Early Christian art and architecture is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from about the year 200 to about the year 500. Prior to 200 there is no surviving art that can be called Christian with certainty. After about 500 Christian art shows the beginnings of Byzantine artistic style.

Prior to 200 Christians may have been constrained by their position as a persecuted group from producing durable works of art. Since Christianity was largely a religion of lower classes in this period, the lack of surviving art may reflect a lack of funds for patronage. The Old Testament restrictions against the production of graven (an idol or fetish carved in wood or stone) images may also have constrained Christians from producing art. It is also possible that Christians purchased art using pagan iconography, but gave it Christian meanings. If this happened, "Christian" art would not be immediately recognizable as such.

Early Christians used the same artistic media as the surrounding pagan culture. These media included fresco, mosaics, sculpture, and manuscript illumination. Early Christian art not only used Roman forms, it also used Roman styles. Late classical style included a proportional portrayal of the human body and impressionistic presentation of space. Late classical style is seen in early Christian frescos, such as those in the catacombs of Rome.

Early Christian architecture flourished throughout the Roman Empire on a monumental scale. Christian religious buildings were of two types, the longitudinal hall, or basilica, and the centralized building, frequently a baptistery or a mausoleum.

Byzantine Architecture is one of three very important forces in the architectural world during the Middle Ages of Europe. Chronologically, the Roman Empire fell in 476 AD. This date marks the beginning of the middle Ages. However, before its fall, the empire was divided into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. In 476, the "Western Roman Empire" fell, while the Eastern Roman Empire, whose capital became Constantinople, preserved Roman culture (and architecture) and became the Byzantine Empire. In the early Byzantine period, as wide a diversity of styles is seen in ecclesiastical architecture as in art. The Golden Age of Byzantine Architecture was under the rule of Justian in 527- 565. It was during this period that the most famous examples of all Byzantine architecture was built, the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sophia was rebuilt from 532 to 537 after the previous church was destroyed by riots. This church has some unique features which became the patterns for Byzantine Architecture for years after.

The style of the Hagia Sophia or Church of Divine Wisdom was to have a large dome in the middle of the structure. The dome has a unique form in that it rest on 4 massive pillars which are arranged in a square. The dome remained the main focus of the Byzantine Church for the remainder of the empire. The Eastern Orthodox preferred a low light, somber, and almost mysterious mood in their services. The clergy worked often behind the scenes with brief appearances. They did not embrace the loud organs and congregational worship which is seen in the western Catholic Church. So the Hagia Sophia became the model for the Byzantine church because was an architectural style that fit with the type of worship the Orthodox Church wanted to emphasize.

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