Ark of the Covenant

[JustinHesychast]

Christ is risen!

Our Oriental Orthodox brethren, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, claim to house the Ark of the Covenant. No one is allowed in, however, to confirm this. But a guard is appointed, and they always get cataracts over their eyes and die so that a new guard must be appointed about every 2 years.

Is there an official Orthodox Church position on the authenticity of the Ethiopian Church's possession of the Ark of the Covenant? If not, what are y'all's personal opinions? And if it was ever discovered to be false, would it have any affect on the Church? What if it was proven to be truly there?

In IC XC,
Justin

[juliagreece]

It really doesn't matter as the Old Testament Ark was a prefiguring of the Theotokos, the Living Ark of the Covenant, that contained not the Ten Words ("Commandments") but the Word of God!:angel:

[Matrona]

The Orthodox Church doesn't have a position (big surprise) on their claim of having the Ark. If they are proven to be faking, it doesn't affect the Church one whit because the Ethiopian church isn't Orthodox. It wouldn't make any more difference to us than if the tooth of the Buddha was proven to be petrified monkey dung.

As for if their "Ark" is real... it isn't.

[nutroll]

The real Ark of the Covenant was found by an archaeologist named Indiana Jones and rescued from the clutches of Nazi Germany. It was then taken to the National Archive in Washington DC. My brother works there, and says he has not seen it, but there is more than one building, so it might just be in another building, or if it is Top Secret, he might not be able to admit that it is there.

[Matrona]

The real Ark of the Covenant was found by an archaeologist named Indiana Jones and rescued from the clutches of Nazi Germany. It was then taken to the National Archive in Washington DC. My brother works there, and says he has not seen it, but there is more than one building, so it might just be in another building, or if it is Top Secret, he might not be able to admit that it is there.


^_^^_^^_^ And it melts the bad guys!

[Andrew21091]

I do believe that the Ethiopians are in possession of the actual Ark of the Covenant. I hope to one day to make a pigramage to Our Lady Mary of Zion church in Aksum where the Ark is.


Here is a part of an article about the Ethiopian Church and the Ark:


"They shall make an ark of acacia wood," God commanded Moses in the Book of Exodus, after delivering the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. And so the Israelites built an ark, or chest, gilding it inside and out. And into this chest Moses placed stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, as given to him on Mount Sinai.

Thus Jews came to revere the ark as an earthly manifestation of God. The Old Testament describes its enormous powers—blazing with fire and light, halting rivers, blasting away armies and bringing down the fabled walls of Jericho. (Steven Spielberg's 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark provides a special-effects approximation.) According to the First Book of Kings, King Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem to house the ark. It was venerated there during Solomon's reign (c. 970-930 B.C.) and beyond.

Then it vanished. Much of Jewish tradition holds that it disappeared before or while the Babylonians sacked the temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

But through the centuries, Ethiopian Christians have claimed that the ark rests in a chapel in the small town of Aksum, in their country's northern highlands. It arrived nearly 3,000 years ago, they say, and has been guarded by a succession of virgin monks who, once anointed, are forbidden to set foot outside the chapel grounds until they die.

[Monica, child of God]

We don't have an official position. But I don't see any reason to think that what the Ethiopians have is fake. There are/were many Jews in Ethiopia which would make it a conduit for religious artifacts that you wanted to hide in a safe place.

In fact, the line of Judah reigned in Ethiopia (Abyssinia) for a thousand years; longer than the Jewish reign outside of Ethiopia in the Holy Land. After that, the Ethiopian Church was Orthodox for over 4 centuries. They are an important part of Church history for their Old Covenant and New Covenant significance. They are a part of God's promise and mentioned throughout the Bible

Your God has commanded your strength;
Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us.
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
Kings will bring presents to You.
... Envoys will come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God. --Psalm 68

So all that to say, the Ethiopian Church could have the ark.

M.

[JustinHesychast]

If they have the Ark, why is it such a top secret thing?

[Mikeb85]

If they have the Ark, why is it such a top secret thing?

It's obviously not that secret if we're discussing it...

Anyhow, not so sure really. But knowing how people fight over the Holy Land, religious relics, not to mention the power of the Ark of the Covenant (as described throughout scripture), it makes sense that they'd want to guard it closely.

[JustinHesychast]

Well no one has ever seen it. All they have is a claim that they have the Ark of the Covenant. No one has actually been able to go in and prove it.

[Matrona]

Well no one has ever seen it. All they have is a claim that they have the Ark of the Covenant. No one has actually been able to go in and prove it.

The only Ark worth being concerned with is in heaven.

[Monica, child of God]

The only Ark worth being concerned with is in heaven.

True dat. The ark was the seat of God's presence among His people. We now have the Eucharist which is given to us in the many temples around the world. It is the fulfillment of the meaning of the ark. And as someone said, the Theotokos is the true ark. That is why the Annunciation is depicted on the Royal Doors (where the Eucharist comes out to the people) and the icon "More spacious than the heavens" is on the apse in the Byzantine scheme.

Besides Justin, Ethiopian churches have been ripped of in a major way when it comes to church artifacts. It makes sense that they would hide it from common access because it is so precious and sacred.


Ethiopian artefact returning home

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1785000/images/_1785324_tabotpa300.jpg The ceremony was held in the Scottish capital



A delegation of religious leaders from Ethiopia has travelled to Edinburgh to collect a sacred carving which was unearthed in a church cupboard. The holy wooden tabot, or tablet, is thought to be more than 400 years old.
It is believed that it was taken from Ethiopia by British soldiers trying to free hostages from the home of Emperor Theodore the Second in 1868.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1690000/images/_1692644_ethiopiantablet150.jpg
The tablet can only be seen by priests



Some 200 mules and 15 elephants were loaded with plunder after victorious British forces stormed the mountain fortress at Maqdala.


The treasure - which included solid gold crowns - was bought up by many respected UK institutions, including the British Museum.


Full article here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1783325.stm

The first thing the Western secular, modern mindset would suggest is a world tour of museums where most people would gawk and a few would worship. Scientists would want to pick it apart and carbon date it and who knows what all...It is being treated like a precious relic and not a museum show peice.

M.

[Kolya]

The only Ark worth being concerned with is in heaven.
:amen: