2021-2022 Grant in Aid of Research
Archaeology, Women, and Early Christianity.
Carina Prestes
I would like to use this grant to visit the art museum at Yale University. More specifically, the exhibition of the archaeological finds of Dura Europos, an archaeological site in Syria. Yale excavated the site almost a century ago. Their excavation revealed the earliest Christian church found so far, a house church. The walls of this building were covered with frescoes. The paintings were removed and brought back to the US. Now, the church frescoes and other finds are part of the exhibit at the Yale Art Museum. This church is quite relevant for my dissertation because the frescoes portray numerous women in a clerical context. Of great importance also is the church’s early date (first half of 200s). Thus, the date and location make this church the closest parallel known to biblical Christianity. Hence, it can suggest practices brought from the New Testament, namely, women leaders in the Christian church. For these reasons I would like to visit the art museum in Yale. In this opportunity I can study and photograph the frescoes by myself, get acquainted with the published materials on it, and collect documents they have about it. This trip can augment the body of material culture pointing to female participation in the Christian church before the fourth century. This church makes a link between the practices of the New Testament and the Byzantine period. With this research I would like to show that the closer one gets to New Testament practices, the more women will be seen as ministers in Christian communities.