The world's first cave church, located in Hatay, remained miraculously intact after the Feb. 6 quakes, which struck Hatay hard. Anatolia’s first mosque, the Habib-i Neccar Mosque, and the Antioch (Antakya) Orthodox Church, which dates to the first century A.D., almost completely collapsed.
Carved into the side of Mount Staurin in the Antakya region of the Apostle Peter's early ministry, around 38-39 A.D., the St. Pierre cave church is recognized as the world’s very first cathedral, according to UNESCO.
Only the recently built retaining wall of the historical church was slightly demolished. The cave church and its surroundings played a significant role in the early days of Christianity and the spread of the belief.
The church spans some 9.5 meters wide, is 13 meters in length and 7 meters high (31 feet by 42 feet by 23 feet), and in 2011 was added to UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List.
In 1963, Pope Paul VI declared the cave church a pilgrimage site. St. Peter (or Pierre), the head of the first Christian community, is also considered the first pope.
Antakya is home to various minority groups such as Syriac Orthodox Christians, Syriac Catholics and Armenians.
