The Pantheon as a Christian Place of Worship

Although initially abandoned under the first Christian emperors, the Pantheon was later converted to a Christian place of worship by popes, and mass is still held at the Pantheon today. The Romans originally dedicated the Pantheon to all the gods to emphasize unity, and Christians maintained that same theme. Now, the Pantheon is instead designed to unite all believers of the Christian faith. The Pantheon is now dedicated to martyrs to emphasize the collective nature of the building and the Christian faith. All references to ancient gods were removed, the side altars and the main altar were added, and the original bronze was removed to construct the altar at St. Peter's. Pictured below is the altar added by Christians inside the Pantheon.


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