Vatican offers swap deal to regain site of Last Supper

[emad]

Vatican offers swap deal to regain site of Last Supper
From Richard Owen in Rome



THE Vatican is hoping to regain control of the Room of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, one of the most sacred sites in Christianity.
It will, in exchange, hand over to the Jewish community the historic synagogue at Toledo in Spain, at present a Catholic church.

The proposals, contained in a draft agreement between the Israeli Government and the Vatican, come on the eve of a state visit to the Vatican next month by President Katzav. Final details on a long-delayed accord on the status of Roman Catholic properties in the Holy Land are expected to be agreed during the visit, marking a new era of reconciliation between Christians and Jews after centuries of hostility.

The Upper Room, where the Last Supper is said to have taken place, is held by Christians to be the place where Jesus broke bread and drank wine with the disciples on the eve of his Crucifixion and also where the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost.

The Last Supper has become an iconic Christian image, painted most famously by Leonardo. The Room of the Last Supper is the fourth most holy place in Christendom after the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, built over Christ’s tomb, the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, where the Virgin Mary was told by an angel she was to give birth, and the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where the birth took place.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,173-1823149,00.html


AINTGOTTAPRAYER.com to referee the deal?

[niyad]

1. interesting that there are no written records, but these people know for

absolute certain that this is the room?

[moobu2]

2. They can claim it is, thus

get millions of the loonies to make pilgrimages etc...


Personally, I always thought worshipping places like this was very Paganistic.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. What makes you think there are no written records?

If the Vatican can keep mum about pedophile priests, what makes you think they can't keep mum about anything that might challenge their other interests?

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Because it is not just the Vatican

Many of these sites were "discovered" during the 4th and 5th century, long before there was even a distinct Roman Church. Any written records would have been much touted during the first bloom of Christendom and trumpeted as proof of Christianity. Instead, all we have are poorly worded apologetics and extremely shaky logical arguments that start with the firm assumption that disparate Gospels (over 40 in circulation in 350 CE, with at least 9 in very common use) and letters supposedly written by Paul were absolutely and unquestionably true.

To take one example, a church was built at Calvary at the direction of St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great. After her son took the throne, she undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem specifically to find Christian relics, all as part of her admitted campaign to convert her son to Christianity and then use his power to convert the whole Roman Empire.

"In a vision", she was led by an angel to the hill where Jesus was executed and directed workers to dig nearby. According to her account (the only one that was recorded for history), they found numerous crosses. Not surprising, as crucifixion was a common form of execution and the hill probably had been used for spectacle for centuries. The "True Cross" was discovered by laying out the crosses on the ground and having a lame beggar lay down on each one in turn. The one that "miraculously healed his lameness" was named as the True Cross. A fragment was left at the church even then being built, while the rest was shipped to the new imperial capital being constructed at Byzantium. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was also built by St. Helena as a result of a similar "holy vision."

[On the Road]

4. A Lot of These Sites Were Established in Constantine's Time

during the 4th century. There were enough Christians in Palestine to preserve some early traditions, so it's always wise to ask whether it could be the real deal. On the other hand, there's a long record of obviously false sites. For example, the location of Mt. Sinai was determined by a dream Constantine's mother had.

I would be willing to bet that it's not the real site. The old city of Jerusalem during Jesus' life was pretty much destroyed twice by the Romans (70 and 135? AD), and was even rebuilt as a pagan city for awhile.

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. St. Helena was quite the visionary

It was because of her that most of the traditional Christian holy sites are where they are. See my post above.

[damntexdem]

5. Oh, it's controlled by Israeli Jews.

I thought maybe they were trying to get it from McDonalds. ;)