Did Auditoriums Ruin Church?

Throughout the first few centuries after the birth of Christianity, the early followers of Jesus found solace and community in a rather unexpected setting: their own homes. Unlike today's grand church auditoriums or theaters, the early Christians gathered in intimate spaces known as tricliniums and home churches. These spaces were not designed for formal performances or entertainment; rather, they were places where believers could come together to share meals, engage in prayer, hold discussions, and support one another.

However, everything changed when Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Seeking to provide grand places of worship for the growing Christian community, Constantine introduced the construction of basilicas, large buildings resembling auditoriums, where believers could gather for worship services. These basilicas became the predecessors of the grand churches we see today.

It is fascinating to witness the transition from intimate home gatherings focused on communal interaction to the establishment of formal places of worship designed for large congregations. This transformation reflects the changing dynamics and institutionalization of Christianity following Constantine's proclamation.

[corny]

"Did auditoriums ruin church?"

Yes. Yes, they did.

[KM-mwjp]

Triclinums seem so much more natural. Like the embodiment of community, togetherness, open discussion, and freedom to ask questions and express issues in a safe way. Modern churches feel much more…. Oppressive.

[kylewadley]

If your church service feels like a performance, then you are going to the wrong church

[Blanch]

The old version seems so much more cozy and welcoming

[scorched]

As a Roman Catholic who frequently attends more traditional form of the Holy Mass I can say that masses done properly are and should be in no way a performance. At least one by the priests. One criticism often held against more modern liturgies is that since the priest faces the congregation rather then the alter which is the traditional orientation the priest is more easily mistaken as the object of the Mass rather then the Eucharist.

[HandJvlogs]

A little nitpick here: the basilica already existed in pre-Christian Rome as a essentially a municipal building for legal or business purposes (a bit like a court house mixed with a chamber of commerce). Constantine used that the basis of his churches, not theaters.

[noplzq]

This is why there is a massive resurgence in the house church movement where the majority of meeting are in homes and focused on open discussion and studying the word thus fostering a great amount of cohesiveness and unity within the community.

[mrarcade]

Personally it was going to a Christian fellowship group that really got me into Christianity more than just going to church.
You need that group intimacy to really build a church to me

[adamc]

"A little cracker and some juice"

*sighs in transubstantiation*

[ДимитърГеоргиев-ви]

It started to become a performance after the Protestant reformation in modern America and the West though. If you ever visit an orthodox church it still looks and feels like a place and ceremony where the literal body and blood of Christ are consumed. God bless! ☦️

[robhost]

As a Christian, I’ve only ever experienced true community with other Christians through small group Bible study and never through Sunday service. The former being pretty much the old style and the latter obviously being in auditoriums. So yes, I’d say it has to an extent ruined what Church is supposed to be.

[theresespencer]

The meal aspect became a contention in some early churches. Paul addresses it specifically in his Letters. It seems some of the food wasn't shared communally so some dined opulently while others had very little, and some people brought food that had been sacrificed to idols causing others to object. In some cases, the meal became more of a party rather than a celebration of eucharist, and some people got tipsy. They kinda forgot about the "do this in memory of me" part. People in general, not just Constantine, can mess things up in religion.

[SeverMetal]

A basilica wasn’t really a theater, but a place where groups of people came together came together for a variety of things: business, trials of law. They were public spaces.

[papallegatepoope]

1. The Eucharist was always bread and wine

2. The liturgy was performed away from the congregation so… not like a performance

3. Churches didn’t have pews

4. Many early basilicas had different arrangements

[MomirViggwilv]

"Constantine approprated Christianity" is by far one of the hottest takes I've ever heard in my life

[MarkArmour]

While there's a good argument to be made about whether this change was good or bad, the rhetoric that Constantine specifically "appropriated" Christianity is something that should be pushed back on. Christianity was restricted to private homes because it couldn't be institutionalized, because it wasn't legal. With the freedom to meet in specific spaces comes the freedom to design that space for your needs. If Christianity were to have been legal, the meeting spaces likely would have borrowed aspects from synagogues. In fact, the Dura-Europos church is the oldest dedicated church-building, and the room used for celebrating the Eucharist included a raised dias speaking platform. The Church was buried about 50 years before the time of Constantine. Other elements included the fact that it faced east and, as is documented to be Christian tradition at the time, had an altar-table to be used by a celebrant.
Early Church meetings weren't performances, but they weren't Bible study discussions either.

[Krehfish]

Oh look at that, the "Constantine ruined the church" argument in another format. Yaaay

Let's also remember that the church had no choice but to assemble in one another's homes until Christianity was legalized. And then they had other options. And let's not forget that the church went right along with Constantine's suggestions with little to no disagreement. Including the bishops, the laymen, the scholars, no one seemed to mind any of this until the middle ages when people started insisting upon sola scriptura.

[gonkdroidprez]

Basilicas were modeled after Roman buildings which served as courts/town halls. If churches were based off of theaters, they would be semicircular with raked seating

[javindhillon]

These gotta make a comeback #justicefortricliniums

[outoforbit-]

My freind, a prothestant, stopped going to her local church because after each service, they have cakes and other dainties. On some Sundays there is only tea and a biscuit and as a consequence only half the people show up. Same with their prayer meetings, two wealthy ladies bring in the home baking and if they are on holiday, only one or two people show up. She came to the conclusion that a large proportion of the congregation are there for the food and the social life.
Remember we go to church to pray and praise God, not for a social life and food. Reflect on what Jesus said to the apostles when he was in the garden of Gethsemane.