#x98;The#x9C; architecture and liturgy of the "Bema" in fourth- to-sixth-century Syrian churches

First published in 2003 this is a new edition of a work that remains the only study of the nave platform known as the Syrian Bema to utilise an interdisciplinary approach. By combining archaeological and architectural research with a study of the Syriac Liturgy to explore how worship evolved on the Syrian Limestone Massif in Late Antiquity, this volume proposes a solution to the long debated question of why only approximately 50 of these bemata have been discovered amongst many thousands of late antique churches in Syria. It charts the evolution of the early liturgy in Syria and seeks to explain how the location of the Limestone Massif in the hinterland of Antioch may have affected the development of worship in the region. Contents 5 Foreword 7 Acknowledgements 9 List of Photographs 11 Introduction 19 Ch. 1. The Archaeological Evidence and Its Implications 35 Ch. 2. Interpreting the Written Sources 75 Ch. 3. The Syrian Liturgy with Reference to the Bema 97 Conclusion 125 App. 1. List of bema churches 139 App. 2. The dating of the bema churches 143 App. 3. The distribution pattern of bemata :neighbouring villages , the age of churches with bemata ,the age of stone bemata 145 Phot. App. 1. The Basilica of the Holy Cross , Resafa , October 1998 147 Phot. App. 2. Catalogue of photographsof the bema churchesof Syria 149 Bibliography 295 Index 301 In fourth to sixth century Syria a nave-platform known as the Bema became popular in some regions before mysteriously disappearing; this study seeks to explain how these bemata functioned and which elements led to their decline.