(07 Jun 2011, Rome)--As yet another theory emerges as to the origins of the Turin Shroud, here are the top five religious mysteries.
- The Ark of the Covenant
The Old Testament recounts that Moses, on leading the Israelites from Egypt, received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai.
The Commandments, written on stone tablets, were later placed in a chest made from acacia wood, plated with gold and topped with two golden angels – the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark was kept in the Temple of Solomon Jerusalem for centuries, according to the Old Testament. The hunt for the sacred chest, which featured in the Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark, has become almost as legendary as the artefact itself.
In May 2008 German archeologists claimed to have found in Ethiopia the remains of a 10th century BC palace belonging to the Queen of Sheba and an altar which at one time reputedly held the treasure. Ethiopian legend holds that the Ark was taken to the queen's palace by King Solomon after they fell in love.
- The True Cross
Churches across Europe claim to have in their possession fragments of wood from the cross on which Christ was crucified.
Many are said to have been brought back from the Holy Land by St Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, the Roman ruler who legalised Christianity in the Roman Empire in 313.
Some of the most famous relics are kept by the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem – known in Italian as Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
They include three fragments of the True Cross, a nail said to have been used in the crucifixion and a bone from the index finger of St Thomas, which the apostle is said to have poked into Christ's wounds because he doubted the resurrection.
- The Holy Chalice and Holy Grail
The Holy Chalice is believed to be the cup or bowl that Jesus drank from during the Last Supper. A chalice kept by the Cathedral of Valencia in Spain is recognised as a holy relic, but the Vatican has never claimed that it is the actual chalice that Christ used.
The story of the Holy Chalice gave rise to the later legend of the Holy Grail, which developed in the early Middle Ages. The Holy Grail, which is said to possess special powers, is associated with Arthurian legend.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls
Considered to be one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a shepherd in a cave at Qumran, on the edge of the Dead Sea, in 1947.
Believed to be 2,000 years old, the collection of nearly 1,000 texts are written mostly on parchment in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
They have shed light on early Judaism and the origins of Christianity. Most scholars believe they were written by an ancient Jewish sect, the Essenes. The scrolls are kept in a dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
- The Sudarium of Oviedo
The sudarium – a Latin word meaning sweat cloth – is said to be the piece of fabric wrapped around Christ's head after he died.
It is kept in the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo in Spain and is put on display three times a year. Tests conducted in 1998 on the sudarium and the Turin Shroud found that blood on both relics was of the same type. The cloth of the two objects is also similar.
- The Ark of the Covenant
The Old Testament recounts that Moses, on leading the Israelites from Egypt, received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai.
The Commandments, written on stone tablets, were later placed in a chest made from acacia wood, plated with gold and topped with two golden angels – the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark was kept in the Temple of Solomon Jerusalem for centuries, according to the Old Testament. The hunt for the sacred chest, which featured in the Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark, has become almost as legendary as the artefact itself.
In May 2008 German archeologists claimed to have found in Ethiopia the remains of a 10th century BC palace belonging to the Queen of Sheba and an altar which at one time reputedly held the treasure. Ethiopian legend holds that the Ark was taken to the queen's palace by King Solomon after they fell in love.
- The True Cross
Churches across Europe claim to have in their possession fragments of wood from the cross on which Christ was crucified.
Many are said to have been brought back from the Holy Land by St Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, the Roman ruler who legalised Christianity in the Roman Empire in 313.
Some of the most famous relics are kept by the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem – known in Italian as Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
They include three fragments of the True Cross, a nail said to have been used in the crucifixion and a bone from the index finger of St Thomas, which the apostle is said to have poked into Christ's wounds because he doubted the resurrection.
- The Holy Chalice and Holy Grail
The Holy Chalice is believed to be the cup or bowl that Jesus drank from during the Last Supper. A chalice kept by the Cathedral of Valencia in Spain is recognised as a holy relic, but the Vatican has never claimed that it is the actual chalice that Christ used.
The story of the Holy Chalice gave rise to the later legend of the Holy Grail, which developed in the early Middle Ages. The Holy Grail, which is said to possess special powers, is associated with Arthurian legend.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls
Considered to be one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a shepherd in a cave at Qumran, on the edge of the Dead Sea, in 1947.
Believed to be 2,000 years old, the collection of nearly 1,000 texts are written mostly on parchment in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
They have shed light on early Judaism and the origins of Christianity. Most scholars believe they were written by an ancient Jewish sect, the Essenes. The scrolls are kept in a dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
- The Sudarium of Oviedo
The sudarium – a Latin word meaning sweat cloth – is said to be the piece of fabric wrapped around Christ's head after he died.
It is kept in the Cathedral of San Salvador in Oviedo in Spain and is put on display three times a year. Tests conducted in 1998 on the sudarium and the Turin Shroud found that blood on both relics was of the same type. The cloth of the two objects is also similar.
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