Download Early Christian art and architecture - ps1286-2

To find a lot of info. about any type of
religion, just go to…
http://religionfacts.com/christianity/
The highlighted word/words are kinda
like
A Christian church in England. Photo: Sacred Destinations.
"From the majestic pontifical High Mass in St. Peter's to the quiet simplicity of a Quaker meeting... from the intellectual sophistication of Saint Thomas Aquinas to the moving simplicity
of spirituals such as "Lord, I want to be a Christian"... from St. Paul's in London to Mother Teresa in the slums of Calcutta...
all this is Christianity."
--Huston Smith, The World's Religions
Christianity was founded in the early 1st century AD, with the teaching, miracles, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Today it is the largest religion in
the world, with around 2 billion followers. Especially dominant in the western world, today's Christianity has a wide variety of forms, beliefs and practices but all center
around faith in Jesus Christ.
Christianity Basics
Overview, Fast Facts,
Glossary, Timeline
Christian Beliefs
God, Trinity, Christ,
Holy Spirit, Angels,
Demons, Blessed
Virgin Mary, Human
Nature, Afterlife, Hell,
Views of Other
Religions
Christian Books
Christian Holidays
Brief History of Holidays,
Sunday, St. Andrew's Day,
Advent, Christmas, Boxing
Day, Mardi Gras, Ash
Wednesday, Lent,
Valentine's Day, St.
Patrick's Day, Easter
Christian Library
Apostles' Creed, Augsburg
Confession, Augustine,
Afterlife, Amish,
Angels, Archaeology
of the Bible,
Augustine's Writings,
Bible Maps,
Cambridge
Companions,
Christian Ethics,
Christian Travel,
Church Fathers,
Dummies & Idiots
Books, Lewis, C.S.,
Papal Elections,
Predestination,
Tolkien, J.R.R.,
Trinity
Christianity Charts
Biblical Accounts of
the Resurrection,
Christianity vs.
Judaism, Catholic vs.
Protestant,
Denominations:
Stats,
Denominations:
Beliefs,
Denominations:
Practices,
Denominations:
Ethics, Church
Fathers, Monks and
Mystics, Protestant
Reformers
Christian Denominations
Brief History of
Denominations,
Comparison Charts,
Amish,
Anglican/Episcopalian
, Baptist, Eastern
Orthodox, Lutheran,
Presbyterian,
Protestant, Roman
Catholic, Seventh-
Enchiridion on Faith, Hope
and Love, Boettner, The
Reformed Faith, Clement
of Alexandria, Stromata,
Clement of Rome, Epistle
to Corinthians Didache,
Edwards, Sinners in the
Hands of an Angry God,
Gregory of Nyssa, Not
Three Gods Humanae
Vitae, Ignatius of Antioch,
Epistle to Polycarp
Marialus Cultus, Nicene
Creed, Tertullian, Apology,
Wesley, Plain Account of
Christian Perfection,
Westminster Confession of
Faith
Christian People
Peter Abelard, Arius,
Athanasius, Augustine,
Marcus Aurelius,
Venerable Bede, Bernard
of Clairvaux, Clement of
Rome, Constantine,
Francis of Assisi, Ignatius
of Loyola, Irenaeus of
Lyons, Origen of
Alexandria, Pope Benedict
XVI, Pope John Paul II,
C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther,
Pelagius, John Wycliffe
Christian
Practices
Baptism, Honoring the
Saints, Praying the Rosary
Christian
Texts
Fast Facts & Trivia,
Doctrines of Scripture, Old
Testament, Apocrypha,
New Testament, Four
Gospels, Gospel of Mark,
Gnostic Scriptures
Christian
Symbols
day Adventist
Christianity Feature
Articles
Papal Elections, The
Church Fathers, New
Testament
Manuscripts, The Da
Vinci Code
Christian History
One-Page Overview,
Historical Context,
Life of Jesus, Lives of
the Apostles,
Persecution of the
Church, Early Church
Fathers, Constantine,
Council of Nicea, Rise
of Monasticism, Rise
of the Papacy,
Crusades
Christian Symbols A to Z ,
Crosses, Number
Symbols, Liturgical Colors,
Denomination Symbols
Christia
n
Things
Baptistery, Cathedral,
Holy Water , Icons, Paten,
Pyx and Monstrance,
Relics, Scapulars, Shroud
of Turin, Vestments
How Christianity originated copy and pasted from
http://religionfacts.com/christianity/
Christian history begins with Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew who was born in a small corner of the
Roman Empire. Little is known of his early life, but around the age of 30, Jesus was
baptized by John the Baptist and had a vision in which he received the blessing of God.
After this event, he began a ministry of teaching, healing, and miracle-working. He spoke of
the "kingdom of God," condemned religious hypocrites and interpreted the Mosaic law in
new ways. He spoke before crowds of people, but also chose 12 disciples whom he taught
privately. They eagerly followed him, believing him to be the long-awaited Messiah who
would usher in the kingdom of God on earth.
After just a few years, however, opposition mounted against Jesus, and he was ultimately
executed by crucifixion by the Romans. Most of Jesus' followers scattered, dismayed at such
an unexpected outcome. But three days later, women who went to anoint his body reported
that the tomb was empty and an angel told them Jesus had risen from the dead. The
disciples were initially skeptical, but later came to believe. They reported that Jesus
appeared to them on several occasions and then ascended into heaven before their eyes.
The remainder of the first century AD saw the number of Jesus' followers, who were soon
called "Christians," grow rapidly. Instrumental in the spread of Christianity was a man
named Paul, a zealous Jew who had persecuted Christians, then converted to the faith after
experiencing a vision of the risen Jesus. Taking advantage of the extensive system of
Roman roads and the time of peace, Paul went on numerous missionary journeys
throughout the Roman Empire. He started churches, then wrote letters back to them to
offer further counsel and encouragement. Many of these letters would become part of the
Christian scriptures, the "New Testament."
In the second and third centuries AD, Christians struggled with persecution from outside the
church and doctrinal debates from within the church. Christian leaders, who are now called
the "church fathers," wrote defenses of the false claims made against Christians
(apologetics) as well as arguments against false teachings spreading within the church
(polemics). Doctrines were explored, developed, and solidified, the canon of the New
Testament was formed, and the notion of "apostolic succession" established a system of
authority to guard against wrong interpretations of Christian teachings.
A major turning point in Christian history came in the early 4th century AD, when the
Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. The Christian religion became legal,
persecution ceased, and thousands of pagans now found it convenient to convert to the
emperor's faith. Allied with the Roman Empire, Christianity gradually rose in power and
hierarchy until it became the "Christendom" that would encompass the entire western world
in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Emperor Constantine hoped Christianity would be the uniting force of his empire, so he was
distressed to hear of a dispute over Arianism, which held that Christ was more than a man
but less than God himself. In 325 AD, Constantine called the Council of Nicea so that the
bishops could work out their differences. They condemned Arius and Arianism and declared
the Son (Christ) to be of "one substance" with the Father. After the council, St. Athanasius
of Alexandria continued to battle the Arians, but the orthodox view eventually won out for
good. The church then turned to issues about Christ's divine and human natures, which
were essentially resolved at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD).
