This two-part article discusses how Christianity became a dominant force upon its emergence through the combined effects of imperial patronage, missionary endeavors, and ritual appropriation. Archaeological evidence and contemporaneous texts reveal that the aforementioned strategies were instrumental in preserving familiar sites and social functions of worship while minimizing their significance to Christian theology and ecclesiastical authority.
Expanding on this assertion, this article highlights the exact mechanisms through which Christianity achieved lasting dominance in Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period. In particular, I argue that two interconnected cultural mechanisms played pivotal roles in Christianityโs rise and enduring dominance:
- The physical transformation of sacred pagan architecture through reappropriation, the incorporation of liturgical elements, and the reuse of cult sites for Christian worship.
- The symbolic translation of pagan iconography and ritual practices into the sanctioned veneration of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, and the saints.
Notably, these processes preserved the social importance and emotional impact of sacred places while reinterpreting their meanings under official ecclesiastical recognition (Augustine, 2003; Ehrman, 2018).
Here, I look at three examples: the Ephesus, the Parthenon in Athens, and the Rotunda of Galerius in Thessaloniki, all of which illustrate the range of adaptive practices used from negotiated reuse to authoritative appropriation. In Christian Conversion: The Spiritual Transformation of Eastern Pagan Structures in Late Antiquity, Fallone (2013) argues that these three structures exemplify the significance of the abovementioned conversions.
Using archaeological and architectural data with contemporaneous literary sources (passages from the New Testament, episcopal sermons, and canonical legislation), this article looks into the dynamics of conversion at the intersection of material practice and official discourse. Exploring these sites relies on material records and textual documentation, as well as comparative peripheral examples (Scandinavia and Iberia) to illustrate variations in strategies, including coercive destruction to negotiated appropriation. Archaeological syntheses and specific excavation reports provide the main material evidence, while sermons, hagiography, and legal texts offer the contemporary interpretive framework.
The Architectural Conversion and Reappropriation of Sacred Spaces
The existing environment of that time frequently served as a platform for proclaiming Christian supremacy. Conversion strategies came in many forms: temples were rededicated as churches, cult images were either removed or reinterpreted as relics, chapels or altars were inserted into pre-existing structures, and formerly ritualized areas were restructured to accommodate only Christian liturgy. Archaeological stratigraphy and architectural analysis document these interventions, and textual sources confirm current episcopal policies that prohibited pagan cults and promoted rededication (Fallone, 2013; Kaldellis, 2009; Krautheimer, 1986). These material and literary sources directed communal religious practices into Christian institutions without eradicating previous forms of devotion.
Ephesus: Reuse and Reappropriation
During Late Antiquity, Ephesus underwent structural modifications, the integration of altars and chapels, and changes in the contexts of cult statues, consistent with the Christian presence and ongoing popular devotional practices (Fallone, 2013). These correspond with textual evidence. For instance, the Acts of the Apostles describes public renunciations and the burning of magical books after conversions (Acts 19:18โ20), while later ecclesiastical sources recount episcopal efforts to suppress pagan rites and sanctify popular healing practices associated with martyrs (Beard et al., 1998; Fallone, 2013). Ephesus is a good example of negotiated reuse in which physical transformation aimed to accommodate Christian liturgy while preserving sites of popular devotion.
Parthenon of Athens: A Civic Monument Transformed into a Marian Church
The conversion of the Parthenon into a church dedicated to Theotokos required internal revisions for liturgical purposes, including the introduction of an apse, the repression of cultic entrances, and the removal or relocation of religious imagery. These changes reflect Church and civic policies that limited public sacrifices and promoted the rededication of prominent urban sites (Beard et al., 1998; Kaldellis, 2009).
These architectural modifications reveal how an urban landmarkโs communal identity was preserved while being redirected toward Christian liturgical calendars and episcopal authority. Therefore, this case demonstrates the political and devotional implications of such changes.
Rotunda of Galerius (Thessaloniki): Adaptive Reuse of an Imperial Monument
Taking off from this articleโs earlier assertion that the physical transformation of sacred pagan sites further embedded Christianity into religious and civic life, the Rotundaโs conversion is another example of adaptive reuse authorized by imperial and ecclesiastical influences. The architectural and mosaic phases reveal the incorporation of Christian liturgical fittings and imagery, as well as the preservation of significant elements of the original monumental structure; these features indicate reuse rather than complete removal (Krautheimer, 1986; Fallone, 2013). The Rotunda exemplifies a top-down model in which imperial policy enabled Christian appropriation, and local agents converted an elite monument into an active Christian space while preserving architectural memory.
Comparative Notes: Scandinavia and Iberia
Two specific peripheral cases show a spectrum of strategies used. First, Norse conversions led by Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf Haraldsson involved the destruction of temples and idols, signaling a complete break in some contexts (โSaga of Olaf Tryggvasonโ). In post-Reconquista Iberia, major mosques and their furnishings were transformed into Christian spacesโa practice that merged practical reuse with symbolic appropriation (Glick, 1979). These examples indicate that, depending on the local political and demographic situations, conversion occurred at two ends of the spectrum: it is either forcefully coerced or passively negotiated.
Transformation of Imagery into Representations of Saints and Devotion to the Virgin Mary
In fact, pre-Christian practices, such as seeking healing at springs, visiting trees or stones, and leaving votive offerings, continued after formal conversion, as evidenced by material culture and clerical grievances (Caesarius of Arles, 1956; Fallone, 2013). Episcopal responses typically combined prohibition with appropriation; for example, chapels were built at former pagan worship locations and feast days and processions were instituted. With these strategies, devotional energies were redirected toward Church-sanctioned intermediaries, while simultaneously preserving the social functions and affective dynamics of traditional paganistic practices.
More importantly, religious transformation became possible through the visual and narrative translation of pagan idols. Specifically, qualities, attributes, and distinct compositional styles from pagan iconography were adapted to represent Christ, the Virgin, and/or particular saints. Furthermore, mythological themes were incorporated into hagiography and regional saint traditions, and the integration of the roles of saints previously attributed to pagan idols, such as healing, protection, and fertility, into ecclesiastical structures led to the persistence of popular devotion under Church-sanctioned conditions (Ehrman, 2018; Holland, 2019). This symbolic continuity allowed cultural memory to survive doctrinal shifts.
Nevertheless, this overall pattern of transformation does not mean the total disappearance of paganistic practices. Although the dominant existence of state backing polytheistic cults, with their statues and sacrificial rituals, declined sharply under Christian rule, patterns of seeking divine power through material objects, special places, and rituals often persisted, albeit in modified forms. Such persistent patterns led to the transformation of pagan imagery into symbols and saints.
In conclusion, Christianity achieved lasting cultural dominance through the two complementary strategies involving the architectural conversion of pagan sacred sites into Christian places of worship and the selective adaptation of pagan imagery and religious practices into the veneration of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. The reuse and conversion of sacred spaces demonstrated how temples are converted into churches or stripped of cult statuesโongoing acts interpreted as a symbolic victory in how Christian worship replaced idol worship in these locations. Upon the conversion of these sites, people continued to seek healing or protection at the same locations, but now under Christian patrons, such as saints and the Virgin Mary.
Ultimately, conversion was facilitated through selective continuity and suppression, simultaneously preserving sites and distinct roles that addressed civic needs while redefining their meanings within the framework of Christian doctrine.
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