This silver bowl, found during excavations in ancient Antioch, once became a worldwide sensation. Scientists have put forward a very convincing hypothesis that it is she who is a sacred relic, considered for two millennia one of the greatest lost treasures - the Grail. The very cup from which Christ's disciples received communion at the Last Supper and into which his followers later collected the blood of the crucified Savior. According to legend, the one who drank from the Grail receives the forgiveness of sins and eternal life … What epithets were not awarded at different times to Antioch! “Queen of the East”, “Athens of the East”, “the second capital of Christianity”, “city of God” … Throughout its history, Antioch has been on the busiest trade routes, attracting innumerable multitudes of all kinds of businessmen and adventurers. But by the will of fate, this city in the early Middle Ages became not a trading metropolis, but one of the largest religious centers in the world.
During the era of Roman rule, Antioch was the third largest city in the empire (after Rome and Alexandria). Its population was over half a million people. It was a real "Babylon", a city with an unimaginable mixture of races, peoples, customs, cults and beliefs. Syrians, Greeks, Macedonians, Phoenicians, Jews, Romans, Persians and many other peoples lived here - according to the tradition established by the founder of the city, Seleucus, everyone who came here to live was automatically granted citizenship rights.
The World Apostolic Mission began with the formation of a Christian community in Antioch. Here, for all who confess Christ, a common name was fixed - Christians. The first historian of the church, the holy Evangelist Luke, testifies to this: “Then Barnabas went to look for Saul and, finding him, brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they gathered in church and taught a considerable number of disciples, and the disciples in Antioch for the first time began to be called Christians”(Acts of the Apostles, 11: 25-26).
After the defeat of Jerusalem (70), Antioch became the main center of Christianity for several centuries. The number of followers of the new religion has grown so much here that by the beginning of the 4th century, Antioch with its population of half a million was actually the only Christian city in the Roman Empire. The first churches of considerable size were built here, among which were the so-called "Ancient" or "Apostolic" basilica - one of the most ancient architectural monuments of early Christianity.
Over time, Antioch became the center of the patriarchate, which united Christians in the vast eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and beyond. Emperor Constantine the Great (306337) in 327 built one of the largest and most famous temples of the early Christian era in the city, which he decorated so richly that it delighted his contemporaries. This temple went down in history as the "Great" or "Golden" church and became a role model for many centuries.
In August 638, Antioch was captured by the Arabs. They saw the local Christians as allies of their enemies, the Byzantines, and persecuted them for a long time. In 969, the Byzantines defeated the Arabs and returned Antioch to the empire. But by that time the city had already lost its former significance. In 1085 it was captured by the Seljuk Turks.
Today Antioch is called Antakya. It is a small (20 thousand inhabitants), practically a new city in the south of Turkey. From the former densely populated capital of the East, the bridge erected during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian (III century AD), an aqueduct, the remains of Roman temples and theaters, fragments of the walls of the VI century have survived. It was here, among the ruins of the ancient city, that a treasure of silver items was found in 1910, containing one amazing object … Holy images The circumstances of the discovery of the treasure are still not entirely clear. Gustav Eisen, in his two-volume work The Great Cup of Antioch, published in 1923, reports that the treasure was discovered by Arab workers in the ruins of a Byzantine cathedral - the famous Golden Church. The workers divided the found treasure among themselves. Later, the entire set of Antiochian treasures was acquired by the antique firm of the Kuchakji brothers, which had its offices in Aleppo (Syria), Paris and New York. Salim and Konstantin Kuchakzhi spent two years trying to put together all the treasures that were owned by different owners. At the end of this work, they sent the collected antiques to Paris to their brother George, who hired a specialist to clean the oxide layer from the silver values. With the outbreak of the First World War, the collection of silver objects was sent to New York, where it could be completely safe: another Kuchakji brother, Khabib, lived in New York with his son Fahim.to bring together all the treasures owned by different owners. At the end of this work, they sent the collected antiques to Paris to their brother George, who hired a specialist to clean the oxide layer from the silver values. With the outbreak of the First World War, the collection of silver items was sent to New York, where it could be completely safe: another Kuchakzhi brother, Khabib, lived in New York with his son Fahim.to bring together all the treasures owned by different owners. At the end of this work, they sent the collected antiques to Paris to their brother George, who hired a specialist to clean the oxide layer from the silver values. With the outbreak of the First World War, the collection of silver items was sent to New York, where it could be completely safe: another Kuchakzhi brother, Khabib, lived in New York with his son Fahim.in New York, another Kuchakzhi brother, Khabib, lived with his son Fahim.in New York, another Kuchakzhi brother, Khabib, lived with his son Fahim.
Among the items of the Antioch treasure was a set of two bowls inserted one into the other. The inner bowl is elongated; its edge is bent over the edge of the outer bowl, the surface of which is covered with figures of people and animals, as well as images of vines. The outer bowl has a wider base. The bowl is over 19 cm high and its outer diameter is over 18 cm.
