The Christian Building and the Jewish Synagogue - Essay Example

The Christian Building and the Jewish Synagogue Introduction Dura Eropos remains an important ancient site in the history and evolution of humanity, particularly due to the cultural and religious importance attached to the materials and objects discovered within the site. Different versions have, therefore, been provided by different scholars in regard to the interpretations and the essence of the discovered materials to the evolution of the modern day religion. This essay seeks to discuss the various historical materials and paintings discovered in the ancient Dura Europos and the different architectural and design features that made the Jewish Synagogue distinct from the Christian worship building. Historical Background Dura-Europos is an ancient synagogue that was uncovered in 1932 in Syria, at Dura Europos. This is the Hellenistic-Roman city constructed on a 90 meter cliff above the river Euphrates banks in the Salhiye village. Following its destroyal in the third century, as a result of war, the synagogue lay unrecognized until the 1920 rediscovery (Neusner 84). According to excavations and other revelation practices, this is the oldest synagogue or church to have ever existed. The Dura-Europos synagogue is referred to by some as "Pompeii of the Syrian Desert”, due to the remarkable preservation it underwent. The Dura exhibited a rectangular shape of the grid, and was located in close proximity with the central agora streets. The location of the Dora on the main crossroads made it a cosmopolitan city, according to inscriptions with multiple languages, together with numerous religious buildings for Jews, Pagans, and Christians that lay side by side (Davies and Whitehead 175). Dura Europos was abandoned after the Sassanian siege that took place between 254 and late 256. During the last gasp of saving the city, the synagogue got filled in in-order to make a fortress, thus facilitating its preservation. This was followed by eventual covering of the city with shifting sands that caused its disappearance. Architectural Portrait The Dura Europos was largely made of the mud-brick architecture, but its siege works and walls had the dramatic remains that combined with the precipitous views on the Euphrates green valley that made for the striking sight (Olin 10). Being a cosmopolitan society, the Dura-Europos exhibited many inscriptions of different origins, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Safaic and the Palmyrenean. Among the Dura Euporos homes, there were three that were converted for religious purposes. For instance, the Mithraem was dedicated to Mithras god worship, and another one had its structure modified to create a synagogue for the Jews (Feugere 723). Both the church and the synagogue are the oldest to have existed, and they are equally remarkable, since they were built so close to each other, at almost the same period. The walls of the synagogue were painted, with the roof tiled from baked bricks; which were transported for more than 300 miles across the desert, to Damascus, thus becoming the national museum centerpiece (Neusner 87). On the other hand, the church in Europos was the oldest of its kind, and it occupied the upper class house of the Romans that was centered around the column courtyard that had an open room referred to as the atrium, and the center of the courtyard had a pool called impluvium. The opposite end of the church entrance was the tablinum, an arena raised for use by the family for ceremonial practices and as for reception (Davies and Whitehead 179). There are speculations that the congregation of the time gathered around the pool and it was used for baptismal purposes. Bishops sat in the tablinum for the celebration of the Eucharist on the table, and it is on the basis of this liturgical arrangement that the basilica churches were eventually designed. The church house had a space that could probably host sixty worshippers at a time and had its walls extensively painted. The paintings on the walls portrayed images of the baptism rites, the original sin, and salvation, with all these themes considered particularly relevant to the early church for the Christians that was actively seeking for the new converts (Olin 14). Despite the fact that the majority of the murals are not in existence today, there is a good sense of the look of the paintings from what the nearby synagogue of Dura Europos looks like. There is a high likelihood that the artists painting the two worship centers were the same given the rough contemporary nature of the two features (Feugere 725). The synagogue exhibited very elaborate paintings that included; the depiction of the figures in the Bible, including portraits of Aaron, Moses and Esther. The synagogue in Dura Euro boasted of more elaborate decorations and constructions compared to other temples in the locality. It had its building much bigger compared to the church building used by the Christians (Feugere 725). In addition, the yellow and green palette of the synagogue made it distinct from the church house, together with the wide color range that were used in the synagogue than it were in the church. Within the church, the paintings at the baptistery depicted common scenes in the bible of both the New and Old Testaments (Neusner 92). For instance, there were the pictures depicting Jesus as he walked on water, Goliath and David, the Good Shepherd among others. The Christian church is thought to have either belonged to an individual who practiced Christianity, or converted into Christianity at the time, and did not exhibit the shape as good as that of the synagogue. The chapel for the Christians was much smaller, which gives a reasonable indication that there were fewer Christians in the city (Davies and Whitehead 180). Similarly, the paintings on the wall of the Christian church, in general, were of lesser quality compared to those in the synagogue. The building of the Christian church was found underneath one wall tower, and gave an implication of a society with multiple ethinic population. It can also be assumed, based on the nature of the room, that the population operated as an underground religious group, since the place of worship was a simple converted place of meeting, which is largely associated with the massive persecution of the Christian community of the time (Olin 28). Generally, the Dura Eurpos maintained the physical aspects of the period in terms of style, given the overall peristyle buildings which were square-shaped together with the central room that encircled the whole building. Some modifications, particularly on the synagogue, had significant repercussions on understanding of the Judaism history, since it marked the start of directional worship (Davies and Whitehead 180). Conclusion Ideally, the Dura Europos is a significant site for the religious history of humanity. It indicates the nature of life from both the religious and cultural perspective of the population. The pictorial portraits and other ancient materials indicate the varied practices that existed at the time. The different religious practices by the population are evident, which gives evidence of evolution of the modern day Christian religion (Olin 25). It is evident that Christianity underwent significant resistance in its initial stages of growth, given the least popularity and the strained availability of worship space as demonstrated in the building and paintings in the Dura Europos discoveries. Works Cited Davies, Surekha, and Neil Whitehead. “From Maps to Mummy-Curses: Rethinking Encounters, Ethnography and Ethnology.” History & Anthropology 23.2 (2012): 173-182. Print. Feugere, Michel. “The Excavations at Dura-Europos Conducted by Yale University and the French Academy of Inscriptions and Lettres, 1928 to 1937: Final Report VII, the Arms and Armour and Other Military Equipment.” Antiquity 79.305 (2005): 723-725. Print. Neusner, Jacob. “Judaism at Dura-Europos.” History of Religions 4 (1964): 81-102. Print. Olin, Margaret. “Early Christian Synagogues and Jewish Art Historians. The Discovery of the Synagogue of Dura-Europos.” Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft 27 (2000): 7-28. Print. Read More