central-plan church

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June 24, 2026

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A central-plan church is a building designed for Christian worship where the main space is organized around a central point, rather than a longitudinal axis. This contrasts with the more common basilican plan, which features a long nave.1

Central-plan designs can take various forms, including circular, polygonal, or Greek cross shapes. These plans were particularly favored in Eastern Orthodox architecture, with examples like the Hagia Sophia. In Western architecture, central-plan churches gained prominence during the Renaissance, appreciated for their symbolic and traditional values, though basilican plans remained more practical for construction. This design emphasizes a unified, centralized space for worship.213

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Western architecture
Second period, after 313 ce
The central-plan building, round, polygonal, or cruciform in design, gathered considerable momentum in the West as well as in the East in the course of the 4th and 5th centuries. The deconsecrated church of Santa Costanza in Rome, built between 337 and 350 for members of…
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The central-plan building, round, polygonal, or cruciform in design, gathered considerable momentum in the West as well as in the East in the course of the 4th and 5th centuries. The deconsecrated church of Santa Costanza in Rome, built between 337 and 350 for members of…
Read More

Western architecture
Early Renaissance in Italy (1401–95)
…it was symmetrical about a central point, as is a circle, a square, or a Greek cross (which has four equal arms). Many Renaissance architects came to believe that the circle was the most perfect geometric form and, therefore, most appropriate in dedication to a perfect God. Brunelleschi also worked…
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…it was symmetrical about a central point, as is a circle, a square, or a Greek cross (which has four equal arms). Many Renaissance architects came to believe that the circle was the most perfect geometric form and, therefore, most appropriate in dedication to a perfect God. Brunelleschi also worked…
Read More

architecture
Symbols of function
The central-plan Christian church (circle, polygon, Greek cross, ellipse) fascinated the architects of the Renaissance with its symbolic and traditional values, and it is found in their drawings and treatises to the virtual exclusion of the more practical longitudinal basilicas that architects were often commissioned to…
Read More
The central-plan Christian church (circle, polygon, Greek cross, ellipse) fascinated the architects of the Renaissance with its symbolic and traditional values, and it is found in their drawings and treatises to the virtual exclusion of the more practical longitudinal basilicas that architects were often commissioned to…
Read More