The concept of the spatial icon, introduced by Alexei Lidov,[1] plays a central role in hierotopy and is used to describe the perception of sacred spaces.
A variety of plastic elements, including everything from buildings to decoration, and from murals to liturgical artifacts, work together to form a spatial icon.
[11] From this point of view, Medieval churches can be seen as spatial icons in which divine image-visions, such as Paradise or Heavenly Jerusalem, were incarnated in the sacred space by means of the various media employed without being directly depicted.
In both cases, the city itself was temporarily transformed into the matrix of a spatial icon; the participants involved in these rituals were thus veritable co-creators of the sacred space along with the artists, priests and celebrants responsible for leading it.
Another example of this performative element at work in spatial icons can be found in the ritual creation and destruction of the sand mandala in the Buddhist tradition.