Christianity in Saxon England |
|
|
Christianity in Saxon England resembled the Catholic faith today in many ways. King Alfred the Great had twice travelled to Rome as a young man, and had met the Pope. In Alfred's day the Papal throne was in the church of San Giovani, Rome. |
 |
|
An ancient Papal throne at San Giovani |
|
 |
An Anglo Saxon Church seems small to us today - but in its day it was a high status building, built of expensive stone rather than the humble wooden homes that surrounded it. |
|
Inside, the building would have been dark. Glass was expensive, and windows were small. In the Saxon church at Boarhunt, Hampshire, it is thought this was once the only window. It gave light to the altar. Today it is blocked up and other windows have been added over the years. |
 |
 |
The Saxon arch is plain and round. Carved decorations are simple and shallow. The stonemason's main tool was an axe. |
|
Saxon fonts are very deep because babies were baptised by full immersion, as they still are in the Orthodox Church today. |
 |
 |
Next |