21.6. The Beginnings of Christian Architecture
We must now turn from these smaller objects to the beginnings of Christian architecture The first meeting places of Christians were the private houses where they came together for the breaking of bread. In the Recognitions of Clement (second century) it is told that while St Peter was at Antioch, Theophilus, a leading citizen, turned his house into a basilica, that is, a place of assembly. Some of the early acts of the martyrs tell how they left their houses to the Church, and so it came about that certain churches were associated with the names of their founders, as the churches of Clement, Pudens, and Cecilia in Rome.
Basilica was a word in very general use, very much like our word Hall, and there is no direct relation between the basilicas of justice and Christian churches. More true it is that the greater private houses had triclinia and halls which were themselves called basilicas, and it is probable that these were actually used for assemblies of Christians. It is possible, further, that there may be some sympathetic relation between the developed church plan and the basilica of justice, for the scene of the Heavenly Temple in the Apocalypse appears to be cast into the form of such a basilica.
The origins of church fabrics have been worked out in great detail in regard to the possible prototypes found in private dwellings, but so far as architectural arrangement goes it is looking for elaborate explanation where but little is required. The basilican type was the appropriate and popular plan for any place of meeting. It is found in temples as those of Apollo at Gortyna, which had an apse and internal pillars. In the isle of Samothrace was the temple of the Cabin; this was of rectangular plan, it had a portico with an atrium, the interior was divided into three aisles and at the end was a semicircular niche.
In Rome itself the temples of Venus and Rome are of the same form except that there is no subdivision of their interiors, and they were surrounded entirely by the enclosure instead of having an atrium. The temple at Jerusalem and many Hellenistic temples were in the same way isolated in a court surrounded by a colonnade. Several of the Christian churches built after the Peace of the Church were also surrounded by similar colonnaded courts entered through an outer portico. Orientation certainly derives from temple arrangement, and many of the earliest churches were built with their entrances facing the East, as was Herod's temple. Again, the foundations of several synagogues which have been discovered shew a division of the interior into three or five aisles with three entrance doors in the facade. A description of the synagogue at Alexandria calls it a basilica, and speaks of its colonnades; it probably had an apse as well.
The earliest special places of assembly were the holy sites and the burial chapels of the martyrs. The subterranean chapels in the catacombs, already mentioned, belong to this class. Probably the first specifically Christian buildings were Martyria — tomb chambers, usually round, which were practically memorial churches. During the course of the third century a large number of churches were built in Syria, Asia Minor, Armenia, and North Africa. An ancient church at Edessa is said on good authority to have existed before 201; but Edessa was then a Christian city. A document of 303 mentions "the house where the Christians assemble," together with its library and triclinium, at Cirta in North Africa, And another document of 305 says that, as the basilicas had not been repaired, the bishops met in a private house. An episcopal election, however, was held in area martyrum in casa majore.
An inscription from the tomb of Bishop Eugenius of Laodicea Combusta has lately been published. He held the see immediately after the cessation of Diocletian's persecution and speaks of rebuilding the whole of his church from its foundations, together with the colonnaded court which surrounded it. Eusebius speaks of such rebuilding as general, but says that the new churches were larger and more splendid than those that had been destroyed. Of the churches built after the imperial adoption of Christianity only a few of the most famous can be mentioned here.
In and near Jerusalem three churches were built in association with the sacred sites of the Holy Sepulchre, the Nativity, and the Ascension. All three are mentioned in 333 as basilicas by a pilgrim from Bordeaux. At the Holy Sepulchre there was a memorial above the tomb called the Anastasis; and a basilica called the Great Church, or Martyrium, both included in a precinct called New Jerusalem. According to Eusebius Constantine first adorned the sacred cave, the chief point of the whole, with choice columns and other works. The Great Church rose high within a large court surrounded by porticoes. It was lined within with marble, the ceiling was carved and gilt woodwork, the roof was covered with lead. The body of the church was divided by rows of columns into five aisles. It was entered from the oast by three doors; and opposite to these, continues Eusebius, was the Hemisphere, the (Town of the whole work, containing twelve columns bearing bowls of silver (probably lamps).
This Hemisphere would seem to be the dome-building over the tomb, which first was spoken of as the chief point of the whole. That the anastasis and basilica were separate buildings is made clear by the account of Etheria (formerly known as St Sylvia) who, about 380, described the sacred sites. The churches at Bethlehem and the Mount of Olives were, says Eusebius, built over two sacred caves, one church at the scene of the Saviour's birth, the second on the mountain top in memory of His ascension; these two beautiful edifices were dedicated at the two holy caves. At Bethlehem a noble basilican church still exists which many hold to be the original edifice, although there is some conflicting evidence that it was either rebuilt or repaired by Justinian. It is 180 feet long, by 85 feet wide.
To obtain a deluxe leatherbound edition of THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE by Niccolo Machiavelli, subscribe to Castalia History.
For questions about subscription status and billings: subs@castalialibrary.com
For questions about shipping and missing books: shipping@castaliahouse.com
You can now follow Castalia Library on Instagram as well.
