UNIVERSITY QUESTION – EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS

EARLY CHRISTIAN MEETING PLACES

2 PROTOTYPES
• 1. Axial Basilica plan , popular in Western empire (Latin cross) &
• 2. Centralized plan -round, square/ octagonal form popular in Eastern empire
(Greek cross).
 EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
UNIVERSITY QUESTION – Evolution of church forms
• Gradual disintegration of Roman empire after 2nd cent.AD
• Empire was divide into 2 : Greek speaking eastern half & Latin speaking western
half by Emporer Diocletianin in AD 284
• Emperor Constantine shifted the capital to Byzantium in 312 AD- named as
Constantinople
• Byzantine architecture was shaped by new religion- Christianity -became the
state religion of Roman empire
• Churches & other religious buildings emerged as predominant forms of
architecture
• Special characteristics : “Reinforcing a religious experience through spatial
modeling, details & colour”

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

 EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
UNIVERSITY QUESTION – Evolution of church forms
• During early days Christians assembled in private homes for prayers.
• Oldest known church-city of Dura Europus (AD 230)-essentially a Roman house
converted as church
• Emperor Constantine – promoted construction of large no of churches
• Ancient Roman basilica as prototype for church building-since it could
accommodate large no of people & focused the attention to Altar at one end.
• The centralized plan of Royal tombs & mausoleums was another form favored by
early Christians for baptisteries - were believers died their old life, rose renewed from
water
• 2 prototypes of church architecture emerged: 1. Axial Basilica plan , popular in
Western empire (Latin cross) & 2. Centralized plan -round, square/ octagonal form
popular in Eastern empire (Greek cross).

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

THE HOUSE CHURCH EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
UNIVERSITY QUESTION – Evolution of church forms

Christian house-church, Dura Europos, Syria, 230 AD

• Early Christian meeting places were actually set-up in preexisting apartments or homes
• Who regularly gather for worship in private homes.
• Most were rebuilt into full scale churches
• The first house church is recorded in Acts 1:13, where the disciples of Jesus met together in the
"Upper Room" of a house,

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
1- Propylaeum
2- Atrium
3- Narthex
4-Nave
5- Side Aisle
6- Crossing
7- Transept
8- Apse

St. Peters basilica (old), Rome (AD 319-329)

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
1) Propylaeum- the entrance building of a sacred precinct, whether church or imperial palace.

2) Atrium- in early Christian, Byzantine, and medieval architecture, the forecourt of a church; as a rule
enveloped by four colonnaded porticoes.

3) Narthex- the entrance hall or porch proceding the nave of a church.

4) Nave- the great central space in a church. In longitudinal churches, it extends from the entrance to the
apse (or only to the crossing if the church has one) and is usually flanked by side aisles.

5) Side Aisle- one of the corridors running parallel to the nave of a church and separated from it by an
arcade or colonnade.

6) Crossing- the area in a church where the transept and the nave intersect.

7) Transept- in a cruciform church, the whole arm set at right angles to the nave. Note that the transept
appears infrequently in Early Christian churches. Old St. Peter's is one of the few example of a basilica
with a transept from this period. The transept would not become a standard component of the Christian
church until the Carolingian period.
ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS

8) Apse- a recess, sometimes rectangular but usually semicircular, in the wall at the end of a Roman
basilica or Christian church. The apse in the Roman basilica frequently contained an image of the Emperor
and was where the magistrate dispensed laws. In the Early Christian basilica, the apses contained the
"cathedra" or throne of the bishop and the altar.

9) Nave elevation- term which refers to the division of the nave wall into various levels. In the Early
Christian basilica the nave elevation usually is composed of a nave colonnade or arcade and clerestory.

10) Clerestory- a clear story, i.e. a row of windows in the upper part of a wall. In churches, the clerestory
windows above the roofs of the side aisles permit direct illumination of the nave.
ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

 ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
AXIAL CHURCH FORM-

• St. peters basilica (old), Rome (AD 319-329) – most important church of Constantine
Rome - place were St. peter was buried
• 301’ long nave & 2 aisles 216’ wide. Total height-104’.
• Transept at west end - 297’ long & 69’ wide
• Plan of a Latin cross -symbolic significance.
• Semi-circular apse capped by a half dome, over the tomb of St.Peters.
• Pilgrim church-a large atrium was added, beyond entrance vestibule known as narthex
• Entry to atrium through a propylaea gateway.
• Later churches in Italy & western Europe followed this style .
• Eg: Santa Sabina in Rome (AD 422-32),San Appollinare in Classe, Italy.

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
AXIAL CHURCH FORM-

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

ST. PETERS BASILICA (OLD), EVOLUTION OF CHURCH FORMS
AXIAL CHURCH FORM-

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
CENTRALISED CHURCH FORM
CENTRALISED CHURCH FORM