Archaeologist Sparks Hunt For Holy Grail

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 6-20-2007 | Nick Pisa

[blam]

Archaeologist sparks hunt for Holy Grail

By Nick Pisa in Rome
Last Updated: 8:47pm BST 20/06/2007

An archaeologist has sparked a Da Vinci Code-style hunt for the Holy Grail after claiming ancient records show it is buried under a 6th century church in Rome.

The cup - said to have been used by Christ at the Last Supper - is the focus of countless legends and has been sought for centuries.

Alfredo Barbagallo, an Italian archaeologist, claims that it is buried in a chapel-like room underneath the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura, one of the seven churches which Christian pilgrims used to visit when they came to Rome.

Mr Barbagallo based his claim on two years spent studying mediaeval iconography inside the basilica and a description of a particular chamber, in a guide to the catacombs written in 1938 by a Capuchin friar named Giuseppe Da Bra.

The friar describes a room of about 20 square metres with a vaulted roof ceiling. "In the corner of a wall-seat there can be seen a terracotta funnel whose lower part opens out over the face of a skeleton," he wrote.

Da Bra then explains that giving liquid refreshment (refrigerium) to the dead was part of ancient funeral rites.

According to Mr Barbagallo, who heads an association called Arte e Mistero [Art and Mystery], this funnel is the Grail.

He also points out to several beautiful mosaics and frescos in the basilica which feature images of the sacred cup.

Mr Barbagallo added that its presence in the church fits the sketchy accounts of its early guardians.

In 258 AD, during a phase of Christian persecution, Pope Sixtus V reportedly entrusted the treasures of the early Church to a deacon called Lawrence, Lorenzo in Italian. This deacon was martyred four days later and since then no one has ever seen the Grail.

Various legends have it that the cup, given the name Holy Grail in the Middle Ages, was taken to different countries - including Britain.

Dan Brown’s work of fiction, The Da Vinci Code, said the cup had been buried at Rossyln Chapel in Scotland, and sparked off a stampede to the isolated location as thousands flocked to see it for themselves.

Mr Barbagallo said he believed it never went anywhere, and stayed with St Lawrence in his tomb.

Emperor Constantine built a shrine on the site of Lawrence’s martyrdom in the 4th Century and the main part of the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura was built in AD580 on the same spot.

The catacombs where Mr Barbagallo believes the cup to buried come under the authority of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology.

A spokesman said: "We are aware of the reports and a few weeks ago made an initial investigation of the area with the possibility of opening the catacombs up but as yet no decision has been made."

[Hot Tabasco]

Peter, Paul, and Mary ... which they bring out for special events.

I like their annual Christmas special on Public Television.....

[Mr. K]

I’m with you... while it makes for fun stories, I hardly think God created a ‘magical cup’

I like the though of the Ark of the Covenent as a power source... those are just as fun, just as impossible to prove

[Antoninus]

Cool. I'm Jewish too. Joseph of Arimathea was a Sanhedrin rabbi, probably well off. I don't know. It makes me laugh to think of the holy grail as kosher for Pesach

According to most accounts, Yeshua was Jewish himself, you know. Indeed, a rabbi. Miriam his mother was also Jewish, as was Iohannes the Baptist, Shimon Petrus and all of the apostles.

As I like to tell my Jewish friends, "Some of my favorite saints are Jewish!"

[Antoninus]

The legend took root when Christians were desperate to find something to validate and legitimize their religion...The holy grail is on the order of “relics’ such as a piece of John the baptists skull, a vial of Mother Mary’s breast milk, hairs from the ass Jesus rode, etc...

Uh, yeah. You forgot this one:



Oh, and btw, the fact that the immediate followers of Christ--the 11 remaining Apostles plus St. Paul, St. Barnabas, and many others--were willing to preach the Gospel of Jesus after his death and resurrection, even unto their own martyrdoms, is enough proof for me.

Acts of the Apostles 5:33-40
"When they [the council] had heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they thought to put them [the Apostles] to death. But one in the council rising up, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, respected by all the people, commanded the men to be put forth a little while. And he said to them: Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do, as touching these men.

36 For before these days rose up Theodas, affirming himself to be somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all that believed him were scattered, and brought to nothing. After this man, rose up Judas of Galilee, in the days of the enrolling, and drew away the people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as consented to him, were dispersed. And now, therefore, I say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought; But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God. And they consented to him. 40 And calling in the apostles, after they had scourged them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the name of Jesus; and they dismissed them.

[AmericaUnited]

Gamaliel was one wise dude :)

[finnigan2]

The Dark and Middle Ages were chock a block full of holy relics claimed by Cathedrals all over Europe anxious to cash in on the gullible pilgrim/tourist trade. If you claimed to have the body part of a Saint you could really cash in. This Grail story is just another unprovable dead end.

[blam]

The Dark Ages: Were They Darker Than We Imagined?

[Aquinasfan]

So you build a huge edifice on one verse in which you don't understanding the meaning of.

Then explain to me the correct interpretation of this passage.

And this passage, too.

2 Kings 13:21

Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.

[AmericaUnited]

Same explanation. It is pointing out how powerful the annoiting was on Elisha. IT IS ABSOLUTLEY NOT to be used as some justification/rational to start start revering relics/idols.

