In Egypt, two 1500-year-old churches with fresco of Christ the Healer found

Excavations of ancient churches in the Egyptian Kharga Oasis. Photo: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt

At the end of August 2025, archaeologists in Egypt uncovered the remains of two ancient 1500-year-old churches. One of them preserved a rare fresco depicting Jesus Christ healing a sick person, reports the website Crosswalk.com.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt officially announced the find this summer, noting that the churches date back to saying the find dates to the “beginning of the Early Coptic Era”, which saw the conversion of the region “from paganism to Christianity”.

Coptic Christianity traces its roots to the first century, when tradition holds that the Apostle Mark brought the Good News to the area. The Coptic Church separated from Orthodoxy after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, influenced by national conflicts in Egypt and Byzantium.

Both churches were discovered at the site of the lost Coptic city of Ain al-Kharab in the Kharga Oasis, located 200 km from the Nile Valley.

According to the Arkeonews portal, one of the churches had a basilica plan with a wide nave and columns, and nearby were auxiliary rooms, indicating its significance as a spiritual and community center.

The second church was more modest in size, had a rectangular shape, and seven columns outside. Inside, Coptic inscriptions-prayers were preserved, testifying to the life of the first Egyptian Christians.

All the buildings were constructed from mudbrick. The most valuable discovery was the fresco depicting Christ the Healer. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities did not release a photo of the mural but did share an image of the site.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that in France, archaeologists uncovered a 1500-year-old Christian cathedral with a baptistery.

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