基督徒藝術

基督徒藝術的起源可以追溯到第二世紀末和第三世紀初。由於舊約禁止雕刻圖像，重要的是要了解為什麼基督徒藝術會發展。使用圖像將成為基督徒歷史中的一個持續問題。早期教會中基督徒藝術出現的最佳解釋是由於圖像在希臘羅馬文化中扮演的重要角色。

當基督教獲得皈依者時，這些新基督徒在他們以前的文化經歷中被提出了圖像的價值，他們希望在他們的基督徒經歷中繼續這一點。例如，羅馬世界的埋葬習俗發生了變化，從火葬到土地改造。在羅馬城牆外，毗鄰主要道路，地下墓穴被挖到地上埋葬死者。家庭會挖掘房間或立方體來埋葬他們的成員。富裕的羅馬人也會為埋葬而雕刻石棺或大理石墓葬。基督徒皈依者想要同樣的事情。基督教地下墓穴經常在非基督教墓地附近挖掘，而基督教圖像的石棺明顯受到富裕基督徒的歡迎。

The beginnings of an identifiable Christian art can be traced to the end of the second century and the beginning of the third century. Considering the Old Testament prohibitions against graven images, it is important to consider why Christian art developed in the first place. The use of images will be a continuing issue in the history of Christianity. The best explanation for the emergence of Christian art in the early church is due to the important role images played in Greco-Roman culture.
As Christianity gained converts, these new Christians had been brought up on the value of images in their previous cultural experience and they wanted to continue this in their Christian experience. For example, there was a change in burial practices in the Roman world away from cremation to inhumation. Outside the city walls of Rome, adjacent to major roads, catacombs were dug into the ground to bury the dead. Families would have chambers or cubicula dug to bury their members.由於Wealthy Romans would also have sarcophagi or marble tombs carved for their burial. The Christian converts wanted the same things. Christian catacombs were dug frequently adjacent to non-Christian ones, and sarcophagi with Christian imagery were apparently popular with the richer Christians.