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Archaeologists have unearthed in Jordan what they believe to be the
first Christian church in the world. Dating back almost 2,000 years to
sometime between 33 AD to 70 AD, the church, which is actually a cave,
was found underneath Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to
230 AD, in Rihab in northern Jordan near the Syrian border.
Agence France Presse and The Jordan Times report that the church is
thought to have sheltered the world's earliest Christians from
persecution and certain death. "We have evidence to believe this church
sheltered the early Christians--the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ," Abdul
Qader al-Husan, the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological
Studies, told AFP. According to Wikipedia, the 70 disciples were early followers of Jesus.
The Gospel of Luke 10:1-24 says that Jesus appointed them and sent them
out in pairs to spread his message. Those 70 early Christians that created this church are described in a
mosaic as "the 70 beloved by God and Divine," says Husan. They fled
persecution in Jerusalem and founded churches in northern Jordan. Rihab is now home to a total of 30 churches, and Jesus and the Virgin
Mary are believed to have passed through the area, Husan told AFP. Citing historical sources, Husan explained that these early Christians
lived and practiced their religious rituals in the underground church
and only left it once Christianity was accepted by Roman rulers. The
bishop deputy of the Greek Orthodox archdiocese, Archimandrite
Nektarious, described the discovery as an "important milestone for
Christians all around the world." What did they find inside the world's first church? In addition to
several stone seats that were probably used by clergy and a
circular-shaped area that served as an apse, they found pottery that
dates back to between the 3rd and 7th centuries, indicating the church
was used until late Roman rule. There is also a deep tunnel that is
thought to have led to a source of water. --From the Editors at Netscape
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