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x] ARCHITECTURE 306 to-day no Christian structure exists antedating Con- stantine.^ It was a momentous change from a perse- cuted faith to a State religion ; clergy and laity were safe; indefinitely greater resources were at their disposal, and their organizations were sustained by the dignity and power of the Empire. Constantine's Christianity was Roman and imperial, differing from the lowliness of the Gospel as the basilicas of S. Pietro in Vaticano and S. Paolo Fuori differed from an " upper room." The closest architectural relationship of these two churches is 'with the Basilica Julia of Caesar and the Basilica Ulpia of Trajan. An architectural revival followed the triumph of Christianity. Forms of pagan building were modified to meet the requirements of Christian worship. Ar- chitecturally there was little that was specifically Christian in these early basilicas. Nor does the sub- sequent history of the Roman Christian basilica show an organic architectural development. Italy, disturbed and threatened, smitten with invasion and pestilence, had neither the peace, the resources, or the faculties for architectural progress. Basilicas from the fourth to the tenth century are architecturally indistinguish- able. Their columns were usually taken bodily from pagan basilicas and temples. The story of these Christian basilicas is the last chapter of the history of antique architecture in the West. On the other hand, the Hellenic East produced a Christian style called Byzantine. The chief home of this achievement was Constantinople, the final for- 1 Except the cataoombt and their memorial structures above grouud. X