When the Franciscans excavated the site of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, they found various graffiti dating back to the pre-Byzantine period. The most significant of which, found scratched on the base of a column, the Greek characters “XE MAPIA” (read: Ch(air)e Maria). Translated as: “Hail Mary,” the words with which the angel Gabriel greeted the Virgin. It is the oldest Marian invocation known until now. Nearby, they found another Greek inscription: “in the holy place of M(ary), I wrote." Another one in Armenian reads “beautiful girl.” (reference to Mary)
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