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2,000-year-old Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury is cut down by vandals
Mail Online ^ | 9th December 2010 | Luke Salkeld

Posted on 12/09/2010 4:17:16 PM PST by penelopesire

"Standing proudly on the side of an English hill, its religious roots go back 2,000 years. But a single night of vandalism has left an ancient site of pilgrimage in splinters. The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury has been chopped down in what is being seen by some as a deliberately anti-Christian act. A feature of the skyline surrounding the Somerset town, the tree has been visited by thousands retracing the steps said to have been taken by Joseph of Arimathea, who some say was Jesus’ great uncle.

Legend says it sprang from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, the man who helped Jesus of the cross. According to legend, Saint Joseph travelled to the spot after Christ was crucified, taking with him the Holy Grail of Arthurian folklore. He is said to have stuck his wooden staff – which had belonged to Jesus – into the ground on Wearyall Hill before he went to sleep. When he awoke it had sprouted into a thorn tree, which became a natural shrine for Christians across Europe. To add to its sacred status, the tree ‘miraculously’ flowered twice a year – once at Christmas and once at Easter. It survived for hundreds of years before it was chopped down by puritans in the Civil War, but secret cuttings of the original were taken and planted around the town. It is from one of the new plants that a replacement tree was planted in the original spot over 50 years ago.

Yesterday residents of Glastonbury wept as they surveyed the damage done to the tree on Wednesday night. Katherine Gorbing, curator of the town’s abbey, said: ‘The mindless vandals who have hacked down this tree have struck at the heart of Christianity."

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antichristianthugs; banking; christmas; crowncurrency; developer; easter; edwardjames; glastonbury; godsgravesglyphs; holygrail; holythorn; holythorntree; jesus; josephofarimathea; kingarthur; legends; realestate; realestatedeveloper; revenge; sangraal; staff; thorntree; traditions; uk; vengeance
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Comment #1 Removed by Moderator

To: STARWISE; onyx; maggief; hoosiermama; Liz; SE Mom; Nachum

PING!

This is heartbreaking.


2 posted on 12/09/2010 4:18:54 PM PST by penelopesire (Let The Congressional Hearings Begin!)
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To: penelopesire

If people can legally kill their children, a tree seems so minor in comparison. But I agree, “a heart devoid of any good.”


3 posted on 12/09/2010 4:19:17 PM PST by mlizzy (Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee ...)
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To: penelopesire

Sad, it was replanted relatively recently and certainly will be again.


4 posted on 12/09/2010 4:19:51 PM PST by Jolla
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To: mlizzy

Good point. It was probably done by some anti-christian leftist...one who believes in killing babies as well.


5 posted on 12/09/2010 4:21:05 PM PST by penelopesire (Let The Congressional Hearings Begin!)
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To: penelopesire

ROP


6 posted on 12/09/2010 4:21:31 PM PST by Hardraade (I want gigaton warheads now!!)
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To: penelopesire

Weird. I just saw a program on PBS about Glastonbury last night. Henry the VIII was a vandal, too.


7 posted on 12/09/2010 4:23:24 PM PST by madison10
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To: penelopesire

“Asians”


8 posted on 12/09/2010 4:24:40 PM PST by Fresh Wind
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To: Hardraade

Yep...either that or a leftist thug looter. England seems to be crawling with both these days.


9 posted on 12/09/2010 4:24:49 PM PST by penelopesire (Let The Congressional Hearings Begin!)
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To: penelopesire

Before we all go off on the “anti-Christian / leftist / muzzie / abortionist” track, a comment from a local at the sources site said they knew who did it - a developer who wasn’t able to build on a parcel cut it to spite the town.


10 posted on 12/09/2010 4:25:43 PM PST by HEM
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To: penelopesire

What a shame! It seems more and more people are born brainless anymore.


11 posted on 12/09/2010 4:25:57 PM PST by Paperdoll ( On the cutting edge)
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To: penelopesire

It being winter... if it is like most trees it will resprout vigorously from the roots in spring.


12 posted on 12/09/2010 4:28:44 PM PST by piasa
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To: penelopesire
Good point. It was probably done by some anti-christian leftist...one who believes in killing babies as well.

It's coming out in the English press it was a real estate developer who wanted to build "flats" on the land...

13 posted on 12/09/2010 4:28:46 PM PST by hoyt-clagwell (5:00 AM Gym Crew Jerking Iron.....)
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To: penelopesire
Surely this was an act of inexcusable malice. But I found this interesting:

The land on which the Holy Thorn stood is owned by Edward James, who was arrested this week in connection with an investigation into failed currency exchange firm Crown Currency Exchange, of which he is a director. According to the administrator’s report, Crown Currency collapsed owing £16million with little more than £3million in the bank. Last night there was speculation that the attack on the Holy Thorn may have been part of a vendetta against him.

14 posted on 12/09/2010 4:29:03 PM PST by outofstyle (Down All the Days)
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To: HEM

Thanks but that sounds like speculation to me as well(it was just a comment at the site after all). One thing is certain..it was a selfish, evil act...whoever did it.


15 posted on 12/09/2010 4:32:27 PM PST by penelopesire (Let The Congressional Hearings Begin!)
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To: outofstyle

Yep...folks are saying that it is coming out in the english press that it was a developer. ??? It seems so senseless and cruel...and at Christmas!! I hope the person is shamed for the rest of his life....because it doesn’t look like he can be prosecuted either.


16 posted on 12/09/2010 4:36:55 PM PST by penelopesire (Let The Congressional Hearings Begin!)
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To: penelopesire

Muslim violence?


17 posted on 12/09/2010 4:37:22 PM PST by ReverendJames (Only a lawyer and a painter can change black to white)
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To: hoyt-clagwell

You are the second person to say this now. Either way...it’s senseless and evil imho. Do you have a link to the developer part of the story? I’d like to read it and find out the person’s name.


18 posted on 12/09/2010 4:39:19 PM PST by penelopesire (Let The Congressional Hearings Begin!)
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To: Fresh Wind
“Asians”

I doubt it. More likely, a couple of the enlightened, "bright," militant atheist a**holes infesting intellectual hellholes like Oxford and Cambridge.

19 posted on 12/09/2010 4:40:57 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: penelopesire

My dad always told me that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today. Grab a cutting and plant another one and best the no good Vandals. I doubt it was members of the Germanic tribe that did it though.


20 posted on 12/09/2010 4:44:32 PM PST by Sawdring
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