4th Century Church
Scot McKnight has a very short post I found very interesting here.
Thing that stood out:
Thing that stood out:
Two things struck me about this basilica:
First, that the name “basilica” is also the name the Romans used for their central legal building.
Second, that this Christian basilica was in the heart of the city of Ostia antica, surrounded by pagan shrines and homes and legal buildings.
Labels: Church
posted by mark at
6:15 AM
1 Comments:
After Constantine Christians took over official basilicas for their own use and built new ones under the auspices of the Empire. Many of these buildings were also previously used for pagan rituals, banquets, and other gatherings. That's one of the reasons they are surrounded by (other) pagan buildings. Prior to Constantine most communities of Christians gathered in houses. Some used public meeting areas, caves, tunnels, grave areas, etc.
Whereas some Christians eagerly adopted and accepted the support of the Empire, literally "moving into the neighborhood" of power, so to speak, others were very nervous and suspicious of the influence of power and wealth, and they moved to the deserted areas and added greatly to the growth of monastic groups in the 4th and 5th centuries. These monastic groups originally were fleeing persecution by the Empire in the 3rd Century, but a century later they were fleeing the influence of the Empire.
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