http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/trclnium.htm Drawing of a triclinium showing men and women reclining.... Atrium : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02059b.htm I. An open place or court before a church. It consisted of a large quadrangle with colonnaded walks on its four sides forming a portico or cloister. It was situated between the porch or vestibule and the body of the church. In the center of the atrium was a fountain or well, where the worshippers washed their hands before entering the church. A remnant of this custom still survives in the use of the holy-water font, or basin, usually placed near the inner entrances of churches in the atrium those that were not suffered to advance farther, and more particularly the first class of penitents, stood to solicit the prayers of the faithful as they went into the church. It was also used as a burying-ground, at first only for distinguished persons, but afterwards for all believers. The covered portion next the church was called the narthex and was the place for penitents. The basilicas at Ravenna seem usually to have had a closed narthex, while those of Rome were open to the West. A mosaic in S. Apollinare Nuovo Ravenna shows an open narthex closed by curtains. The atrium existed in some of the largest of the early Christian churches such as old St. Peter's at Rome in the fourth century, and Sancta Sophia at Constantinople, in the sixth. In the residences (palatia, domus) of the Rornan aristocracy, where the Roman Christians first worshipped, there was a threefold division, first, on entering, a court called the atrium; then, farther in, another colonnaded court called the peristyle, and then the tablinum, where the altar was problably placed, and services conducted. (See BASILICA.) So large a fore-court to a church required an area of land costly and difficult to obtain in a large city. For this reason the old Roman atrium survived only occasionally in Eastern and Western churches. Typical examples may be seen in the churches of St. Clement, at Rome, and St. Ambrose, at Mllan; also in the seventh century churches of Novara and Parenzo. II. In secular architecture the atrium was the principal entrance-hall and apartment in a Roman house, and formed the reception-room. It was lighted by an opening in the roof, called the compluvium, the roof sloping so as to throw the rain-water into a cistern in the floor called the impluvium. In large houses it was surrounded by a colonnade. THOMAS H. POOLE Transcribed by Joseph P. Thomas ----- The first two centuries of Christianity had little need for art in any form. Meeting in small groups in private homes, early Christians conducted simple services centered on the Eucharist : the consecrated bread and wine commemorating Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Dating from about 250, the earliest known church building is a Greek peristyle house in Dura-Europos, Syria. Suitable for a congregation of no more than sixty, this was a private home converted to liturgical use though it was devoid of decorations or architectural distinction. No Christian art survived from the first two centuries and very little from the third century, and that almost entirely from the catacombs of Rome. --- Volume 51 Number 6 November/December 1998 EARLY CHURCH AT AQABA http://archaeology.org/9811/newsbriefs/aqaba.html Walls of the Aqaba church are preserved to a height of some 15 feet. (S. Thomas Parker) [LARGER IMAGE] he remains of the oldest known structure designed and built as a church have been found at the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba. Pottery, such as Tunisian red-slipped tableware, from the building's foundations dates the church to the late third or beginning of the fourth century, according to its excavator, North Carolina State University archaeologist S. Thomas Parker. That the building was a church is indicated by its eastward orientation, overall plan (a basilica with a central nave flanked by side aisles), and artifacts, such as glass oil lamp fragments. ------- Fresco. The fragility of frescoes accounts for the scarcity of surviving examples. The baptismal scenes (c. 240-50, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.) from a Christian titula in Dura-Europos, a remote Roman outpost in Syria, are well-preserved examples. In Rome, frescoes have survived in the catacombs, examples being the scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin, in simple linear outline with a limited range of color, in the Catacombs of Domitilla (3d cent.). B. Gathering Places: House churches or Domus Ecclesiae. The Community House at Dura-Europos, 231. Note: adaptation of courtyard house; baptistery; meeting room; lack of specifically church-like features other than these. http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/.Texts/Lanciani/LANPAC/3*.html#sec5 The theory accepted by some modern writers as regards the transformation of these halls of prayer into regular churches is this. The prayer-meetings were held in the tablinum (A) or reception room of the house, which, as shown in the accompanying plan, opened on the atrium or court (B), and this was surrounded by a portico or peristyle (C). In the early days of the gospel the tablinum could easily accommodate the small congregation of converts; but, as this increased in numbers and the space became inadequate, the faithful were compelled to occupy that section of the portico which was in