Posted on 12/06/2006 6:18:21 AM PST by NYer
Vatican archaeologists have unearthed a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul that had been buried beneath Rome's second largest basilica. The sarcophagus, which dates back to at least 390 A.D., has been the subject of an extended excavation that began in 2002 and was completed last month, the project's head said this week.
"Our objective was to bring the remains of the tomb back to light for devotional reasons, so that it could be venerated and be visible," said Giorgio Filippi, the Vatican archaeologist who headed the project at St. Paul Outside the Walls basilica.
The interior of the sarcophagus has not yet been explored, but Filippi didn't rule out the possibility of doing so in the future.
Two ancient churches that once stood at the site of the current basilica were successively built over the spot where tradition said the saint had been buried. The second church, built by the Roman emperor Theodosius in the fourth century, left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt.
When a fire destroyed the church in 1823, the current basilica was built and the ancient crypt was filled with earth and covered by a new altar.
"We were always certain that the tomb had to be there beneath the papal altar," Filippi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
Filippi said that the decision to make the sarcophagus visible again was taken after many pilgrims who came to Rome during the Catholic Church's 2000 Jubilee year expressed disappointment at finding that the saint's tomb could not be visited or touched.
The findings of the project will be officially presented during a news conference at the Vatican on Monday.
"My fellow University of Maryland students and alumni all worship Testudo, the great Turtle God:"
Are you a turtle?
Don't answer publicly. It would give away one of the "Turtle Secrets".
Fear the Turtle!
It began with the veneratioin of the martyrs. One has to regard John's apolypse on the same level as Milton's "Paradise Lost" to ignore his portrait of the martyrs calling for justice.
Maybe we get it from our boss, who really tweaked the religious types of His day and THEIR man-made several thousand years of TRADITION.
Mark 7:9 "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."
He meant, of course, the traditon of the Pharisees.
Really? You mean the RCC was up and running then? WOW!
The Church was up and running after Pentacost. So he couldn't have been talking about the Church. Had to be the tradition of the Pharisees. One of those traditions he did not reject, which was that of the Resurrection of the body. The Saducees, like the early Jews, did not hold to this tradition.
Come on fellow Protestants/Evangelicals, we need to lighten up here. If this is authentic, then it is an AMAZING find and a blessing to all Christians.
I mean, I am STUNNED thinking that this could actually be Paul's remains. If this is authentic, then it is a wonderful day.
Yes, of course. Remind me next time to put a giant /sarcasm tag on.
My point was tat Jesus and his disciples were accused by the 'religious' types of the day for violating 'their' tradition. Just as some of us in this thread are accused.
So, once again, can anyone here tell me how the Apostle Paul is being venerated by doing the very thing he said NOT TO DO? Anyone?
Indeed.
great post, God bless you. Here is a story from last year when they uncovered the tomb.
February 22, 2005
Saint Paul's tomb found
Vatican archeologists believe that they have identified the tomb in Rome's St Paul Outside the Walls [S. Paolo fuori le mura] basilica, following the discovery of a stone coffin during excavations carried out over the past three years. . .
The excavation effort was guided by 19th-century plans for the basilica, which was largely rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1823. An initial survey enabled archeologists to reconstruct the shape of the original basilica, built early in the 4th century. A second excavation, under the main altar of the basilica, brought the Vatican team to the sarcophagus, which was located on what would have been ground level for the original 4th-century building.
Archaeologists discovered the sarcophagus on what would have been the ground floor of the 4th century basilica. It was found under the altar next to a marble plaque that reads, "Apostle Paul, martyr."
"Nobody ever thought to look behind that plaque," said Filippi, who indicated that he and his team were surprised when they found the tomb.
Hiding in plain sight for almost 200 years ...
You erroneously addressed that remark to me. I'm sure you meant it for those calling me ignorant, stupid, ignoramus, and so forth.
Please correct. Thanks.
Do you take this as a commandment to us? He didn't know us; he was talking to the people he knew. IAC. what we find venerable about Paul was his special virtue, the same thing we like about Bill Graham. He keeps saying: I am not a saint, but he probably is, and I am sure that while you might not kiss his hand if you had the opportunity, you would feel the urge. Holiness in a person draws us like a magnet. If it does not, then there is something wrong with us. We are even draw to the graves of holy men and women. God lives in them in a very special way and it makes us want to get close. Paul had charisma and we want to get close to that light and warmth.
Not only that, I see that you turtle worshippers also indulge in the pagan practice of naming buildings, like the library in the photo, after mere humans. That takes away from the worship due only to the true turtle.
Thank you for getting to the usual spurious objection relatively quickly.
"Why all the go-betweens?" Ask St. Paul himself; he keeps asking people to pray for him. Doesn't he know he needs no "go-betweens"? If asking a saint in glory, freed from their sins and living in the presence of God, to intercede is wrong because you don't need a "go-between," asking a person living on earth is much worse, because they're much further from God.
Moreover, the usual objection completely misuses 1 Tim 2:5, because a saint's intercession isn't with the Father outside of the intercession of the Son, but is with the Son and directly dependent on his unique mediation with the Father.
Incidentally, if you read the whole of 1 Tim 2, you'll find that it strongly encourages intercessory prayer. If your interpretation were correct, it should instead prohibit it.
Thank you, PM, for casting a ray of sanity, charity, and light. God bless you.
Please notice that this is in "Maryland", and there's an "M" beneath the turtle-idol. That tells you everything you need to know!
Exactly! What would people be saying if we found what could be verified as Noah's Ark or the Garden of Eden, etc. Is the problem that it was found in a Catholic basilica? No Christians dispute the fact that Paul was martyred in Rome. And regardless of what different people think about it, the Catholic Church has always had churches on these historical sites, so it is only logical that Catholic teams would discover it.
The turtle cult and its campaign to corrupt innocent, Bible-believing children.
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