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It was quite clear that this double bowl had some special purpose. Fahim Kuchakzhi turned to the Swedish scientist Gustav Eisen with a request to conduct her research. Eisen studied the find in the most thorough way: he divided the bowls and examined them separately, paying particular attention to their decoration.
The inner bowl is strikingly different from the outer one: it is very simple and does not contain any decorations. Its characteristic elongated shape is inherent in products of the turn of the 1st century. BC. - 1st century AD
The outer bowl is more recent and made by another craftsman and in a different technique. It depicts twelve human figures. Around them whimsically intertwined grape vines with hanging clusters; there are also animals sitting on perches and various objects that can be interpreted as symbols. The upper part of the inner bowl is bent outward to form a chain of rosettes.
Among the human figures, Eisen recognized two images of Christ: in one image he is represented as a boy, in the other after his Resurrection. The image of Christ the youth is simple-minded and beautiful; the risen Christ's face is calm and pensive. Above and below it are a dove and an eagle: the first is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and the second is the Roman Empire. Around the risen Christ, at different levels, sit the apostles: Peter, John the Theologian and his brother James, Mark, Andrew, Judas, James the Younger, Paul, Matthew and Luke. The high skill of the creators of this masterpiece has provided a vivid personality inherent in each of the depicted apostles.
Having carefully studied human figures, animals and objects depicted on the surface of the outer bowl, Eisen tried to interpret them using the Gospel texts and all sources available to him on the history of early Christianity. The scientist's conclusion was unambiguous: the inner cup is "a precious relic that has come down to us from the earliest years of Christianity" - the famous Grail! According to Eisen, who was later joined by a number of other scientists, it is the inner cup that is the very sacred relic associated with the name of Christ. And if so, then this find is of great value for all mankind! Easter Levitation Antioch is undoubtedly one of the places where the Holy Grail could have been. However, despite Eisen's rather logical system of reasoning, many scientists doubted his hypothesis. True, the objections basically boiled down to the fact that, for some special reason, this chalice could simply be made similar to the Grail … One way or another, the chalice attracted everyone's attention, and the connection with the legend of the Holy Grail significantly increased the value of the find … The priceless treasure of Kuchakzhi traveled all over Europe, where people could admire it, and those who believed in its mystical nature - and worship.
In 1950, the bowl was purchased by the Cloisters - Museum of Western Medieval Art in New York (this museum is a branch of the New York Museum of Art). However, even here she did not go unnoticed by the public, as amazing things began to happen to the treasure. The most remarkable story happened in 1963. She is described in the book “100 great relics of the world” published by the Veche publishing house. On Easter Sunday, the museum guard and night watchman, during their morning rounds, witnessed how the bowl on the shelf suddenly … hesitated, and then suddenly rose to a height of about 7.5-8 cm! The bowl floated in the air for several minutes. Recovering himself, the guard rushed to the phone, and soon Thomas Loving, the museum's assistant curator, rushed into the building. He examined the relic and offered the following explanation for the mysterious incident: between the lamps hidden inside the base cabinet and inside the display case, there was a plastic mesh that scattered the rays coming from these light sources. The alarm system was arranged in such a way that if a burglar wanted to take the bowl out of the window from the place where it stood, a special landmark would take a vertical position, and an alarm would sound in the main office. It so happened that at that very moment the plastic mesh collapsed, which caused the bowl to rise, and an alarm signal sounded in the room. As a result of raising the landmark, the mesh also rose into the air together with the bowl. The alarm system was arranged in such a way that if a burglar wanted to take the bowl out of the showcase from the place where it stood, a special landmark would take a vertical position, and an alarm was sounded in the main office. It so happened that at that very moment the plastic mesh collapsed, because of which the bowl rose, and an alarm sounded in the room. As a result of raising the landmark, the mesh also rose into the air together with the bowl. The alarm system was arranged in such a way that if a burglar wanted to take the bowl out of the window from the place where it stood, a special landmark would take a vertical position, and an alarm would sound in the main office. It so happened that at that very moment the plastic mesh collapsed, because of which the bowl rose, and an alarm sounded in the room. As a result of raising the landmark, the mesh also rose into the air together with the bowl.and the alarm sounded in the room. As a result of raising the landmark, the mesh also rose into the air together with the bowl.and an alarm sounded in the room. As a result of raising the landmark, the mesh also rose into the air together with the bowl.
Is it a coincidence? Maybe. However, the guards were not able to convince that the levitation of the bowl could have occurred "through the fault" of the alarm system …
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The mystery, or at least the obscurity associated with the origin of the Antioch bowl, continues to excite specialists. The Grail also haunts the representatives of contemporary art. He is mentioned in the acclaimed novel by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code; the holy chalice also appears in cinematography: for example, in the films "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Monty Poyton and the Holy Grail", in the science fiction series "Stargate" …
Prepared by Yuri ANDREEV, Secret Power