Jubail Church is a church building near Jubail, a city in the Eastern province on the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the oldest churches in the world. It contains two still visible crosses that have been carved into the wall on either side of the middle inner doorway leading from the nave towards the sanctuary. The church was discovered in 1986 and excavated by the Saudi Department of Antiquities in 1987. As of 2008, the results of the excavation had not been published, amid sensitivity about artifacts of non-Islamic religions.

Date

The date of the Jubail Church is contentious. Some sources place it in the fourth century, whereas others place it in the seventh. It contains a stucco, which suggests it is contemporary with similar Christian sites known from al-Qusur, Sir Bani Yas and Kharg.

History

The church originally belonged to the Church of the East (Nestorian Church), a branch of Eastern Christianity in West Asia. The majority of its adherents today are ethnic Assyrians. It was discovered in 1986 by picnickers, and excavated in 1987. As of 2009 the site was fenced, and tourists and archaeologists were not permitted to examine it. Faisal al-Zamil, who had previously visited the site, was not permitted to publish information about it in Saudi media.