Early Christian history comes alive in the world’s oldest known church — St. Peter’s Cave Church in ancient Antioch, built around 40 A.D. by Saints Peter and Paul during their first missionary journeys. This humble cave served as the spiritual headquarters of the early Church, where great figures like Peter, Paul, John, Ignatius, and Polycarp gathered. Antioch is also the place where, as Acts 11:26 records, the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians.” Later, Saint Ignatius of Antioch — a close friend of the Apostles and a courageous defender of the faith — became the first person in history to use the word “Catholic” to describe the universal Church. Today, St. Peter’s Cave Church still stands as a powerful witness to the birth of Christianity, the roots of the Catholic faith, and the enduring legacy of the apostles who once preached within its simple stone walls.
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