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 ...
Nicely put.
You rock, smvoice! Tell ‘em!!
Very, very creepy to me.
“So how old does a grave have to be before it moves from grave robbing to archeology?”
I’m with you on this one. I don’t know who’s grave this is but let the dead stay in the grave till Jesus comes.
If you equate myself and smvoice with those kind of Protestants, then you are way off base.
I believe I can say both of us condemn Word of Faith and their nonsense too.
Am I right, smvoice?
Didn’t you read the article, this was international and has been going on for centuries in the Roman Catholic church at the orders of headquarters.
This was official business, a part of the faith, a part of how that denomination practices the Christian religion.
Look at this thread, many Catholics are in high praise of this form of worship in their church, it is seen by Catholics here as it would have been seen centuries ago when it was started.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
Well, when an organization “progresses” from selling indulgences to molesting children... there’s probably not going to be much moderation in the volume of criticism over the years, only the topic.
It’s very true: I find these skeletons works of art. The Catholic Church’s contributions to Western art can never be underestimated. Now, I can see how some people who don’t travel widely from the US might be shocked at these photos. But you can see these kind of artifacts from Mexico clear to Italy (and probably beyond). They are part of Western culture and as a conservative who hopes (against all reality) that that culture continues, I admire their high artistry.
Yikes, you guys can justify most anything.
I guess the fact that I am a saint since I am born again and considered righteous by God thru Christ’s death and resurrection is not good enough. It certainly is for me. I’ve no need of any of that kind of stuff either in life or death and neither do any of the rest of us, martyred or not.
Any religion can carry things to an extreme as in this case or the Word of Faith/Prosperity stuff. Neither are the ideal. And Mary was anointing Christ’s feet, which is a whole different kettle of fish (no pun intended). No man other than Jesus is to be treated with such reverence. There are ways to show love and reverence for our fellow believers (in life and in death) and not go to such extremes of ostentatiousness.
While piling fortunes in gold and jewels on skeletons to make shrines to worship at, hidden away in churches is obviously a hit with some Catholics.
To me it makes me think of post apocalyptic scifi/horror movies when they discover a totally mind blown cult living underground, that has gone totally crazy.
Yes, the practice was once fairly common, but Animal can be excused because it is now exotic. But frankly, I’m proud of that history, not ashamed. These Catholics had plenty of jewels, but jewels cannot feed people, or cure the sick. They could be sold to other kings, but that’s only passing on the evil of vanity, encouraging some other king to trade useful sustenance for vanity. Rather, they glorified not their own bodies, but the memories of those who were now glorified by Christ.
Why not donate them to the poor, the widows, and the orphans? Not much good to a dead person. But could have bought food, clothing, shelter, and much more for those in need. I believe being a good steward of what God places in our possession and helping the living is far more important than venerating the dead even if they are believers.
...or, as I suspected, you folks aren’t very well travelled or avoid those awful, evil Catholic churches when you do tour, or never crack open an art book.
At the time?
This is still in practice.
“”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.””
Are you defending the practice as someone who approves of it, or are you trying to say that it is over and that is good news, are you trying to say that renegades did this against leadership’s wishes and commands, or that individuals did a great thing on their own?
You are really sending mixed signals.
This indicates that you think of it as a pretty sick, ugly thing for Christians to do.
“”The OP would love to have you believe that the RCC is a bizarre, money-obsessed operation and will dredge up any archaic practice or any abused victim among billions of followers in Her 2,000 year history.””
Hate and persecution? On the RCC? For 2,000 years?
You might want re-read history. You guys ruled the world up until the start of the last century.
And persecution? You might want to check with the Jews about that gem.
I married a catholic. My kids are catholic. I am not a catholic hater. I just think its important to keep things in proper context. Just as I think our government has been corrupt and has done some bad things, the Catholic church might have a lot of saints—but they havent always behaved “saintly.”
You certainly could, and I would imagine the vast majority of charity was sent in that direction. Some chose to use part of these earthly baubles to venerate others so that their good lives were not forgotten and could be exemplified for generations through the displays.
This can be justified as art?
Perhaps there are some lampshades you might be interested in. Not quite antiquities like this, but about 70 years old.
“I hope my future contains some of those jewels. Who says you can’t take it with you?!”
‘Nuff said right there, miss marmelstein.
Store up your treasures in heaven, not on earth. If you are a believer, then you may very well have jewels like that in the next life but that should not be what you strive for here. I believe God looks upon this with disgust, quite frankly. When I think of the many needy people back in those days and all this wealth being given in this manner..it makes my stomach turn.
After all, it was not the wealthy man who went to paradise but the poor beggar who had nothing. We are to care for others while they are living...the dead need nothing except the care taken to bury them properly and with dignity.
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