3 Church Building in Early Centuries

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Early Worship Houses

THE CHURCH & THE TEMPLE

In the early days of the Church, Christians of Jewish origin continued to attend the daily services of the Temple (Acts 2: 46) and of the synagogues » They participated in the Jewish liturgies with all its songs and hymning psalms, petitions and prayers. In so doing they resembled our Lord Jesus Himself, who regularly attended the synagogues on the Sabbath, and was recorded to have gone to Jerusalem for the Passover; towards the end of His ministry.

Such a contact with the Temple was maintained by the Apostles as is clearly indicated in the Book of Acts that Apostles Peter and John went to the Temple to participate in the Canonical Prayers (3: 1 ; 5: 1) , and that Apostle Paul entered it when he returned to Jerusalem (22: 17). It served as a vital element in the preaching of Christ among the Jews and Gentiles, for the synagogues outside Jerusalem included the two (Acts 13: 48 ,14: 1 ,18: 4).

However, this contact did not last for very long, as Christians were gradually expelled from the Temple and synagogues first on the individual level then on the community level. It ceased completely by the destruction of the Temple on G8 A. D. , which was considered by the Christians as a sign of the establishment of the new spiritual Temple that constitutes the New Israel from every nation and tongue.

It is worth mentioning that ever since the formation of the Church, i. e. , from the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit at the Upper - room , Christians had their own worship which they practiced side by side with the Jewish one[1].

THE HOUSE - CHURCH.

A point of major historical Interest is that the newly - born church conducted her assemblies and activities in rooms set aside for that purpose. Normally, in the upper - room of the houses which was usually the largest and not lived in. Meetings took place to study the word of God, practice sacramental worship and discuss minutes of the pastoral affairs.

In many cases. wealthy converts totally placed their upper rooms to be at the disposal of the community, and oftenly enough they piously felt that once a building was used for such sacred purposes, it should no longer return to secular uses. Thus many houses were entirely given to the church, where its main room was utilized as a church and the rest of it as a living place of the Bishop or clergy or for other ecclesiastical usage.

Given examples of these churches are:

Upper - room of ST. Mary, mother of Apostle Mark, which witnessed several major incidents, and had distinct Importance. In it:

The Lord instituted the Liturgy of Eucharist.
The Disciples assembled on Easter Eve (John 20: 19)> and on the following Sunday (John 20: 26).
ST. Matthias was elected for apostleship (Acts 1: 15) , the seven deacons were ordained (Acts 6: 6) and the first church council was held (Acts 15: 4 - 6).
The Disciples gathered dally from Christ Ascension, till the Pentecost. Afterwards weekly meetings were held to celebrate the Eucharist. A meeting was also called for prayers when ST. Peter was imprisoned (Acts 12: 12).

It is believed that the entire house was later handed over to the church, and was called 'The Church of Apostles’. It remained functional until the fourth century, and was rated as the most honorable church in Jerusalem[2]'. Apparently it was the same 'Church of Apostles’ that ST. Cyril of Jerusalem referred to, as being the Upper - room[3].

The Book of Acts mentions that ST. Paul celebrated the Eucharist and exhorted the brethren on the third floor (Upper - room) of a house in Troas (20: 8,9). The Apostle also tells about Akuila and Priscilla and 'the church which was in their house' 1 Cor. 16: 19.
In a letter related to Pius, Bishop of Rome (142 - 157) ; he states that the pious widow Euprepia relinquished her house to the Church.
In a passage of the Clementine Recognitions[4] a certain Paron named Maro put his palace, in which the garden could house near to five hundred persons, at the disposal of ST. Peter. Later, as Maro was ordained by the same Apostle, as Bishop of Tripolis, the entire house transformed to a church and bishop's residency.
The same document states that during the first week of ST. Peter's preaching in Antioch, over ten - thousand converts were baptized. There, a wealthy man named Theophilus dedicated the immense hall of his palace as a church. Within. He provided a chair cathedra[5] for Apostle Peter, where massive numbers gathered there daily to hear his words. Eventually the entire palace was fully utilized for church purposes when Theophilus was ordained as a Bishop!
ST. Gregory, Bishop of Tours , recorded that Leocadius offered his house to the church of Bourges[6] at the middle of the third century,.
The Acts of ST. Pontus relates that in his childhood as he was wandering about the streets of Rome, at dawn, sounds of people singing psalms and emerging from an upper - room of one of the houses attracted his attention. He walked up the stairs and knocked on the door, and was answered by one of the inhabitants who disregarded him. However. Bishop Pontianus (230 - 235) spotted the boy and ordered him in; "for such" , he said, "is the Kingdom of God".

CONSECRATED CHURCH BUILDINGS.

