Current Issue
Past Issues
Editoral Policy
About Us
Guide to Contributors
Call for Papers
Submission
‘Atiqot 84 (2016)
ISBN 2948-040X
Fragments of Liturgical Furniture from the Church of Bishop Johannes at Horbat Barqa, Gan Yavne
(Hebrew, pp. 127*–141*; English summary, pp. 133–135)
Lihi Habas
Keywords: Christianity, iconography, art, symbols, Sacra Mensa, liturgy, art, metal, inlay
The excavation at Horbat Barqa yielded fragments of marble liturgical furniture belonging to an altar table, two chancel-screen panels—one solid and one with a lace pattern—as well as a silver-plated bronze cross with holes, which was probably inlaid in an architectural element. Based on parallels, the chancel screens seem to have been decorated with the
stephanos
composition (
stephanostaurion
), which symbolizes Christ, the redemption and the salvation that he brought, and the triumph over death. The liturgical area of the apse and the
bema
were not preserved; however, the altar-table fragments and the chancel screens provide evidence for their existence.