Many New Testament churches met in homes of the wealthy because these homes would have had enough room to accommodate the larger groups. The earliest official “church building” was a converted house in Dura-Europos, Syria, which is dated to have been converted around 250AD. Although there is not a record of how a typical service was performed early church services were most likely patterned after Jewish services which were built around four events: praise, prayer, Scripture reading, and instruction. There is clear evidence that the early church was a singing church; Paul encouraged the churches to sing to each other “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” One of the important differences between the services in the apostolic church and Jewish synagogues was that the Lord’s Supper was observed, and the evidence points to weekly observance on the Lord’s Day.
Key Words
Church homes, communion, upper room, huperoon (Greek), St. Cyril of Jerusalem, peristyle, triclinium, church building, Dura-Europos, Shema, Dead Sea Community, Qumran, Ralph Martin, proseuche, Aramaic loan words, maranatha, Abba, amen, Lord’s Supper, Eucharist, agape feast, Tertullian, proestos, worship
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