Transitional Fossils in Church
Evolution
Rethinking the transitional churches
– between house church and dedicated church building – pre-Constantine and
pre-Byzantine
By Christopher Travis Haun (cthaun[at]hotmail[dot]com)
for http://rethinker.net/ekklesia
Unfinished draft
Advocates
of house church models like to point out that there were no dedicated “church
buildings” before the fourth century AD.
But there are some interesting “transitional
fossils” that perhaps form a bridge between the original model and the later Byzantine/Constantinian
model. Hopefully the glimpses will be
fascinating.
Megiddo
Church
Jordan
Cave Church under Saint Georgeous Church
Dura
Europos – 235 AD? – “The earliest identified Christian house church”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dura-Europos
http://silouanthompson.net/2008/07/29/dura-europos/
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080610132718.9c6r9ify&show_article=1
"We
have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from
33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological
Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said.
He
said it was uncovered
under Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to 230 AD, in
Rihab in northern Jordan near the Syrian border.
"We
have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians -- the 70
disciples of Jesus Christ," Husan said.
These
Christians, who are described in a mosaic as "the 70 beloved by God and Divine,"
are said to have fled persecution in Jerusalem {stretch} and founded churches
in northern Jordan, Husan added.
He
cited historical sources which suggest they both lived and practised religious
rituals in the underground church and only left it after Christianity was
embraced by Roman rulers.
The
bishop deputy of the Greek Orthodox archdiocese, Archimandrite Nektarious,
described the discovery as an "important milestone for Christians all
around the world."
Researchers
recovered pottery dating back to between the 3rd and 7th centuries, which they
say suggests these first Christians and their followers lived in the area until
late Roman rule.
Inside
the cave there are several stone seats which are believed to have been for the
clergy and a circular shaped area, thought to be the apse.
There
is also a deep tunnel which is believed to have led to a water source, the
archaeologist added.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7446812.stm
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Jordan cave may be oldest church |
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Archaeologists in Rihab, Jordan, say they have discovered a
cave that could be the world's oldest Christian church. Dating to the period AD33-70, the underground chapel would
have served as both a place of worship and a home. It is claimed that it was originally used by a group of 70
persecuted Christians who fled from Jerusalem. These early Christians lived and practised their faith in
secrecy until the Romans embraced Christianity several hundred years later. 'Beautiful things' Rihab is in Northern Jordan. The cave is beneath the ancient church of St Georgeous,
itself one of the oldest known places of worship in the world. According to Dr Abdul Qader Al-Hassan, the director of the
Rihab Centre for Archaeological studies, the cave site shows clear evidence of early Christian
rituals that predate the church.
Dr Al-Hassan says that steps lead down into the chapel which
is approximately 12m long and seven metres wide. There is a circular
area of worship with stone seats separated from living quarters. This
circular element, called an apse, is important says Dr Al-Hassan because
there is only one other example of a cave with a similar feature, which was
also used for Christian worship. Dr Al-Hassan said: "We found beautiful things. I found the
cemetery of this church; we found pottery shards and lamps with the
inscription 'Georgeous'". In the cave there is also a tunnel that leads to a cistern
which supplied water to the dwellers. An inscription in the floor of the
church above refers to the
"70 beloved by God and the divine" whom the archaeologist
believes were refugees from religious persecution in Jerusalem. Dr Al-Hassan says that excavation of the tunnel and the
cistern may yield yet more evidence about the lives of these early Christians.
"From the tunnel to the cistern is very important. We
want to clean it and make an excavation inside it. We found a very old
inscription beside it and coins also, and crosses made from iron." Other experts say they are cautious about the claim. They want
to examine the artifacts and see clear dating evidence. The earliest confirmed
examples of churches date from the third century, they say. |
World's 'oldest Christian
church' discovered in Jordan
Archaeologists claim to have
found the world's oldest church dating from shortly after Christ's crucifixion.
By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem
Last Updated: 1:58PM BST 11 Jun 2008
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Jordanian archaeologists examine the newly-discovered underground church Photo: EPA
If tests confirm that it dates
back to between 33 AD to 70 AD, as the archaeologists claim, it would make it
the earliest known place of Christian worship by around two hundred years.
