Editing Messene (section)

===Early Christian and Byzantine monuments===

As Messene continued to be an important urban center of SW Peloponnese all through Late Antiquity, a considerable number of Early Christian and Byzantine monuments have been excavated and are now visible and partially restored. Of special importance is a 3rd and 4th century CE house church that was created inside a luxurious Roman urban house in order to accommodate the needs of the Early Christian community of Messene and serve as a prayer room and assembly hall.<ref>N. Tsivikis, [https://www.academia.edu/79748221/Christian_Inscriptions_from_a_Third_and_Fourth_Century_House_Church_at_Messene_Peloponnese_Journal_of_Epigraphic_Studies_5_2022_175_197= Christian Inscriptions from a Third and Fourth-Century House Church at Messene (Peloponnese)], ''Journal of Epigraphic Studies'' 5 (2022), 175-197.</ref> This building constitutes one of the very few known early [[domus ecclesiae]] buildings. The house church was destroyed in the 365 CE earthquake and abandoned afterwards.

From the sixth century dates a large three-aisled basilica built near the old Theater of the city, at an area where a Christian cemetery had developed.<ref>N. Tsivikis, [https://www.academia.edu/36646397/Architectural_Planning_and_Building_Practices_at_the_Basilica_of_the_Theater_in_Messene_DChAE_39_2018_111_124= Architectural Planning and Building Practices at the Basilica of the Theater in Messene], ''DChAE'' 39 (2018), 111-124.</ref>