History for Lunch: The Role of Baptisteries in Byzantine Pilgrimage Sites of the Levant

Dr. Robert W. Smith, the Distinguished Professor of History at Mid-Atlantic Christian University, will take participants from modern baptismal practices of congregations in eastern North Carolina to Byzantine baptisteries in the Holy Land. While modern Christians in the United States may undergo multiple baptisms, "rebaptism" was a capital offense under the Law Code of the Byzantine Empire. This presentation will propose an explanation for how the baptisteries of pilgrimage facilities functioned legally in the Levant. Dr. Smith has conducted archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Abila, Jordan, since 1984, including the city’s pilgrimage complex.