Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: Soon we will display the Arc of the Covenant

[Sirotnikov]

The original story is in italian:

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/News/Cultura/?id=3.0.3437413641

I skimmed it using google translate.


I don't know what to make of this story, and I have absolutely no info on the source credibility.

It still interests me due to possibly incredible consequences in fields of politics as well as mass religion.


Israeli history and bible researches have long searched for evidence of the arc's existance and location, and several rumors lead some researchers to believe it may be stashed in the coffers in Ethiopia, of all places (another theory is that it might still be hidden in the Vatican).

What ever the nature of the arc is, it's clear that there was some physical object that was present in Jewish ritual in the temple, and was lost (aka stolen) due to frequent occupations of the historic Jewish state.

You can use google translate to try and read it...

If somehow true, it could be explosive stuff.

[Dinner]

If the supposed ark in Ethiopia was worth anything then the Italians would have taken it in the 1930's and stashed it in Rome. I'm afraid this is just another holy relic fake.

[dannubis]

*whistles Indiana Jones theme*

[Felch]

If the supposed ark in Ethiopia was worth anything then the Italians would have taken it in the 1930's and stashed it in Rome. I'm afraid this is just another holy relic fake.

They tried, but being fascists, it melted their faces off.

[DanS]

I place zero credence in this report, but if it's anywhere, Ethiopia might be the place it would be, given the religious migration of the time.

[Jon Miller]

Weren't there Jews in Ethiopia too?

JM

[Wezil]

This should be amusing.

: popcorn :

[Patroklos]

The real news is the extreme lapse of security at one of our military's most secret locations

[dannubis]

Probably stolen when they came for the magnetic chrystal

[Patroklos]

[DanS]

Weren't there Jews in Ethiopia too?

JM

There still are some. Once upon a time, Jews were the majority. But then most Ethiopian Jews became very early converts to christianity, which is why the christian patriarch might have come away with the Arc of the Covenant (in this scenario). Incidentally, the christian community in Ethiopia is among the oldest -- perhaps even older than most of the early christian communities in the Roman Empire. I also remember vaguely that the christians in Ethiopia held on fairly closely to many of the Jewish traditions.

This history is all from memory, so there may be nuances or things that I got wrong.

[Sirotnikov]

Also, large quantities of Ethiopean jews were brought to Israel in several covert and several overt operations.

Some 4000 people were rescued from Famine in an undercover airlift performed by Mossad and the IDF (with some CIA assistance) in operation Moses in 1984.

Another 14,000 were rescued in a covert huge airlift in 1991 (operation Solomon).

Then the doors opened to legal immigration, and currently according to Wiki, over 110K people (out of a population of 130K) are living in Israel.

[Ben Kenobi]

There are plenty of theories out there, and of course it could always be in the Vatican. Everything is in the Vatican.

Personally, the last we know of it is before the exile when Nebuchadnezzar rolled through Jerusalem and sacked the temple. After that it is lost to history.

[Riesstiu IV]

If it doesn't melt Nazis then it's not the real Arc of the Covenant.

[Sirotnikov]

There are plenty of theories out there, and of course it could always be in the Vatican. Everything is in the Vatican.

Personally, the last we know of it is before the exile when Nebuchadnezzar rolled through Jerusalem and sacked the temple. After that it is lost to history.

Actually accepted theory has it that (assuming the first kingdom existed, which not everyone agree to) the arc was stolen prior to that, and possibly taken to land of Kush (ancient hebrew for the area around Ethiopia).