As a result of the death of Christ in Judea, Christianity was established as a religion. While Rome tolerated most religions, the emperor felt threatened by the presence of this religion and therefore many early Christians were persecuted. Even with the threat of persecution, there was a huge support for the religion and it began to flourish underground. Many adherents of the religion were of a lower class since it allowed a direct access to God through Jesus Christ. This belief heightened levels of hope in these people.
In order to protect themselves from the Roman empire, the monotheistic followers hid their religion within the safety of their homes and underground in what would become the Roman Catacombs. The Catacombs were a series of underground passageways and burials for the Christian's people. They stretched an impressive sixty to ninety miles. There were even multiple levels, some of which were as deep as five levels.
Through the Edict of Milan, emperor Constantine declared Christianity an official religion, with all rights and privileges of other state religions in 313 CE. Previous emperor's had not supported the concept of being "divine" but since Constantine believed he had received a vision from God he became a full supporter of the Christina church. Before going in the battle of Milvian Bridge he had envisioned a shield with the Christian cross upon it.
Before the legal establishment, most religious services had been held in people's so there was suddenly an immediate need for a new place of worship, especially with the rapidly growing number of Christian believers. The solution to this need was the creation of the Roman basilica. They were centrally planned buildings with separate baptisteries. There was also a separation of a of interior churches into nave and flanking aisles. The entrance of the church was opposite of the apse with clerestory windows and towers flanking exonarthex. The sole purpose of the design was to glorify God.Some of the most exemplary models of these structures were Old St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome built in 330 CE and Sant' Apllinare in Classe in Ravenne from 535-538 CE.
Another popular style of the Christian church was the centralized design. An exceptional example of this was St. Vitale in Rome. Unlike the basilica structure, the ambulatories and seats circled around the nave of the church where sermons were held.
There are very few examples of Early Christian furniture that actually exist today. Storage was a very important aspect of furniture of this age though. Pieces that remain though are very richly and elaborated decorated with jewels and carvings. The decorative arts of this age were also religiously oriented. The paintings, murals, and frescoes typically depicted images of Christ, the good Shepard apostles, and Mary. Motifs also contained references like the dove, cross, fish, grapevine, and lamb.
Current Applications:
Peer Reviews:
Alex R: I read Alex's blog and I really like her current day applications of church designs. The influence of the basilica and style is very apparent throughout all of them. I also found it interesting how she able to connect this style to a real life situation by comparing her previous church when she had school mass in every week.
Katie: I also read Katie's blog and were really drawn into her second two examples of current day applications because they varied so greatly when compared to one another but had the same influence. The video she posted was also very insightful, especially because it began to compare and contrast future architectural styles like Romanesque and Gothic to the early Christian basilica and centralize church plans.
Additional Links!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1HVlFQ-t3M
This link looks into the design of early Christian basilica style churches.
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