In the meantime, the considerable religious, cultural, and political differences between the
Eastern and Western churches were becoming increasingly apparent. Religiously, the two
parts of Christendom had different views on topics such as the use of icons, the nature of
the Holy Spirit, and the date on which Easter should be celebrated. Culturally, the Greek
East has always tended to be more philosophical and abstract in its thinking, while the Latin
West tended toward a more pragmatic and legal-minded approach. As the old saying goes:
"the Greeks built metaphysical systems; the Romans built roads." The political aspects of
the split began with the Emperor Constantine, who moved the capital of the Roman Empire
from Rome to Constantinople (in modern Turkey). Upon his death, the empire was divided
between his two sons, one of whom ruled the western half of the empire from Rome while
the other ruled the eastern region from Constantinople.
These various factors finally came to a head in 1054 AD, when Pope Leo IX
excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople, the leader of the Eastern church. The
Patriarch condemned the Pope in return, and the Christian church has been officially divided
into West ("Roman Catholic") and East ("Greek Orthodox") ever since.
In the 1400s, some western Christians began to publicly challenge aspects of the church.
They spoke against the abuse of authority and corruption in Christian leadership. They
called for a return to the gospel and a stripping off of traditions and customs like purgatory,
the cult of the saints and relics, and the withholding of the communion wine from non-
clergy. They began to translate the Bible - then available only in Latin - into the common
languages of the people.
However, these early reformers did not have widespread success, and most were executed
for their teachings. Legend has it that when Jan Hus, a Czech reformer whose surname
means "goose," was burned at the stake in 1415, he called out: "Today you roast a goose,
but in 100 years, a swan will sing!"
In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther (who bore little resemblence to a swan)
posted 97 complaints against the practice of selling indulgences on a church door. He had
experienced a personal conversion to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and also
shared many of the ideas of those early reformers. Growing German nationalism and the
invention of the printing press ensured that Luther would have greater protection than his
predecessors and his teachings would be spread quickly. He was excommunicated and
barely escaped with his life on more than one occasion, but Luther lived out his life
spreading the Reformation, and died a natural death. His ideas had already spread
throughout Germany, and similar reforming movements sprung up in England and
Switzerland. Soon much of Europe was embroiled in a civil war, with Protestant nationalists
fighting Catholic imperialists for religious and political freedom.
In the 17th century, Christians of many ideologies embarked on the hazardous journey
across the Atlantic, to the promise of religious freedom and economic prosperity in the New
World. Quakers came to Pennsylvania, Catholics to Maryland, and Dutch Reformed to New
York. Later came Swedish Lutherans and French Huguenots, English Baptists and Scottish
Presbyterians. With the exception of some Puritan communities, there was no attempt to
impose religious uniformity in America.
The period from about 1648 to 1800 was an age in which reason (as opposed to revelation
and dogma) became increasingly important, but so did religious revival. Benjamin Franklin
exemplified his time's general attitude towards religious matters when he remarked, a few
weeks before his death:
As to Jesus of Nazareth...I have...some doubts as to his Divinity, tho' it is a question I do
not dogmatize upon, having never studied it.... I see no harm, however, it its being
believed, if that belief has the good consequence...of making his doctrines more respected
and better observed.
At the same time that religious skepticism and toleration were growing in the west, so too
were revival movements that sought to return to masses to genuine faith in Christ and the
gospel of salvation. George Whitefield arrived in the colonies from England in 1739, and
experienced wide success with his revival sermons. Jonathan Edwards was famous for his
fiery sermons in which he described in detail the torments of those who do not have
personal faith in Jesus Christ. John Wesley was revivalist preacher and a personal friend of
Whitefield, but he differed strongly from his Presbyterian friend on the doctrine of
predestination. Wesley founded a small group of preachers and bible students, who focused
on holy living and came to be called the "Methodists."
Today, Christianity is the largest world religion, with about 2 billion adherents. It is the
majority religion of Europe and the Americas, and there are churches in almost every nation
in the world. There are perhaps thousands of Christian denominations, all of whom believe
in the basic doctrines established at the Council of Nicea but differ in other matters of
doctrine and practice. In recent years, there has been a growing movement among these
denominations to work together in unity for the good of the world. In 1948, the World
Council of Churches was founded to that end.
Early Christian art and architecture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Good Shepherd: Early Christian catacomb art
Early Christian art and architecture is the art produced by Christians or under Christian
patronage from about the year 100 to about the year 500. Prior to 100 there is no surviving art
that can be called Christian with absolute certainty. After about 500 Christian art shows the
beginnings of Byzantine artistic style.
Prior to 200 Christians may have been constrained by their position as a persecuted group from
producing durable works of art. Since Christianity was largely a religion of lower classes in this
period, the lack of surviving art may reflect a lack of funds for patronage. The Old Testament
restrictions against the production of graven (an idol or fetish carved in wood or stone) images,
see also Idolatry and Christianity, may also have constrained Christians from producing art. It is
also possible that Christians purchased art using pagan iconography, but gave it Christian
meanings. If this happened, "Christian" art would not be immediately recognizable as such.
Early Christians used the same artistic media as the surrounding pagan culture. These media
included fresco, mosaics, sculpture, and manuscript illumination. Early Christian art not only
used Roman forms, it also used Roman styles. Late classical style included a proportional
portrayal of the human body and impressionistic presentation of space. Late classical style is
seen in early Christian frescos, such as those in the catacombs of Rome.
Early Christians adapted Roman motifs and gave new meanings to what had been pagan
symbols. Among the motifs adopted were the peacock, grapevines, and the good shepherd. Early
Christians also developed their own iconography, for example such symbols as the fish (ikhthus),
were not borrowed from pagan iconography.
After about the year 200 Christian art must be broken into two periods: before and after the
First Council of Nicea in 325, before being the Ante-Nicene Period and after being the period of
the First seven Ecumenical Councils.
Contents
[hide]






