than Descartes's approach?
You have the difference in the last bullet points of your two lists. Galileo was an experimental scientist, engineer first - math for him was the most comfortable tool to describe the nature's ...
- 8,657
3
votes
Accepted
Representative early Anglican hymns?
You are out of luck for all but the very end of the period you describe. Congregational hymn singing was strongly frowned upon in the Anglican Church until popularized by Isaac Watts (1674-1748) in ...
- 71.3k
2
votes
Accepted
How controversial were "updates" of churches in the past?
The cathedral in Cologne was extensively damages during WW2 and I suspect many churches in Germany, and indeed throughout Europe, had to rebuilt as well. Might be worth a look at the debates that ...
2
votes
Did the Catholic Church have a police force in the medieval period?
No, the Catholic Church did not have a Police force around 500 AD to arrest a British King.
Some of the reasons why this was not so:
Police, as it is known today, started to form during the 17th ...
- 9,014
2
votes
Accepted
What did the administrators of secularized California missions do?
The mission comisionados and mayordomos were appointed by the Monterey junta and by governors, principally Figueroa and Alvarado, or by the mission inspector Hartnell.
According to Carlos Salomon in "...
- 27.5k
2
votes
Why did some people need to pay a bond in the 1700s in order to get married?
One point that I don't think is clear from the other answers is that your ancestor did not pay a bond of £200. The £200 was not paid unless the terms of the bond were breached. Practically speaking, ...
- 311
1
vote
Who was Krusenstern's scandalous priest?
The church in nearby Paratunka continued to serve the area as the new Petropavlovsk church was under construction for a long time. Fedorova described it as "being built" in 1779; it was consecrated in ...
- 27.5k
1
vote
Tombstone-covered floor in Churches
This is not a proper answer but it comments on various aspects (including "the why"), brings some anecdotes, and it is too long for a comment.
in English, there is even the word 'churchyard'. it ...
- 4,047
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible