of communication between the creators of sacred spaces and their beholders. It constitutes a kernel of meaning that gives form to an entire hierotopic project. As an example, the image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, which was present in Medieval churches without being directly represented, is one of the most significant image-paradigms in the Christian tradition. References Further reading Hierotopy. Christian Sacred Spaces. Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity. Cambridge, 2010, pp. 512–515 (see bibliography in ) Hierotopy: The Creation of sacred spaces in Byzantium and medieval Russia, ed. A. Lidov. Moscow: Indrik, 2006 New Jerusalems: Hierotopy and iconography of sacred spaces, ed. A. Lidov. Moscow: Indrik, 2009,910 pp. A. Lidov. Hierotopy: Spatial Icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture, Moscow: Theoria, 2009, 352 pp. Bissera V. Pentcheva. The Sensual Icon. Space, Ritual, and the Senses in Byzantium, Pennstate Press, 2009. abstractsample chapter Holy Water in the Hierotopy and Iconography of the Christian World. Moscow: Theoria, 2017, 760 pp. Icons of space. Advances in hierotopy. London&NY, 2021, 422 pp. (ed. J. Bogdanovich) External links Internet-library of publications on hierotopy Religious studies Art history Holiness Ancient Byzantium