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Garo Nalbandian

“I BAPTIZE WITH WATER.” The Byzantine trefoil baptismal font at Emmaus is one of the best preserved in the Holy Land. Two steps lead down into the basin where the penitent would stand when the priest poured water over him (the basin is not large enough for total immersion). Only a bishopric seat would have a baptismal font in a separate building, rather than as part of the church, which gives further evidence of the importance of Emmaus in the Byzantine period.