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The monastic movement started spontaneously in the early 4th century CE in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, already before Christianity became the official religion of the empire. By the middle of that century, monasticism had spread throughout the Christian East, and by the last quarter of the century, monasteries were common in all Near Eastern provinces. By the early 5th century CE, monasticism was fully integrated into the ecclesiastical establishment. Monks had a tremendous influence on the Chr…

Caesarea, founded by King Herod the Great in the years 22–10 BCE, served as a military stronghold, administrative capital, and main harbor for his vast kingdom of Judaea. He named it after his patron in Rome – Caesar Augustus. The harbor was likewise named σεβαστός (Gk for “Augustus”). A network of five paved Roman roads connected the city with its countryside and with other inland cities. During the circa 650 years of its existence under Roman regime, it was a prospering city.In 68 CE Vespasian was proclaimed emperor by his troops in Caesarea (Jos. Bell. 4.488–506). In 71 CE it became a…

The emperor Constantine, encouraged by his mother, Helena, was the first to erect churches in the Holy Land. Earlier Christians did not have a prayer house with distinctive architectural features. Their place of assembly was a domus ecclesiae – a domestic building that was adjusted to serve the religious, administrative, and charitable needs of the congregation. The best known is the Christian community house ( domus ecclesiae), uncovered in the early 20th century in Dura-Europos – a small town of a Hellenized community on the Euphrates, in Syria. But recently…