front of the meeting hall. When the congregation became still larger, there was no other way of accommodating it, and sheltering it from rain or sun, than by covering the court either with an awning or a roof. There is very little difference between this arrangement and the plan of a Christian basilica. The tablinum becomes an apse; the court, roofed over, becomes the nave; the side wings of the peristyle become the aisles. Among the Roman churches whose origin can be traced to the hall of meeting, besides those of Pudens and Prisca already mentioned, the best preserved seems to be that built by Demetrias at the third milestone of the Via Latina, near the "painted tombs." Demetrias, daughter of Anicius Hermogenianus, prefect of the city, 368-70, and of Tyrrania Juliana, a friend of Augustine and Jerome, enlarged the oratory already existing in the tablinum of the Anician villa, and transformed it into a beautiful church, afterwards dedicated to S. Lorenzo. Church and villa were discovered in 1857, and, together with the painted tombs of the Via Latina, are now the property of the nation. The stranger could not find a pleasanter afternoon drive. The church is well preserved, and still contains the metric inscription in praise of Demetrias which was composed by Leo III. (795-816). ------- A typical Roman upper class house was centered around a columned courtyard with an open room, atrium . In the center of the courtyard was a pool, impluvium . At the opposite end from the entrance was a raised area tablinum containing a table and used by the family as a reception area and for ceremonial functions. In the Dura-Europos home converted to a church, scholars speculate that the congregation gathered around the pool, which was used for baptism. In the tablinum sat the bishop, who presided over the Eucharist, celebrated at the table. This arrangement provides a logical basis for the liturgical arrangement of the later basilica church. Ecclesiology And Ethics In 1 Corinthians Richard B. Hays Journal of the North Park Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture, Vol. 10 http://www.npcts.edu/sem/exauditu/papers/hays.html http://www.worship.on.ca/docs/sc_32.html The first stop on my architectural tour is Syria, and the House Church at Dura Europas. It's now only a ruin, but it dates from the earliest years of the Christian community, the First or Second Centuries. So it represents the "House of the Church" in its infancy. Dura Europas is apparently a private residence, modified to meet the needs of a worshiping Christian community: an entrance hall, a living-dining area, and a separate room housing a kind of baptistery. Frescoes adorning the walls depict a worshiper in orans posture, and Christ healing the paralytic. Worshipers presumably assemble, standing, around the host's dining table; a bishop or presbyter leads worship, reads scripture, and presumably preaches, facing the people across the same table. Its arrangement is basically radial: worshipers gathered around Word and Meal. Its secular equivalent is of course your own dining room. --- http://www.historytoday.com/today/1197/centre/frontline.stm Return to Dura Europos -- Families in the New Testament World: Households and House Churches Carolyn A. Osiek David L. Balch A reviewer, Reader in Chicago, June 4, 1999, Early Christian Hearth and Home This book, one of a number of excellent titles from the Religion, Culture, and Family Project of the University of Chicago Divinity School, takes the reader behind the frequent rhetoric concerning the biblical family to the reality of family life in early Christian communities. Setting the New Testament teachings on the family within the social and cultural context of the Greco-Roman world, it moves through an analysis of Greek and Roman household architecture to an analysis of family life. The open architecture of ancient Christian houses, unlike modern houses, had large entryways which invited anyone who passed by into their spacious and semi-public courtyards. Balch and Osiek's work shows how the architectural patterns of Greek and Roman homes formed and influenced relationships in early Christian house churches and how worship in these house churches influenced Christian families. For example, with respect to gender relations, it shows that early Christian women enjoyed wider ranges of freedom and leadership and that early Christian men learned to think of themselves as servants. This outstanding piece of scholarship sheds new light on the early Christian household. Affiliation ------- Here's some info. on early house churches. Primary reference is: Filson, Floyd. "The Significance of the Early House Churches," Journal of Biblical Literature LVIII (1939), 109-12. That's an old article, but has not been superseded in terms of its basic information. A. Malherbe lists the factors Filson identified in a chapter of his book Social Aspects of Early Christianity. The chapter, "House Churches and Their problems," underlines the ways physical and sociological circumstances of early Christian communities affected their "church" life. Full cite: Malherbe, Abraham J. "House Churches and Their Problems," in Social Aspects of Early Christianity: Rockwell Lectures of 1975. (2nd ed.) Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1977, pp. 60-91.. Filson suggested these facts about the house church further our understanding of the early Christian communities, their "church" life, and the problems they encountered, which may or may not be similar to problems we encounter today in our churches.. 