Early Christianity

HUMANITIES 3

Neha Pradhan
Assistant Professor
06/07/2020
 Historical
Background
 The Early Christian
architecture started in two
prominent locations
centered at Rome and
Constantinople.
 Early Christian Architecture
occurred in Rome and in
areas around Rome.

 From the two focal points

Early Christian Architecture
spread to other areas in the
European and Asian region.
 The following is a time line of events for the Early
Christian period:-
 29 A.D. Passing of Isa(AS) and beginning of Christian
Religion.
 286 A.D. Emperor Diocletian reorganizes the Roman
Empire splitting it into two; the Eastern and the
Timeline Western part.
 313 A.D. Emperor Constantine recognizes the Christian
religion and adopts it as a state religion.
 324 A.D. Emperor Constantine reunited the Roman
Empire with a new capital.
 364 A.D. Rome finally splits into two; the Western and
Eastern Empire.
  The single most important social phenomenon of the
Early Christian period was the spread and acceptance
of the Christian religion.
 During the period from the first century to the third
century after the death of Jesus, Christianity was a
Social secret society.

Characteristics  It was considered dangerous and subversive by the

government Christians met secretly in tombs and
& Beliefs…. private houses.
 Gradually, however, it spread and became widely
accepted in Asia minor and in Rome itself.
 By the third century, Rome had a population of 50,000
Christians.
 The religion was tolerated but it was still illegal.
  With Christianity widely accepted as a state
religion in Rome it was necessary for
architecture to respond to the demands of the
religion for worship space.
 Mode of worship was the most important
Architectural determinant of the form of the church.
Characteristics
 The requirements include:-
 A path for processional entry and exit of the clergy
 An altar area, where the clergy celebrate mass
 A space for the segregation of the clergy from the
congregation during procession and communion
 Burial space.
  Early Christian architecture may be taken to have lasted from
about 300 to 600 AD.
 The Early Christians, as Roman craftsmen, continued old Roman
EARLY traditions
CHRISTIAN  Utilized as far as possible the materials from Roman temples
which had become useless for their original purpose for their new
ARCHITECTURE- buildings.
INTRODUCTION  Their churches, modeled on Roman basilicas, used old columns
which by various devices were brought to a uniform height.
 Early Christian buildings hardly have the architectural value of a
style produced by the solution of constructive problems.
  Balitican churches had either closely spaced columns carrying the
entablature, or more widely spaced columns carrying semicircular
arches

EARLY Semicircular- according to the shape of Jesus’ halo

CHRISTIAN
ARCHITECTURE-
INTRODUCTION
  The basilican church with there or five aisles, covered by a simple
timber roof, is typical of the Early Christian style as opposed to the
vaulted Byzantine church with its central circular dome placed
over a square by means of pendentives and surrounded by smaller
domes.
EARLY
CHRISTIAN
ARCHITECTURE-
INTRODUCTION
  It s long perspective of oft-repeated columns which carry the eye
along to the sanctuary; a treatment which, combined with the
comparatively low height of interiors, makes these churches
appear longer than they really are, as it seen in S. Paolo fuori le
Mura, and S. Maria Maggiore
EARLY
CHRISTIAN
ARCHITECTURE-
INTRODUCTION
  a. Simplicity in Design and Treatment
 b. Coarseness in Execution
 Early Christian Architecture is Transitional Architecture and have
no own structure
CHARACTERISTI
CS OF THE EARLY  The church building as we know it grew out of a number of
features of the Ancient Roman period:
CHRISTIAN
CHURCH  The house church
BUILDING  The atrium
 The basilica
 The bema
 The mausoleum: centrally-planned building
 The cruciform ground plan: Latin or Greek cross
  The first house church is where the disciples of Jesus met together in
the "Upper Room" of a house. For the first three centuries of the church,
known as Early Christianity, Christians typically met in homes, if only
because intermittent persecution (before the Edict of Milan in 313) did
not allow the erection of public church buildings. Clement of Alexandria,
an early church father, wrote of worshipping in a house. The Dura-
Europos church was found to be used as a Christian meeting place in AD
232, with one small room serving as a baptistery. At many points in
1. House subsequent history, various Christian groups worshipped in homes,
often due to persecution by the state church or the civil government.
church
  When Early Christian
communities began to
build churches they
drew on one particular
feature of the houses
that preceded them,
2. Atrium the atrium, or courtyard
with
a colonnade surroundin
g it. Most of these
atriums have
disappeared.