1 Early Christian Iconography
2 Christian Art prior to 313
3 Christian architecture after 313
4 Christian art after 313
5 Notes
6 References
Early Christian Iconography
During the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire, Christian art was necessarily
and deliberately furtive and ambiguous, using imagery that was shared with pagan culture but
had a special meaning for Christians. The earliest surviving Christian art comes from the late
2nd to early 4th centuries on the walls of Christian tombs in the catacombs of Rome, although
from literary evidence there may well have been panel icons which, like almost all classical
painting, have disappeared. Initially Jesus was represented indirectly by pictogram symbols such
as the Ichthys (fish), peacock, Lamb of God, or an anchor (the Labarum or Chi-Rho was a later
development). Later personified symbols were used, including Jonah, whose three days in the
belly of the whale pre-figured the interval between Christ's death and Resurrection, Daniel in the
lion's den, or Orpheus charming the animals. The image of "The Good Shepherd", a beardless
youth in pastoral scenes collecting sheep, was the commonest of these images, and was probably
not understood as a portrait of the historical Jesus.[1] These images bear some resemblance to
depictions of korus figures in Greco-Roman art.
The dove is a symbol of peace and purity. It can be found with a halo or celestial light. In one of
the earliest known Trinitarian images, 'the Throne of God as a Trinitarian image' (a marble
relief carved c. 400 CE in the collection of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation), the dove
represents the Spirit. It is flying above an empty throne representing God the Father, in the
throne are a chlamys (cloak) and diadem representing the Son.
The fish is used as a symbol for Jesus Christ. It represents Jesus' last supper as well as water
used to baptize Christians. In Greek, the word 'fish' provides the initials of the title "Jesus Christ
Son of God Saviour" and was used as a rebus for Christ's name.
The lamb symbolizes Jesus' sacrifice or Christians when there are several.
The figure of the Good Shepherd resembles earlier shepherd figures in pagan Classical art that
represent benevolence and philanthropy. Additional meaning would have been ascribed to the
figure by early Christian viewers in the context of Christ's phrase "I am the shepherd: the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep," and St John the Baptist's description of Christ as "the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world."
The Chi-Rho monogram, XP, apparently first used by Constantine I, consists of the first two
characters of the name 'Christos' in Greek. It was popular in the period after Christianity
emerged into the open.
The Cross symbolizes Jesus' crucifixion on a cross which was not represented explicitly for
several centuries, possibly because crucifixion was a punishment meted out to common
criminals.
Christian Art prior to 313




