Table of contents:
- Holy Grail of O Sebreiro
- Spear of Longinus from Armenia
- Ark of the Covenant from Ethiopia
- Head of John the Baptist of Amiens
- Shroud of Turin
Video: In Search of the Grail: The Greatest Biblical Relics and Their Locations
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Where is stored Holy grail, in search of which medieval knights broke more than one hundred spears and drove more than one thousand horses? Is it true that in Armenia there is Longinus's spear, for which Hitler arranged the Anschluss of Austria? Can you touch head of John the Baptist and Jesus' burial shroud? Read these and other mysteries of Christian history in a study from Kulturologia. Ru.
Holy Grail of O Sebreiro
The search for the Holy Grail, the cup into which Christ's disciples collected his blood during the crucifixion, is one of the most famous subjects in world literature, as well as objects of scientific and religious research.
However, the inhabitants of the village of O Sebreiro, located on the Way of St. James in the autonomous community of Galicia in Spain, are sure that they know the location of this main Christian relic. They revere as the Holy Grail the chalice kept in the Church of the Virgin Mary (9th century).
Moreover, some researchers and classical authors quite agree to consider this cup as the real Grail. And even the plot of Rijard Wagner's opera Parsifal, dedicated to the search for the relic, takes place in part in O Sebreiro.
Spear of Longinus from Armenia
Another subject related to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to legend, the Roman warrior Longinus, in order to end the torment of the Savior, pierced him with his spear. And now this weapon is revered as one of the largest Christian relics.
There are at least four spears known throughout the world that are considered to be this relic. One of them is kept in the Vatican, the other is in Vienna (and the Anschluss of 1938 itself is perceived by some as Hitler's desire to take possession of this legendary weapon), the third is in Krakow, and the fourth is in the Armenian city of Echmiadzin.
Echmiadzin is the sacred city of the Armenian Apostolic Church, autonomous from both Orthodoxy and Catholicism. It houses the AAC Cathedral, where the spear of Longinus is kept.
Local residents justify the authenticity of their relics by the fact that Armenia is the world's first Christian state. And where, if not in it, can such an important relic be kept, supposedly brought there by the Apostle Thaddeus, one of the first seventy disciples of Christ. In any case, the first mention of this object among the Armenians dates back to the 4th century.
Ark of the Covenant from Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the world's largest Orthodox countries. Moreover, local Christians (originating from the Egyptian Copts) believe that they keep the legendary Ark of the Covenant, mentioned in the biblical book of Exodus.
It is believed that this chest with the tablets of the Mosaic commandments inside was lost during the time of the First Temple. But Ethiopians claim that the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to ancient Ethiopia, and this object is now kept in a special chapel at the Church of Mary of Zion in the city of Axum.
Previously, the priests of this temple showed people the Ark of the Covenant during major religious holidays. But now they only take out a copy of it, and the "original" object is in a treasury specially created for it. And only one monk has access to the relic, who is not allowed to leave the territory of the church and communicate with strangers.
Head of John the Baptist of Amiens
One of the most important relics of Christianity has always been the Head of John the Baptist, allegedly found by the Palestinian nobleman Innocent in the fourth century AD during the construction of a church in Jerusalem. Until 1204, these holy relics were kept in Constantinople - the center of world Orthodoxy. The situation changed after the capture of the Second Rome by the crusaders.
From that moment on, several relics appeared in the Christian world at once, revered as the Head of the Beheading. But the most famous and popular of them is kept in a cathedral specially built for it in the French city of Amiens.
It was brought here in 1206 by the priest Vallon de Sarton, a participant of the Fourth Crusade, according to his own statements, who found the relic in the ruins of one of the palaces of Constantinople during the sack of the city. However, priests from Rome, Damascus and even Nagorno-Karabakh, where the heads of John the Baptist are allegedly kept, can argue with the reliability of this fact.
Shroud of Turin
Probably the most famous Christian relic in the world! Traditionally, this piece of linen is revered as a shroud in which the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped after it was taken down from the cross.
This shroud was allegedly preserved by Joseph of Arifamey and was kept in Constantinople until 1204. However, like the head of John the Baptist, he disappeared after the capture of the city by the crusaders, after which he appeared only in 1353 in France. This relic moved to Turin in 1578.
Now the shroud with the body of an adult man depicted on it is kept in a special ark in the Cathedral of John the Baptist in Turin and is exhibited for pilgrims only once every few decades.
You can, of course, argue for a long time about the authenticity of this object, like all the other relics presented in the review. However, it should be understood that their symbolic meaning has long supplanted the real.
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