According to local Assyrian Orthodox Christians, St Mary’s was founded by St Thomas on the grave site of one of the Biblical magi, the pre-Islamic Persian priests who travelled to Bethlehem to greet the infant Jesus, inventing Christmas presents in the process. This, the Assyrian Christians claim, makes it the world’s oldest still-standing church.
The structure actually doesn’t feel that old. It still contains four antique tombstones, including that of the supposed magus, but his mummified body was allegedly ‘kidnapped’ by Soviet troops during WWII and taken to Kiev.
Don’t confuse this St Mary’s with the Assyrian Protestant church that’s visible from nearby Khayyam St.