A point of major interest is that the overriding idea that Christians were driven to conduct their worship in secrecy , in catacombs and other hidden places , as a result of the constant persecution during the first three centuries of Christianity, does not conform to facts[7]. Surely, at the very beginning the Roman Empire interpreted Christianity as being a Jewish movement and kept away from their disputes regarding it as internal religious affairs, which is apparent from the course of the Lord's trials and the Book of Acts. [8] This situation enabled the Church to conduct public meetings and construct church buildings with limited constraints. To that effect, Tertullian confirms in his book 'Apologetics' that Christianity as standing under the shadow of illustrious religion of the Jews, a religion un0043doubtly allowed by laws[9].

Not until 161 A. D. that the Roman persecution went, into its formal phase, and it varied in severity between the various Emperors and rulers, and even varied from time to time. This can easily be deduced from the letter of Pliny the Younger (about 111 A. D.) , ruler of Bethynia to his master Emperor Trajan, inquiring about his position from the Christians. This letter proclaims that there were no official law to persecute them, in spite of its existence unofficially for twenty years.

It has been historically established that a number of Roman Emperors and rulers showed noticeable interest in Christians, for example:

Alexander Severus (222 - 235) kept a statue of Christ among other statues of great religious leaders in his private oratory, and favored Christianity.
Philip the Arabian (244 - 249) was so friendly with Christians that he was suspected of being a secret convert.
Gallienus Valerian suspended his father's persecution against Christians and granted them liberty of worship, which led to conclusion that his wife Salonina was a Christian.
Even Diocletian himself demonstrated remarkable approval to Christians, during the first twenty years of his reign (284 - 305).

From all the above, we can summarize that, in general, during the first three centuries the situation was not entirely dim. Christians had reasonable opportunities to erect special worship houses. In fact, unshakeable evidence verifies existence of such houses (Churches) in both the East and the West.

EXAMPLES OF EASTERN CHURCH BUILDINGS:

Reference was made to Christian architecture found as early as the second century, for the Chronicle of Arbela, written by Mesihazekha about 550 A. D. and based on the record of Habel (171 - 200) states that the third Bishop Isaac (123 - 136) was responsible for building a church[10].
ST. Hippolytus reported in his commentary on the Book of Daniel[11], that enemies of Christians attacked the house of God, while the believers were in the middle of their prayers.
In the writings of both ST. Clement of Alexandria[12] and Origen[13] references were made to consecrated churches.
The Chronicle of Edessa mentioned the flood in 205 A. D. which destroyed. among other things, the Temple of Christians at Dura - Europos on the Euphrates. [14].
In 258, ST. Gregory Thaumaturgus built a church in Pontus at Neo - Caesarea, and this same church was ordered to be surrendered to the Orthodox party[15] by Emperor Aurelian in 270 A. D.
At Nicomedla , the Eastern Capital itself, a church was built opposite to the imperial palace and when Diocletian ordered its destruction they had to use axes and crowbars, since any attempt to burn it would endanger surrounding buildings[16].
Fr. Gregory the Illuminator organized foundation of three church buildings at Etchmiadzin, about 300 A. D. Furthermore, due to his preaching Armenia adopted Christianity as the National religion, before the times of Constantine[17].

AS FOR WESTERN CHURCHES:

Tertulllan witnessed the existence of church buildings of North Africa, in the second century, saying: [18] "Our dove (Church) dwells in a simple house, always on a high place, openly and In full day light.
In a letter of Pius of Rome, he states that presbyter Felix was assigned a 'titulus ' (Parish Church) ,i. e. a permanent church to which priests were appointed and which might not be abandoned[19].
During the reign of Alexander Severus (222 - 235) a dispute arose between Roman Christians and the guild of popinarii (taverners) regarding ownership of a block of land. The first party wished to build a church on it, while the other party wanted it for a tavern. The Emperor's decision came in favor of the Christians on the grounds that worshipping God in any form is preferenced to license a tavern. [20]Tradition records that such a church was founded and dedicated by Bishop Calllstus. It is now known as the Church of ST. Maria at Trastavere.
Optatus of Milevuls certified that by early of the fourth century, forty churches existed in Rome, twenty - five in the city and fifteen in suburban areas[21].

Now, we can confidently furnish that during the first three centuries of Christianity, worship was conducted in dwellings specially constructed for that purpose and not in private houses. As numbers of believers multiplied, the necessity of rebuilding larger places became unavoidable. To that effect, the no historian Eusebius said[22] , "How could one fully describe those assemblies thronged with countless men, and the multitudes that gathered in every city... by reasons of which they were no longer satisfied with buildings of older times , and would erect from the foundations churches of spacious dimensions throughout all the cities?!".

Lactantlus also says [23] "By the time of the outbreak of the Diocletian persecution, members of the frequenters on churches had so increased that they pulled down the ancient churches and rebuilt them from the foundations in all cities".

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View of external staircase leading to the Hanging Church El - Mo'allaqa.

