Archaeologists discover remains of oldest church in Armenia
A team of archaeologists in Armenia have discovered the remains of what is believed to be the oldest church building in that country.
Researchers with the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia and the University of Münster announced last Friday that they uncovered a previously unknown church in Artaxata.
“The 4th century building is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country — sensational evidence for early Christianity in Armenia,” said professor Achim Lichtenberger of the University of Münster, as quoted in the announcement.
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The discovered ruins at the ancient city featured an octagon-shaped church building that is about 30 meters in diameter, which has been partially excavated by researchers and studied via geophysical methods.
“Octagonal churches were unknown here until now, but we are very familiar with them from the Eastern Mediterranean region, where they first appeared in the 4th century AD,” said Mkrtich H. Zardaryan of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, as quoted in the announcement.
The church building is believed to correspond to “early Christian memorial buildings,” noted the researchers. Wooden platforms at the building were radiocarbon dated to the mid-fourth century.
Researchers believe that the church would have been “lavishly decorated,” as they found marble at the site that would have been imported from the Mediterranean.
The joint German-Armenian research team began their work in Armenia last September and plan to continue their excavations, as the team wants to learn who the church had been dedicated to.
Armenia is considered the first Christian nation in world history when their monarch adopted the faith as the kingdom’s official religion in 301 through the mission work of Saint Gregory the Illuminator.
“The conversion of Armenia to Christianity was probably the most crucial step in its history,” explained historian R. G. Hovannisian.
“It turned Armenia sharply away from its Iranian past and stamped it for centuries with an intrinsic character as clear to the native population as to those outside its borders, who identified Armenia almost at once as the first state to adopt Christianity.”
In 451, when the Persian Empire demanded that the Armenians convert from Christianity to Zoroastrianism, they resisted and, led by a prince named St. Vartan, fought a major battle at Avarayr.
“The battle has been described as bloody and horrendous,” recounted The Armenian Church. “Although St. Vartan, along with many of his comrades, suffered defeat and died, their fight to defend their faith was not in vain. The Persians eventually stopped their efforts to convert Armenia to Zoroastrianism."
