Baptism in the Holy Land
The Literary Evidence and the Archaeological Context
By (author) Joseph Patrich
Hardback (Published)
(July 2026)
ISBN: 9791254714744
6.69 x 9.45 inches
Price: $50.00
In stock
The present study on baptism, which focuses on the Holy Land, relates to the archaeological aspects and literary sources, of various genres. All the baptisteries in the Holy Land recorded to date—98 installations in 90 churches—are addressed here.
Baptism is a Christian rite of passage. Its theological significance and practice were discussed by the Church Fathers of the 2nd and 3rd c. in both the East and West. In the first three centuries it was conferred outdoors in a stream, a spring, or in a private bath, leaving no identifiable physical traces. The earliest full-fledged baptistery in the Christian East is that uncovered in the Domus Ecclesiae in Dura Europos that was built before the mid-3rd c. CE. Monumental baptisteries throughout the Christian world are known only from the 4th c. on.
The present study on baptism, which focuses on the Holy Land, relates to the archaeological aspects and literary sources, of various genres. All the baptisteries in the Holy Land recorded to date – 98 installations in 90 churches – are addressed here.
The first two chapters of Part A address the literary evidence (Chapter 1), and the archaeological context (Chapter 2). Chapter 3 is devoted to infant baptism in the prism of these two aspects. Part B comprises an Inventory of the Baptisteries, arranged alphabetically and accompanied by plans and figures.
Joseph Patrich is an emeritus professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology, teaching courses on Eastern Mediterranean archaeology in the Graeco-Roman and Byzantine periods. He participated in the excavation of two churches: Reḥovot in-the-Negev and Ḥorvat Beth Loya. Christian archaeology is a major topic of his studies. He is the author of Archaeological Survey of Israel: Map of Mar-Saba (315), Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority 1995 (bilingual – Hebrew and English); Sabas – Leader of Palestinian Monasticism (Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXXII), Washington D.C. 1995 (2nd edition 2020). The bearing of church architecture on Christian liturgy is of major interest for him. He is a co-director of the Digital Corpus of Churches and Monasteries in the Holy Land (https:// dig.corps-cmhl.huji.ac.il/node/12316), which started in 2014. The present book is one out-come of this project.
- By (author) Joseph Patrich
Other Titles in this Series
An Introduction to Late Antique Epigraphy in the Holy Land
A thorough study on Greek and Latin epigraphy in the Holy Land
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