STYLE OF EARLY CHURCH BUILDINGS

In the Old Testament, as believers were in their spiritual childhood, it was natural that God takes upon Himself the responsibility of dictating all relevant details of the 'House of God'; its shape, size, building materials, contents... and even went to the extent of naming those in charge of its construction. Ultimately, as we reached the stage of spiritual maturity, in the New Testament , God sufficed by granting us His Holy Spirit to guide us in all aspects of our life. As a result, church designs were developed in accordance with Christ's mind and in a manner capable of backing up our liturgical worship and bears the heavenly features.

Thus, it became evident that God did not restrict His church to any predetermined architectural style, language or culture. He wished it to be in the form of a spiritual structure for believers of diverse background and cultures; Jews, Samaritans, Greek, Romans, Egyptians, Syrians... etc.

Now, if God has granted us the full liberty of selecting whichever architectural style to suit, then what style did the church adopt in its first three centuries?.

I believe that the answer to this question is somewhat obscure, particularly when church buildings were subjected to destruction due to successive emperial edicts in the Roman Empire. Even when the pressure was off the church, at the time of Constantine, bishops were complused to build more spacious churches and modify its architecture in order to cope with the growing numbers of converts.

However, we can focus the light on some of the influential factors that left its imprints on the style of churches during that time:

THE TEMPLE.

When early Christians were forcefully dismissed from the temple, its character remained strongly in their innermost, but in a spiritual understanding, adequate for their new post being ’the New Israel * . Consequently their churches were copied from the temple, or tabernacle, not in a deadly literal, but sustaining its mysteries and spirit.

A quick glance at the church and tabernacle sketched below clarifies such correspondence. The church sanctuary is analogous to the Holy of Holies; the nave to the Holy, the Narthex to the courtyard. The laver is fully realized in the Baptistery site and the Altar of burnt offering is concluded by the Altar of the New Testament.

THE ROMAN COURT LAW.

Some architects believe that Roman Court Laws represented one of the dominant factors that influenced early church architecture, particularly in west Europe. They were recorded to follow the 'Basilica * style, or ’imperial * style, in Greek, as if the building was dedicated to the King of Kings.

The normal scenario at these courts presented the judge occupying his seat, among his assessors and assistants at the apse of the basilica. This was transformed to the bishop sitting on his throne (cathedra) and surrounded by his presbyters, which resembles, in fact, Christ and His Disciples to the eyes of the Christian.

On the other hand, other architects confirm that no connection whatsoever existed between the Roman Basilica, whether in the form of court laws or ordinary houses, and church Basilica. They regard the later to have its own independent origin.

THE PAGAN TEMPLE.

Many pagan temples lent itself to the access of Christians, as a result of being deserted by converted pagans. However, Christians tended to be cautious not to adopt any of its pagan spirit. Instead they inclined to modify it to suit their own theological and spiritual beliefs. For example pagan temples, in general, never meant to accommodate the assembled worshippers, since they were strictly 'houses of deity', but Christians converted them to 'houses of God, who dwells among the people.

In that effect, Cutts recorded:

"Some of the disused temples of the ancient gods were ultimately converted into churches , but the ordinary plan of a temple was not well adapted to the uses of the Christian assembly. The ancient worship was an outdoor worship. The altar was placed at the base of the porticoes front of the temple. As the people stood assisting at the sacrifice, the pillared facade of the temple formed a background to the altar and ornamental screen for the cella behind, in which the deity was supposed to be present. Since the cella was not intended to contain a body of worshippers, it was comparatively small and dark.. The church intended to enclose the whole body of the worshippers within its ample area...".

However, there were exceptions mentioned also by Cutts, such as the temples of Parthenon at Athens and Jupiter of the capitol of Rome, where senate meetings were held in them.

At any rate, whenever a temple was utilized as a church, relevant changes were required:

Some temples which contained sufficient cella area to cope with assembled congregation, were adapted to correspond to the Christian ecclesiastical spirit.
Others were pulled down and use was made of its columns and other usable materials, to construct church buildings.
Other cases involved removing the cella and erecting walls between the columns enclosing the cella to form a church.

The author of ’Symbolism of churches and church ornaments’ discussed the transfer of pagan temples to Christian churches, and commented:

"Socrates (H. E. 4: 22) in his description of the conversion of a pagan island to Christianity, about 380, and turning the temple into a church says, ’the guise of the temple they trans formed unto the type (or pattern) of a church'. And also in a passage from Sozomen (H. E. 7: 15) 'the temple of Dionysus which they had, was changed in fitting () into a church". These passages means that there was some type of a church , and that it was not a mere ejection of idols that was required to make pagan temple into a church ".

THE CATACOMBS.

The term 'catacomb' is associated with subterranean early Christian burial - places, and was probably derived from the Greek word ’KATA - COMBAS' which means "at the ravine".

According to the Roman law, the dead were disposed outside city walls, so catacombs were normally built nearby the suburban roads. They were regarded as 'sacrosanct', and in turn should not be assaulted by law. Naturally they were inhabited by Christian worshippers during persecution times in various places, especially in Rome. One could gather a good deal about the Christian art of that period from the various paintings on the walls and window glass. When Christianity became the official religion many of these catacombs were renovated.

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