Summary: Part 2 reveals many recently discovered signs of early Christianity that may rewrite history concerning how fast and far the Gospel spread.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. – Matthew 16:18 (ESV)
Earliest signs of Christianity
In Part 1 we discussed the recent discovery of a 1,500-year-old church with a mosaic blessing from Deuteronomy 28:6. In Part 2 we will look at the oldest known Christian church in the world, the first mention of Jesus as God in archaeology, the oldest evidence of Christianity in Europe, Egypt’s first Christian church, and an early Byzantine-style basilica in Aquileia, Italy.
World’s Earliest Church – Armenia
Remains of a previously unknown early Christian church were recently uncovered in Artaxata, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, the first kingdom to officially embrace Christianity in AD 301. The church dates back 1,700 years, to the 4th century, making the structure one of the oldest churches in the world.
The find “consists of an octagonal building with cruciform extensions” that “corresponds to early Christian memorial buildings,” said archaeologists from the University of Münster and Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences in an October 2024 press release. The building is about 100 feet in diameter with “a simple mortar floor and terracotta tiles. Fragments of marble, imported from the Mediterranean, suggest that the church was once “lavishly decorated.”
Remains of wooden platforms found in the cross-shaped extensions were radiocarbon dated to the mid-4th century, enabling the researchers to determine that the structure “is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country,” said Prof. Achim Lichtenberger of the University of Münster. “Sensational evidence for early Christianity in Armenia.”
From the hilltop ruins of Artaxata in southern Armenia, a spectacular view of Mt. Ararat can be seen just across the Turkish border. The city was founded in 176 BC and “developed into an important metropolis,” especially during the Hellenistic period, serving as the capital for almost six centuries, the researchers said. Nearby is the pilgrimage site Khor Virap, an ancient and still active monastery.
In the Roman world the persecution of Christians wasn’t outlawed until AD 313 with the Edict of Milan issued by Roman Emperor Constantine. Nevertheless, before the official edict, Gregory the Illuminator converted Armenian King Tiridates III in AD 301, making “Armenia the first Christian state in the world,” stated the press release.
Armenia already claims the world’s oldest church, the Vagharshapat Etchmiadzin Cathedral, also built in 301. It isn’t clear if this newly discovered Artaxata church is older, but if it is, it wouldn’t be by much. Plus, they are both in Armenia.
There are other locations where Christians gathered that predate these but they weren’t officially built as churches. Christians first met in homes and in secret when persecution began.
Ancient Christian houses of prayer include the Dura-Europos house/church in Syria, thought to have been a private home converted to a Christian house of worship in the mid-3rd century. The Megiddo Church in Israel, dating from the early 3rd century, was also similarly repurposed, and is another early contender, as is the Aqaba Church in Jordan from the late 3rd century, previously thought to be the earliest purpose-built Christian house of worship.
“Jesus is God” Megiddo Mosaic
Although it isn’t a very recent find, it is worth mentioning the groundbreaking discovery of the mosaic floor from an early Christian prayer hall that was found during construction on the Megiddo prison in northern Israel.
“This structure is interpreted as the oldest Christian prayer house in the world… and in fact, it tells the story of Christianity even before it became official,” said the IAA.
The most important inscription contained in the mosaic states, “to the God Jesus Christ.” Dated to AD 230, this is the first known archeological evidence of the early Christian belief that Jesus was divine.
The statement “God Jesus Christ” is extremely significant since critics have argued that Jesus never claimed to be God and that this belief developed later (perhaps at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325), as Christianity got further away from the actual events of Jesus’ life. The claim that belief in a divine Jesus was a later invention is contradicted by passages in the Bible itself, as well as writings by the church fathers as early as the year 117 (Ignatius). Finding this early evidence that Christians did indeed believe Jesus is God reinforces the credibility of the Bible.
The mosaic also contains images of fish which were an early Christian symbol. The Greek name for fish, ‘ICHTHYS,’ was an acronym for, ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.’ The fish image also represents when Jesus called the fishermen, Peter and Andrew, to follow him saying he would make them “fishers of men.”
Earliest Christian Sign in Germany
A nearly 1,800-year-old silver amulet was discovered in a grave in Germany in the Heilmannstraße area, the site of the ancient Roman city of Nida, announced researchers from the Leibniz Center for Archaeology (LEIZA) in Mainz last December. The unprecedented artifact is the oldest evidence of Christianity discovered anywhere north of the Alps.
This discovery pushes back the known date of Christianity’s spread into northern Europe by as much as a century. Before this find, dated AD 230-270, there was no archaeological evidence that Christianity had any presence in northern Europe that early.
The ancient Roman-era cemetery, near the city of Frankfurt, contained 127 graves including one with a remarkable artifact. Tucked under the chin of a man who died between the age 35-45 years, archaeologists found a silver amulet measuring almost 1 ½ inches with a tiny, rolled scroll inside.
