05 Extra The spread of Christianity According to legend Saint Lucius spread the Christian faith in Raetia in the 5th–6th century. His remains were laid to rest in the Crypt of Saint Luzi.Photo: Raetian Museum + Under the emperor Theodosius I., shown here on a coin, Christianity was declared state religion in the late 4th century. Henceforth, pagan cults were forbidden.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + In spite of the ban on pagan cults, finds from a cave near Zillis prove that such rituals were still taking place for a long time afterwards, in this instance presumably sacred gifts to honour the god Mithras. Already at the same time, only a few hundred metres apart, there was the early Christian church of St Martin.Photo: © Andrea Badrutt, Chur + More than 600 coins, numerous crystals, and remnants of a richly decorated ritual vessel were found in the cult’s cave. The scattered items were found next to the bones of a male who may have been executed. The entrance to the cave had been brought down. Presumably, pagan practices in the Early Middle Ages came to a violent end.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + The transition from one religion to another can also be reconstructed on the basis of grave finds. A grave field discovered in Bonaduz in 1963 was used between the 4th and the 7th century.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + More than 700 burial plots were uncovered. The manner of burial points both to early, pre-Christian customs as well as later, Christian traditions.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + Earlier graves from the 4th and 5th centuries contained burial gifts such as soapstone beakers and plates as found here. These are missing in later graves as Christian tradition holds that the dead have no need for material goods in the after-life.Photo: Archaeological Office Graubünden + For the first time in 451 there is evidence of a bishop called Asinio in Chur, which is also the site of one of the most significant examples of early Christian architecture north of the Alps. The church of St Stephan was built in the 5th century and served as the final resting place of the bishops of Chur. The remains of the church are now within the grounds of today’s cantonal school and are open to the public. The key is available from the secretary’s office.Photo: © Andrea Badrutt, Chur +