1) Although Christian worship was modelled after Jewish worship practices, the house church made possible a "distinctly Christian worship and fellowship from the very first days of the apostolic age." [This could be an interactive discussion topic about whether our churches serve us in this way today. Do churches provide a place where distinctly Christian identity is established and practices? How do contemporary churches enhance the development of meaningful worship styles and practices for particular congregations -- i.e. traditional vs. contemporary worship styles; ethnic-centered worship in traditionally western, anglo-defined denomination.] 2) Taking into account the house churches aid our understanding of why Paul and other early Christian writers paid so much attention to family life in their letters. [Interactive discussion topic might be: how do family sturctures impact the traditions and practices of contemporary congregations? This could be straightforward, or more creative. For example, a congregation might be more or less maintained and ordered by 1 or 2 "traditional" families while other congregations might include many single parent or single person, gay/lesbian, cross-ethnic, or foster families. Another way to explore the topic would be to think about church programming around family-centered issues.] 3) The fact that there were most likely several house churches in one city explains the tendency to factions and cliques in the early church communities. [This is of particular importance in Corinthians, since the premise of 1st Corinthians is that factions caused all the problems discussed in the letter. We may want to cite 1 Corinthians 1:10ff. and point out the 4 groups Paul names. Of special significance is the fact that Paul puts all groups, including those who were primarily loyal to him, on the same level. Paul treated his following on the same basis as the rest due to the fact that they posed the same threat to the unity of the church. This threat was Paul's primary concern; not the theological tenets of any specific group. The Christ group mentioned here was most likely a group who interpreted the radical freedom of Paul's gospel message in the theological line later assumed by various gnostic Christian groups. [Interactive discussion could focus on factions within local church bodies, positive and negative examples of "grouping" in local congregations, methods to avoid exclusion and encourage small group community,etc.] 4) "A study of the house church situation also throws light upon the social status of early Christians. The early church was more nearly a cross section of society than we have sometimes thought." (At stake here is the manner in which early Christianity is often romanticized as being "of humble origins.") [Interactive discussion: do you belong to a congregation comprised of different socio-econimic strata? How does an economic cross section affect the way God is envisioned, and ministry is expressed? 5) "The development of church polity can never be understood without reference to the hourse churches. The house church was the training ground for the Christian leaders who were to build the church after the loss of 'apostolic' guidance, and everything in such a situation favored the emergence of the host as the most prominent and influential member of the group. The strong leader of one such group might assume leadership throughout a city or section, although, as 3 John may suggest, such a development would not as a rule be free from friction."[ Here, we could include a link, etc. to a blurb re: 3 John, which might include a quote from 3 John and a paragraph or 2 about the situation in that early church.] --- Home Worship of the Early Christians http://198.248.56.50/~jjackson/duro.html In the 1930's archaeologist working in present-day Syria, uncovered in the desert sands a Roman garrison town, Dura-Europos; once located at the edge of the Persian empire of the Sassanians. In 256 A.D. the Sasanians laid siege to the town. The desperate inhabitants attempted defend their town by piling mounds of dirt against the walls. In doing so, houses next to the west wall were buried and thus preserved for the archaeologist who uncovered them, almost 1700 years later. The archaeologist discovered that three of the covered homes had been renovated for use as religious buildings. One had become a Mithraeum, dedicated to the mystery god Mitharas. Another had undergone structural modifications to become a Jewish synagogue. The third home had been converted to a Christian church. This Christian church is especially important as it is the earliest completed church extant. An examination of the remains yields much about the liturgy of the early Christian church. A typical Roman upper class house was centered around a columned courtyard with an open room, atrium . In the center of the courtyard was a pool, impluvium . At the opposite end from the entrance was a raised area tablinum containing a table and used by the family as a reception area and for ceremonial functions. In the Dura-Europos home converted to a church, scholars speculate that the congregation gathered around the pool, which was used for baptism. In the tablinum sat the bishop, who presided over the Eucharist, celebrated at the table. This arrangement provides a logical basis for the liturgical arrangement of the later basilica church.