Depiction of Jesus
Funerary art
o Catacomb Frescos
o Sarcophagi
Cleveland Statuettes of Jonah and the Whale
House Church - Dura-Europos
[edit] Christian architecture after 313
Santa Sabina, Rome, interior (5th century)
Main article: Christianising the basilica in Basilica
In the 4th century, Christians were prepared to build larger and more handsome edifices for
worship than the furtive meeting places they had been using. Architectural formulas for temples
were unsuitable, not simply for their pagan associations, but because pagan cult and sacrifices
occurred outdoors under the open sky in the sight of the gods, with the temple, housing the cult
figures and the treasury, as a backdrop. The usable model at hand, when Emperor Constantine I
wanted to memorialize his imperial piety, was the familiar conventional architecture of the
basilicas. These had a center nave with one aisle at each side and an apse at one end: on this
raised platform sat the bishop and priests.

Constantinian Basilicas:
o St. John Lateran
o St Mary Major
o Old Saint Peter's Basilica
o Church of the Holy Sepulchre
o Church of the Nativity

Centralized Plan Churches
o Santa Constanza

See also: Early Christendom in Church architecture
[edit] Christian art after 313

Sculpture
o Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus
o Dogmatic sarcophagus

Manuscripts
o Vienna Genesis
o Rossano Gospels
o Cotton Genesis

Mosaics
Where is mostly practiced?
Christianity is mostly in Europe! Also it can be found anywhere in the world, but North America
and Europe are the most popular!
Population:
It is around between/around 1.5 and 2.2 BILLION! Other sourses reference 25 to 33 precent of
Earth’s population being Christian!