Christianized sites

Christianized sites are places that were once used for pagan worship but were later changed to fit Christian beliefs. This happened mainly when many people started converting to Christianity a long time ago. It was part of a strategy called Interpretatio Christiana, which means "Christian reinterpretation." The idea was to make the change to Christianity easier by giving new Christian meanings to old pagan places.

During this time, many important natural features and buildings were given new names and purposes. For example, an island called Oglasa in the Tyrrhenian Sea was renamed Montecristo. This way, people could keep their connection to familiar places while also adopting new religious practices. These changes helped spread Christianity and shape the cultural landscape for future generations.

Early Christianity

In the early years of Christianity, churches were often simple house churches or built at the burial sites of martyrs and saints, usually located outside city limits. Important early churches in Rome, like St. Peter's, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, followed this pattern.

Over time, old pagan temples that were no longer used were sometimes turned into Christian churches. After the Peace of the Church, these temples slowly fell out of use and were eventually closed. Christians at first avoided them, partly because of their pagan history and because their designs didn’t match what Christians needed. The basilica, a secular building style, became the preferred shape for new Christian churches.

Ancient Rome and Greece

Rome

In Rome, many old buildings that were once used for pagan worship were turned into churches. Important places like the Roman Forum saw temples such as the Curia Iulia, Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, and Temple of Romulus become churches. The Pantheon, originally a temple for Roman gods, was changed into a church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs. This process of turning old sites into Christian places of worship began in the 6th and 7th centuries and continued even during the Renaissance.

Some churches were built above important burial places of early Christian leaders. This was a new idea in Christianity, as old pagan traditions often kept burials far away from cities.

Vatican

St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is said to be built where the follower Simon Peter was buried. Digging below the basilica found old Roman burial places, showing how these sacred sites were honored.

Greece

In Greece, many old pagan sites were also taken over by Christian churches and monasteries. For example, the city of Aphrodisias was renamed Stauropolis, meaning "City of the Cross." Some famous temples, like the Parthenon, were turned into churches dedicated to Virgin Mary during Byzantine times.

Middle Ages

Cassiodorus, the court secretary to the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great, wrote about a fair held at a former pagan shrine in south Italy that had been turned into a baptistery.

Sulpicius Severus described how Martin of Tours built churches and monasteries where heathen temples once stood. In Montmartre, an old site dedicated to the god Mars became a Christian church. In Francia, an abbey was built at the ruins of an old settlement that still had thermal baths. The Notre-Dame du Taur cathedral in Toulouse may have been built on the site of an old temple.

In Britain, there were efforts to turn old temples into churches. The high altar of St Peter upon Cornhill in London is believed to be above an old pagan shrine. Some Roman pagan sites in Britain were converted to Christian use in the 4th Century, such as the Temple of Claudius in Roman Colchester.

During the Spanish Reconquista, many mosques were turned into Catholic churches. The Great Mosque of Cordoba became a cathedral in 1236. Santiago de Compostela became a major Christian pilgrimage site, though it also has deep pre-Christian roots.

New World

The Spanish transformed many Native American temples into churches, much like they did with Muslim mosques in Spain. A great example is the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, which was built on an Aztec temple. In places like Mexico and Central America, these changes were significant. Often, these Christianized sites don’t show any signs of their original purpose anymore. For instance, a pyramid shrine dedicated to the god Huitzilopochtli was broken apart to supply stones for a Franciscan monastery, which now holds the Museo Nacional de las Intervenciones.

Balkans

During the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 15th century, many churches were turned into mosques. Later, in the 19th century, many of these were changed back into churches. For example, the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church in Sofia was an old Ottoman mosque that became a church. In Croatia, the few remaining mosques from Ottoman times, such as those in Đakovo, Klis, and Drniš, were also turned into Catholic churches.

South Asia

The goal of the Goa Inquisition was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and loyalty to the Holy See. During this time, many Hindu temples were destroyed, with around 160 temples demolished on Goa island by 1566 and hundreds more destroyed in surrounding areas.

Some historic non-Christian sites were later turned into Christian places. For example, the Tomb of Anarkali, built in 1615, was used as an Anglican church for a time before returning to its original purpose. In Peshawar, the Tomb of Nawab Sayyed Khan was converted into a chapel for missionaries and is still used today. In Pakistan, a Sikh shrine in the village of Maraka was repurposed by Sikh converts to Christianity.