Early Christian Architecture: Catacombs, Earliest Christian Churches Basilica Church Typology : Planning / Construction / Features Old St. Peter's Church EH202-HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III

1. SEMESTER 4
EH202-HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE III
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
GOVT. ENGINEERING COLLEGE, THRISSUR
Faculty: Ar. Gary Gilson (Asst. Professor) | 2019

2. CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

3. MODULE 1

4. EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
Catacombs, Earliest Christian Churches
Basilica Church Typology : Planning / Construction / Features
Old St. Peter's Church

5. EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
▪ Early Christian architecture occurred in Rome and around Rome from about 300 to 600 AD.
▪ The Early Christians, as Roman craftsmen, continued old Roman traditions.
▪ Utilized as far as possible the materials from Roman temples which had become useless for their
original purpose for their new buildings.
▪ Their churches, modeled on Roman basilicas, used old columns which by various devices were
brought to a uniform height.
▪ Early Christian buildings hardly have the architectural value of a style produced by the solution of
constructive problems.

6. CATACOMBS

7. • Catacombs are human-made subterranean passageways for religious
practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although
the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
• The first place to be referred to as catacombs was the system of
underground tombs between the 2nd and 3rd milestones of the
Appian Way in Rome, where the bodies of the apostles Peter and
Paul, among others, were said to have been buried.

9. ▪ The name of that place in late Latin was catacombae, a word of
obscure origin, possibly deriving from a proper name, or else a
corruption of the Latin phrase cata tumbas, "among the tombs".
▪ The word referred originally only to the Roman catacombs, but was
extended by 1836 to refer to any subterranean receptacle of the
dead, as in the 18th-century Paris catacombs.
▪ All Roman catacombs were located outside city walls since it was
illegal to bury a dead body within the city, providing "a place…where
martyrs tombs could be openly marked" and commemorative
services and feasts held safely on sacred days.

10. DECORATIONS IN CATACOMBS
▪ Include inscriptions, paintings, statues,
ornaments, and other items placed in the
graves over the years.
▪ Most of these decorations were used to
identify, immortalize and show respect to
the dead.
▪ Decorations in the catacombs of Rome were
primarily decorated with images and words
exalting Christ or depicting scenes from the
Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

11. • Roman catacombs are made up of underground passages
(ambulacra), out of whose walls graves (loculi) were dug.
• These loculi, generally laid out vertically (pilae), could contain one or
more bodies.
• A loculus large enough to contain two bodies was referred to as a
bisomus.
• Another type of burial, typical of Roman catacombs, was the
arcosolium, consisting of a curved niche, enclosed under a carved
horizontal marble slab.
• Cubicula (burial rooms containing loculi all for one family) and cryptae
(chapels decorated with frescoes) are also commonly found in
catacomb passages.
• When space began to run out, other graves were also dug in the floor
of the corridors - these graves are called formae.

12. • The first large-scale catacombs in the vicinity of Rome were excavated
from the 2nd century onwards. They were carved through tufo, a soft
volcanic rock, outside the walls of the city, because Roman law
forbade burial places within city limits.
• The pagan custom was to incinerate corpses, while early Christians
and Jews buried the dead.
• Since most Christians and Jews at that time belonged to the lower
classes or were slaves, they usually lacked the resources to buy land
for burial purposes.
• Instead, networks of tunnels were dug in the deep layers of tufo
which occurred naturally on the outskirts of Rome.
• At first, these tunnels were probably not used for regular worship, but
simply for burial and, extending pre-existing Roman customs, for
memorial services and celebrations of the anniversaries of Christian
martyrs.

13. • There are sixty known subterranean burial chambers in Rome. They
were built outside the walls along main Roman roads.
• Excavators built vast systems of galleries and passages on top of each
other.
• They lie 7–19 metres below the surface in an area of more than 2.4
square kilometres (590 acres).
• Narrow steps that descend as many as four stories join the levels.
• Passages are about 2.5 by 1 metre.
• Burial niches (loculi) were carved into walls.
• They are 40–60 centimetres high and 120–150 centimetres long.

15. • Bodies were placed in chambers in stone sarcophagi in their clothes
and bound in linen.
• Then the chamber was sealed with a slab bearing the name, age and
the day of death.
• The fresco decorations provide the main surviving evidence for Early
Christian art, and initially show typically Roman styles used for
decorating homes - with secular iconography adapted to a religious
function.

16. GENERAL FEATURES
▪ Geographical
▪ Geological
▪ Climatic
▪ Religious
▪ Socio-Cultural
▪ Historical

17. GEOGRAPHICAL
▪ The position of Rome as the center of a world-wide empire was an important
factor.
▪ Christianity had its birth in Judaea, an eastern province of the Roman Empire.
▪ Carried by St. Peter, St. Paul, and other missionaries to Rome, as the center of the
World-Empire.
▪ Early Christian architecture at Rome was influenced by, and was the logical
outcome of :
▪ Existing Roman architecture modified in other parts of the Empire according to
the type already recognized as suitable for the geographical situation of those
countries, such as Syria, Asia Minor, North Africa, and Egypt.

