www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News The Ethiopian Ark of the Covenant to be revealed

According to Italian serious newspapers (link [adnkronos.com] and video [adnkronos.com] ), the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Church H.H. Abune Paulos next Friday will reveal, during the " G8 of Religions [blogs.reuters.com]" in Rome, the secret of the Ark of the Covenant that is believed to be kept in a church in Ethiopia.
Hope it is not a hoax.

We wait with patient interest.

Fr. Serge

Now this should be interesting. I had thought that the legend states that if anyone looks on the Ark, except for the High Priest, they will be burned alive with a lightning bolt from Heaven? Will it still happen if I watch a video of the ark, or does the person have to be there in person? I'm not questioning if God can strike someone with lightning through the tv. If he can create the entire Universe, he can do that. But I'm just curious.

Tim

Maybe Indiana Jones can help?

On the serious side, I too hope that this is not a hoax. They definitely have an ark in Axum. Whether this is the Ark of the Covenant is another question. I have wondered how they would be able to know what is inside if no one can touch it.

There was a program years ago about other Temple equipment that was transported and left on an island. I know that there are ruins on Elephantine Island in Egypt where it is thought that a Jewish Temple existed, but I think I remember that the documentary mentioned a lake island in Ethiopia.

Mother Alexandra

Beyond legends, the Ark of the Covenant is certainly sacred to Christians and a venerable symbol: in the Loreto Litany of the Latin church, Mary is petitioned as "Ark of the Covenant" (link [intermirifica.org]).

That points the way for Christians. The Ark as God's dwelling among Men is superseded beyond measure by the Incarnation, the Holy Eucharist, and the communion in the Eucharist that is Christ's body, the Church.

The Ethiopians cannot have it!!!! Any one who has seen Raiders of the lost Ark knows that Indiana Jones recovered it!! I could not resist saying that.

If the Patriarch is not the High Priest of the Ethiopian Church, who is?

There is a priest who never leaves the Church of the Ark that is supposed to be a decendant of the levites.

That is what I have heard as well. The priest stays there all the time and goes into the church to tend to the Ark once a year. No one else is allowed. I am not sure if the Patriarch is allowed either. He may be, but I'm not sure. But I have also seen or read that the Patriarch usually does not enter the church out of respect.

Tim

I take it that the priest, not the Church of the Ark, is supposed to be descended from the Levites!

Fr. Serge

Supposedly both, in the sense that the foundation of the structure is supposed to predate Ethiopian christianity.

Supposedly the chapel of the Ark was built by the levites, who then accepted Jesus as the messiah.

Link [adnkronos.com]
Yesterday (Friday) in a press conference H.H. Patriarch Abuna Pauolos did not explained how the Ark came in Ethiopia but confirmed it is kept in a closed church.
H.H. the Patriarch affirmed he personally saw the Ark, that is in good condition because it was made not by hands of man but it is blessed by the Lord.
He added that he has realized that it is the time to show the Ark to all the world and in a couple of years a museum will be opened for it. This decision still require the approval of the Holy Synod of the Church.
In other articles (always in Italian) I've found, it is written that anyway the Ark will be shown in the Museum, but always veiled.

Curiouser and curiouser. The Patriarch does not seem to offer any explanation of the statement that "it is the time to show the Ark to all the world". But presumably the Patriarch has some reason in mind for this.

Opening a "museum" for the Ark is a highly problematic idea. The Ark of the Covenant was (and still is, assuming that the original, authentic Ark is the one revered in Ethiopia) an artifact of the most profound religious significance, and belongs, not in a museum, but in a church, a place of prayer and devotion. It would not be any more difficult to guard the Ark from profanation or other violations in a church than in a museum.

Unless some sort of transparent veil is complicated, showing something that is "always veiled" does not show it at all. It would be no great challenge to build a box as described in the Bible to be of the same dimensions as the Ark, then veil it and invite people to venerate it! I have no wish to accuse the Ethiopian Church of such chicanery, but it is inevitable that many people will want evidence.

May we expect, at a minimum, photographs of the Ark?

Fr. Serge

Revelation 11 [drbo.org]

Jesus Christ