Thread: When did the church move out of home-based worship?

The early church period often saw worship take place in homes. When did larger group gatherings become normative in the church? IOW when did believers begin to met outside the home? Can the move away from home-based worship be credited to Romanism?

Far as I know from years of reading more modern history, persecution drives the church into homes, usually secretly. In Acts they still met in the Temple Courts as well as from house to house. When there is religious freedom, people move into larger buildings to gather. There does not appear to be a strong correlation with money in that the poor and the rich all seem go to church outside the home where there is freedom, even when they have to drive or walk or ride an animal a long way.

I'm not sure it would be fair to say that the church ever practiced home-based worship, unless you'd also be willing to see catacomb-based worship as normative too.

We have -- from the establishment of the tabernacle on -- God meeting with his people based in the place and manner that he has prescribed. Persecution has, at times, driven that church underground, but it would seem that the witness of scripture and the church over time has been the open and public worship of God.

(Actually, this thought has made me pause for a moment and thank God for the opportunity we have here in the US to worship, publicly at least for now .....)

Originally Posted by Herald

The early church period often saw worship take place in homes. When did larger group gatherings become normative in the church? IOW when did believers begin to met outside the home? Can the move away from home-based worship be credited to Romanism?

I don't think you can credit that to Romanism. The Jews were meeting in synagogues long before. And Christian worship is largely patterned after that.

The church moved out away from home-based worship as soon as it was safe to do so.

From the always infallible Wikipedia

The Syrian city of Dura-Europos on the West bank of the Euphrates was an outpost town between the Roman and Parthian empires. During a siege by Parthian troops in A.D. 257 the buildings in the outermost blocks of the city grid were partially destroyed and filled with rubble to reinforce the city wall. Thus were preserved and securely dated the earliest decorated church and a synagogue decorated with extensive wall paintings. Both had been converted from earlier private buildings.

So I am guessing some time before AD 257

I don't think we should see this as an "either/or" scenario, where the church either solely meets in a public place, or solely meets in homes. It seems to me that the church met in both public places and "house to house", and perhaps later lost the "house to house" part of the fellowship. Personally, I am blessed and encouraged when I get to meet with believers both in the public meetings and in fellowship from house to house.

Remember, in the very early years worship was still in the synagogues. So worship went from public places when it was driven out, then was restored to public places. Household meetings tended to be for emergency or preparation times. Though, emergencies could last decades.

Generally speaking, the church met in private homes or other existing structures for about the first 300 years after New Testament times. Probably sometime after Constantine legalized Christianity did the first purpose-built church buildings rise.

There is also the case of the lecture hall of Tyrannus that Paul used in Ephesus after the synagogue became too hostile a venue. I haven't been to Ephesus, but I saw a similar structure in Messene in the Peloponnese, and it looked very much like the sort of public auditorium we would be used to in a university. Even when the synagogue was no longer available, Paul was keen to use a public place.

I think we have to remember too that the homes were very different as well. Most likely it would have been the homes of richer church members (like Lydia) that were used, and these were far from being intimate or informal places. After all, it was home to a large number of slaves and other workers as well, with areas for receiving clients and for public receptions. Most had a large, formal courtyard, not much different from the sort of space we associate with a church building.

W