Archaeologists Just Discovered a Christian Church from the 4th Century—One of the Oldest in the World

• Archaeologists discovered a fourth-century Christian church in Armenia, considered the country’s oldest.
• Armenia is believed to be the first Christian state in the world after King Tiridates III converted to Christianity.
• The octagonal shape of the building wasn’t common in the immediate area, but it was with churches throughout the world, as the number eight held symbolic meaning in biblical context.

For obvious reasons, the life and death of Jesus Christ had a wide-ranging impact on the world’s culture, including architecturally. Early Christian churches were often shaped like an octagon, which was an early Christian church symbol for the resurrection of Jesus and, more broadly, the rebirth of life.

Archaeologists recently discovered such a structure in Armenia’s ancient city of Artaxata, considered the first Christian state in the world.

Dating to the mid-fourth century AD, it is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country and provides additional evidence for early Christianity in Armenia, Achim Lichtenberger, professor at the University of Münster, said in a statement.

“Octagonal churches were unknown here until now,” Mkrtich Zardaryan of the National Academy of Sciences in Armenia said in a statement, “but we are very familiar with them from the Eastern Mediterranean region, where they first appeared in the fourth century AD.”

In a biblical context, the number eight often symbolizes rebirth, so because of that, the octagon was one of the key symbols of the early church—not to mention that the octagonal shape, rather than a rectangle, allows for a larger main area inside a church. By the fourth century, the shape became a common base structure for early churches.

The Armenia find, radiocarbon-dated to the mid-fourth century AD, features a roughly 100-foot-diameter octagonal structure with a simple mortar floor and terracotta tiles. Researchers noted that the cross-shaped extensions showed remains of wood platforms. The archaeologists also found remnants of marble suggesting that the church was lavishly decorated with material imported from the Mediterranean.

Scholars believe that Gregory the Illuminator converted Armenia’s King Tiridates III to Christianity in Artaxata in 301 AD, making Armenia the first Christian state in the world. With Artaxata the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, the city was a key stronghold in the region for centuries and would seem a likely home for a church. Adding to the likelihood, the medieval monastery of Khor Virap sits nearby to the newly discovered church.

A team of German and Armenian archaeologists have been exploring Artaxata in the Ararat Plain since 2018, and the excavation team has been at the site of where they discovered the church since September. They hope to next unearth additional information about the building, including information about who the church was dedicated to.