Assessing the Stone Reliquaries at Mor Yuhannon Tayyoyo Monastery in Nusaybin District’s Village of Dibek
Ufuk ElyiğitThe cult of saints and martyrs, has become an important means of representation in the Christian faith and has occured at the forefront of the elements that shape the church liturgy in addition to the principles of belief and worship. The remains of saints and martyrs who’ve sacrificed their lives for their faith have been turned into holy relics. The ways in which these relics are identified and the areas they cover have expanded over time. As a result of these developments, the reliquaries where holy relics are kept have gained a very rich range in terms of form and technical features The cult of saints profoundly present in the region where Syriacs live contributed to the shaping of religious architecture. The presence of reliquaries in Mor Yuhannon Tayyoyo Monastery also supports this. The purpose of this study is to examine the reflections of the relic cult found in Christianity and the factors affecting its development among the Syriacs. In addition, the study purposes to make a general description of the reliquaries found in this monastery in light of the typological information on reliquaries containing holy relics. Before mentioning the form and technical features of the reliquaries under study, the article presents information about the cult of saints and martyrs, which has an important place in Christian theology. The next stage, of the study introduces; the cult of relics in Christianity in general terms, as well as the reliquaries that have been used. The reliquaries in the monastery were determined to be small in sizes and assessabled under the group reliquaries in the form of sarcophagi.
Nusaybin-Dibek’teki Mor Yuhannon Tayyoyo Manastırı’ndaki Taş Rölikerler Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme
Ufuk ElyiğitHristiyanlık inancında önemli bir temsil aracına dönüşen aziz ve martyr kültü, inanç ve ibadet esaslarının yanı sıra kilise litürjisini de şekillendiren unsurların başında gelmiştir. İnancı uğruna yaşamını feda etmiş olan aziz ya da martyrlere ait kalıntılar kutsal birer emanete dönüşmüşlerdir. Rölik olarak adlandırılan söz konusu emanetlerin tanımlanma şekilleri ve kapsadıkları alanlar zamanla genişlemiştir. Kutsal sayılan emanetlerin muhafaza edildiği rölikerler ise yaşanan bu gelişmeler neticesinde form ve teknik özellikler açısından oldukça zengin bir yelpazeye sahip olmuştur. Süryanilerin yaşadığı bölgelerde yoğun bir şekilde görülen aziz kültü, dini mimarinin şekillenmesine katkı sağlamıştır. Mor Yuhannon Tayyoyo Manastırı’ndaki rölikerlerin varlığı da bunu destekler niteliktedir. Çalışmanın amacı, Hristiyanlıkta görülen rölik kültünün, gelişimine etki eden faktörlerin Doğu Hristiyanlığına ve dolayısıyla da Süryanilere yansımasını incelemektir. Ayrıca kutsal emanetlerin muhafaza edildiği rölikerlere ait tipolojik bilgiler ışığında, söz konusu manastırda görülen rölikerlerin genel bir tanımlamasını yapmaktır. Araştırma dahilinde incelenen rölikerlerin form ve teknik özelliklerine değinmeden önce, Hristiyan teolojisinde önemli biryere sahip olan aziz ve martyr kültü hakkında bilgiler verilmiştir. Daha sonraki aşama da ise Hristiyanlık inancındaki rölik kültü ve kullanılan röliker çeşitleri genel hatlarıyla tanıtılmaya çalışılmıştır. Manastırda yer alan rölikerler, kilisenin narteks kısmında tespit edilmiştir. Bu durum söz konusu rölikerleri, bölgede yer alan benzer örnekler ile konum açısından farklı bir noktaya taşımaktadır. Rölikerlerin yapının orijinal dokusunda yer almayıp daha geç bir dönemde narteks kısmına eklenmiş olabileceği düşünülmektedir. Tur Abdin Bölgesi ve dolayısıyla İzlo Dağı civarı göz önüne alındığında, Batı Süryanilerine oranla Doğu Süryanilerine ait manastırların söz konusu röliker formlarına ait daha fazla örnek barındırdığını söylemek mümkündür. Manastırın bünyesinde yer alan röilkerlerin form özellikleri, bulundukları yer itibariyle küçük ebatlara sahip olmalarına da yol açmıştır. Ayrıca incelenen örneklerin lahit formuna sahip rölikerler grubunda değerlendirilebileceği sonucuna varılmıştır.
