The Cathedral as the “Ambo” of the Byzantine City During Liturgical Processions and Rituals in the Public Space: Some Observations, Thoughts, and Questions Regarding the Principal Churches of the Thessalonian Episcopal See

This chapter brings together architectural details found in the superstructures of several principal churches of the Thessalonian diocese that one after the other functioned as the cathedral of Byzantine Thessalonike—namely, (a) the eighth-century cross-domed Hagia Sophia cathedral, (b) the Early Byzantine Acheiropoietos basilica, which became the pre-Iconoclastic and Early Iconoclastic cathedral of the city, and (c) the Late Roman Rotunda, which was probably turned into the Theodosian cathedral of the city—exploring their unconventional role as the “ambo” of the Byzantine city during liturgical processions and open-air rituals in public spaces. Combining new evidence about the monumental topography of the city with primary sources on the liturgical rite of the Thessalonian episcopal see, the chapter discusses religious processions in Byzantine Thessalonike, focusing on the Nocturnal Ritual “of the Order of the Proclamation in the Dome,” held annually at the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. Within this frame, the chapter examines the conceptual conversion of the main streets and the open spaces or plazas of the city into an infinite nave during liturgical processions and open-air religious rituals that were implemented on specific feast days in the public space with the participation of both the clergy and the congregation, as described in Byzantine texts.