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Jordan Cave May Be World's First Church

Unearthed cavern could be oldest place of Christian worship

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 10, 2008 5:04 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Archaeologists have found what might be the world’s oldest Christian church in Rihab, Jordan, the BBC reports. The cavern, located under the also-ancient church of St. Georgeous, dates to between 33 and 70 AD, and doubled as a home.

Artifacts and inscriptions like “70 beloved by God and the divine" above a cistern have given researchers reason to believe the site was occupied by a community of 70 early Christians hiding from Roman persecution.

A Jordanian worker cleans a mosaic floor near the broken tombstones of early Christian graves in the cemetery of Saint Georgeous church in the northern Jordanian town of Rihab on June 10, 2008.
A Jordanian worker cleans a mosaic floor near the broken tombstones of early Christian graves in the cemetery of Saint Georgeous church in the northern Jordanian town of Rihab on June 10, 2008.   (Getty Images)
A Jordanian worker descends to a cave under the church of Saint Georgeous in the northern Jordanian town of Rihab on June 10, 2008, thought by Archaeologists to be the very first church in the world.
A Jordanian worker descends to a cave under the church of Saint Georgeous in the northern Jordanian town of Rihab on June 10, 2008, thought by Archaeologists to be the very first church in the world.   (Getty Images)
A Jordanian worker stands in the cave under the Church of Saint Georgeous in the northern Jordanian town of Rihab on June 10, 2008, thought by archaeologists to be the oldest church in the world.
A Jordanian worker stands in the cave under the Church of Saint Georgeous in the northern Jordanian town of Rihab on June 10, 2008, thought by archaeologists to be the oldest church in the world.   (Getty Images)
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More info on the find in Jordan
MSNBC

 
Jordan • archaeology • Christianity • church • Roman Empire

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