ABSTRACT
By the time the early Christians began to build monumental church buildings,during the reign of Constantine the Great (313-37 ce), there had been a recognizable, public religious architecture in the Graeco-Roman world for over a millennium. Yet, the Christians did not adopt a traditional Greek or Roman style of temple architecture for their churches. Instead, they adapted the basilica. Modelled after a standard type of audience hall used by municipal courts and imperial administrators, the basilica effectively became the norm and hence the rootstock for the evolution of all later types of Christian architecture down to modern times. To understand the forces of tradition and change at work in this religious arena is critical to understanding the development of early Christianity itself. There are important implications in terms of Christianity’s social location, its liturgical evolution, and its self-understanding.
