An international assemblage of scientists recently discovered the oldest known Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa, 30 miles northeast of Aksum, the capital of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading empire that emerged in the first century A.D.
Through radiocarbon dating of artifacts uncovered at the church, the researchers concluded that the structure was built in the fourth century A.D., about the same time Roman Emperor Constantine I legalized Christianity in 313 CE and then converted on his deathbed in 337 CE.
