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UNIT 4

EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

I. Read the text and translate it in the written form.

By the beginning of the fourth century Christianity was a growing

mystery religion in the cities of the Roman world. It was attracting con-
verts from different social levels. Christian theology and art was enriched
through the cultural interaction with the Greco-Roman world. But Christi-

anity would be radically transformed through the actions of a single man.
In 312, the Emperor Constantine defeated his principal rival Maxen-
tius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Accounts of the battle describe
how Constantine saw a sign in the heavens portending his victory. Euse-

bius, Constantine's principal biographer, describes the sign as the Chi Rho,
the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the name Christos.

After that victory Constantine became the principal patron of Christi-
anity. In 313 he issued the Edict of Milan which granted religious tolera-
tion. Although Christianity would not become the official religion of
Rome until the end of the fourth century, Constantine's imperial sanction

of Christianity transformed its status and nature. Neither imperial Rome
тor Christianity would be the same after this moment. Rome would be-
come Christian, and Christianity would take on the aura of imperial Rome.

The transformation of Christianity is dramatically evident in a com-
parison between the architecture of the pre-Constantinian church and that
of the Constantinian and post-Constantinian church. During the pre-
Constantinian period, there was not much that distinguished the Christian

churches from typical domestic architecture. A striking example of this is
presented by a Christian community house, from the Syrian town of Dura-
Europos. Here a typical home has been adapted to the needs of the congre-

gation. A wall was taken down to combine two rooms: this was undoubt-
edly the room for services. It is significant that the most elaborate aspect of
the house is the room designed as a baptistry. This reflects the importance
of the sacrament of Baptism to initiate new members into the mysteries of

the faith. Otherwise this building would not stand out from the other
houses. This domestic architecture obviously would not meet the needs of

Constantine's architects. Emperors for centuries had been responsible for
the construction of temples throughout the Roman Empire. We have al-
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