29 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The Historian Says That the Saint Petrus Cave Church in Antakya is Not the First

According to a news from Trt World, A historian who was in the news recently for claiming a church in Konya’s Sille was the first in Christian history reconsiders, saying he means that St Peter’s Cave Church in Antioch is not the first.

Olgunlu recently made the news in his native Turkey for claiming that the first church in history was not in Antioch (Hatay), as many sources say, including the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, but in Konya’s Sille district.

Olgunlu told Independent Turkce that the church in Sille was built in CE 327 by Constantine’s mother Helena, divulging to the website “The first church in the world is what is known as St Helena’s church.”

When asked about written sources that verify his claims, Olgunlu says he has used his expertise and imagination to conceive the idea. “But,” he adds,”I’m not saying the church in Konya is the first church in Christianity. What I’m saying is that the church in Antioch [St. Peter’s Cave Church] is not the first.”

He expands on the idea: “Before Christianity became accepted by the Roman Empire, many disciples of Christ practiced secretly in caves. The cave church in Antioch [‘kenise’, he calls it] is one of many in the area and we cannot tell which was earlier and which was later. Whereas the St Helena church provided a space to worship before Rome accepted Christianity, and it is a proper church [‘kilise’].”

Saint Helena church 1
In his first statement Olgunlu, “The world’s first church is still known as Saint Helena today” said.

Olgunlu says that the building as it is now has domes because it has been rebuilt on the same site, but then shifts gears. “What’s important is that we give up trying to provide sensational touristic headlines to our treasures,” he says. “Anatolia has many firsts, but we shouldn’t try to find them where there are none,” he continues, referring to St Peter’s Cave Church and a few others.

Olgunlu also mentions that “No other geography in the world can use plural when talking about civilisation, except Anatolia. We talk about Anatolian civilisations.” He goes on to say Turkey is not a mosaic. “A mosaic tile does not give an idea about the whole. Whereas Anatolia is a dough, from Gobeklitepe to the Hittites to the Ionians to the Romans to the Seljuks to the Ottomans.”

According to Olgunlu, “culture is the cause of something, and tourism is its indicator.” He says he wishes tourism professionals wouldn’t comment on historic sites according to their own agendas. “Tourism professionals should consult cultural historians, and the combination would be awe inspiring,” he concludes.

Saint Helana
Saint Helana

Who is Saint Helena?

According to historical sources Helena was born in Drapene in 250.

Although her husband divorced her on the grounds that she was not from a noble family, when her son Constantin became emperor, Helana gained the title of Empress.

In his eighties, she went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He found the sacred items of Christ and brought them to Constantinapolis.

One of these sacred relics is known as the bones of St. Stephen, who was considered the first martyr for the Christian world.

St. Stefanos was the first killed person to be get fired and stoned from Jerusalem for believing in Christianity.

Having a devout, charitable and forgiving life, Helena was given the title of ‘mother of Christians’ by the fathers of the Iznik council.

While Roman emperors were given the title of “Caesar Augustus” after the year 31 B.C, it was accepted as a tradition that the spouses of the emperors were given the title “Augusta”.

Helena is known as the first time person who received this title through her son, although she was not the emperor’s wife.

It is said that the Saint Helena church in Konya was built with her permission.

Related Articles

Altar site for Greek goddess Demeter unearthed in Turkey’s ancient city of Blaundus

21 December 2021

21 December 2021

An altar site for the Greek goddess Demeter was unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Blaundus,...

In the excavations at Tepecik Mound in Aydın, Türkiye, a palace-like structure dating back to the 13th century BCE was discovered

13 August 2023

13 August 2023

Excavations at Tepecik Mound in the Çine district of Aydın province, located in the western part of Turkey, revealed a...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Unique Ancient Roman Winery with Marble Tiling and Fountains of Grape Juice

17 April 2023

17 April 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a unique ancient Roman winery at the luxurious Villa of the Quintilii, just to the south of...

Neo-Assyrian underground complex discovered under a house in southeastern Turkey

11 May 2022

11 May 2022

An underground Iron Age complex has been found in Turkey that may have been used by a fertility cult during...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Roman-Era Clay Theater Ticket in Ancient City of Prusias ad Hypium

1 December 2024

1 December 2024

Excavations at the ancient city of Prusias Ad Hypium in the Konuralp region of Düzce in northwestern Türkiye have uncovered...

Hittite Royal Seal Warns ‘Whoever Breaks This Will Die’

7 July 2024

7 July 2024

During the excavations in Kırıkkale, a cuneiform seal used by the royal family during the Hittite Empire was unearthed. The...

Archaeologists have unearthed a flawless Roman blue glass bowl in the Dutch city of Nijmegen

23 January 2022

23 January 2022

Archaeologists excavating the site of a comprehensive housing and green space development in Nijmegen’s Winkelsteeg, one of the oldest cities...

A 4,500-year-old rope remains were discovered at Turkey’s Seyitömer mound

26 December 2021

26 December 2021

In the rescue excavation carried out in the mound, which is located within the license border of Çelikler Seyitömer Electricity...

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...

3500-year-old mysterious hieroglyphs discovered in Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa deciphered

12 October 2023

12 October 2023

Some of the Anatolian hieroglyphs discovered last year in the Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa, the former capital of the Hittite...

The World’s Oldest Smiling Water Flask with Emoji will be on display

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, the Late Hittite States was established in Anatolia and Syria. One of these...

Who really fought in the Battle of Himera? Researchers found the answer to the question

14 May 2021

14 May 2021

According to the Ancient Greek Historians, victory over the Carthaginians in the Battle of Himera was won by the alliance...

Archaeologists found a 2,000-year-old Roman road in Cluj-Napoca in northwest Romania

23 January 2023

23 January 2023

Archaeologists from the National Museum of the History of Transylvania have discovered a well-preserved 2,000-year-old Roman road in the city...

A Roman statue of the sea god Triton discovered near A2, London Road

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman Statue of Triton during excavations in preparation for a housing development in Kent, England. Archaeologists...

A previously unknown subterranean tract of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples

4 February 2023

4 February 2023

A previously unknown subterranean tract nearly half a mile long of an Augustan-era aqueduct has been rediscovered in Naples, southern...