Pendant cross,

ca. 6th–7th century

Early Christian imagery conveyed the emerging religious doctrine and narratives centered on the life and teachings of Christ and his followers. Depictions of holy figures, Christ’s crucifixion and the cross, the Chi-Rho Christogram, and the alpha and omega adorned the surfaces of churches, liturgical objects, and jewelry—all tangible signs of devotion. As Byzantine theologians promoted touch, sight, and proximity to sacred objects within the context of a religious system that was largely abstract and invisible, objects designed to heighten multisensorial experiences, like censers filled with aromatic incense or oil lamps and candles that gave off flickering light, became critical to the creation of a liturgical setting. Workshops emerged across the Mediterranean to produce Byzantine objects with lavish materials like metals and gems in order to express the emerging theology of the empire.