A fine example remains at the Basilica of San

Clemente (Rome)
  Is a rectangular early Christian or medieval church, usually having a
nave with clerestories, two or four aisles, one or more vaulted apses,
and a timber roof
Basilica typical plan. Types of Apse
A, A, apse 1. Semi-circular (Italian)
B,B’, secondary apse 2. Polygonal (German)
C, high altar 3. Square (English)
G, transept 4. Compound (French)
H, nave
J,J’, aisles

3. Basilica

Interior of a basilica at Pompeii

  Many basilica churches were
erected out of fragments taken
from older buildings, and
present a curious mixture of
columns, capitals, &c.; others,
especially those at Ravenna,
exhibit more care, and are
noble specimens of ancient
3. Basilica and severe architectural work.
The illustration which we give
of part of the nave, arcade, and
apse of one of these, Sant’
Apollinare in Classe, shows the
dignified yet ornate aspect of
one of the most carefully
executed of these buildings

Sant’ Apollinare, Ravenna. Part of the Arcade and Apse

  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
3. Basilica 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.
 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.
  Monumental form of tomb.

 A mouseleum is a house of the

dead, although ii is often as
much a symbol as a sepulchre.

 This term has been employed

4. Mausoleum for large, monumental, and
stately tombs, usually erected
for distinguished or prominent
individuals.

 Mauseleum of Costantia (d. 534),

featured a taller, domed, central
circular section surrounded by a
vaulted ambulatory.
 Christian basilica, the apses
contained the "cathedra" or throne
of the bishop and the altar.
  Greek cross; Latin cross; rotunda
These terms usually refer to the shape of a church.
A Greek cross church has four arms having the same length.
A Latin cross church has the arm of the entrance longer than the other arms.

5. Latin cross
and Greek
cross
 Greek cross- the plans of SS.
Martina e Luca) Latin cross plan- building process
of S. Pietro in Vaticano
 Rotunda- the plans of S.
Bernardo alle Terme
  In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistery, is the separate
centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistery
may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be
provided with an altar as a chapel.

 This is commonly a detached

building, and almost always circular
or polygonal. In some instances the
baptistery adjoins the atrium or
forecourt; but it soon became
customary to erect detached
Baptistery baptisteries of considerable size.
These generally have a high central
portion carried by a ring of columns,
and a low aisle running round, the
receptacle for water being in the
centre. The origin of these buildings
is not so clear as that of the basilica
churches; they bear some
resemblance to the Roman circular
temples; but it is more probable that
the form was suggested by buildings Lateran Baptistery, the first structure
similar in general arrangement, and expressly built as a baptistery
forming part of a Roman bath.
BUILDING
MATERIALS &
CONSTRUCTION
SYSTEM

COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS
STRUCTURE  PLANS USED BY EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

SYSTEM
 BASILICA: Typical plan.
 A, D, apse
 B, B’, secondary apse;
 C, high altar;
 G, transept;
 H, nave;
 J, J’, aisles

Types of Apse
1. Semi-circular (Italian)
2. Polygonal (German)
3. Square (English)
4. Compound (French)
 H, nave;
 J, J’, aisles
CHURCHES
PRINCIPAL
STRUCTURE
CHURCHES
 A. Plans
 The Early
Christians
followed the
basilican
model for
COMPARATIVE their new
churches.
ANALYSIS  May also have
used old
Roman halls,
baths,
dwelling-
houses, and
even pagan
temples as
places of
worship
 B. Walls

