HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE Submitted By:-

Abhinav Mishra
Abhishek Gaba
EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE Abhishek Singh
CONTENTS

Part 1 :Discussion Points Part 2: Example Buildings

O Architectural character
O Building materials and construction system
O Comparative analysis
GENERAL INFLUENCES

Christianity had its birth in Judaea, an eastern province of the

roman empire, spread and carried by St.Peter, St.Paul and other
missionaries to Rome, as the centre of the World–Empire.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
INTRODUCTION -
EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
•Early Christian architecture may be taken to have lasted from about 300 to 600AD.
•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, modelled 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.
O Balitican churches had either closely spaced columns carrying the entablature, or more widely
spaced columns carrying semi-circular arches.
*Semi-circular-according to the shape of Jesus’ halo
O The basilican church with three or five aisles, covered by 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.
O Its long perspective of t-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 it seen in S. Paolofuori le Mura, and S. Maria Maggiore
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN
CHURCH BUILDING
a. Simplicity in Design and Treatment
b. Coarseness in Execution

Early Christian Architecture is Transitional Architecture and have no own structure

The church building as we know it grew out of a number of features of the Ancient Roman period:
1. The house church
2. The atrium
3. The basilica
4. The bema
5. The mausoleum : centrally-planned building
6. The cruciform ground plan: Latin or Greek cross
 1. THE HOUSE CHURCH
The first house church is where the disciples of Jesus met together in the "Upper Room“ of a house. For the first
three centuries of the church, known as Early Christianity, Christians typically met in homes, if only because
intermittent persecution (before the Edict of Milan in 313) did not allow the erection of public church buildings.
Clement of Alex andria, an early church father, wrote of worshipping in a house. The Dura-Europos church was
found to be used as a Christian meeting place in AD 232,with one small room serving as baptistery. At many
points in subsequent history, various Christian groups worshipped in homes, often due to persecution by the state
church or the civil government.

The Dura-Europos house church, ca.232, with chapel area on right.

2. ATRIUM
When Early Christian
communities began to
build churches they drew
on one particular feature
of the houses that
preceded them, the atrium
or courtyard with a
colonnade surrounding it.
Most of these atriums have
disappeared.

A fine example remains at the Basilica of San Clemente Rome.

3. BASILICA
Is a rectangular Basilica typical plan.
early Christian A, A, apse
or medieval B,B’, secondary apse
church, usually C, high altar
having a nave G, transept
with H, nave
J,J’, aisles
clerestories, two
or four aisles, Types of Apse
one or more 1. Semi-
vaulted apses, circular(Italian)
and a timber 2. Polygonal(German)
roof. 3. Square(English)
4. Compound(French)
Interior of a basilica at Pompeii
o Many basilica churches were erected out
of fragments taken from older buildings
and present a curious mixture of columns
capitals etc.; others especially those at
Ravenna, exhibit more care, and are noble
specimens of ancient and severe
architectural work. The illustration which
we give of part of the nave, arcade, and
apse of one of these, Sant’ Apollinare in
Classe, shows the dignified yet ornate
aspect of one of the most carefully
executed of these buildings.

SANT’ APOLLINARE, RAVENNA PART OF T H E ARCADE AND APSE

 PARTS OF AN EARLY CHRISTIAN BASILICA OLD ST. PETER'S IN ROME

1) Propylaeum - the entrance building of a sacred precinct whether

church or imperial palace.
2) Atrium - in early Christian, Byzantine, and medieval architecture, the
forecourt of a church as a rule enveloped by four colonnaded porticoes.
3) Narthex - the entrance hall or porch proceding the nave of a Church.
4)N a v e - the great central space in a church In longitudinal
churches it extends from the entrance to the apse (or only to the crossing if the
church has one) and is usually flanked by side aisles.
5) Side Aisle - one of the corridors running parallel to the nave of a
church and separated from it by anarcade or colonnade.
6) Crossing - the area in a church where the transept and the nave intersect.
7) Transept - in a cruciform church the whole arm set at right angles to
the nave. Note that the transept appears infrequently in Early Christian
churches Old St Peter's is one of the few example of a basilica with a
transept from this period. The transept would not become a standard
component of the Christian church until the Carolingian period.
8) Apse - a recess sometimes rectangular but usually semicircular, in the
wall at the end of a Roman basilica or Christian church. The apse in the
Roman basilica frequently contained an image of the Emperor and was
where the magistrate dispensed laws. In the Early Christian basilica, the
apses contained the "cathedra" or throne of the bishop and the altar.
4. MAUSOLEUM
Monumental form of tomb.
A mouseleum is a house of the
dead, although it is often as
much a symbol as a
sepulchre.
This term has been employed
for large, monumental, and
stately tombs usually erected
for distinguished or prominent
Individuals.

Mauseleum of Costantia (d. 534), featured a taller , domed,

central circular section surrounded by a vaulted ambulatory
5. LATIN CROSS AND GREEK CROSS
Greek cross; Latin cross; rotunda
These terms usually refer to the shape of a church.
A Greek cross church has four arms having the same length.
A Latin cross church has the arm of the entrance longer than the other arms.

