Is this Christianity's FIRST church? Cave where '70 beloved by God worshipped while Christ was alive' is found

Resembling scenes out of an Indiana Jones movie, scientists explored the  underground cavern and discovered a cave underneath the church which they believe it is an even more ancient site of Christian worship than the church site above it.

Archaeologist Abdel-Qader Hussein, head of the Rihab Center for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan told The Jordan Times:'We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD.

Archeeologists have discovered a cave underneath the Saint Georgeous Church in Jordan which they claim dates back to the time of Christ

'We have evidence to believe this church sheltered the early Christians - the 70 disciples of Jesus Christ.'

Mr Hussein said there was evidence that the underground cave was used in the first century after Christ's death, which would make it the oldest Christian site of worship in the world.

The cave was unearthed in the northern Jordanian city of Rihab after three months of excavation and shows evidence of early Christian rituals.

It lies under St. Georgeous church, which was built in 230 A.D.

A tourist takes a picture of an of Saint Georgeous Church in Rehab, 65 km northeast of the Jordanian capital Amman

An archaeologist walks 'inside' the old church

He described a circular worship area with stone seats separated from a living area that had a long tunnel leading to a source of water and said the early Christians hid there from persecution.

A mosaic inscription on the floor of the later church of St. Georgeous above refers to 'the 70 beloved by God and the divine' who laid the foundations for the Christian church.

But Thomas Parker, a historian at the University of North Carolina-Raleigh, who led the discovery of the church in Aqaba, said that while he hadn't seen the Rihab site, any such claim should be taken with a degree of caution.

'An extraordinary claim like this requires extraordinary evidence,' he said.

'We need to see the artifacts and dating evidence to suggest such an occupation in the 1st century A.D.'

Mr Parker asked how archaeologists could be certain whether the 'cave was actually a center of Christian worship.'

The cave's entrance was discovered during three months of excavations

An archaeologist studies the entrance to the cave which they believe Christians fled to in times of persecution

The archaeologist also said mosaics are difficult to date unless there is a precise date in the text of the inscriptions themselves.

He added typical mosaic inscriptions with Christian themes are usually from the 5th to 6th century.

'It's quite possible that there was a cave with earlier occupation which was later converted to Christian use,' he said.

'But to make the jump that this was actually used by Christians fleeing Jerusalem in the 1st century A.D. seems like a stretch to me.'

Archimandrite Nektarious, Bishop Deputy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Amman hailed as an 'important milestone for Christians all around the world and right here at home.'

'It confirms that Christians in this region are not strangers,' he said.

'They are real citizens who have always had roots in this region from those days until the present.'

There are several stone seat inside the cave, which are believed to have been for the clergy, and a circular shaped area, thought to be the apse