Early Christian

What I Learned About Early Christianity

Christianity began with the death of Christ in ancient Judea at an eastern outpost of the Roman empire. Rome was fairly tolerant of most religions, but not when it came to Christianity. This is because Christianity posed a threat the the emperor since they could not declare the divinity of the emperor. This unfortunately led to the persecution of early Christians in Rome. Christianity still prospered, though, and became a sort of "underground religion." Most people who followed the Christian faith were of a lower class. This is because Christianity was a faith that didn't favor the wealthier classes. You were judged on character instead of wealth. Christianity also promoted access to God through Jesus Christ in a personal relationship which provided a lot of hope for those in lower classes.

Then came Constantine. He was the first emperor to recognize Christianity as a valid religion in 313 C.E. Constantine legalized Christianity through the Edict of Milan. He declared it an official religion with all rights and privileges the others had. Also now Christians could have official houses of worship and display holy artifacts. Before this they had to worship secretly in church houses. Constantine had a vision of a shield containing a Christian cross before the battle of Milvian Bridge. He believed that this was a sign from god and from thereafter emperor's ceased to be considered divine. This secured his support from the Christian church.

Very few examples of Early Christian furniture remain to this day, but the ones we have are elaborate and richly decorated with jewels. They follow the Roman style and exhibit storage as the most important feature. The artwork that has been found included paintings, murals, and frescoes. They included religious motifs like the cross, dove, fish, grapevine, and lamb. They also show images of Christ the good shepherd, the apostles, and Mary. 

My Favorites

  

The early fifth Roman basilica of Sta. Sabina.

I love the inside of this building. It's so grand with it's high ceilings and the domed ceiling at the back. I also love the columns and decorations.

 

I love this piece of furniture because it has such intricate details carved into it. It's amazing how much detail they put into their furniture. They also put small details in the carvings on the sarcophagi they buried their dead in that can be found in the catacombs of Rome.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus.

Another sarcophagus that can be found in the catacombs of Rome.

Current Applications of Early Christian Design

  Early Christian design wasn't particularly different from Roman design but you can still see the inspiration in today's churches.

Domed ceilings still show up in modern churches.

This modern church still uses columns and high, curved ceilings.

This example is really interesting. This is an old church that has been turned into a bookstore. They utilized the shape of the old building and made the new stuff work with the existing shape instead of juxtaposing it.

Another picture of the church turned bookstore.