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The Early Christian bema churches of Syria revisited

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Emma Loosley
Emma Loosley*
Affiliation:
Department for the Study of Religions, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG, England
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Extract

The Limestone Massif of northwest Syria has the largest concentration of late antique churches in the world. All date from between the second half of the 4th century and the first decade of the 7th century and are remarkably consistent in their conformity to a recognizably ‘Syrian’ architectural style. Almost without exception they are apsed basilicas varying only in terms of size and the quality of decoration.

This region was extensively surveyed in the 1950s by Georges Tchalenko, whose monumental three-volume study Villages antiques de la Syrie du nord remains the definitive work on the area. Of the many ecclesiastical buildings included in this survey Tchalenko identified a group of approximately 45 churches possessing a bema. The bema is a horseshoe-shaped structure in the nave that mirrors the curve of the apse. Entered via steps at the east end, it provided benches for the clergy and a pulpit at the west end that was used for scriptural expositions and homilies.

Type
News & Notes
Information
Antiquity , Volume 75 , Issue 289 , September 2001 , pp. 509 - 510
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2001

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References

Loosley, E. 1999. The Early Syriac liturgical drama and its architectural setting, in Insoll, T. (ed.), Case studies in archaeology and world religion. The Proceedings of the Cambridge Conference; 18–25. Oxford: Archaeopress. BAR International series S755.Google Scholar
Loosley, E. 2000, The architecture and lLiturgy of the bema in fourth-to sixth-century Syrian churches. Unpublished Ph.D thesis, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London.Google Scholar
Renhart, E. 1995. Das syrische Berna: liturgische-archaologische Untersuchungen. Graz. Grazer Theo-logische Studien 20.Google Scholar
Tchalenko, G. 1953–58. Villages antiques de la Syrie du Nord. Le Massif du Bélus a l’époque romaine. Paris: P. Geuthner.Google Scholar
Tchalenko, G. 1990. Églises syriennes à bêma. Paris: P. Geuthner.Google Scholar