Reinterpretation of sacred sites in
Brittany topped with a cross , Rome, conserving the
pronaos The Christianization of sites that had been pagan occurred both as a result of spontaneous conversions in early Christian times, and an important part of the strategy of . The landscape itself was Christianized, as prominent features were rededicated to Christian saints, sometimes quite directly, as when the island of Oglasa in the Tyrrhenian Sea was christened
Montecristo. Missionaries to the pagan nations enthusiastically turned pagan sites immediately over to church use. For example,
Sulpicius Severus, in his
Vita of
Martin of Tours, a dedicated destroyer of temples and sacred trees, remarks "wherever he destroyed
heathen temples, there he used immediately to build either churches or monasteries" (
Vita, ch xiii ), and when Benedict took possession of the site at
Monte Cassino, he began by smashing the sculpture of Apollo and the altar that crowned the height. The letter from Pope Gregory I to Mellitus copied by Bede says in part: The letter from Pope Gregory I to Mellitus copied by Bede continues thus: question the significance of the reinterpretation of pagan feasts.
Reuse of cultural artifacts ; its pagan (
Dionysian) motives ignored by the Church In the context of art, amounted to renaming (e.g., by added or changed inscription) or unnaming objects, as well as Christian allegorization of them. For example, a Roman cup or vase would be consecrated and used as a
chalice in church. A notable example of the latter is the
Cup of the Ptolemies. Unnaming could include deliberate omission of traditional pagan interpretations of the imagery in descriptions of artifacts, leading to their oblivion, whether intentionally or by ignorance. Crosses were inscribed on old architecture and its reused remnants (
spolia). Liz James observes. "Inscribing a cross works similarly [to upsetting pagan statues], sealing the object for Christian purposes". Martin Henig describes a number of personal
intaglio seals with clearly pagan motifs, augmented with Christian inscriptions, such as "IESVS EST AMOR MEVS" ("Iesus est amor meus", "Jesus is my love"). The Protestant
Transylvanian Saxons
acquired rugs from the Ottoman Empire, sometimes with Islamic motifs, and used them as prestigious decorations for their churches. Only their material value as a good of luxury, and their purely ornamental, non-figural design seems to have made these rugs appear as appropriate adornments of Protestant churches. A report about
the great fire which had destroyed the
Black Church of
Brașov in 1689 mentions the loss of a large rug which "according to legend was woven by St.
Paul the Apostle (who was a rug weaver by profession)" It seems likely that the Christian owners of the rugs did not understand the original Islamic context, but created a new legendary context around these objects.
Reinterpretation of pre-Christian knowledge and lore Pre-Christian sources and myths were subject to Christian reinterpretation during their transmission or placed in Christian settings. This presents difficulties for historical studies of the periods of conversion. A number of early Christian writers noted similarities between elements of Christianity and some pagan traditions, such as cult of
Dionysus or
Mithras, however in order to defend Christianity they insisted that these are plots of the devil to corrupt Christianity. Also, when translating pagan notions into a
Christian worldview, pagan deities themselves were reinterpreted as
demons. An example is the Finnish name of the Devil,
Perkele, probably derived from the Proto-Indo-European god of thunder
Perkwunos. Though never a part of the doctrine or theology of any Christian group (and often attracting criticism), some rural Christian communities have continued to
sacrifice animals (which are then consumed in a feast) as part of worship, especially at
Easter. The animal may be brought into the church before being taken out again and killed. Some villages in Greece sacrifice animals to Orthodox saints in a practice known as
kourbania. The name points however to a relation with Islamic
qurban. Sacrifice of a lamb, or less commonly a rooster, is a common practice in the
Armenian Church, and the
Tewahedo Church of
Ethiopia and
Eritrea. This tradition, called
matagh, is believed to stem from pre-Christian pagan rituals. Additionally, some Mayans following a form of
Folk Catholicism in Mexico today still sacrifice animals in conjunction with church practices, a ritual practiced in past religions before the arrival of the Spaniards. (16th century).|alt=a figure in an Aztec style carrying a round shiled with a symbol similar to a Maltese cross. Some missionaries interpreted the Aztec god
Quetzalcoatl as an echo of a
pre-Columbian Christian missionary. Among the
Jesuit missionaries to China, the
figurists believed that
Confucianism and the prophetized Christianity. A thorough analysis of Christian reinterpretation of ancient learning was carried out by Hervé Inglebert, with special attention to cosmography, geography, ethnography, and historiography. ==Scholarship==