Mikhail Kazakov: Types of Location of Christian Churches in the Christianizing Roman Empire

An important problem of modern historical science is the correlation between the written sources and the data from the material sources. During several journeys across Asia Minor I had a chance to see many ruins of ancient churches and I have put a question of finding information about them in the works of the Fathers of the Church, historians of the Church and other Christian sources of the fourth and the fifth centuries. Working on correlation of written and material sources, I have put forward another problem – where the Christians chose locations for the construction of their Churches after legalization of Christianity. The sources allow defining at least eight types of such places, beginning with the places, connected with the life and death of Jesus Christ, St. Apostles and Christian martyrs. The most interesting fact is that in the fifth century Christians, trying to demonstrate their superiority over the ancient religions, intentionally chose the places for their cult either near ancient pagan sanctuaries or right inside them (the most bright examples may be found in Ephesus, Pergamum, Sardis and Didyma). Christianization of pagan sanctuaries in Asia Minor may be regarded as the evidence of the definitive victory of Christianity over paganism.