The cult of saints and martyrs, has become an important means of representation in the Christian faith, and occurred at the forefront of the elements shaping church liturgy in addition to the principles of belief and worship. The tomb structures of religious elders, have become symbols and been turned into sacred centers of pilgrimage as a result of the respect and devotion shown to them. These structures have plans developed within the framework of the belief in saints and martyrs and, can be encountered in various areas where Christianity spread. The activities carried out within the scope of such pilgrimages had impacts on the principles of belief and worship and subsequently contributed to the development of the holy relic cult. Having the relics of saints or martyrs who’d sacrificed their lives for their faith was considered to indicate a particular status. Once could argue that the cult of saints and martyrs
had been profoundly experienced in Mesopotamia, alongside where important developments in Christianity. The belief in saints and martyrs, influenced how religious architecture, was shaped and led to the construction of many immovable cultural assets in Mesopotamia.
The city of Silvan, in the Diyarbakır province of Türkiye is adjacent to this region and has an important place in terms of Christian theology. Silvan had also been called (Martyropolis) in accordance with the martyr cult and the religious martyrs buried there. Even from this path, Silvan can be emphasized as to have had an important position in terms of the cult of saints and martyrs throughout the entire region. The factors affecting the architecture ensured the regional popularization of the remains and objects that were considered as sacred. Reliquaries containing relics were also formed in this context and had a wide area of use. Remains and objects thought to belong to saints or martyrs were transformed into important means of representation. The ways in which these relics were identified and the areas they covered have expanded over time. As a result of these developments, the reliquaries gained a very rich range in terms of form and technical features. These objects, also started being produced in various sizes and forms, and had been styled according to the shape of the remains they carried and the area where they were used.
Mount Izlo has hosted many structures where the monastic tradition of the Eastern Syriacs had moved to the status of a symbol. The cult of saints seen in the region contributed to the
construction of many churches and monasteries. Influencing church traditions and liturgy as well as pioneering the development of religious architecture. The examples of religious architecture in the region contained very sacred relics. Some examples of the reliquaries encountered in churches and monasteries concretely reflect the atmosphere of faith in the region and the cult of saints. The fact that the monastery, which sources containing information about the region mention as belonging to the Eastern Syriacs, was built in honor of the Saint Mor Yuhannon Tayyoyo Its presence and the reliquaries found within also concretely supports the presence of the cult of saints and martyrs in the region. The area where the monastery was built is rich in limestone, which naturally, became the most used material in the construction of buildings, and the main material for the reliquaries in the monastery.
The purpose of this study is to examine the reflections of the relic cult found in Christianity and the factors affecting its development regarding Eastern Christianity, (i.e. the Early Syriacs). In addition, the study purposes to make a general description of the reliquaries found in the monastery mentioned above in light of the typological information regarding the reliquaries containing holy relics. Within the framework of the applied method. the research presents information about the cult of saints and martyrs, which has an important place in Christian theology, before mentioning the form and technical features of the reliquaries under study, The next stage, introduces the cult of relics in Christianity and the reliquaries that have been used in general terms. The study also examines the periods over which they spread based on the meaning they carried in Eastern and Western Christianity. Following these stages, the article identifies the positions of the reliquaries in the church. The required definitions were made by detailing their forms and technical features. In order to ensure the integrity of the subject, the current status of the reliquaries has been supported with visuals and drawings. In light of the findings, the reliquaries in the monastery were determined to be of small sizes and are assessable within the group of reliquaries possessing the form of sarcophagi. Identifying their forms and technical features was difficult, as they had been profoundly destroyed. No fine workmanship could be seen on the reliquaries local craftsmen had shaped. The difficulties encountered in dating were based on the presence of different views regarding the history of the monastery and the hagiography of the saints in the region.
