DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32867#0249
CHURCHES
21 7
Church of St. Sergius, at Babiska. It is a small church and stands on the western
confines of the ruined town. Its inside measurements are 17.70 m.
by 11.85 m. over all, or 48 by 32 feet of the ancient measure. Very
little of the edifice remains ; the west front and portions of the south
wall, with one of the piers and part of the wall of the sanctuary, are
all that is now in situ. These now present the most meager details.
The fa^ade was broken only by the portal; it has no windows and
no string moldings. The portal is provided with moldings, which,
like those at Kbkanaya (see page 214), curve up to form a semicircle
in the middle of the lintel and describe volutes at the bottom of
the jambs. The inscription, 1 which gives the date 609/10 a.d. and
the name of the patron saint, follows the upward curve of the moldings and extends
for a short distance down the jamb. On either side of the lintel are brackets for the
support of a porch, like those at Kbkanaya. The entrance to the diaconicum was
arched, and a narrow round arch spanned the interior of the prothesis. The chancel
arch was molded, and the caps of its supports were carved with plain, stiff acanthus
leaves. The scarcity of ruins within the church suggests that it was never completed;
it is more probable,
however, that the
blocks of stone, being
somewhat smaller than
those of the earlier
buildings, were among
the first to be carried
away by the builders
of the modern village
of Sermeda, in the plain
to the east, who are
still plundering the
ancient town for build-
ing materials. Only a
single capitalwas found
in the ruins, and only
small fragments of
column shafts were visible. It is difficult to explain why Babiska, which had pro-
duced so large and beautiful a structure as the East Church in the early part of the
fifth century, should have built so poor a structure as the Church of St. Sergius at
the beginning of the seventh. The apparent poverty and the meagerness of the
artistic effort displayed in this latest of the dated churches in Northern Syria may not
Ruins of sanctuary of Church of St. Sergius, at Babiska.
Fig. 86. Plan of Church
of St. Sergius, atBabiska.
1 Part III, insc. 71.
21 7
Church of St. Sergius, at Babiska. It is a small church and stands on the western
confines of the ruined town. Its inside measurements are 17.70 m.
by 11.85 m. over all, or 48 by 32 feet of the ancient measure. Very
little of the edifice remains ; the west front and portions of the south
wall, with one of the piers and part of the wall of the sanctuary, are
all that is now in situ. These now present the most meager details.
The fa^ade was broken only by the portal; it has no windows and
no string moldings. The portal is provided with moldings, which,
like those at Kbkanaya (see page 214), curve up to form a semicircle
in the middle of the lintel and describe volutes at the bottom of
the jambs. The inscription, 1 which gives the date 609/10 a.d. and
the name of the patron saint, follows the upward curve of the moldings and extends
for a short distance down the jamb. On either side of the lintel are brackets for the
support of a porch, like those at Kbkanaya. The entrance to the diaconicum was
arched, and a narrow round arch spanned the interior of the prothesis. The chancel
arch was molded, and the caps of its supports were carved with plain, stiff acanthus
leaves. The scarcity of ruins within the church suggests that it was never completed;
it is more probable,
however, that the
blocks of stone, being
somewhat smaller than
those of the earlier
buildings, were among
the first to be carried
away by the builders
of the modern village
of Sermeda, in the plain
to the east, who are
still plundering the
ancient town for build-
ing materials. Only a
single capitalwas found
in the ruins, and only
small fragments of
column shafts were visible. It is difficult to explain why Babiska, which had pro-
duced so large and beautiful a structure as the East Church in the early part of the
fifth century, should have built so poor a structure as the Church of St. Sergius at
the beginning of the seventh. The apparent poverty and the meagerness of the
artistic effort displayed in this latest of the dated churches in Northern Syria may not
Ruins of sanctuary of Church of St. Sergius, at Babiska.
Fig. 86. Plan of Church
of St. Sergius, atBabiska.
1 Part III, insc. 71.