How Did Early Christian Churches Influence Roman Basilica

Christianity and Islam are religions are two of world’s most widespread religions. Both religions when founded were not accepted by the people of that time and they have faced great resistance. Early Islamic art and early Christian art both are historically important as both are similar in some ways. The most earliest architecture and first such structure from the Muslims is the Dome of the Rock located in Jerusalem. When the Muslims conquered the city of Jerusalem in they needed a place (Mosque) to worship and offer their prayers in congregation. At the same time they also wanted to build a monument that would show the success of Muslims and their religion Islam. Similarly, Christians used to build their

Many similar characteristics are used throughout the Classical and Early Empire when the construction of temples was being built. Though old techniques were used, the advancement of new methods were being introduced to build faster, stronger, and in different shapes and sizes. We will discuss the Parthenon and the Pantheon; though similar in name, they do have some differences that represent the Greek and Roman styles.

The shift brought the transformation of thick columns to much thinner and “lighter” columns (Blankenbehler). However, before this architectural movement can begin, Abbot Suger struggled to reconstruct and synthesize the style of the ancient building with his ideas of modern designs. He knew that the freshness of these new designs would bring beauty and spaciousness. He wanted people to be amazed at the transformation of the once small, but soon to be large and wide feel of the basilica. To create the wide feel, Abbot Suger issued the ceiling to have a complicated web of interlocked and pointed vaults. He also chose to have arches with points so that the basilica would not need thick walls to support the arch. Thick walls would make the interior look crowded and small, something Suger did not want. By having the pointed arches, those would take the weight of the ceiling and distribute the weight across rather than being pulled down. This allowed for thin and elegant looking columns, for they were able to support the ceiling because the weight of it was dispersed. He envisioned the structure to have high ceilings, which would be supported with thinner columns (Birth of the Gothic: Abbot Suger and the Ambulatory at St. Denis). Suger also brought in the idea of having tall towers so that the building would look like it was reaching for the heavens. By reaching the heavens, it brought this concept of being closer to God and reassuring the people’s

Churches played a big role in the development of Christian’s art and and/or the architecture of the ancient Rome. It is stated by Encyclopedia.Com that “Early Christian art and architecture, works of art exhibiting Christian themes and structures designed for Christian worship created relatively soon after the death of Jesus. Most date from the 4th to the 6th cent.,” (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.). We started to learn about the Christian architecture right after the death of the Christian’s leader, Jesus Christ. That is around the third century we start having painting on the walls depicting

Christianity is one of the most dominant religions in the world today and has a long and complex history. Although Christianity has its roots in Judaism, it was greatly influenced by the culture of the Greeks and Romans it developed in. The Greco-Roman world was polytheistic and full of deities that were petty and faulted. As a young religion Christianity shares aspects with the religions around it, namely in the central stories. Eventually Christianity spread through the Roman Empire and to the rest of the world.

“Stories about architecture are stories about people,” said David Macaulay, author of Cathedral (4). The intention of cathedrals was to draw people, and in turn inspire those who came to pray, learn, and worship (Macaulay, Cathedral 4). Cathedrals remain inspirational in their enormous scale and overpowering beauty, and that these places of worship are still standing after many centuries show a level of determination and integrity in those that built the edifices (Macaulay, Cathedral 4). Architect Vitruvius wrote, “All the buildings have two components: The building itself and an idea that its architecture tried to express” (McNamara 6). People build churches because they believed in something (McNamara 6). In David Macaulay’s book, Built to Last, he says the mindset behind building cathedrals was that of honor and dedication. Macaulay’s research noted that, “The new cathedral would be built to the glory of God, and it mattered little that it might take more than one hundred years to construct it” (Macaulay, Built to Last 98). However, there is more to cathedrals than just building something grand and beautiful to honor God. Churches and cathedrals were built to be packed with meaning (Taylor 1), and were used to illustrate key points of Christian teaching through the use of imagery (Taylor 5). Cathedrals were a place to immerse individuals in worship. Religious parents encourage their children to pray, take them to church and to religious events (Newberg and

Religious Architecture takes a turn in the fifth century BC under the influence of the Greeks, taking constructive elements of other cultures and using them in an original way, according to their own needs. Their main concerns are the development of temples and tombs, besides the house. Special

For example, in Ancient Rome, most of the buildings were build be using columns, therefore, the buildings were more reliable. In many of our buildings today you see this same columns used in buildings in our society today. For instance, “You can see the influence of Roman architecture in government buildings, large banks, and even some famous buildings like the United States Capitol Building (Ducksters).” A building that the Romans built that also takes a big part in our society today is the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built in the shape of a dome, and was built to honor every god the Romans worshipped.

