When people years from now wonder how Christians of the early 21st century worshiped, they will be able to look at photographs of contemporary churches and worship services. When they wonder how Christians were persecuted, they will be able to read newspaper articles about specific people or whole groups in various countries. But when we wonder about the persecuted church of the first and second century, we don’t have Instagrams or YouTube clips – but we do have the frescoes painted on the walls in catacombs in Rome.
Gregory Athnos started researching the art found in the Roman Catacombs in 1974. It started as a casual project, but once he saw the art in the burial chambers, it turned into a lifelong commitment. He works with the Archives of the Catacombs in Rome to do his research, with permission from the director of the Vatican Museum. Greg has turned this research into a four part seminar that he has given over 300 times in various countries all over the world, entitled “The Easter Jesus and the Good Friday Church: The Centrality of the Resurrection in the New Testament.” While talking about the art in the catacombs, Greg also talks about the theology that early Christians had and their central focus of the Resurrection.
Greg will be giving a shortened version of this seminar in a presentation this Sunday, March 17, from 1-3pm in Sankey. He will not only talk about the art, but also show us by including illustrations and photographs during his delivery. Please feel free to bring a bag lunch as you hear what Gregory Athnos has to say about The Art of the Ancient Persecuted Church.