By Youssef Kanjou
Today, Syria is a country with a Muslim majority; in pre-Islamic times, most of the region’s inhabitants were Christians. As a result, Syria is home to some of the oldest churches in the world. For example, the so-called “house church” was discovered, which dates back to 233 AD, while the oldest basilica church in Syria dates back to 372 AD.
At the beginning of the spread of Christianity, the house church was a residential building that was converted into a church instead of erecting a separate building for Christian rituals. This happened in the town of Dura Europos between 233 and 256 A.D. The church was discovered in the town of Dura Europos in 1930. Today, the city is located on the right bank of the river Euphrates in north-east Syria. It is now an archaeological site, but still contains urban, religious and military facilities.
The house church of Dura Europos is the oldest known Christian church building in the world to date. The original house was an example of local architecture and had a square courtyard around which the various rooms were arranged. To convert the house into a church, a wall between two small rooms was demolished to create a large meeting room. This was equipped with a baptismal font. Several paintings were discovered in the room that are considered to be the oldest artistic depictions of Jesus, such as “The Good Shepherd”, “The Healing of the Paralytic” and “Jesus and Peter Walking on the Water”. They can all be found today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
One of the oldest historical basilica churches in the world can be found in north-west Syria. An inscription indicates that it was built in 372 AD. It is located in the present-day village of Fafertin. The floor plan of the church is rectangular, 26.5 metres long and 11.6 metres wide, with three porticoes and two rooms with doors leading to side vestibules. The southern room contains an ornate tomb that was used to store the relics of martyrs or saints. This church belongs to a group of churches in the region, of which there are hundreds. Archaeologists call them the “forgotten” or “dead” cities.
In contrast, the Symeon Stylites Church in the north of Aleppo is currently regarded as the most important church in Syria, both architecturally and religiously. It is characterised by a unique architectural style, as it consists of the intersection of four basilica churches that take the shape of a cross. Added to this are the beautiful geometric decorations above the main entrance and the windows.
The church was built in 490 AD in honour of Saint Simeon Stylites, who prayed on a pillar for 40 years. The church was built so that the column stands in the central courtyard of the church and is also the intersection of the four churches. Before the war in Syria, it was a main destination for Christian pilgrims as well as a large number of tourists.
There is another indication of the spread of Christianity in Syria. During our work in 2007 around the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, we accidentally discovered three churches that were previously unknown. Most of them date from the Byzantine period (5th to 6th century AD). All their floors were decorated with artistic mosaics rich in geometric or animal scenes.
Unfortunately, most of these archaeological treasures fell victim to the war in Syria, which led to the destruction of important parts. Nevertheless, their remains still bear witness to their importance and the spread of ancient religions in Syria. Numerous remains can be found in museums around the world and there are a large number of archaeological studies dealing with them.
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Überreste der Säule, auf der der Heilige Simeon in der Zeit zwischen 419 und 459 n. Chr. gesessen haben soll. Foto: tuenews INTERNATIONAL / Youssef Kanjou.
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