According to a report in the
Jordan Times newspaper, a very early underground church was found beneath the
ancient Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to 230 AD, in Rihab,
northern Jordan near the Syrian border.
"We have uncovered what we
believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD,"
Abdul Qader al-Husan, head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies,
said.
"We have evidence to believe
this church sheltered the early Christians – the 70 disciples of Jesus
Christ."
A mosaic found in the church
describes these Christians as "the 70 beloved by God and Divine". Mr
Husan said they believed to have fled persecution in Jerusalem and founded
churches in northern Jordan.
He cited historical sources which
suggest they both lived and practised religious rituals in the underground
church and only left it after Christianity was embraced by Roman rulers in the
fourth century AD.
The claim was treated with some
disdain in online chatrooms focusing on biblical knowledge with most
contributors suggesting the claim was made up to boost Rihab's tourist status.
There is no clear holder of the
title of oldest Christian church with various sites claiming the title without
definitive evidence.
In 2005 Israeli archaeologists
claimed to have found the earliest Christian church when they uncovered a floor
mosaic dating from the first part of the third century.
It was found inside the perimeter
fence of a top security prison built by Israel in Megiddo or, to use its
ancient name, Armageddon, where, according to the New Testament, the final
battle between good and evil will be fought before the return of the Messiah.
The bishop deputy of the Greek
Orthodox archdiocese, Archimandrite Nektarious, described the Rihab discovery
as an "important milestone for Christians all around the world."
Researchers recovered pottery
dating back to between the 3rd and 7th centuries, which they say suggests these
first Christians and their followers lived in the area until late Roman rule.
Inside the cave there are several
stone seats which are believed to have been for the clergy and a circular
shaped area, thought to be the apse.
There is also a deep tunnel which
is believed to have led to a water source, the archaeologist added.
Rihab is home to a total of 30
churches and Jesus and the Virgin Mary are believed to have passed through the
area, Husan said.
http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1442650
Jordan archaeologists unearth
'first church on earth’
Amman:
Jordan archaeologists have discovered what they claims to be the "first
church in world" at Rihab, 40 km north-east of Amman, the ‘Jordan Times’
reported Monday.
"We have uncovered what we believe is the first church in the world,
dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," Abdul Qader Hassan, head of the Rihab Centre
for Archaeological Studies told the paper.
The discovery lying underneath the Saint Georgeous Church in Rihab is "amazing,
because we have evidence to believe that this church sheltered the early
Christians, the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ," he said.
The early Christians, described in the mosaic inscription on the floor of St
Georgeous as "the 70 beloved of God and Divine," are said to have
fled Jerusalem during the persecution of Christians to north Jordan,
particularly Rihab, he added.
Citing historical sources, Hassan said the 70 lived and practised their faith in secrecy in this
underground church.
"We believe that they
did not leave the cave and lived until the Christian religion was embraced by
Roman rulers," he added. "It was then St Georgeous Church was built,"
he said.
The findings in the graveyard near the cave offer valuable clues, says the
Jordanian archaeological expert.
"We found pottery
that dates back to the 3rd and 7th century. The findings show that the
first Christians and their offspring continued living in the area until the
late Roman rule," he said.
"Going down a few steps into the cave, one would see a circle shape area, believed to
be the apse, and several stone seats for the ecclesiastics," he
added.
Archimandrite Nektarious, Bishop Deputy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese,
described the discovery of the cave as an "important milestone for
Christians around the world."
"The only other cave in the world similar in shape and purpose is in
Thessalonica, Greece," the ‘Jordan Times’ quoted the bishop as saying.
Officials at the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism said they planned to capitalise
on the discovery to promote the area as a major tourist attraction in the near
future.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service
http://www.mahalo.com/St_Georgeous_Church_Jordan
In Rihab, Jordan—in a cave
beneath a church dating
to 230
AD—archaeologists
have found what may be the oldest church in the world. The church above, St.
