| The facade of this church wouldn't have looked at all out of place in pagan Rome. It's a basilica, literally, a king's hall, and this was the typical rectangular building of Roman public life, where emperors and governors held court. The need to fit in is further revealed when you step inside. The image of a humble saviour has received a grand Roman makeover. Jesus isn't nailed to the cross like a common criminal. He's depicted ostentatiously on a throne, like a king or an emperor, and his disciples are dressed in the togas of the aristocracy, like senators holding court in a classical city. Pagan Romans coming in here wouldn't have been shocked or put off by anything they saw. But this wasn't the lower-class, radical religion of the early church. This was imperial Christianity, designed to impress and attract Romans, high and low. |
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