Iconostases of the Belarusian Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches in the 17th - Early 19th Centuries: the Comparative Aspect

This article is devoted to the Belarusian iconostases of churches of the two confessions of the Eastern Rite: the Orthodox and the Greek-Catholic (Uniate). Hitherto, the Belarusian iconostases have almost been unexplored as separate systems with their inherent constructive and artistic solution. The question of presence of specific iconographical features of both these confessions has remained open. This lack of knowledge on this aspect is explained by almost complete loss of the artifacts: only few iconostases survived. Therefore, to perform this study, the iconographic materials were used: pictures (the first half of the 17th century) and photographs (late 19th - early 20th centuries), as well as numerous historical documents, descriptions of Orthodox and Uniate iconostases of the late 16th - early 19th centuries from the archives of Belarus, Russia, Lithuania and Poland. The study resulted in revealing some characteristics inherent only in the Greek Catholic iconostasis, which suggested that the new artistic solutions and constructive forms had been created within this confession.

«разорванный» иконостас, «иллюзионистический» иконостас, Belarusian iconostasis, Orthodox iconostasis, Greek Catholic iconostasis, chancel screen, “gapped” iconostasis, “illusionistic” iconostasis

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