Resumen de The World's Oldest Church: Bible, Art, and Ritual at Dura-Europos, Syria by Michael Peppard (review)
Dura-Europos—arguably the most important archaeological discovery in the twentieth century for the history of art in early Judaism and Christianity—forever changed scholarly views on how these two communities formulated their identities in the third century. The synagogue displays the first known Biblical narrative cycle within a sophisticated visual system, forcing scholars to rewrite the history of Jewish art, its influences, and its relationship to aniconic traditions. The book—well written, like a thriller in pursuit of decoding visual symbols—sets out to 1) examine non-canonical texts, recently attributed patristic texts, and neglected artistic comparanda in relation to the site, 2) shift the focus of Syrian baptism from water to oil—both real and represented—as a ritual substance of anointing, sealing, stamping, marking, and messianic light, and 3) privilege ritual action as the primary context for interpreting the baptistery's artistic program, thereby reconstructing the experiential perspective of the participant in the space.
