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Apostle Paul Remains - Studies of Catholicism - Posted: 30th Jun, 2009 - 7:22am
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Post Date: 29th Jun, 2009 - 3:52pm / Post ID: #
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Apostle Paul Remains
Remains are St. Paul's, pope says
ROME - The first-ever scientific test on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul "seems to confirm" that they do indeed belong to the Roman Catholic saint, Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday. Archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, which for some 2,000 years has been believed by the faithful to be the tomb of St. Paul. Ref. Source 5
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Remains Paul Apostle
I don't get it. How can they know it is him without having some of his dna beforehand? Its not like the Bible says ok check this and that and you'll know its Paul.
Remains Paul Apostle
They will never be able to take it to the degree with which you are looking for. However, they have been able to date the bones back to the time that Paul woud have been alive. That along with the information that we know about Paul make the likelihood that it is him even greater. Basically, the stories or history chronologically match the evidence that is in hand.
| QUOTE |
| wikipedia The tomb of St. Paul Front of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the WallsAccording to tradition, Paul's body was buried two miles away from the place of his martyrdom, in the sepulchral area along the Ostiense Way, owned by a Christian woman named Lucina. Upon it was erected a tropaeum which quickly became a place of veneration. Constantine I erected a basilica on the site of the tropaeum, significantly extended by Theodosius I from 386, now known as the Saint Paul Outside the Walls. During the 4th century, Paul's remains were moved into a sarcophagus, except for the head, which according to church tradition rests at the Lateran. Paul's tomb is below a marble tombstone in the Basilica's crypt, at 1.37 meters below the altar. The tombstone bears the Latin inscription PAULO APOSTOLO MART ("to Paul the apostle and martyr"). The inscribed portion of the tombstone has three holes, two square and one circular. The circular hole is connected to the tomb by a pipeline, reflecting the Roman custom of pouring perfumes inside the sarcophagus. The sarcophagus below the tombstone measures 2.55 meters long, 1.25 meters wide and 0.97 high. The discovery of the sarcophagus is mentioned in the chronicle of the Benedictine monastery attached to the Basilica, in regard to the 19th century rebuilding. Unlike other sarcophagi found at that time, this was not mentioned in the excavation papers. On 6 December 2006, it was announced that Vatican archaeologists had confirmed the presence of a white marble sarcophagus beneath the altar perhaps containing the remains of the Apostle. A press conference held on 11 December 2006 gave more details of the work of excavation, which lasted from 2002 to 22 September 2006, and which had been initiated after pilgrims to the basilica expressed disappointment that the Apostle's tomb could not be visited or touched during the Jubilee year of 2000. The sarcophagus was not extracted from its position, so that only one of its two narrow sides is visible. On 29 June 2009 Pope Benedict XVI announced that carbon 14 dating of bone fragments in the sarcophagus confirmed a date in the first or second century; "This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that they are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul," Benedict announced at a service in the basilica to mark the end of the Vatican's Paoline year in honor of the apostle. With the bone fragments archaeologists discovered some grains of incense, and pieces of purple linen with gold sequins and blue linen textiles. A curved line of bricks indicating the outline of the apse of the Constantinian basilica was discovered immediatedly to the west of the sarcophagus, showing that the original basilica had its entrance to the east, like Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The larger 386 basilica that replaced it had the Via Ostiense (the road to Ostia) to the east and so was extended westward, towards the river Tiber, changing the orientation diametrically. |
So 100% proof? No. But couple this with the known detail of St Paul and his remains and I would agree with the Vatican on this one...especially the markings on the sarcophagus.
Oh and the site where he was buried was immediately denoted by the early Christians...
| QUOTE |
| The basilica was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I over the burial place of Saint Paul, where it was said that, after the Apostle's execution, his followers erected a memorial, called a cella memoriae, over his grave. This first edifice was expanded under Valentinian I. |
Following this...the basilica was constructed and routiniely modified throughout the centuries. If you are ever in Rome, I highly recommend visiting this particular basilica.
Edited: Vincenzo on 30th Jun, 2009 - 7:31am TOPIC: Apostle Paul Remains