The team, led by Yitzhak Magen and Yevgeny
Aharonovitch, unearthed the church not far from the Jewish
settlement of Shiloh in Samaria.
The floor of the worship sanctuary is decorated with
brightly colored mosaics and many of the inscriptions refer
to Yeshua (Jesus). The original church was built in 380
AD. It was probably destroyed by a flood and later replaced
by a new building, based on information gleaned from the
inscriptions.
Aharonovitch says one of the inscriptions is particularly
unusual as it mentions the name Shiloh: “Lord Jesus Christ, have
mercy on Seilun [Shiloh] and its inhabitants, Amen.”
“This is very rare and indicates that the early Christians
revered this place as a holy shrine,” Aharonovitch said.
** The full article appears in the April 2007 edition of israel today. SUBSCRIBE TODAY and don't miss another story!