Georgeous, bears an inscription in mosaic, reading "70 beloved by God and
the divine"1; archaeologists and historians
believe it refers to a band of 70 early Christians who
fled persecution in Jerusalem
during the first century. It is speculated that the cave was the home and place
of worship for these 70 pilgrims. If, as has been estimated, the cavernous chapel
dates to the period between 33 AD
and 70
AD, it would be the world's oldest known church.
Fast Facts
- Cave chapel may be world's oldest church
- In Rehab,
northern Jordan
- Estimated to date from 33
AD to 70 AD
- Beneath the ruins of the previously
known St. Georgeous Church
- Prior to this discovery, oldest
churches dated to 3rd century1
- One of 30 ancient churches discovered
in Rihab
Worship in Hiding
The 70 Christian refugees
believed to have come to northern Jordan in the first century would have had to
worship in hiding, prior to Rome's embrace of Christianity.1 It is believed that this cave church served as a secret
residence and place of worship, with sleeping quarters, a circular sanctum with
stone seats, and a deep tunnel leading to a water source. Archaeologists
working at the site say that it contains coins,
inscriptions and crosses of iron.2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apse
In architecture,
the apse (Latin
absis "arch, vault"; sometimes written apsis; plural apses)
is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault. In Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and
church architecture,
the term is applied to the semi-circular or polygonal section of the sanctuary
at the liturgical east end beyond the altar. Geometrically
speaking, an apse is either a half-cone or half-dome.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080613-old-church.html
"Oldest Church" Discovery
"Ridiculous," Critics Say
Mati Milstein in Rihab, Jordan
for National Geographic News
June 13, 2008
A
Jordanian archaeologist's announcement this week that he had uncovered the
world's first Christian church in an underground cave drew surprise and
skepticism from experts in Jordan
and beyond.
The Jordan
Times earlier this week quoted archaeologist Abdel-Qader al-Housan,
director of the Rihab Center for Archaeological Studies as saying, "We
have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from
33 A.D. to 70 A.D."
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Al-Housan
later told the Associated Press that he discovered a cave beneath St. George's
Church, one of the world's oldest known churches, in the northern Jordanian
city of Rihab, and that the cave shows evidence of early Christian rituals.
The
archaeologist said he found a circular worship area inside the cave with stone
seats separated from a living area that had a long tunnel leading to a source
of water.
Ghazi
Bisheh, former director general of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities,
dismissed the claim as "ridiculous," saying the archaeologist behind
them "has a tendency to sensationalize discoveries" and offered no
evidence to back his recent assertion.
There are
numerous natural caves in Rihab and dozens of churches, but most of them date
to the late sixth or early seventh century. Bisheh believes that, based on the
Basilican style of its mosaic, St. George's Church dates to this period.
But
al-Housan and some others believe St. George's Church dates to 230 A.D.
Early
Churches
A mosaic on the floor of the church
bears a Greek inscription that reads "the 70 beloved by God and the divine," according
to al-Housan
He
believes it refers to 70 disciples who fled Roman persecution in Jerusalem
during the first century A.D., after the death of Jesus Christ.
The
disciples established a church in the cave and used it as a place of worship,
according to al-Housan.
While
early Christians did flee the Roman sack of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. to what is now
Jordan, Bisheh, the Jordanian antiquities expert, said the identity of the
disciples mentioned in the mosaic is not clear.
Scholars
widely believe that organized churches didn't exist until at least the third
century A.D.
Following the death of Jesus Christ, Christian worship typically took
place in homes and other domestic buildings or, less commonly, by rivers outside city walls
during the first century A.D.
Architecturally
distinct, organized churches did not emerge until the Byzantine period, in the
fifth century A.D.
Early
Christian churches would eventually include apses—semi-circular sections of the
sanctuary facing to the east—similar to Jewish synagogues, which face toward
Jerusalem.
Al-Housan
said there is an apse in the cave he uncovered. (or just a high spot in
the cave???)
Experts Skeptical
Biblical scholar Stephen Pfann, president of the
University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem, responded cautiously to Al-Housan's
reported findings.