Pagans are always worshipping “things”. Why would Jesus be in favor of something that is condemned over and over again in scripture?

[Aquinasfan]

Oh please! You completely misunderstand what the point is in the verse. IT IS that the anointing on Paul was so great, that even objects he touched carried it.

What exactly am I missing? Is it possible that Jesus' annointing was so great that the objects he touched would "carry his annointing" as well?

IT IS NOT supposed to mean that those objects be set up as some type of idols, something that is roundly condemned all throughout scripture.

NO KIDDING!

I repeat, NO KIDDING!

Catholics venerate sacred objects. We don't worship them. Worship, obviously, is reserved for God alone.

venerate 2 : to honor (as an icon or a relic) with a ritual act of devotion

worship 2 : reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence

From the Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Relics:

According to the more common opinion of theologians, relics are to be honoured; St. Thomas, in Summa III:25:6, does not seem to consider even the word adorare inappropriate—cultu duliae relativae, that is to say with a veneration which is not that of latria (divine worship) and which though directed primarily to the material objects of the cult—i.e., the bones, ashes, garments, etc.—does not rest in them, but looks beyond to the saints they commemorate as to its formal term.

There is nothing, therefore, in Catholic teaching to justify the statement that the Church encourages belief in a magical virtue, or physical curative efficacy residing in the relic itself.

[AmericaUnited]

How about a few verses of scripture where it is taught to venerate icons or relics?

[finnigan2]

The Middle Ages: Were they really in the middle?

[Antoninus]

You completely misunderstand what the point is in the verse.

No, I don't think so. This verse describes how Catholics view relics to the "t". Your response is nothing but ignorant prejudice of Catholic beliefs.

[AmericaUnited]

It’s clear as day that the point being made in those two verses was as to the anointing that was on Elisha and Paul. Notice there is absolutely no followup or mention whatsoever on how the objects that the anointing fell on should be venerated. NONE!

[Terabitten]

Be prepared to be BLOWN AWAY!!! Read this: Christ's Blood On the Mercy Seat

I've read some stuff about Ron Wyatt before. He's either the greatest archaeologist of all time, or he's a complete crackpot.

[Antoninus]

It’s clear as day that the point being made in those two verses was as to the anointing that was on Elisha and Paul. Notice there is absolutely no followup or mention whatsoever on how the objects that the anointing fell on should be venerated. NONE!

Yawn. This argument is beyond tiresome. It stems from the iconoclasm of Islam and 8th century eastern Christianity that has been roundly condemned by nearly all Christians since then.

Do you have a photograph of your wife on your desk at work or in your wallet? Or photos of your kids on your mantle or bureau? Personally, I think you're venerating such images by having them there and committing idolatry. Where is the verse in scripture that says that you should do that?

[Aquinasfan]

How about a few verses of scripture where it is taught to venerate icons or relics?

Should we treat icons or relics irreverently or indifferently? How should we treat them?

And where in the Bible does it say that we have to find a scripture verse in support of common sense, before we practice common sense?

In addition to the tradition of the Holy Scriptures and its interpretation, traditions centring on holy places also developed. The veneration of holy places is the oldest expression of Christian popular piety. From Judaism Christianity adopted the idea and practice of venerating holy places.

Christianity Veneration of places, objects, and people"
Encyclopedia Britanica

From Catholic Answers:

One of the most moving accounts of the veneration of relics is that of the very body of Christ itself. Rather than leaving his body on the cross, to be taken down and disposed of by the Romans (as was the customary practice), Joseph of Arimathea courageously interceded with Pilate for Christ’s body (Mark 15:43, John 19:38). He donated his own, newly hewn tomb as Christ’s resting place (Matt. 27:60). Nicodemus came and donated over a hundred pounds of spices to wrap inside Jesus’ grave clothes (John 19:39), that amount of spices being used only for the most honored dead. And after he was buried, the women went to reverently visit the tomb (Matt. 28:1) and to further anoint Christ’s body with spices even though it had already been sealed inside the tomb (Mark 16:1, Luke 24:1). These acts of reverence were more than just the usual courtesy shown to the remains of the dead; they were special respect shown to the body of a most holy man—in this case, the holiest man who has ever lived, for he was God Incarnate.

Relics in Early Christianity

The veneration of relics is seen explicitly as early as the account of Polycarp’s martyrdom written by the Smyrnaeans in A.D. 156. In it, the Christians describe the events following his burning at the stake: "We took up his bones, which are more valuable than precious stones and finer than refined gold, and laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy and to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom."

...In the fourth century the great biblical scholar, Jerome, declared, "We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore him whose martyrs they are" (Ad Riparium, i, P.L., XXII, 907). `

[AmericaUnited]

How about a few verses of scripture where it is taught to venerate icons or relics?

I won’t hold my breath while you dig those up...

[AmericaUnited]

there is no claims to supernatural powers surrounding the Chalice of Valencia. It's just a stone cup with a pretty base that Jesus happened to drink out of.

And that's just as He would have wanted it.

You disputed my reply above. Tell me in clear and plain language why you think Jesus would be in favor of the Holy Grail having "supernatural powers".

[afraidfortherepublic]

LOLOLOL! I love your sense of humor! It was an interesting street scene and I wondered if it had a special signifigence. Your explanation is as good as any!