medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> Is there any indication when Christians started reusing temples as
> churches? I did a lot of reading on the churches of Rome years ago, &
> I believe it was Rome in the Dark Ages by Peter Llewellyn (London,
> 1993) that said Christians let the Pantheon etc. sit idle for a long
> period before taking them over as churches (ca. 7th century).
Tom,
I believe that, for whatever reason, the people of Rome resisted reusing temples as
churches longer than was the case elsewhere. Richard Krautheimer, in his brilliant
book, Rome, Profile of a City, 312-1308, p. 72:
" ... in 609 for the first time in Rome, a temple was Christianized: the Pantheon,
formerly dedicated to all the gods, was handed over by the emperor upon the
request of Pope Boniface IV; consecrated to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs, it
became the church of S. Maria Rotunda. ... It is strange that over 200 years had
elapsed after the closing by law of the pagan sanctuaries before a temple in Rome
was converted; the more so, since Christians in the East as early as the 4th century
had without scruple possessed themselves of pagan temples, and the West, too, in
the 6th century had followed suit [on Gregory the Great's urgings, as has been
noted]. But, for some reason, Rome remained recalcitrant. Even after the
Pantheon was Christianized, nearly another 300 years went by until one more
timple, that of Fortuna Virilis ..., was turned into a church, between 872 and 882;
and, until the High Middle Ages, temples and indeed the sites of temples long since
collapsed, were shunned in Rome by the founders of churches. Was it only in
Rome that the belief in evil spirits haunting temple sites lingered on with such
strength, and if so, why? Gregory time and again testifies to its prevalence. ...
Ultimately, he himself may have sparked off the idea of converting the Pantheon,
and the medieval legend depicting him driving demons out of it may not have been
far wrong."
Cheers,
Jim Bugslag
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