Fig, 17-2 Santa Constanza, Rome reflects the characteristic of the period because just before it was built Constantine legalized Christianity in the Edict of Milan and Christian art became imperial art. So this architecture was important for the future of Christian religion. It was built for the tomb of Constantine's daughter. The church itself symbolizes the spread of Christianity in the Roman world and the ambulatory and the dome supported by a barrel vault are all the characteristic of the churches that were built during that

The Roman Catholic Church was very influential during the Middle Ages. The church contained many religious aspects and cultures that develop this religion, which is currently practiced today. The Church was connected with the state, in order to sustain authority and power over the Roman Catholic Church. Due to the systems of medieval Europe, powers and roles of the Church affected the Roman Catholic Church, because it influenced Medieval Europe by religious freedoms and aspects, political powers, and the effect on the crusades.

The Jewish community started Christianity, but Christianity later spread and convert from all over the Greco-Roman world were attracted by this religion during the progress of the first century CE. Ideas, traditions, ways of worship and traditions were brought along by the new convert of Christianity and it was adopted by their faith. This is through art because Christians who were once pagans of the Roman Empire stick to their artistic heritage when they became followers of Jesus Christ. Roman artistic forms and motifs and also Roman architecture were being used by this new convert to express their new faith. In further explanation, we’ll see how Roman art influenced the developing art of early Christians.

Pantheon and Hagia Sophia Pantheon and Hagia Sophia are two extremely outstanding architectural pieces of their times. They have been built according to the traditions of those particular times. The materials used to built these buildings and the purpose for which they were used are all very important aspects and have been briefly covered in this report. Pantheon The statesman Agrippa built pantheon in 27 B.C. Then it was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian. The Pantheon is remarkable for its size, its construction, and its design. The dome was the largest built until modern times. The present structure was probably originally built as a temple for all the pagan gods. We do hear of it as being a law-court and a reception area for

With such support from the state and the Emperor, the church was given a massive financial support, which was invested in the building of the Basilicas. They were used to perform rituals such as worship, baptism, prayers, scripture reading, preaching and recognition of the dead and the after life. The liturgy of the early churches was very plain. They were build on a rectangular classical floor plan. The Basilica floor plan was simple; consisting of a narthex (the outside building short end), apse, transept, and aisle such formation gives the idea of building resembling to the cross. The early Christians were inspiration to represent such building to the cross. Once more this is part of the spiritual journey of Christianity. The other model was the central plan which would consist of a dome in the middle of the church. Were all the activities would take place. Like the worship and the baptismal ritual. This center plan was more common in the Eastern-Orthodox churches. This shows the heritage of Roman Christian art from the early ancestors such as the Greeks and the Middle East. A great example is the San Vitale in Ravenna which was an important Byzantine outpost in Italy. San Vitale was constructed under the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 547. This church has a domed central core which

The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, completed in 126 AD. Currently a state property, it is now a Roman Catholic Church. As one of Rome’s most well preserved ancient buildings, it has had continuous use through the ages. This is likely due to the fact that it was converted from a temple to a church early on, saving it from sacking and destruction. At its’ inception, it is believed to have been a temple to numerous Roman deities. (“Pantheon, n.d.) The name pantheon refers to a temple dedicated to all the gods. (Merriam Webster, n.d.) The building is made up of a portico, or porch, and a rectangular vestibule that connects the porch to a rotunda. The rotunda features an oculus that provides light as well as ventilation. During rain and storms, any water entering the uncovered oculus runs off into built-in drains still functioning from their original construction. The dome’s inner design is comprised of intersecting arches and coffers. Likely symbolic, these were built in multiples of eight,

As the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” however long it took to build the capital, the days, months, years, centuries of work can be viewed as a long lasting landmark which paved the way for new and challenging architecture to come (How Roman architecture influenced modern architecture [sa]). According to Tony Rook (2013: [sp] ch.2) the typical Roman temple shows the Etruscan tradition combined with the Greek one. Although some of their premature concepts were acquired from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, Roman architects transformed the body of architecture for all time to come, offering buildings and structures that has never been before, along the side of public buildings and infrastructure that could be used by