ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on the image-paradigm, the most recent and, at the same time, the enigmatic member of this trio of hierotopic fundamentals. They attempt to define a class of mental images anddescribe their multifaceted nature. The authors endeavor to characterize the distinctive properties of religious mental images and to show how intimately they are connected to the current discourse of the ontological aspects of image-paradigms. If the image-paradigm is a new instrument for the study of sacred spaces, this essay is an attempt to write a manual for it, or, at the least, a theoretical introduction to it. The paradigmatic function of the image-paradigm is particularly evident in the processes of the “serial” reproduction of sacred spaces based on canonized patterns. The ongoing work on hierotopic case studies provides ample food for thought and evidence for further theoretical analysis.