 These were still constructed according to Roman methods of using

rubble or concrete, faced with plaster, brick, or stone.
 Mosaic decoration was added internally, and sometimes also
COMPARATIVE externally on west facades.
ANALYSIS  Little regard was paid to external architectural effect.
 C. Openings
 Arcades, doors, and windows were either spanned by a semicircular
arch
 Which in nave arcades, often rested directly on the capitals without
any entablatures, or were spanned by a lintel..

COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS
 D. Roofs
 Arcades, doors, and windows were either spanned by a
semicircular arch Timber roofs covered the central nave,
and only simple forms of construction, such as king and
queen post trusses, were employed.
 The narrower side aisles were occasionally vaulted and
the
 Apse was usually domed and lined with beautiful glass
mosaics, which formed a fitting background to the
sanctuary .

COMPARATIVE  Which in nave arcades, often rested directly on the

capitals without any entablatures, or were spanned by a
ANALYSIS lintel..
 E. Columns
 Differ both in design and size,
often taken from earlier Roman
buildings. It was natural that
early Christian builders should
use materials and ornament of
the pagan Romans.
COMPARATIVE  Used Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian, or Composite from
ANALYSIS ancient Roman buildings,
except those in S. Paolo fuori le
Mura.
 The carved capitals are
governed by Roman pagan
precedent and sometimes by
that of Byzantine, and in both
the acanthus leaf forms an
important part.
 F. Mouldings
 Coarse variations of old
Roman types, and the
carving, though rich in
general effect, is crude ; for
the technique of the
COMPARATIVE craftsman had gradually
declined.
ANALYSIS  Enrichments were incised
on moldings in low relief,
and the acanthus
ornament, although still
copied from the antique,
became more
conventional in form.
 G. Ornaments
 The introduction of color
gave richness and
glimmering mystery to
interiors.

COMPARATIVE  The mosaics which was the

principal form of interior
ANALYSIS ornament, lined
domed apses generally
the

represented Christ
surrounded by apostles
and saints with all those
symbolic emblems. Usually
made of glass
 Fresco painting usually in
figure forms
 G. Ornaents

EXAMPLES
  A typical example of the early Christian church is S. Giovanni
in Laterano Rome.
 It was the first church commission by Emperor Constantine.
 It was built as the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome
S. Giovanni in  It was remodeled several times.

Laterano (AD  The church consists of a central nave flanked by two narrow
isles and separated from them by a monumental colonnade.
313-320)  The central nave rose above the isle roof, and the inner isle
rose above the outer.
 The nave terminated at an apse.
 The structure was of brick faced concrete covered with
simple trussed timber roof.
S. Giovanni in
Laterano (AD
313-320)
S. Giovanni in
Laterano (AD
313-320)
  St Peter was the most important of the basilica
churches built by Constantine.
 The church has a triple entrance gate leading to an
S. Peters, atrium.
 The church like S. Giovanni discussed earlier is a five
Rome (AD isles church.
333)  The Basilica had a wooden roof of interlocking
rafters.
 The nave did not lead directly to the apse but instead
ends in a transverse space that is as high as the nave.
S.
Peters,
Rome
(AD
333)
S. Peters,
Rome (AD 333)
S. Peters,
Rome (AD 333)
Baptistery of
Constantine,
Rome (A.D.
430–440)
  This was a church originally
designed as a mausoleum
for Emperor Constantine’s
daughter.
 It was designed as a
Round centralized monument.
Alternative  It is symmetrical in plan
with a domed central
Form (St space.
Constanza)  The domed central space
was ringed by an arcade
with 12 pairs of double
colonnade.
 Beyond the arcade is an
encircling ambulatory.
 A barrel vault is used to
roof the ambulatory.
THANK YOU