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By the Christian religion the worship of God is not limited to place, and yet from a very early period a preference was manifested for certain favorite situations. The primitive Christians selected the summit of some high hill or elevated ground, unless compelled, for the sake of concealment, to resort to some less conspicuous place. They also erected their churches over the tombs of martyrs and confessors. Not unfrequently they built subterranean churches and oratories; but this was always on account of some local and special reason. Such churches were called κρύπται , cryptoe.