19. GEOLOGICAL
▪ The ruins of Roman buildings provided the quarry where materials were
obtained.
▪ This influenced the style, both as regards construction and decoration.
▪ Columns and other architectural features, as well as fine sculptures and mosaics
from older buildings, were incorporated into Basilican churches of the new faith.

20. CLIMATE
▪ The climatic conditions in Roman provinces as Egypt, Syria, and North Africa
where Christianity was established were varied, and naturally modified the style
in those countries where the fiercer sun and hotter climate necessitated small
windows and other Eastern features.
▪ The north has the climate of the temperate region of continental Europe ; central
Italy is more genial and sunny ; while the south is almost tropical.

21. RELIGIOUS
▪ During the period from the first century to the third century after the death of Jesus, Christianity
was a secret society.
▪ It was considered dangerous and subversive by the government.
▪ Christians met secretly in tombs and private houses.
▪ Gradually, however, it spread and became widely accepted in Asia minor and in Rome itself.
▪ By the third century, Rome had a population of 50,000 Christians.
▪ The religion was tolerated but it was still illegal.

22. RELIGIOUS
▪ The third century was for the Roman Empire a period of political instability and
decline.
▪ The Empire was split into a Western and Eastern Empires.
▪ In A.D. 313, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan making Christianity
legal.
▪ He also adopted it as a state religion and he became the first Christian emperor.
▪ With Christianity widely accepted as a state religion in Rome it was necessary for
architecture to respond to the demands of the religion for worship space.

24. RELIGIOUS
▪ Mode of worship was the most important determinant of the form of the church.
▪ Requirement for church design was centered on worship and burial.
▪ The requirements include:
• A path for processional entry and exit of the clergy.
• An alter area, where the clergy celebrate mass.
• A space for the segregation of the clergy from the congregation during procession and
communion.
• Burial space

25. SOCIO-POLITICAL
▪ The following is a timeline of events for the Early Christian and Byzantine period
AD 29
Beginning of Christian Religion.
AD 286
Emperor Diocletian reorganizes the Roman Empire splitting it into two; the Eastern and the Western part
AD 313
Emperor Constantine recognizes the Christian religion and adopts it as a state religion.
AD 324
Constantine changed the capital of the Empire from Rome to Byzantium when the old Roman political system
came to an end.
A.D. 337
Death of Constantine , Christianity suffered disabilities upon the division of the Roman Empire

26. AD 365
Valentinian became Emperor of the West and his brother Valens of the East.
AD 379-395
Theodosius the Great reunited, for a time, the Eastern and Western Empires.
AD 438
Theodosius II published his legal code, an important work on the constitutions of the Emperors from the
time of Constantine.
AD 475
The Eastern and the Western Empires were nominally reunited by Zeno, who reigned at Constantinople.
AD 632
Muslim begin an advance on the Byzantine empire.
AD 1453
Byzantium falls to Sultan Muhammad II ending the Byzantine Empire.

28. EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
▪ The vast Roman Empire spanning from the main lands of Italy, Greece
extending up to England & France in the north, as well as encircled
around the Mediterranean Sea confronting with Asia Minor & North
Africa was subject to dismantling due to lack of central power.
▪ The vast empire was divided into Western & Eastern empires.

29. ▪ The Early Christian period is generally taken as lasting from
Constantine to the death of Gregory the Great (A.D. 604), although in
Rome and many Italian cities it continued up to the tenth century.
▪ Huns incursions into Germany about A.D. 376 eventually brought
about invasions from the north into Italy, and in A.D. 410
▪ Rome itself was sacked by the Goths under Alaric.
▪ Spread of the new religion was arrested during this period of change
and upheaval, till A.D. 451, the defeat of Attila, King of the Huns, at
the battle of Chalons aided in the consolidation of Christianity in
Europe.

30. ▪ In A.D. 568 the Lombards penetrated into Italy and held the northern part
for 200 years. In A.D. 800 Charlemagne was crowned by the Pope in Rome,
and from this date the Empire was styled the Holy Roman Empire, a title
retained till A.D. 1800.
▪ Under Pope Gregory the Great (A.D. 590–604) Early Christian architecture,
the latest phase of Roman art, gradually fell into disuse, and for the next
two centuries architectural development was practically at a standstill in
Europe.
▪ Even though the influence of Byzantium asserted itself, old Roman
traditions were in abeyance till the time when Romanesque architecture
gradually evolved.

