Archaeologists recently unearthed what is believed to be one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, dating back to the beginning of the faith when the early followers of Jesus Christ. Researchers at the University of Münster announced the monumental discovery of the church that was dated to the fourth century.
The church building remains at the Artaxata site in the Ararat Plain, where researchers have been digging since 2018. However, the excavation recently uncovered the signs of the Christian worship building. “The find consists of an octagonal building with cruciform extensions,” she said.
“Typologically, the find corresponds to early Christian memorial buildings. In the cross-shaped extensions, the researchers discovered the remains of wooden platforms, which were radiocarbon dated to the mid-4th century AD,” a press release said.
Reportedly, signs of marble were found at the site, suggesting it was beautifully decorated. “The 4th century building is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country – sensational evidence for early Christianity in Armenia,” University of Münster Professor Achim Lichtenberger said. “According to legend, Gregory the Illuminator converted the Armenian king Tiridates III to Christianity in Artaxata in 301 AD, making Armenia the first Christian state in the world,” a further statement read.
The press release said, “The medieval monastery of Khor Virap, just a stone’s throw from the now-discovered church, is a reminder of this tradition. Artaxata served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, ruled by the Artaxiad and Arsacid dynasties. The city developed into an important metropolis in the Hellenistic period and was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia for almost six centuries.”
The Christian Tribune recently reported on another monumental discovery of a crucial artifact from early Christianity known as the Megiddo Mosaic. The mosaic dates back to the days of the Roman Empire which persecuted Christians. However, the mosaic affirmed the early belief that Jesus Christ was God as the piece of art has an inscription that read, “To God Jesus Christ.”
Museum of the Bible CEO Carlos Campo spoke about the mosaic, “A remarkable story of a place that brought people in from many different areas, and yet they shared enough in common to understand that they were people who could celebrate, worship, and come together in peace. And it’s what we come together to celebrate today.”
He added, “Some people would posit that, well, after Jesus died, there was this dark phase where almost no one was following Christ,” he said. “Well, this mosaic says that that’s not true, that there were people even under persecution, which they certainly had, who were faithful followers of Jesus Christ.”
Featured image credit: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monasterio_de_Tatev,_Armenia,_2016-10-01,_DD_89-91_HDR.jpg