Greek cross the plans of SS. Martina e Luca) Latin cross plan building process of S. Pietro in Vaticano
Rotunda the plans of S. Bernardo alle Terme
BAPTISTERY
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistery is the separate centrally planned structure
surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistery may be incorporated within the body of a
church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel.

This is commonly a detached building and almost

always circular or polygonal. In some instances the
baptistery adjoins the atrium or forecourt; but it soon
became customary to erect detached baptisteries of
considerable size. These generally have a high central
portion carried by a ring of columns and a low aisle
running roun , the receptacle for water being in the
centre The origin of these buildings is not so clear as
that of the basilica churches they bear some
resemblance to the Roman
circular temples but it is more probable that the form
was suggested by buildings similar in general
arrangement, and for ming part of a Roman bath. Lateran Baptistery, the first structure
expressly built as a baptistery
BUILDING MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
 STRUCTURE SYSTEM
• PLANS USED BY EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES
CHURCHES
PRINCIPAL
STRUCTURE
CHURCHES
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS-
PLANS
•The Early Christians
followed the basilican
model for their new
churches.
•May also have
used old Roman halls ,
baths ,dwelling houses
and even pagan
temples as places of
worship.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS-
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.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS-
OPENINGS
•Arcades doors and windows were either spanned by a semi circular arch
•Which in nave arcades often rested directly on the capitals
without any entablatures or were spanned by a lintel.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS-
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 back ground to the sanctuary.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS-

COLUMNS
•Differ both in design and size, of ten 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 fuori 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.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS-
MOULDINGS
• 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.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS-
ORNAMENTS
•The introduction of colour 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.
A TYPICAL BASILICAN CHURCH
o Commonest form of the early church.
o Unlike the earlier Roman phase the interiors were given more
importance than exterior.
o Rectangular hall timber roofed with coffers richly glided
ceiling hiding the roof truss on nave.
o Usually with one or two aisles to each side of the
o central nave separated by rows of rustic marble columns
sometimes carrying flat entablatures & sometimes rows of
arches.
o The width of aisles was half that of the central nave
o Apse at one end facing the principal entrances at the other
end.
o Bema/Transept- a raised platform where altar was placed
from where the clergy officiated.
o A courtyard atrium having a central fountain for ablutions &
surrounded by colonnaded ambulatory.
Plan of a typical EC Basilica
 A narthex- corresponding to entrance foyer preceding the nave.
The nave & bema received light from clerestory above the aisles were pierced with
windows.
Above aisles between clerestory windows, the walls may be faced with marble or
mosaics made up from small tesserae of coloured glass.
The nave terminates into a triumphal arch perhaps having iridescent (brightly coloured
changing) mosaics.
The semicircular walls of the apse ended into a dome whose interiors had mosaics
depicting narrative scenes from Bible or single figures seen against stylised landscapes or
plaing old grounds.
The flooring was of grey white black marble inlaid with geometric patterns of
coloured marble.
The columns, capitals similar features from old Roman buildings were frequently
reused to enhance the liveliness of the interiors.
EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

Example 1-
ST. PETERS (OLD) ROME
320-330 A.D.
BASILICA OF ST. PETERS (OLD) ROME
Present day St. Peters in Vatican City are building of a totally different design on a substantially enlarged
scale.
Built over the historical site of the Circus of Nerounder the rule of Emperor Constantine Iinc. 320 AD
The original church survived without much change until towards the end of 15th Century the nave for
another century.
Remains of old foundation a represent below the present flooring but details of atrium are obscure.
Dimensions 1100m long x 640m wide with double aisles on both sides
The nave was divided from aisles by 22 varied si ze colour huge antique marble columns with equally
varied capitals supporting the nave walls on a horizontal entablature, while similar numbers of shorter
columns carrying arcades divided aisle from aisle.
It was built in the shape of Latin cross with a gable roof timbered on inside at 300m high at centre.
An atrium known as Garden of Paradise stood at the entrance with 5 doors.
The nave ended with an arch the wall shad parallel windows each with frescos.
EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
Example 2-
ST. CLEMENTE ROME
(Early 12th Century)
ST. CLEMENTE, ROME
First Basilica - Dedicated to Pope St. Clemente I.
D i m e nsions: 450m x 250m with width of nave as
130m.
Most interesting example of the continued Roman use of
early basilican plan until well into Romanesque period.
The present day Roman Catholic minor basilic a church is
actually a 3 tiered complex of buildings.

O Lower part- 2 structures :1st century house of a Roman

noble & a 2nd century pagan temple dedicated to God
Mitra.
O Middle part- 4th century (380 A.D.) Old church dedicated
to St. Clemente.
O Top part- Early 12th century (1100 A.D.) Romanesque
Church replica of the earlier church.
 ST.
CLEMENTE
ROME