The World's Oldest and Most Famous Churches | Hagia Sophia and the Holy Sepulchre

Ten sites tell the story of early Christian churches and the buildings that survive today. In Sinai, the fortified church at Saint Catherine’s Monastery preserves a mosaic of the Transfiguration. In Italy, San Vitale, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Sabina, and San Lorenzo in Milan offer glimpses of early worship through mosaics, carved doors, and church interiors. Hagia Sophia’s rebuilt dome, the two basilicas of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and the successive rebuildings of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem show how much can change after a sanctuary is founded. The journey also visits Echmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia and the remains of the baptistery at Dura-Europos, which offer a glimpse of Christian worship before the great imperial basilicas. Chapters -. #AncientChurches #ChristianHistory #EarlyChristianArchitecture