Viewing the liturgy: a space syntax study of changing visibility and accessibility in the development of the Byzantine church in Jordan.

In the last ten years, more than 150 Byzantine churches have been catalogued in present-day Jordan. These churches housed the liturgical life of secular and religious communities, reflecting a variety of cultic behaviours. These churches exhibit a variety of architectural forms and spatial patterns that cross the geographical and ancient ecclesial boundaries. Spatial analysis techniques are applied which give evidence to their intricate organization of space. While choosing six types of churches as examples of local and regional stylistic variations, the study examines the Byzantine liturgical space and placement of liturgical installations: altar, ambo and presider's chair. Using Visibility Graph Analysis and point isovist studies, this paper highlights some of the visual patterns possibly experienced by the assembly members with reference to accessibility and visibility. These studies reveal an evolving chronological pattern of altar placement in the evolving sanctuary structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]