Early Christianity 330-800 C.E.

Early Christianity is a term that designates the art and architecture of the first Christian communities. It began with the death of Christ in ancient Judea, and eastern outpost of the Roman Empire.  Rome tolerated most religions, but Christianity posed a threat to the emperor in that Christians could not declare the divinity of the Emperor. This refusal resulted in the persecution of early Christians in Rome. Christianity prospered under the persecution and was basically and underground religion. Many of the believers to the Christian faith were of the lower class. Christianity promoted access to God through the death and atonement of Jesus Christ, which provided great hope especially those in the lower classes. 

During this time unlike the Greece and Rome the works were easily grasped, because they lacked the stylistic cohesiveness of the proceeding periods. Christianity inherited the two most important  architectural forms from the Romans: the straightforward basilica and the luxuriant centrally planned domed spaces. The earliest examples of architecture related to Christianity were not designed to house Christian services but were designated for that purpose. The fourth and fifth centuries saw Early Christian churches built in various parts of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

One of the many churches was the Sant’ Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, 535-538 C.E., shows how Christian architects started with the basilica form and refined it to respond to the specifics of a Christian service. It is an elongated rectangle, entered at one end, with an apse at the other end. The apse creates a focal point, the perfect spot for alter or speaker, and eventually an image or sculpture of Christ.  Influenced by the model of Old Saint Peter’s, side aisles line the central nave and allow visitors to precede into the church without interrupting the service. The additional side aisles render the building grander, and a row of columns separates it from the nave. The side aisles have their own roof, which allows for a row of windows; this creatively allows outside light to center directly into the nave, and further emphasizing the vertical structure and consideration of light is a heavenly material. The straightforward timber roof echoed the pitch of classical temples. Also, in many of the Early Christian churches, as in Sant’ Apollinare, a mosaic or fresco in the apse features a prominent story of the life of Christ. The apse provides a backdrop for the alter, the holiest part of the structure, and the point from which the priest addresses the congregation.


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