I was reading my RSS reader this morning over a coffee and almost spilt my coffee over myself and my laptop when I read one of the headlines streaming from the ABC. The headline was “World’s first church unearthed in Jordan” — so, there I was thinking they had unearthed a mass grave of early Christians, slaughtered by the Empire of the time.
But no. The article goes on to say that archaeologists have unearthed a shelter, or place where early Christians hid.
“We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD,” Jordan Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies spokesman Abdul Qader al-Husan said.
He said it was uncovered under Saint Georgeous Church, which itself dates back to 230 AD, in Rihab in northern Jordan near the Syrian border.
“We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians — the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ,” Mr Husan said.
These Christians, who are described in a mosaic as “the 70 beloved by God and Divine,” are said to have fled persecution in Jerusalem and founded churches in northern Jordan.
He cited historical sources which suggest they both lived and practised religious rituals in the underground church and only left it after Christianity was embraced 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.”
Researchers recovered pottery dating back to between the 3rd and 7th centuries, which they say suggests these first Christians and their followers lived in the area until late Roman rule.
Inside the cave there are several stone seats which are believed to have been for the clergy and a circular shaped area, thought to be the apse.
There is also a deep tunnel which is believed to have led to a water source, the archaeologist added.
Rihab is home to a total of 30 churches and Jesus and the Virgin Mary are believed to have passed through the area, Mr Husan said.
So I guess many of the emergent missional thinkers and writers will have to incorporate this into some of the talk going around — hey for that matter won’t the book, Pagan Christianity have to be re-written to allow for the use of church buildings? Of course not!
I find it very annoying that these guys have already classified the ruins as a church with an area for the “clergy” — seemingly placing the Catholic frame-work of a church building on ruins that are, to say the least, a cave! Sure, early Christian’s met in caves and other hiding places (like the catacombs!) but I would love to see the evidence for the claim that these held the “70 disciples of Jesus Christ”. But, here I am thinking that the church began with Jesus and penetecost. Maybe I need to stop reading my bible.…
Addendum: Found this interesting article relating more about the dig and some of the expert archaeologists involved warning about jumping to conclusions.….
I love some of the discussion and comments from around <a href=“http://christianpost.com/article/20080610/32762_Archaeologists_Unearth_” onclick=“javascript:_gaq.push([’_trackEvent’,‘outbound-article’,‘christianpost.com’]);“World’s_First_Church’.htm” target=“_blank”>here, and here
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