Christian Church Architecture - Essay Example

The Early Christian architects looked to the Roman buildings of the time to find a suitable building for their needs. The idea of using the plans of Roman places of worship such as the temple was unacceptable on principle alone. For this reason, they choose another type of Roman structure to satisfy their needs-the basilica. It utilized a rectangle centered on a longitudinal axis that was internally divided into three to five sections, one central hall-the nave, and one to two side aisles on both sides of the nave.

At the East end of the building was a semi-circular apse that was usually set on the outside of the rectangular shape but occasionally remained inside. The greatest of Constantine's churches was Old Saint Peters. Where it was built was believed to where Peter, the first apostle and founder of the Roman Christian community, and been buried. It was capable of holding three to four thousand worshippers.The plan of Old Saint Peters resembled those of Roman basilicas and audience halls. Like Roman basilicas, it had a wide central nave flanked by aisles and ending in an apse.

An open colonnaded courtyard came first and worshippers entered through a narthex. Old Saint Peters was not ornamented with lavish exterior sculptures but had bland brick walls. The inside was, however, lavishly decorated with frescoes, mosaics and marble columns. The Early Christian basilica may be compared to the idyllic Christian, with a somber and plain exterior and a glowing and beautiful soul within.Among all the churches built during the reign of Justinian I or the Byzantine period, Hagia Sophia is by far the most impressive and most unique.

After rioters destroyed the original St. Sophia along with most of the Hippodrome in 532, Justinian ordered the rebuilding of the church that was completed in 537. Fronted at the west end by a narthex and exonarthex, the church itself is squat and rectangular.