31. CHARACTERISTIC OF EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
1. Simplicity in Design and Treatment
2. Coarseness in Execution
▪ Early Christian Architecture is Transitional Architecture.
▪ Influenced by Roman Architecture and with no own structure
▪ System of Construction : Trabeated and Arcuated
▪ Building Materials: Salvaged materials from Pagan Temples

32. ▪ The Early Christian Architecture refers to the architecture of the early Christian
churches of the Roman Era.
▪ This is further divided into two types:
1. The Basilica church
2. The Alternative Church Plans
▪ With Christianity accepted as a state religion in Rome and expanding in influence,
it became necessary for architecture to respond to the space demands of the
new religion.
▪ A building used for Christian worship had to be provided.

33. PRINCIPAL BUILDING
▪ Basilicas or Roman halls of justice probably served the Early Christians as models for their
churches, connecting link between buildings of pagan Classic times and those of the Romanesque
period which followed.
▪ Basilica (Gk. basilikos = kingly), was applied to a Christian church as early as the 4th century, was a
peculiarly appropriate designation for buildings dedicated to the service of the King of Kings.
▪ PLANS USED BY EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
1. LONGITUDINAL
One axis referring to Basilican Type.
2. CENTRAL
Two axes referring to square plan added before the church proper.

34. ▪ Basilican churches had either closely
spaced columns carrying the entablature,
or more widely spaced columns carrying
semicircular arches.
▪ The Basilican church with three or five
aisles, covered by a simple timber roof, is
typical of the Early Christian style as
opposed to the vaulted Byzantine church
with its central circular dome placed over
a square by means of pendentives and
surrounded by smaller domes.
▪ It’s long perspective of soft-repeated
columns which carry the eye along to the
sanctuary ; a treatment which, combined
with the comparatively low height of
interiors, makes these churches appear
longer than they really are, as is seen in
Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome).

36. BASILICA CHURCH TYPOLOGY
Planning, Construction & Features

37. ▪ The early churches were generally simple and functional in their design.
▪ The emphasis was centred on the act of Christian worship.
▪ The architecture of the church that developed was not a completely new
style, but the use of available Roman forms to satisfy a new program need.
▪ The form chosen for the early church was the Roman basilica.
▪ It was suitable for use as a church with no serious modification and it could
be easily and rapidly built at low cost.
▪ The Basilica was also preferred because of the emphasis on participation in
mass.
▪ The most common form of the early churches had a rectangular hall with a
timber trussed roof.
▪ It also had one or two isles on each side of a central nave and an apse at
one end facing the principal entrance located at the other end.

39. Plans
▪ The Early Christians followed the Basilica
model for their new churches.
▪ May also have used old Roman halls,
baths, dwelling-houses, and even pagan
temples as places of worship.
A, D
B, B’
C
G
H
J, J’
Apse
Secondary Apse
High Altar
Transept
Nave
Aisles
Types of Apse
1. Semi-circular (Italian)
2. Polygonal (German)
3. Square (English)
4. Compound (French)

40. BASILICA: Typical Section

42. Walls
▪ These were still constructed according to
Roman methods of using rubble or
concrete, faced with plaster, brick, or
stone.
▪ Mosaic decoration was added internally,
and sometimes also externally on west
facades.
▪ Little regard was paid to external
architectural effect.
Openings
▪ Arcades, doors, and windows were either
spanned by a semicircular arch which in
nave arcades, often rested directly on the
capitals without any entablatures, or were
spanned by a lintel.

43. Roofs
▪ Timber roofs covered the central nave,
and only simple forms of construction,
such as king and queen post trusses,
were employed.
▪ The narrower side aisles were
occasionally vaulted and the Apse was
usually domed and lined with beautiful
glass mosaics, which formed a fitting
background to the sanctuary .
Two types of Trusses Introduced
1. King Post Trusses
2. Queen Post Trusses

45. Columns
▪ Differ both in design and size, often
taken from earlier Roman buildings. It
was natural that early Christian builders
should use materials and ornament of
the pagan Romans.
▪ Used Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, or
Composite from ancient Roman
buildings, except those in S. Paolo Fuorri
le Mura.
▪ The carved capitals are governed by
Roman pagan precedent and sometimes
by that of Byzantine, and in both the
acanthus leaf forms an important part.
S.Stefano Rotondo, Rome

46. Moldings
▪ Coarse variations of old Roman
types, and the carving, though
rich in general effect, is crude ;
for the technique of the
craftsman had gradually
declined.
▪ Enrichments were incised on
moldings in low relief, and the
acanthus ornament, although
still copied from the antique,
became more conventional in
form.

