Church Construction in the Early Justinian’s Rule (527–534)

There are some unsolved problems in the historiographical field of the church history of Early Byzantium. One of them concerns the public rules and standards for the construction of religious objects. Why did they begin to form only in the 520s? And how this phenomenon was connected with the construction activity of Justinian the Great? The former question is of great significance for solution of one of aforesaid problems, namely, the problem of the determination of size, stages, and costs for the church building in the rule of the emperor. The author used a new approach to demonstrate the poor participation of Justinian in the erection of “divine houses” in Byzantium in the first years of his individual ruling (527-534). This approach bases on the analyses of legislative data on religious building. Comparison of the obtained results with well-known corresponding reports of Procopius (in Anecdota and Buildings) gives all the reasons to say about almost only private activity in the sphere of the church building before 535, as well as the absence of a state building program in this period of Justinian’s rule.