Teofil Mihăilescu

The exhibition is part of my cultural project dedicated to exploring the universe of architecture and sacred space from an anthropological stance in the context of the symbolic paths of religions. If the previous two exhibitions were dedicated to the New and Old Testament worlds (From Sinai to Jerusalem, 2019), and the Catholic Christian universe (From Rome to Compostela, 2020-2021), this one visits the context of the sacred space and the architectural universe of the Christian-Orthodox and Byzantine world through the filters of three symbolic topos: Constantinople, Thessaloniki and Mount Athos. The soul of Constantinople is explored through the surviving Byzantine architectural testimonies in present-day Istanbul. The relationship of continuity of Roman architecture in the Byzantine context and reflecting the mutatis mutandis state of architecture and sacred space in the transition from polytheism to monotheism, is explored as found in the urban context of present-day Thessaloniki. The architecture in relation both extramuros to nature and intramuros with the self and God through the sacred space “contained” by it, is explored within the topos of Mount Athos, the only surviving Byzantine world per se today. Through the total exposure times of the photographs of the exhibition From Constantinople to Athos, I offer you a second of Light from the Byzantine world, sharing the profound and revealing experience lived through my return in time there. The opening of the exhibition took place on Friday, March 11, 2022. Along with me, the exhibition was introduced by historian Valer Rus, PhD (director, Casa Mureşenilor Museum), architect Răzvan Dracea (president, Romanian Order of Architects, Braşov-Covasna-Harghita Branch) and priest prof. Cristian Muntean, PhD.