Which Byzantine baptistery in Ravenna was built for Arian Christians under Theodoric the Great?

The Byzantine baptistery in Ravenna built for Arian Christians under Theodoric the Great is the Arian Baptistery.

The structure was erected in the late fifth or early sixth century, when Theodoric ruled the Ostrogothic Kingdom from Ravenna. Theodoric and many Goths followed Arian Christianity, a theological tradition that differed from the Nicene Christianity practiced by the Roman population. The baptistery served the Arian community in the city.

Its most famous decoration is the dome mosaic showing the Baptism of Christ. The scene includes Christ in the Jordan River, John the Baptist, and a personification of the river. This imagery resembles the dome mosaic of Ravenna’s Orthodox, or Neonian, Baptistery, but the two buildings belonged to different Christian communities.

After the Byzantine conquest of Ravenna, the building was reassigned to orthodox worship. Its simple octagonal form and surviving mosaic make it a key monument for comparing late antique religious architecture and the competing Christian identities of Ravenna.