find-site
Dura-Europos
near Salhiyah, Syria
34.747, 40.727
Attested. The building and paintings are archaeological facts. How typical they were of other house-churches is an inference.
A garrison town on the Euphrates abandoned in the 250s. Excavations found a house adapted as a Christian meeting place, with baptistery paintings, and a richly painted synagogue.
Added from later research
abrahamic
Dura-Europos synagogue (cross-reference)
This painted synagogue, with biblical frescoes, stood next to the earliest known house-church. Both were buried in the defensive embankment before the Sasanian siege of 256. The frescoes are now in Damascus (National Museum). Listed here only as a cross-reference.
attested. Attested. Cross-reference only. The site itself may be covered by the main Atlas.
Sources
- Dura-Europos synagogue (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Block G4 (Pleiades place 451190330)
Pleiades Gazetteer (CC BY 3.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
Cited notes
232. Earliest securely identified house church, with baptistery and wall paintings (c. 232-256)
Wikipedia 'Dura-Europos church' (opened); Kraeling, The Christian Building (1967) · Verified in the source note
Manuscripts tied to this place
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.