geeez Gonzo, been there too, as a youth, and NEVER KNEW about the Golden casket or the bones of the three wise men...wonder how St. Helena got them all together? At any rate...I hope I get a chance to go back. It is an AMAZING cathedral!
Sweet! Did they live to see the Crucifixion?
There is a Benedictine abbey near Boston which has first class relics of the three Magi.
I just found out that the Holy Grail has never been lost. It’s on display in Valencia, Spain. Of course, any chalice in any Catholic church is also a holy grail as well.
hmm, never knew about and thanks for the info. The great thing about it is that they saw the birth of the Messiah.
Our current “messiah”, no one has ever seen where he was born.
It's always amazed me that the remains and final resting place of the foster father of Jesus himself should be so .......incognito..............if that's the right word.
And I did read that they returned back home again. So, what did the Queen do? Go hunting for them (i.e., their dead bodies) in the Parthian Empire or rather the Sassanid Empire later?
Sorry, it just doesn't make any sense, especially considering that a large envoy of officials from a neighboring deadly enemy -- enters Jerusalem, and asks the sitting King (at the time) where the new-born King is. You can bet they had ample security and military to fight a war if they needed to, when they came into Jerusalem.
That's why they caused quite a stir in Jerusalem at the time.
Marco Polo on Persia's "Christian" fire worshippers
From Chapter XI (Of the province of Persia) of Marco Polo's "The Travels; The Description of the world" written in 1298. This translation is by William Marsden, revised by Thomas Wright (Konemann Travel Classics, Koln, Germany, 1996).
Persia was anciently a large and noble province, but it is now in great part destroyed by the Tartars. In Persia there is a city which is called Saba, from whence were the three magi who came to adore Christ in Bethlehem; and the three are buried in that city in a fair sepulchre, and they are all three entire with their beards and hair. One was called Baldasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior.
Marco inquired often in that city concerning the three magi, and nobody could tell him anything about them, except that the three magi were buried there in ancient times. After three days' journey you come to a castle which is called Palasata, which means the castle of the fire-worshippers, and it is true that the inhabitants of that castle worship fire, and this is given as the reason.
The men of that castle say, that anciently three kings of that country went to adore a certain king who was newly born, and carried with them three offerings, namely, gold, frankincense, and myrth: gold, that they might know if he were an earthly king; frankincense, that they might know if he were God; and myrth, that they might now if he were a mortal man.
When these magi were presented to Christ, the youngest of the three adored him first, and it appeared to him that Christ was of his stature and age. The middle one came next, and then the eldest, and to each he seemed to be of their own stature and age. Having compared their observations together, they agreed to go all to worship at once, and then he appeared to them all of his true age.
When they went away, the infant gave them a closed box, which they carried with them for several days, and then becoming curious to see what he had given them, they opened the box and found in it a stone, which was intended for a sign that they should remain firm as a stone in the faith they had received from him.
When, however, they saw the stone, they marvelled, and thinking themselves deluded, they threw the stone into a certain pit, and instantly fire burst forth in the pit. When they saw this, they repented bitterly of what they had done, and taking some of the fire with them they carried it home.
And having placed it in one of their churches, they keep it continually burning, and adore that fire as a god, and make all their sacrifices with it; and if it happen to be extinguished, they go for more to the original fire in the pit where they threw the stone, which is never extinguished, and they take of none other fire. And, therefore, the people of the country worship fire.
Marco was told all this by the people of the country; and it is true that one of those kings was of Saba; and the second was Dyava, and the third was of the castle. [ go to bottom of page to see reference... ]
Have been to mass at the Koln Cathedral also took
a tour of the inside area. Wonderful History
and art.
Wise men? More like agents of Satan. Not so wise.
Magi = Zoroastrian.
It was they who recognized Christ, and pledged their loyalty.
It was the artwork on my Christmas cards last year. I've always had a bit of an obsession about this painting.
I knew about them.
I’ve been there.
saw them when I visited Koln as a foreign exchange student to Poland...
Well, we know the LAST place we would find the bodies of Three Wise Men is in Congress!!!!!