Posted on 09/06/2013 7:15:37 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
A relic hunter dubbed 'Indiana Bones' has lifted the lid on a macabre collection of 400-year-old jewel-encrusted skeletons unearthed in churches across Europe.
Art historian Paul Koudounaris hunted down and photographed dozens of gruesome skeletons in some of the world's most secretive religious establishments.
Incredibly, some of the skeletons, said to be the remains of early Christian martyrs, were even found hidden away in lock-ups and containers.
They are now the subject of a new book, which sheds light on the forgotten ornamented relics for the first time.
Thousands of skeletons were dug up from Roman catacombs in the 16th century and installed in towns around Germany, Austria and Switzerland on the orders of the Vatican.
They were sent to Catholic churches and religious houses to replace the relics destroyed in the wake of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s.
Mistaken for the remains of early Christian martyrs, the morbid relics, known as the Catacomb Saints, became shrines reminding of the spiritual treasures of the afterlife.
They were also symbols of the Catholic Church's newly found strength in previously Protestant areas.
Each one was painstakingly decorated in thousands of pounds worth of gold, silver and gems by devoted followers before being displayed in church niches.
Some took up to five years to decorate.
They were renamed as saints, although none of them qualified for the title under the strict rules of the Catholic church which require saints to have been canonised.
But by the 19th century they had become morbid reminders of an embarrassing past and many were stripped of their honours and discarded.
Mr Koudounaris' new book, Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, is the first time the skeletons have appeared in print.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
That’s something I’ve wondered for a number of years.
It seems that you are comparing the huge Catholic denomination to the worst of some individual televangelist’s church, but this seems worse than anything that I have have heard of from any televangelist, and this was on a vast and centuries old scale.
This is the Roman Catholic church itself, part of the Catholic faith, not some short lived individual group or cult.
This reminds me of how the Egyptians would prepare the body for an afterlife.
Why were these bodies decorated like this? What was the thought process?
ANd you. Are you actually trying to compare this skeleton’s take it with you attire with Christ? Do you honestly think that Christ’s burial was in any way, shape or form indicative of this disgraceful show of man’s lust for riches? Perhaps you need to stand back and re-read the Scripture you quoted and TRY to see the irony of your “defense”.
Oh, I’m sorry. You posted this to make us Catholics see the errors of our ways and for once and for all to declare Jesus Christ as our Personal Lord and Savior. Is that better?
These people were buried in the Catacombs, meaning they were martyred christains....
meaning they are saints, not requiring Church canonization...
and they were adorned by nuns who were praising Christ by these acts, which is what churches do when they build long-lasting cathedrals of great expense....
like the Sistine chapel that shocks everyone with it’s beauty for Christ.
But we take your slaps for Christ with love. The gold “wasted” on these martyrs is the same as the perfume wasted on Jesus’ feet....wasted on Christ, and for that, these martyrs would have appreciated the nuns’ intentions....
For God’s greater glory, the Church provided these saints relics to plundered and raped Catholic Churches to spring hope eternal in JC.
I can see a tear in the tin foil above your left ear. That might explain it.
My mistake. I’m sure you had the best of intentions. So, thanks! This is a really cool post. What an awesome church I belong to!
Oooh. Using only the lower case and periods.separating.the.words. Scary children!
The person who doesn’t get it is you. When people sacrifice time and treasure for the glory of God, it is a good thing. In this case, people were trying to encourage their brothers and sisters in Christ to strive for Heaven.
Had you lived in that time, these types of displays, like those of the great cathedrals, would have made a tremendous spiritual impact. Since most people couldn’t read, these types of artist works were necessary to communicate the Gospel, and the glory of God and His promises.
It is easy for us to look back and say it was a waste of money, etc. However, as the Lord says, “...Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.”
And so, why trouble yourself, when people were trying to do good for the Glory of God?
Bflr
not nearly as scary as your future, miss marmelstein.
I think its grave robbing so long as there is anyone left alive who can remember when there was anyone left alive who could remember when there was someone left alive who knew the name of the deceased.
...or something like that.
Unless its an old Indian burial ground. Messing with those seems to cause poltergeist infestation no matter how old the graves are.
Yes, that's why Catholics donated their valuables in homage to these notable persons.
I hope my future contains some of those jewels. Who says you can’t take it with you?!
Matthew 6:19
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