House call: A new study rethinks early Christian landmark

Since its discovery by modern researchers a century ago, an ancient structure known as the "Christian building" has become widely considered the cornerstone of early Christian architecture. Constructed around 232 C.E. in the ancient city of Dura-Europos, a Roman garrison town in what is now eastern Syria, the building is the only example of a "house church," or domus ecclesiae, a domestic space that was renovated for worship by Christians at a time when the open practice of their faith is thought to have made them subject to persecution.