Did you know that the origins of the Christmas tree can be traced back to the use of decorated trees flanking the bema (altar platform) inside early Syrian churches? This custom is as old as the 5th century and, like many aspects of western civilization, it originates from the Middle East.

Excavations of the North Ridge Church began in 1996 under the direction of Patricia Bikai of ACOR.  It  is constructed on top of a earlier Nabataean water reservoir with an arched ceiling and against the north fortification wall. The church, which is one of the two known free-standing churches of Petra, dates to the 5th c. AD and resembles the aforementioned churches of Syria.

Pediments of Syrian churches, as well as churches on the west bank of the Jordan river and in the Sinai, are very steep, after the Roman tradition (or a northern tradition which derived from the archetypal Etruscan temple and was necessitated from snow). Churches south of Hauran (southern Syrian) may have followed the shallow Greek /Hellenistic pediment, which was used in the temples of the Roman period as well. The sloping of the pediment is reconstructed here with the average inclination of the two schools.The elements of two Nabataean half colonnetttes, which were found in the atrium, have been reconstructed as reused in a window at the center of the pediment.             
The Atrium of the
North Ridge Church
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Did you know that the origins of the Christmas tree can be traced back to the use of decorated trees flanking the bema (altar platform) inside early Syrian churches? This custom is as old as the 5th century and, like many aspects of western civilization, it originates from the Middle East.

Excavations of the North Ridge Church began in 1996 under the direction of Patricia Bikai of ACOR.  It  is constructed on top of a earlier Nabataean water reservoir with an arched ceiling and against the north fortification wall. The church, which is one of the two known free-standing churches of Petra, dates to the 5th c. AD and resembles the aforementioned churches of Syria.

Pediments of Syrian churches, as well as churches on the west bank of the Jordan river and in the Sinai, are very steep, after the Roman tradition (or a northern tradition which derived from the archetypal Etruscan temple and was necessitated from snow). Churches south of Hauran (southern Syrian) may have followed the shallow Greek /Hellenistic pediment, which was used in the temples of the Roman period as well. The sloping of the pediment is reconstructed here with the average inclination of the two schools.The elements of two Nabataean half colonnetttes, which were found in the atrium, have been reconstructed as reused in a window at the center of the pediment.             
Reconstruction by
Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos
The two larger columns inside the forecourt indicate that there must have been a portico attached against the facade of the church proper. The roof has been omitted here, so that the elements of the facade are visible. Only hypothetical beam holes for the insertion of the woodwork and "ghosts" of the wooden trusses hint the existence of a roof.  The courtyards had a semi-public function, between the public space of the street and the most private space, the house or the church. Since the North Ridge Church lacks evidence for a narthex (a compartment in front of some churches), the forecourt is where the novices would have stayed during the mystery of the "holy communion". Forecourts were also used as construction sites for the luxurious furniture with which the churches were adorned.