47. Ornament
▪ The introduction of color gave
richness and glimmering mystery
to interiors.
▪ The mosaics which was the
principal form of interior
ornament, lined the domed
apses generally represented
Christ surrounded by apostles
and saints with all those
symbolic emblems. Usually
made of glass.
▪ Fresco painting usually in figure
forms.

50. BAPTISTERIES
▪ Early Christian baptisteries were originally
used only for the sacrament of baptism, and
for this rite Roman circular temples and
tombs supplied a most suitable type of
building.
▪ Example – Baptistery of Constantine, Rome
▪ Among the oldest Italian Baptisteries, of
which was probably the model.
Lateran Baptistry, Rome

51. Lateran Baptistery, Rome
Baptistry Plans

52. OTHER STRUCTURES
BELFRY
Attached bell tower
CAMPANILLE
Detached bell tower
Example - Leaning Tower of Pisa

53. TOMBS
▪ Early Christian burial up to the end of the fourth century of the Christian
era took place in the Catacombs outside Rome ; for burial within the city
was prohibited by law. These tombs, cut in the tufa formation, followed
the old Roman type, except that, as the Christian church did not then
allow cremation, loculi or wall recesses were formed to receive the
bodies.

54. • Examples
St. Constanza, Rome (A.D. 330) erected by
Constantine for his daughter, but later converted
into a church in A.D. 1256.

55. The Tomb of Galla Placidia, Ravenna
(A.D. 420) , appears to be the earliest
building which is cruciform in plan.

56. EXAMPLES OF BASILICAN TYPOLOGY

57. S. Giovanni in Laterano (AD 313-320)
• A typical example of the early Christian
church is S. Giovanni in Laterano Rome.
• It was the first church commission by
Emperor Constantine.
• It was built as the Cathedral of the
Bishop of Rome.
• It was remodelled several times.
• The church consists of a central nave
flanked by two narrow isles and
separated from them by a monumental
colonnade.
• The central nave rose above the isle roof,
and the inner isle rose above the outer.
• The nave terminated at an apse.
• The structure was of brick faced concrete
covered with simple trussed timber roof.

58. OLD ST.PETER’S BASILICA (AD 333)

59. ▪ St Peter’s was the most
important of the basilica
churches built by
Constantine.
▪ The church has a triple
entrance gate leading to an
atrium.
▪ The church, like S. Giovanni
discussed earlier, is a five
isled church.
▪ The Basilica had a wooden
roof of interlocking rafters.
▪ The nave did not lead
directly to the apse but
instead ends in a transverse
space that is as high as the
nave.

61. ▪ 4th to 16th centuries
▪ Construction of the Basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of
Nero, began during the reign of emperor Constantine I.
▪ Typical Basilica Form.
▪ Consisted of five aisles, a wide central nave and two smaller aisles to each
side, which were each divided by 21 marble columns, taken from earlier
pagan buildings.
▪ It was over 110 m long, built in the shape of a Latin cross, and had a gabled
roof which was timbered on the interior and which stood at over 30 m at
the center.
▪ An atrium, known as the Garden of Paradise, stood at the entrance and had
five doors which led to the body of the church, but was actually a sixth
century addition.

64. San Clemente, Rome (A.D. 1084-1108)
• Rebuilt over an earlier church, retains the original internal arrangement as
well as fittings of the fifth century and shows the suitability of the Basilican
plan for Christian ritual and for sheltering a number of worshippers .

67. ALTERNATE CHURCH FORMS
▪ The rectangular basilica was not the only form
adopted for the early church.
▪ Alternative more centralized plans, with a focus
on a central vertical axis rather than a
longitudinal horizontal one were also adopted
occasionally.
▪ The centralized churches were of two broad
types.
▪ There were the completely circular churches.
▪ These had a circular or octagonal space
surrounded by an ambulatory
▪ Examples of these include Saint Constanza,
Rome, the Lateran Baptistery Rome and Saint
Stefano Rotondo.
Octagonal Church Form

68. Baptistery Church Form
▪ The Baptistery of Constantine, Rome (A.D. 430–440) built near the
Lateran Church by Sixtus III, and not by Constantine to whom it is
generally attributed, is among the oldest of Italian baptisteries, of which
it was probably the model.
▪ It is octagonal in shape according to plan.
▪ The roof is supported by a two-storeyed ring of eight porphyry and
marble columns taken from old pagan buildings, while in the centre is an
old Roman bath of green basalt converted into a font.

69. Round Alternative Form (St. Constanza)
• This was a church originally designed as a
mausoleum for Emperor Constantine’s
daughter.
• It was designed as a centralized monument.
• It is symmetrical in plan with a domed central
space.
• The domed central space was ringed by an
arcade with 12 pairs of double colonnade.
• Beyond the arcade is an encircling ambulatory.
• A barrel vault is used to roof the ambulatory.

71. End of Module 1