In Rome, the earliest images of Jesus and Christian images were not painted on early church walls or carved into the pillars used to support their structure. Instead our earliest portraits of Jesus and his rising movement were found in the catacombs underneath Rome.

During the initial centuries after Christ’s death, (2nd through 4th centuries C.E.) and prior to 313 C.E. all Christians living in Rome were persecuted for their faith. Rome at the time was a polytheistic state and its members believed in many different gods while Christians of course believed in only one god. Most Roman emperors did not take kindly to these non-believing Christians and their faith was made illegal. These were dark days for Christians who were the minority and were persecuted at any chance available, think  Daniel being thrown to the lions in the Colosseum.

In these violent and early days of the new religion, Christians often met in secrecy to discuss their faith. Often times they would congregate in the vast underground network of burial chambers in which they buried their own family members. Since it was illegal to be a practicing Christian in Rome, Christians were buried outside of the Roman walls and their burial sites had to be hidden. Similar to Etruscan tombs, but less elaborate, Christian burial chambers were carved out of the soft tufa rock and bodies were held in slots carved into the walls of the rock. Often, next to the slots were frescoes painted in traditional Roman style but depicting Christian imagery. Many of the earliest subjects painted were those of Jonah and the Whale and the Good Shepard. Often, old testament images were painted as a way to foreshadow the events that took place in the new testament(Jesus’ death and resurrection). Some of the first depictions of Christ without a beard can also be seen in these underground galleries. There is an unmistakable comparison between images from the old testament and surrounding Roman pagan images that were combined to create new illustrations of Jesus. 

These catacomb galleries and the images they portray is an amazing testament to the oral traditions and the early narratives created and prolonged by the first practicing Christians.