The octagon Baptismal font

[Luke6_37]

Even if octagonal fonts were based on the Lateran Palace, I see nothing wrong with assigning a new meaning to it.

That’s what the Romans did with the winter celebration of Sol Invictus, the turned it into Christmas.

 

[AndrewAxland]

Even if octagonal fonts were based on the Lateran Palace, I see nothing wrong with assigning a new meaning to it.

Nor do I. Like you said, Christians often assigned new significance to old things and practices. Such as a certain ancient Roman instrument of public torture and death.

 

[BartholomewB]

the spring-house of the (Pagan) Lateran Palace was octagonal, and became the baptistery once it was donated to the Church.

This is the first I’ve heard that the Lateran Baptistry was originally a pagan building. The usual information found in guidebooks is either that it was probably built by Constantine, or more succinctly that it was built by Constantine, omitting the “probably”.

 

[Hereiam]

Suit yourself. Your priest’s story is cute, but not based on history.

For both of you…does it matter? Its like looking for the explanation of why many bibles are covered in black leather…does it make a difference in its function…aye-yi-yi-yi-yi…find a better hill worth dying on, people!

 

[DisorientingSneeze]

My kids have a little book one of our deacons handed out about the meaning behind the architecture of our church. I thought it was so interesting and it also caused me to check my interior grumbles over the idea that some things look so stark and modern.
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

 

[BartholomewB]

Seven sides are for each day of Creation. The eighth side is for our life in Christ.

The reason they are octagonal is because the spring-house of the (Pagan) Lateran Palace was octagonal, and became the baptistery once it was donated to the Church.

It is quite possible that both sources are correct. Why not? The Lateran baptistry, thought to have been built by Constantine, may very well have been built that way on purpose to incorporate the symbolism of the eighth day, and in any case—even if the building came first and the symbolism not until later, as so often happens—it is known that this building was adopted as the model for baptistries in other cities.

Octagonal design
The octagon had been a common shape for baptisteries for many centuries since early Christian times. The number eight is a symbol of regeneration in Christianity, signifying the six days of creation, the Day of Rest, and a day of re-creation through the Sacrament of Baptism. Other early examples are the Lateran Baptistry (440) that provided a model for others throughout Italy, the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus (527-536) in Constantinople and the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna (548).

Florence Baptistery - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ardent_Fire]

[No message]

 

[BartholomewB]

That’s what the Romans did with the winter celebration of Sol Invictus, the turned it into Christmas.

That is a possibility, not a certainty. According to some writers, it’s more likely to have been the other way around. Sometime in the third century the priests of the pagan temples were worried that Christmas was turning into too much competition for them and persuaded the emperor – either Septimius Severus or one of his successors – to “Romanize” December 25 as the day of the Sun god.

But in either case it’s only a hypothesis. It’s not the kind of thing we can have certain knowledge of, one way or the other. Historians are just looking at the balance of probabilities.

 

[LoyalViews]

I read this, as well, in a Church History course I once did. I always thought that the Lateran Palace was the basis of many baptismal font designs, but then later on, someone pointed out that it also could represent the seven days of creation and so it was an appropriate “standard” shape for a font.

Let us all remember that the first font was a river, where St John began to baptise.