7W. Basilicas and Shrine Halls

During the third and final stage of household development (A.D. 250-313), larger buildings and halls, "Aula Ecclesia" A.D. 250-313, both private and public, were used. These larger buildings preceded the basilica architecture of Constantine's era, and some of them may have previously functioned as "domus ecclesiae." They were rectangular in shape and had none of the formal features of later basilica architecture. (5)About 250, we hear of a few churches being built, where Christians were most numerous, in Pontus, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. But in that very year, 250, came persecution, which was Empire wide, and the Christians lost their buildings.(2)

Basilicas

A number of remains are preserved beneath some of the churches at Rome that intimate earlier structures used by Christian communities. Many of these ancient Roman titles became the sites of the basilicas, thereby preserving a tradition of a "sacred place". Basilica S. Crisogono (Titulas Chrysogoni) is an indisputable example of an "aula ecclesiae" in Rome. It is located on the ancient Via Aurelia, and the basilica was constructed by incorporating a large, pre-existing rectangular hall (90 ft. by 50 ft.) This particular hall dates to the beginning of the fourth century (A.D. 310). (5)

This pre-Constantinian structure was used as a church building, but the hall was not distinguishable as such. It is a common Roman type of assembly hall found in administrative and other buildings. The only recognizable indications of its use by Christians were choir screens and side rooms that could have been reserved for the catechumens.(5) Assemblies of the whole church could take place from time to time on important occasions in a place large enough to accommodate it: perhaps a very large domus, to a rented hall (see Acts 19.9 where Paul lectured in such a hall). In Corinth, Gaius seems to have had a large enough house where Paul also lodged (Romans 16:23).(7)

Liturgy

The separation of Eucharist from meal and the growing numbers of believers necessitated the removal of worship from the venue of the private dwelling, and thus from the family setting. From then on, Christian worship was conducted according to the profile of public liturgy and no longer took place in a family environment. The growing authority of the bishop concentrated more and more power in the hands, not of local leaders, but of decentralized authority figures responsible for larger and larger groups of believers.(7)

Public Buildings

Although the "domus ecclesiae" continued to be used well into the fourth century, early in that same century Christians began to use public buildings as places of assembly. This change accompanied the collapse of the periodic persecutions (e.g., Diocletian's in A.D. 303-5) and the recognition of Christianity by Constantine, culminating in the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313.(5)

Bibliography

(5.) Selections from "Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Development" editors Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids. A Compendium of Contemporary Christian Scholarship Copyright All rights reserved.

"You are fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household." Ephesians 2.19

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