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Holy Tattoo! A 700-year Old Christian Tradition Thrives in Jerusalem
Catholic News Agency ^ | 7/9/17 | Adelaide Mena

Posted on 07/10/2017 7:45:55 PM PDT by marshmallow

Jerusalem, Jul 9, 2017 / 04:02 pm (CNA).- In the Old City of Jerusalem it's hard to escape the ancient history that's still alive within its walls.

A simple smartphone search can send you on a walk to a centuries-old shop, bring you to the steps of a millennium-old Church, or lead you past the 3,000 year-old Temple Mount – all bursting with people and energy.

But it's only within the stone walls of Razzouk Ink that the modern pilgrim can have that history etched onto his or her body for the rest of their lives.

And Christian pilgrims have come to the tattoo artists of the Razzouk family since the Crusades to receive ancient signs of Christian identity and pilgrimage.

Even today, as the family uses up-to-date procedures and incorporates contemporary trends into some of their artwork, the Razzouk family still draws upon the history and skills passed down through the generations for nearly three-quarters of a millennium. They also incorporate instruments and designs dating back several hundred years, carrying on one of the world's oldest tattoo traditions.

A family legacy, written in ink

Wassim Razzouk, 43, is a tattoo artist descending from a centuries-long line in the trade: 700 years to be exact.

“We are Copts, we come from Egypt, and in Egypt there is a tradition of tattooing Christians, and my great, great ancestors were some of those tattooing the Christian Copts,” he told me.

The first evidence of a Christian tattoo tradition traces back to the Holy Land and Egypt as early as the 6th or 7th Century. From there, the tradition spread throughout Eastern Christian communities such as the Ethiopian, Armenian, Syriac and Maronite Churches. To this day, many Coptic Churches require a tattoo of a cross or other proof of Christian faith to.....

(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...


TOPICS: Current Events; History; Orthodox Christian; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: ink; mummies; mummy; tats; tattoo; tattoomummies
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1 posted on 07/10/2017 7:45:55 PM PDT by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow

Leviticus 19:28 “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.”


2 posted on 07/10/2017 7:54:29 PM PDT by Fungi (Mucor roxii is not a rock band.)
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To: marshmallow

Being tattooed also means you cannot deny your faith if a muslim
demands to know if you are a muslim or a Christian.

A lot of copts in Egypt have the “N” for “Nazarene” (”Christian”) tattooed
on them. They are marked permanently; which shows a lot of commitment and courage.


3 posted on 07/10/2017 7:54:30 PM PDT by CondorFlight (I)
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To: marshmallow
Lev 19:28:
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

4 posted on 07/10/2017 7:55:28 PM PDT by fso301
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To: marshmallow

I see so many young people with elaborate tattoos these days; and I wonder how those are going to look over the coming decades, when stuff expands, or droops and falls.

Not the greatest way to worship the Lord, IMHO...I think He would rather have our love for Him tattooed upon our hearts and minds.


5 posted on 07/10/2017 8:00:20 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Fungi

Tats were OK just not allowed to be used to identify yourself with other tribe or nation of people not Israel.. The Israeli ID or tattoo was the circumcision of the penis. It was part of the culture of the day


6 posted on 07/10/2017 8:04:29 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch (https://thepurginglutheran.wordpress.com)
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To: marshmallow

Chariot Club 1%ers.


7 posted on 07/10/2017 8:04:37 PM PDT by Malcolm Reynolds
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To: marshmallow

Tattoo: a permanent reminder of one’s temporary insanity.


8 posted on 07/10/2017 8:05:52 PM PDT by Ciaphas Cain (I don't give a damn about your feelings. Try to impress me with your convictions.)
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To: Ciaphas Cain

LOL! (Not counting Armed Forces folks, though :-)


9 posted on 07/10/2017 8:07:20 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: marshmallow

Interesting!


10 posted on 07/10/2017 8:13:04 PM PDT by Chainmail (A simple rule of life: if you can be blamed, you're responsible.)
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To: marshmallow

19:26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.

19:27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.

19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.


11 posted on 07/10/2017 8:13:33 PM PDT by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: marshmallow

Blech! I hate this whole tattoo craze. Everyone wants to be unique. Just like everybody else.

I especially hate seeing a lovely young lady in the prime of her beauty, and then see a big ugly tattoo all over her arm like some fat truck driving slob. So sad.


12 posted on 07/10/2017 8:14:04 PM PDT by Sparticus (Primary the Tuesday group!)
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To: Sparticus
Everyone wants to be unique. Just like everybody else.

That's very funny :-)
13 posted on 07/10/2017 8:16:21 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: marshmallow

With nothing to show but this brand new tattoo.
But it’s a real beauty,
A Mexican cutie,
how she got here I haven’t a clue.


14 posted on 07/10/2017 8:22:04 PM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: InvisibleChurch

By man’s standards, not God’s.


15 posted on 07/10/2017 8:22:08 PM PDT by Fungi (Mucor roxii is not a rock band.)
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To: marshmallow; Fungi; JemiansTerror
I truly do not understand how Christians can ignore what is stated as clearly as the verse in Leviticus. Friends, while yes, it is true God accepts us the way we are. But, He does not leave us in that condition. He expects us not to be conformed to the world. So, if you are tattooed prior to becoming a Christian, there it is. But, afterward, please do not do so.

Tattoos won't keep a person from heaven. Yet, it really should not be done.

Leviticus 19:28 “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.”

16 posted on 07/10/2017 8:41:35 PM PDT by Jemian (War Eagle!)
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To: Jamestown1630

Fortunately for them tattoos are no longer permanent with modern removal methods. Removing them is painful and expensive and some come off easier than others I hear. That said I agree with you about getting them in the first place and that our hearts and minds are where it counts.


17 posted on 07/10/2017 8:52:06 PM PDT by xp38
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To: CondorFlight
Being tattooed also means you cannot deny your faith if a muslim demands to know if you are a muslim or a Christian.

Denying my faith is not exactly an option, tatoo or not.

18 posted on 07/10/2017 8:58:05 PM PDT by super7man (Madam Defarge, knitting, knitting, always knitting)
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To: Jemian

Honor My Sabbath to keep it holy??

Why follow a commandment regarding tattoos? (if ignoring any other in the 5 Books of Moses?)


19 posted on 07/10/2017 9:01:34 PM PDT by Phinneous (Moshiach Now!)
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To: Jemian

Perhaps that is because Christians are just that. Followers of Christ. Not the third book of the Jewish Bible.


20 posted on 07/10/2017 9:01:54 PM PDT by timlilje
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