Back in the Golden Age of Theology, between the Constantinian decree of 313 AD and Theodosius I (391 AD) people were free to worship and buildings were built to house churches. The church was not a state institution.
Church buildings at that time were usually round but they could be circular, octagonal, or hexagonal.
The very first-round building was a building of the Athenian government in Athens at the time of democracy, 5 BC.
These are pictures of the ruins of the Octagonal Church in nearby Philippi.
The next picture is Lydia’s Chapel, also known as Saint Lydia’s Baptistery. The Chapel is a 1970’s, modern interpretation of the ancient Octagon Church in Philippi.
The flooring at the entrance of Saint Lydia’s Baptistery is a mural depicting south-eastern Europe. The mural shows Paul’s route to Ephesus, Troas, Neopolis, Philippi, Thessaloniki, Athens, Corinth and back to Ephesus. Mosaics are the most difficult way of making a mural.
In the early octagonal churches people looked towards the faces of one another, not towards an altar, bishop, throne, or pulpit because the emphasis in church doctrine was on all the members of the church body.
The original Octagon of Philippi would have had a small bema, a platform for a person to stand on and preach some words.
At the end of 4 AD holy communion commemorated the Last Supper of Jesus Christ. When the church became a state institution, and adopted the doctrine of transubstantiation, holy communion was no longer a supper, but a sacrifice.
And for a sacrifice they needed an altar. So, we had another structure, an altar added in the church.
In the middle of Lydia’s Chapel is a baptismal basin for infants and a wooden table for The Lord’s Supper.
At the dome of most church buildings we usually see a picture of Jesus depicted as the Almighty King, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords i.e. Jesus Everything.
However, at this chapel, high in the circular dome of the ceiling, is a wall mosaic depicting the baptism of Jesus.
Above His head is the symbol of the Holy Spirit.
On the other side of the dome (not shown) is a semicircular loop/spot which rises, depicting the voice of the Father. God the Father is not depicted because nobody has ever seen the face of the Father.
The eastern church does not depict God the Father. For that reason, it does not depict the Holy Trinity except symbolically, with one scene from the New Testament and one scene from the Old Testament. The scene here, from the New Testament, the baptism of Jesus Christ, depicts the Holy Trinity, to the Eastern Church.
The inside of the lower part of the dome depicts the fish in the living water where Jesus was baptized.
On the lower walls of the chapel are several other depictions, including the arrival of the Apostle Paul to Neopolis/Kavala (shown here,) a baptism, the Macedonian call to Paul outside the walls of Troas, the Apostle Paul meeting the ladies by the banks of the river, and two scenes of the imprisonment of the Apostle Paul.
The portraits in the chapel refer to local and general church history.
In Lydia’s Chapel Epaphroditus holds a letter to the church in Philippi from the Apostle Paul.
Philippi was just a village, not rich, but the villagers of the church followed the Apostle Paul’s ministry. Both Corinth and Ephesus were rich capital cities and of course the members of those churches included rich people.
But when the church of Philippi heard that Paul was in prison in Rome they sent Epaphroditus from Philippi to Rome. Epaphroditus walked on Via Ignatia (Ignatian Road) up to the Adriatic Sea. It was a long journey of possibly a month or more, and then he had to find a ship to cross the Adriatic Sea to continue his walking on Via Appia (Appian Way) to Rome. Epaphroditus risked being accused of being a cooperative of a prisoner, but he finally found Paul and gave aid to him. And then he was sick to death. The people of Philippi heard that their fellow man was dying in Rome and were incredibly sad.
But finally, Epaphroditus did not die. When Epaphroditus got well the Apostle Paul decided to give more joy to the people of Philippi, and he sent Epaphroditus back to Philippi with a letter (Philippians 2:25-30.) Epaphroditus was the carrier of the New Testament letter to Philippi, in which Paul expressed his gratitude to the people of Philippi for the aid that he received from them. The Apostle Paul was immensely proud to say to the Corinthians and Ephesians that he never became a load to anyone. His own hands helped him and his companions.