"It sounds rather anachronistic," he
said, adding that during the first century, the term "church" or "ekklesia"
was used for the assembled body of believers—not the building or catacombs
where they were assembling.
"If they are talking about a cave, it could
have been a hiding place. In time—if there were martyrs there or something
significant that took place there or a well-known individual who was among the
disciples of Jesus—then you would have had reason to commemorate the site,
which could later be used by the church's monks."
"But the cave that's there is one that
doesn't necessarily commemorate anything … I don't know how you can take an underground cave and say
it could present itself as a first-century church."
Pfann
said the formal, architecturally distinct church form can be seen starting to
emerge in a site
excavated in 2005 inside an Israeli prison near Har Megiddo (or
"Armageddon" in Greek and English). Dating to roughly the third
century, it is popularly accepted as the oldest church ever discovered.
Archaeologist Yotam Tepper of the Israel
Antiquities Authority excavated the Megiddo prison site.
"A house of prayer or domestic Christian
gathering place from the third century is quite possible," Tepper said.
"But a church from the first century sounds surprising indeed, though I
don't know if I can entirely eliminate the possibility without [seeing]
archaeological evidence like pottery and coins."
"I think that we have to wait until we can
see this," he added.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3164437,00.html
Ruins
of ‘oldest church’ uncovered
Archeological dig in Megiddo uncovers what appears
to be a church dating back to 3rd, 4th century CE
Sharon Rofeh-Ophir
|
Latest Update: |
11.05.05, 22:48 / Israel News
|
The ruins of the oldest Christian church
in the Middle East, and probably the whole world, were discovered few days ago
in the Megiddo prison area, a Channel 2 report revealed Saturday.
Tens of prisoners at the high-security prison
where 1,200 security prisoners are held helped in the archeological digs that
led archeologist to the exceptional discovery.
The Israel Prison Services approached the
government for a construction permit in the Megiddo area where it had planned
to expand the prison by few new compounds yet the Israel Antiquities Authority
demanded the government uphold constructions, paving the way for archeological
digs in the area.
The Megiddo area is known as a rich terrain
for archeological findings from different historical ages.
The prison services allowed archeologists
draft prisoners to their digs where a number of coins and crockery have been
found since February.
Two weeks ago diggers discovered what seems
to be an architectural structure which was later identified as the remains of a
church. Archeologists identified a spectacular mosaic floor and the foundations
of a building dating back to the third or fourth century CE.
Church's ruins showing Greek inscriptions (Photo: Channel 2)
The
discovery sent joyous waves among archeologists working on the project who soon
realized the magnitude of the discovery.
Ornaments
paved the foundations of the church where inscriptions and biblical citations
in old Greek were found.
One
of the inscriptions read that the building was dedicated to “the memory of the
Lord Jesus Cristos.”
Yotam
Tefer, the dig’s supervisor, said that “Christian religious buildings from that
period are rare archeological findings in the Land of Israel. Mosaics in
general and mosaics with inscriptions from the third and fourth centuries CE
are the rarest. This is a unique building which important for an initial
understanding of Christianity as a well-known and official religion,” Tefer
said.
In
the center of the building the ruins of an altar were found. Archeologists
noted that the ruins date from a period that preceded the crucifix as the
official ecclesiastical emblem, which explains why fish-shaped decorations were
found on most of the mosaic. The fish symbol is known to be the symbol of early
Christianity.
Digs
in the western parts of the prison discovered residential structures of
communities dating to the Byzantine epoch of the fourth and sixth centuries CE.
A
Jewish cleansing bath from the Roman period was found in archeological rubble
retrieved from that area.
Shoka
Dorfman of the Israel Antiquities Authority said that consultations with
leading archeologists will be launched next week to discuss the future of the
findings.
The
Israel Prisons Authority told Ynet: “We are waiting for the decisions of the
Antiquities Authority to see whether the rare findings will be taken to another
location or will remain in place. We will build another two buildings to
complete the compound, yet in the wake of the discoveries we will decide how to
proceed with constructions at a later date.”
|
First Published: |
11.05.05, 21:28 |