[2] It is believed to have been an ordinary house that was converted to a place of worship between 233 and 256 AD, and appears to have been built following the Durene tradition, distinguished by the use of mud brick and a layout consisting of rooms encircling a courtyard, which was characteristic of most other homes built in the Dura-Europos region.

This house's layout is typical of local domestic architecture; it had a square, central courtyard around which the various rooms were arranged.

[10] The house was probably built on a plot of undeveloped land; it was a little larger than the average size used for individual residences in Dura.

As noted in The Oxford History of Christian Worship; "one of the larger rooms served as a baptistry, another for the celebration of the Eucharist, and a third possibly for the instruction of catechumens".

High ceiling (about 5.07 m); it was also raised above the courtyard almost 0.5 m (1.6 ft) and included a peripheral masonry bench covered with a plaster coating.

A window was pierced in the south-eastern wall, and the doorway leading to room 6 to the north had a careful decoration that was unusual for an interior door.

All of the room's the walls received a rich, painted decoration; geometric and plant motifs were painted on the baptismal pool; the room's ceiling and the vault were decorated with white stars on a blue background, according to a pattern quite similar to that of the vault of the mithraeum of Dura Europos.

[19] The layout of the building's assembly room seems to suggest the emergence of the ritual Christian Mass at this time, with a raised dais on one end elevating the speaker and making them visible and audible to a large assembly, and the orientation of the room towards the east as opposed to the western Jerusalem, which was already at this moment in history a documented Christian custom.

[21] This room's numerous wall paintings were relatively well preserved and were made in the tradition of Parthian art, although their quality is significantly lower than that of the Dura-Europos synagogue.

[22] Another reason for this may have been restrictions placed on the practice of Christianity by the Roman Empire who had control over Dura-Europos at the time of its construction; the church was small so the believers could met in secret while the building looked the same as other houses of the block.

[23][24] The house-church was uncovered during an archaeological project that was first initiated at the end of World War I, and after stalling in 1923 due to civil unrest and revolts against French control in Syria, was reinvigorated in 1928 with the involvement of American researchers led by scientific director Michael Rostovtzeff of Yale University.

[25] Clark Hopkins, who was field director of the site from 1931 to 1935, oversaw the discovery of the house-church in 1931 working closely with Harry Pearson, who was able to construct a detailed floor plan of the church.

The discovery was significant at the time due to it being the only ritual Christian building dated from before the Constantinian era.

[26] It also offered a unique glimpse into the layout and architecture of such early converted Christian buildings before they were transformed into larger churches, since many such house-churches are known to have existed but were either destroyed or never uncovered.

[28] There is ongoing scholarly debate about the greater significance of Christian presence in Dura-Europos specifically, and the reason for the church's construction.

[29] Another theory is that Christianity arrived in Dura-Europos with the Roman army who made up "as much as 50 percent" of the city's population during the time in which they occupied it.

[31] The "Good Shepherd", the "Healing of the paralytic" and "Christ and Peter walking on the water" are considered the earliest depictions of Jesus.

The frescoes clearly followed the Hellenistic Jewish iconographic tradition but they are more crudely done than the paintings of the nearby Dura-Europos synagogue.

Both at Dura-Europos and in the catacombs, the visual jottings of seemingly disconnected scenes serve to answer the question: Who is our God?

Blessed be the God who, like a shepherd, finds and rescues the lost, who heals the sick and feeds the hungry!

Blessed be the God who raised Lazarus from the dead, and who lifts to eternal life all that go down into the tomb of baptism!

[34]Only the baptistry was decorated with wall paintings, which distinguished the church from the nearby Jewish synagogue that featured artwork on display throughout.

Scholars hypothesize that this difference stems from Christianity's desire to promote conversion at the time, which would only happen within the baptistry and give the convert the singular experience of witnessing the artworks when they were anointed.

[36] The baptismal font was on the west side of the room, where there were a brick canopy with a vaulted ceiling and two pillars in the front.

The representation of the Good Shepherd was extremely popular in ancient times; it is always a picture of a young, beardless man in a short skirt carrying a sheep on his back.

[39] The main part of the east and north wall is taken up in the lower half by a single scene, which is only partially preserved.

[40][41][42] Other investigations concluded the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins is presented here, whose story is transmitted in the Gospel according to Matthew 24:1–13.

Baptism was viewed in the Eastern Church as a kind of marriage between the baptized and Jesus, which explains the importance of the scenes.

[citation needed] The ruins of the oldest house church made of stone blocks, which were built at the beginning of the fourth century AD through the conversion of a residential building, are located in Qirqbize in northwest Syria.

In the nearby village of Fafertin stood the oldest purpose-built church building, which is inscribed and dated to 372 AD.