CHRISTIAN
709
CHRISTIAN
veil; while in a fresco of the middle of the fourth
century, in the Ccemeterium majus, she is seen in the
attitude of prayer, interceding, according to the
interpretation of Wilpert, with her Divine Son, for
the surviving friends of the deceased persons on
whose tomb this representation appears. The dogma
of the communion of saints is as clearly expressed
in the paintings, as in the inscriptions of the cata-
combs. The various Orantes, or praying figures,
are symbols of the deceased in heaven interceding
with God for friends still members of the Church
Militant. Other frescoes represent the particular
judgment, with saints in the attitude of advocates
pleading with the Judge for their admission to
heaven. St. Peter and St. Paul were also favourite
subjects with the Christian artists of Rome, especially
in the fourth century. The earliest fresco of St.
Peter, in the cemetery Ad Duas Lauros, represents
the Prince of the Apostles reading from an open roll,
in the character of " Legislator of the New Covenant".
The high place in which the ecclesiastical authorities
were held is indicated by the special garb in which
they are represented; the priests administering bap-
tism are clad in tunic and pallium, two articles of
apparel which, with sandals, constituted the dress
reserved to personages of a sacred character.
VI. Sculpture. — During the first age of the Church a specifically Christian sculpture was almost unknown. Many reasons have been given to ac- count for this circumstance, the chief of which, besides that of cost, is the practical difficulty en- countered in producing works distinctively Christian without the knowledge of a hostile public and Govern- ment. Only a few statues and sarcophagi with representations inspired by the Scriptures survive from the first three centuries. Christian sculpture, consequently, began its real development in the fourth century, in the age of peace inaugurated by Constantine. The principal sculptured monuments of this period consist of the many sarcophagi, mostly found in Rome, Ravenna, and in various parts of France, in which Christians of the Constantinian and post-Constantinian epochs were interred. Being sepulchral monuments, the symbolic subjects of the catacomb frescoes were equally appropriate on Christian sarcophagi. But Christian sculptors quickly felt the influence of the new development of Christian art first seen in the basilicas erected under Con- stantine. The triumphant symbols of the basilicas, and the historical scenes depicted on their walls, are also found on Christian sarcophagi, side by side with some of the earliest and most venerable symbols of the catacombs. The transition from symbolic to historic art is, consequently, nowhere better repre- sented than in the carved sarcophagi of the fourth and following centuries.
VTJ. Basilicas. — According to the Acts of the Apostles the first Christians were accustomed to meet in private houses for the celebration of the liturgy: "Breaking bread from house to house" ii, 46). The first separate places of worship of the Christians were, therefore, the homes of those g them which were sufficiently large to accom- modate a considerable number of people. Down to the reign of Constantine the custom thus established in the Church of Jerusalem, of assembling for the celebration of the liturgy in private residences, seems to have been generally followed. It is very probable, however, that there were churches of the basilica type in Asia Minor before Constantine. The church it Xicomedia, destroyed in the persecution of Dio- cletian, was erected in the third century. Accord- ing to an ancient tradition, the house of Senator Pu- dens at Rome, as well as that of Saint Cecilia, was used for such a purpose. The third-century ro- mance known as the "Clementine Recognitions" has two references of interest in this regard: the author
tells of a certain Maro who invited St. Peter to preach
in a hall of his mansion, capable of holding five hun-
dred persons (Recog., iv, 6), and, in another place,
he speaks of a man named Theophilus who had a
similar hall of his house consecrated as a church
(ibid., x, 71). The Christian churches of the fourth
century, known as basilicas (q. v.), derived their
name, and some of their principal features, either
from the public basilicas, like those of the Roman
forum, or from the private basilicas of great mansions,
such as the halls of Maro and Theophilus. These
churches consisted of a large oblong hall, divided
by columns into a central nave and two or four
aisles. The apse at the extremity of the hall op-
posite the entrance derives, according to Kraus and
others, from such early structures as the three-apsed
cemeterial churches, two of which may still be seen
in the cemetery of St. Callistus. The apse, however,
is a feature of the two civil basilicas of Trajan and
Maxentius. The atrium, or court-yard before the
entrance, is a feature of the Christian basilica not
seen in the civil basilicas, and is evidently a reminis-
cence of the domvs ecclesice of the first three centuries.
The baptisteries (q. v.) erected adjacent to basilicas were, as a rule, circular or polygonal in form. Circu- lar edifices were also erected as mausoleums; two of the best examples are the church of St. Costanza in Rome and the mausoleum of King Theodoric at Ravenna. Following the precedent of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, circular or oc- tagonal churches also were sometimes erected; the church of St. Vitale at Ravenna is the best known Western structure of this type. The interior deco- ration of the earliest Christian basilicas exhibits a new development in Christian art. The symbols depicted in the catacombs were perfectly appro- priate for the purpose for which they were intended, but a different style of adornment was demanded in edifices whose object was not so immediately associated with death. Moreover, the Church of Christ had at length triumphed over paganism, and this triumph suggested to the Christian artists of the Constantinian Age the idea of commemorating the victory in the new basilicas. In this way a new symbolism, representing Christ triumphant on His throne, came into existence. Historical scenes from the life of Christ or from the Old Testament were frequently represented in the frescoes and mosaics o( basilicas, and these served not only as an appro- priate adornment, but also as an excellent illustra- tion of the Sacred Scriptures.
VIII. The Minor Arts. -Under this heading are usually classified such remains of early Christian times as textile fabrics, liturgical clothing and im- plements, objects of devotion, domestic articles, coins and medals, and illustrations in miniature. The last named are of especial importance for the history of art in the Middle \^cn. (See Catacombs, and De Rossi, Giovanni Battista.)
General Works. — Bosio, Roma Botierranea (Home, 1652); De Rossi. Roma Sotterranea (Rome, 1864-77); /•'■ d'orcheoloayi cristiana (Rome, 1863-94); Nuovo Bullellino d'archeologia cristiana (Rome, sinre 1894); NoRTHCOT] wro Brownlgw, Rama Salt, rran.a [2d ed., London. 1 87S : A
mische Quartalechrifi (Rome, since 1887); Lowrje, Monu- ment) of the Karl,, Church (New *i irl
Sotterranea (Fml.urK. is?:!. 2.1 ed., 1879 l-arxfl.
Umfang, Oaehidile aer chnstl i tfiburg, 1879);
Munich, 18951; Wn pert, K a i -
MANN. /' \ntil;i and tlrs
/"" i Mains, 1900): Mart, cm, J oloaie chritienm (Rome, 1899 ; Idem (Rome, 10031; Armcm ini, Lezioni
(Rome. 1898); l'FRM. 1892 .
Ai.i.ard. Rome Souterraint (Paris, 1877); Smith indChj rtham, A Dictutnan, of Christian Antirpiitirs il.nn.lnn. 1 S7S 30 Kraus, Real-Enrvklopadie der chrie&ichen AUerti Imei 1 nai- bnrK, 1882-86); Hartiont, Dictionnaire del antiguiUt thrh (3d p.!.. ran;*. 1889); Cabroi and Lbclercq, Dirliannairr d'arckeologte el de liturgie (Paris, in course of publication since 1903).
