Some have actually recommended the Ark of the Covenant is inside the Church of Our Lady of Zion in Aksum,Ethiopia (Shutterstock)
Overthe previous couple of days, numerous media outlets have actually reported on a centuries-old claim that the Ark of the Covenant– which presumably held tablets tape-recording the Ten Commandments– is inside a church in Aksum, Ethiopia, called the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, which just the “guardian” of the ark is enabled to see it.
NationalGeographic even released a story stating that that those who secure the ark in Ethiopia “have been trained to kill with their bare hands” which “historians and archaeologists would dearly love to examine the treasure, but the chapel [where the ark is kept] is off-limits to all but a few members of the Ethiopian Christian church hierarchy, hindering any independent confirmation of their authenticity.”
However, Live Science has actually discovered that accounts informed by Edward Ullendorff, who saw the expected ark throughout World War II, expose that what is inside the church is a reproduction of the ark. Ullendorff, who was a teacher at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), passed away in2011 [30 of the World’s Most Valuable Treasures That Are Still Missing]
When he lived, Ullendorff informed Tudor Parfitt, who was likewise a teacher at SOAS, about the declared “ark” inside thechurch He likewise offered an interview about what he saw to the Los Angeles Times in1992 A Live Science talked with Parfitt and discovered a copy of the 1992 Los Angeles Times post– the 2 accounts exposing what is truly inside.
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Religious custom
Nobody understands where the real Ark of the Covenant is hiding, or whether it truly exists. According to the Hebrew Bible, when this holy chest was very first constructed, it held tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, and was housed in Solomon’s Temple, likewise called the FirstTemple However, the scriptural story recommends that throughout the 6th century B.C., an army led by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II dominated Jerusalem and damaged the temple. The location of the spiritual chest have actually given that been a source of speculation. [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus]
Thereis an enduring spiritual legend in Ethiopia that explains how the Ark of the Covenant was given Ethiopia 3,000 years by a guy called Menelik, who, according to legend, was the boy of the Queen of Sheba and Israel’s KingSolomon The legend mentions that the Queen of Sheba was from Ethiopia which she took a trip to Jerusalem where she was seduced by King Solomon, bring to life Menelik when she went back toEthiopia Menelik later on took a trip to Jerusalem and studied with his daddy prior to taking the ark and bringing it to Ethiopia, where, legend has it, the ark still lives in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, where just the guardian of the ark can see it.
Historical records show that this story began throughout the late Middle Ages (around A.D. 1400), stated Parfitt, now a teacher of faith at Florida International University.
The male who saw “the ark”
Ethiopia was attacked by the Italian soldiers throughout a military project that lasted from 1935 to1936 After Italy stated war on the United Kingdom in 1940, British forces attacked and took Ethiopia in1941 At the time, Ullendorff was a British army officer who was likewise a young scholar with substantial understanding of Ethiopian history and languages, Parfitt informed Live Science.
“He went to the Church of Mary of Zion with a couple of soldiers,”Parfitt stated. He talked to the monks in the church in Amharic, a language extensively spoken in Ethiopia, asking to see the ark. His demands were declined. “They said, ‘You can’t go in, this is holy…'” stated Parfitt, stating the story. “He said, ‘Well, I’m sorry, but I want to go in,'” and “he did go in with his soldiers behind him. They couldn’t do anything to stop him,” Parfitt stated.
According to Parfitt, the army officer then strolled over to the location where the ark was stated to live. “What he saw was what you find in any Ethiopian church, which is a model of the Ark of the Covenant,” Parfitt stated. Apparently, Ullendorff stated that “it didn’t differ in any way from many arks he had seen in other churches in Ethiopia,” Parfitt stated. “It wasn’t ancient and certainly wasn’t the original ark.”
Ullendorff never ever released a post about his encounter with the ark. He “simply didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the Ethiopians,” stated Parfitt, keeping in mind that Ullendorff worked thoroughly in Ethiopia, even ending up being an individual good friend of the emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie.
“It would have been absolutely impossible for him to function in Ethiopia if he had said that your ark is not the genuine ark,”Parfitt discussed. In his interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1992, Ullendorff stated that the design he saw was of “middle-to late-medieval construction when these were fabricated ad hoc.”
Parfitt stated that Ullendorff was worried after he offered the interview and hoped that Ethiopian authorities did not realise of the Los Angeles Times post. As far as Parfitt understands, Ullendorff never ever talked to a press reporter once again about what he saw.
Originally released on Live Science
