THE GOOD SHEPHERD
The Art & Architecture of Rome's
Christian Community
For three centuries the infant Church struggled against Imperial Rome’
s legal system and government bureaucracy which had branded
Christianity as an “illegal religion.” Many of the Church Fathers
advocated a complete rejection of everything pagan: literature,
painting, sculpture, entertainment, architecture, and music. But when
Constantine I legalized the faith and the House of Constantine
patronized the Church, an about-face occurred. As befitting an
imperial faith, the Church now utilized many of the artistic and
architectural motifs it once rejected; it “baptized” many pagan symbols
and put them at the service of the faith.
In this lecture series we will pay special attention to the finds of the
catacombs, the early Christian statuary of the newly re-opened Pio
Christian collection in the Vatican Museums, and the mosaics of the
earliest churches of Rome.
The lectures are richly illustrated with images, and course materials
include detailed lecture notes and an extensive syllabus including
maps and ground plans.
LECTURES:
Four lectures.
116 DVD. 4 lectures on DVD $30.00.
The Art & Architecture of Rome's
Christian Community
For three centuries the infant Church struggled against Imperial Rome’
s legal system and government bureaucracy which had branded
Christianity as an “illegal religion.” Many of the Church Fathers
advocated a complete rejection of everything pagan: literature,
painting, sculpture, entertainment, architecture, and music. But when
Constantine I legalized the faith and the House of Constantine
patronized the Church, an about-face occurred. As befitting an
imperial faith, the Church now utilized many of the artistic and
architectural motifs it once rejected; it “baptized” many pagan symbols
and put them at the service of the faith.
In this lecture series we will pay special attention to the finds of the
catacombs, the early Christian statuary of the newly re-opened Pio
Christian collection in the Vatican Museums, and the mosaics of the
earliest churches of Rome.
The lectures are richly illustrated with images, and course materials
include detailed lecture notes and an extensive syllabus including
maps and ground plans.
LECTURES:
- The First Christians in Rome. The early congregation in
Rome was made up primarily of Jewish and pagan Greek
converts; both brought their own ideas to Christianity, especially
how the tenets of the faith should be displayed and portrayed. - The Catacombs. These most misunderstood of early
Christianity’s monuments contain the first examples of the art of
the Christians. - The Good Shepherd. Many of the symbols employed in early
Christian painting and sculpture were sanitized by the Church
and baptized with a new meaning. An examination of the
symbols of early Christian art. - The First Churches in Rome. The first imperial churches of
Rome employed the architectural symbolism current in the
empire. An examination of the architecture of the churches and
some of the earliest mosaics of the city.
Four lectures.
116 DVD. 4 lectures on DVD $30.00.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
116 DVD: 4 lectures on DVD $30.00.
116 DVD: 4 lectures on DVD $30.00.