CT scanning technology enabled the fragile scroll’s inscription to be viewed without physically unrolling it. Markus Scholz, an archaeologist from Goethe University Institute of Archaeological Sciences in Frankfurt, deciphered the 18-line text. Surprisingly, it was written in Latin. “Normally, such inscriptions on amulets were written in Greek or Hebrew,” he said.
The message reads as follows, with question marks designating suggestions for words that were difficult to decipher:
(In the name?) of Saint Titus. Holy, holy, holy! In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God! The Lord of the world resists with [strengths?] all attacks(?)/setbacks(?). The God(?) grants entry to well-being. May this means of salvation(?) protect the man who surrenders himself to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, since before Jesus Christ every knee bows: those in heaven, those on earth and those under the earth, and every tongue confesses (Jesus Christ).
At the time the Roman individual was buried, it was risky to advertise a belief in Christianity. Nevertheless, the man chose to wear the amulet, demonstrating how far and fast Christianity spread despite persecution from the Roman world.
Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef expressed excitement in a statement issued by the city’s government: “The ‘Frankfurt Inscription’ is a scientific sensation. The first Christian find north of the Alps comes from our city. We can be proud of that.”
Oldest Church in Egypt
A team of archaeologists unearthed a “remarkable” 1,600-year-old Christian church in Egypt, along with “surprising” human remains. The excavation was led by David Ratzan, a scholar of ancient civilizations at New York University, and Nicola Aravecchia, an archaeologist at Washington University in St. Louis who published his findings in the book, Early Christianity at Amheida (Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis), A Fourth-Century Church.
The ruins of the basilica-church were uncovered during ongoing excavations at the archaeological site of Trimithis, a once-flourishing ancient city near the western edge of the Dakhla Oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert, part of the wider Sahara. The 4th century church is among the earliest purpose-built churches in Egypt. It also contains one of the oldest known funerary crypts excavated in Egypt.
The church at Trimithis, modern Amheida, offers a wealth of new data on early Christianity in Egypt, particularly with respect to the earliest phases of Christian art, architecture and burial customs.
The building is part of the “the second generation of purpose-built churches in the mid-4th century but one of the oldest to be excavated in Egypt,” said Ratzan. Christians had been gathering in churches of various sorts, such as homes or rented rooms, since the 1st century. Not until the 3rd century do we have indications of dedicated church buildings, according to Ratzan.
The “basilica” type of church found at Trimithis only started being built in the beginning of the 4th century with the reign and patronage of Roman Emperor Constantine, who ruled from AD 306-337. “Churches in this style, based on the Roman basilica, a type of public building dedicated to administration and law, date back only to a generation or two before the church at Trimithis, since only then did Christians feel sufficiently confident to build proudly public spaces of worship,” explained Ratzan.
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of 17 people buried in the church, including women and children, which is unusual due to the patriarchal nature of Roman society at that time. “It was hard to know what to expect with respect to who might be buried here, since so few churches from this period survive, and even fewer have been fully excavated,” said Ratzan. “It is safe to say, however, that almost nobody would have guessed that of the 12 people buried in the crypts, at least seven would be female, with eight of the 17 being children or adolescents, including infants.”
The archaeological site of Trimithis is extensive, extending across the equivalent of roughly 75 football fields. “This is an exciting discovery and one that we expect will make a significant impact on the discussion of the history of early Christianity,” said Ratzan.
Austria, Aquileia 4th Century Church
The discovery of a remarkably early Christian Byzantine-style basilica in Aquileia, Italy was announced last November. “This basilica is the first newly discovered large building in decades of intensive archaeological research in Aquileia,” said lead archaeologist Stefan Groh of Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW). “Its architecture exhibits striking parallels with examples from the Eastern Roman Empire, from Egypt to the Balkans and now to the Upper Adriatic.”
The initial building, dated to the 4th century, was expanded in the 6th century under Emperor Justinian I. Renovations include a three-aisled transept (cross-shaped) basilica with three apses (arched semicircular recesses). The basilica’s southeast orientation towards Constantinople and Jerusalem reflects its spiritual and political significance, according to Groh.
Located in the northeastern Italian province of Udine, Aquileia was established in 181 BC as a Roman military colony, along an essential trade route near the Via Annia that connected Milan and Rome. Aquileia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, often regarded as Italy’s largest un-excavated Roman city.
The discovery highlights the role of religious architecture in Justinian’s geopolitical strategy, serving both as a statement of imperial power and a reflection of Aquileia’s integration into the Byzantine sphere.
Justinian I took a leading role in shaping church policy. As a strong defender of Christian Orthodoxy, he strove to root out Greco-Roman paganism and Manichaeism, as well as oppose competing Christian sects, such as the Arians and the Monophysites. Justinian also came into direct conflict with the papacy in 543, further straining relations between the western and eastern territories of his empire.
Conclusion
The more archaeological excavations that are conducted, the more evidence we find of the fast and far reaching spread of early Christianity, consistent with the commands of Jesus and the trajectory depicted in the New Testament..
Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Armenia, 4th century church, a preliminary reconstruction on top of the antique church of Artaxata. (credit: Armenian-German Artaxata Project)
