(ORDO NEWS) — Most people refer to one particular chalice as the only Holy Grail. Others point out that Holy Grail legends created in Europe during the 12th to 15th centuries list over ten different Holy Grails.
A third group claims that the Holy Grails have existed throughout the world for thousands of years.
In fact, the Holy Grails have been everywhere throughout the ages. They took the form of chalices, spears, skulls, plates, stones, swords, cauldrons, and even books.
What makes an item the Holy Grail is its possession of a special power that Christians call the Holy Spirit, alchemists call Alchemical Power, and Hindu yogis call Kundalini.
Legend has it that if you drink or eat from the Holy Grail, or even just touch it, its power will enter you and start the process of alchemical transformation, which will subsequently heal you, enlighten you, and perhaps even make you immortal.
The most famous historical Holy Grail is the Chalice of Christ or the Chalice of Joseph of Arimathea. This is the vessel into which Joseph of Arimathea collected the blood and sweat of the Messiah after he was taken down from the cross, as well as the cup that Jesus passed to his disciples during the Last Supper.
According to one legend, the archangel Gabriel instructed Joseph and eleven other missionaries to go to Glastonbury with a cup and two flasks, or “krugs” containing the blood and sweat of Jesus.
Having settled in their new homeland, Joseph and his companions built the chapel of St. Mary, which became the reliquary of the bowl and the first Christian church in Europe.
Over time, the chapel was demolished and replaced by a larger chapel, which was subsequently incorporated into the structure of Glastonbury Abbey. Joseph is said to have buried the Chalice of Christ in the great mound of Glastonbury, now known as Chalice Hill, before his death.
Or, according to another myth, Joseph hid his Holy Grail in the Well of the Chalice, from which blood-colored water constantly flows today, symbolizing the blood of the Messiah, to nourish and heal all who bathe in it or drink it.
According to an alternative legend about the Chalice of Christ, after the Ascension, Joseph’s chalice was taken by Saint Peter to Rome, where it became the main chalice used by the first popes during Holy Communion.
Then, around 258 AD, when the Roman emperor Valerian regularly persecuted bishops and other high-ranking officials of the Catholic Church, a Vatican soldier took the chalice to Spain.
She eventually ended up in the Cathedral of Valencia, where she became known as Santo Calis of Valencia. According to the Vatican, this is the true Chalice of Christ.
Santo Caliz, meaning “Holy Chalice”, is a stone bowl made from a variety of red agate that sits on an ornate base studded with 27 pearls, 2 rubies and 2 emeralds. Although the agate bowl dates back to the time of Christ, its decorative base was added much later.
Although the Cup of Christ is indeed special, it is just one of the many Holy Grails dating back to the time of the Passion. Known collectively as the Arma Christi, these are objects of the Passion that were imbued with the spiritual power of Jesus by touching his body and/or holding his fluids.
The Holy Grails of the Arma Christi include the True Cross on which Jesus was nailed during the crucifixion, the Crown of Thorns, the Veil of Veronica (the cloth that covered his head), the Shroud of Turin (the cloth that covered the corpse of Jesus) and the Spear of Longinus.
Since then, these Holy Grails have been scattered all over the world. The spear of Longinus eventually found a home inside the Vatican column. The True Cross was divided into pieces, and its fragments were later placed in many cathedrals and churches in Europe and the USA.
The nails of the True Cross were removed and used to create the Iron Crown of Lombardy, which Napoleon crowned himself with, as well as the Spear of Saint Maurice, also known as the “Spear of Destiny”. It was the holy spear of the Holy Grail of the Holy Roman Emperors and, later, Adolf Hitler.
Legend has it that the Knights Templar at one time or another possessed all the objects of the Passion. Most of them were discovered by warrior monks during the Fourth Crusade, when they entered a small chapel in the Bucoleon Palace of Constantinople and discovered many objects of the Passion along with the head of John the Baptist.
The knights later claimed that John’s head, which they named Baphomet, radiated the same spiritual power as that on the Baptist’s body, making it the real Holy Grail.
Since at that time John became known in Templar circles as the “Savior and Creator of the Order”, his head immediately became the most cherished Holy Grail of the Knights.
Other Holy Grails around the world
Throughout the world, many Holy Grails have gained prominence before and after the Passion. An earlier Holy Grail from the Holy Land, Solomon’s Cup, was made from a huge emerald found in the Mediterranean.
This gem was brought to King Solomon, the world famous alchemist, who then carved it into an alchemical bowl.
Another ancient Holy Grail associated with Sumer is the Sumerian Grail . Arthur Edward Waite stated that he learned about this Grail vessel from one of his colleagues, Dr. Waddell, who apparently had a fragment of it.
Weddell stated that fragments of the Sumerian Grail were found in the foundations of a tower belonging to “the oldest temple of the Sun in Mesopotamia.”
The vessel was hidden there by King Udu of Kish, great-grandson of King Dur, the first Sumerian king and original owner of the bowl, who apparently seized the bowl from the “aboriginal Chaldean serpent worshipers” when he replaced dragon-worship with the cult of the Sun.
King Dur then engraved on the vessel “the oldest known historical inscription in the world”, which contained the genealogy of the ancient Sumerian kings.
Persia’s contribution to the list of Holy Grails includes the Jami-Jamshid, the Chalice of Jamshid, which was discovered by the legendary Persian king Jamshid while excavating an ancient city in Central Asia.
The radiant bowl of Jamshid , made of pure turquoise, could both reveal the future and transform a person into an immortal god.
Another famous Persian Holy Grail was kept at the court of King Kay-Khosrow. This chalice, known as Nartmonge, the “Knights’ Cup”, was passed down among Persian knights for at least a thousand years before the Arthurian knights set out to claim their magical Holy Grail.
In the Far East, the existence of an ancient Holy Grail called the Buddha Chalice was revealed to Nicholas Roerich during his travels in China and Mongolia in the 1920s.
Buddhist monks informed Roerich that the origin of the bowl is contained in a jataka, an anecdotal story taken directly from the life of the Buddha, which read:
“… from the four lands came four guardians of the world… they offered four bowls of black stone, and [Buddha], full of compassion for the four sages, accepted the four bowls.
He placed one in the other and commanded: “Let there be one! “. And the edges of the four bowls became visible as outlines. All the bowls formed one. The Buddha took food in the newly formed bowl and, having taken the food, gave thanks.”
Roerich received additional information about the Buddha Cup while passing through the cities on the Silk Road. He’s writing:
“Karashahr is … the last resting place of the Buddha Cup, according to historians. The Cup of the Blessed One was brought here from Peshwar and disappeared here. It is said that “The Buddha Cup will be found again when the time of Shambhala [Golden Age] comes.”
More famous than the Buddha Chalice is the Chinese Royal Cauldron , a large golden vessel known to have once brought long life and prosperity to some of China’s earliest emperors.
The royal cauldron was famous for its alchemical properties and for magically creating within itself the elixir of immortality for righteous emperors, including Emperor Hong-ti and the beneficent Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. But the Golden Cauldron helped only righteous emperors.
Otherwise, as in the case of the evil Emperor Shi Huang-ti of the Qin Dynasty, the royal cauldron would mysteriously disappear and remain hidden until a more benevolent ruler ascended the throne of China.
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