Where Is The Ark of the Covenant Today?

By: Alexandria Addesso

Previously a New Mind Journal article was done on the Holy Grail. In correspondence with that article, the question came up of another ancient Biblical artifact that has long been sought by archaeologists and treasure hunters alike, the Ark of the Covenant.

“They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it.

You shall cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. You shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you,” (Exodus 25:10-16).



The Israelites built the Ark while wandering in the desert. It contained the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron’s rod and some of the manna that fell down from heaven. Much like the significance of the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant meant power. When the Israelites carried it into battle they won many victories until it was captured by the Philistines but later returned to the Israelites. The presence of God always manifested within the Ark because it contained His words.

When the first Temple was destroyed in 587BC by the Babylonians it is presumed by some that they took the Ark based on 1 Esdras 1:54(considered a biblical book by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, not to be mistaken with the Book of Ezra), this is still up for debate. Yet, 2 Maccabees 2:4-10(a biblical book in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions and found in the Dead Sea Scrolls yet rejected by Protestants) states that via Divine assistance, the prophet Jeremiah brought the Ark to a cave at Mount Nebo and buried it there before the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem.




“The place is to remain unknown until God gathers His people together again and shows them mercy.” (2 Maccabees 2:7)
The Temple Institute in Jerusalem's Old City, stands by a belief similar to that in 2 Maccabees, that the Ark is buried under the remaining mount of the Temple and will be revealed when it is rebuilt.

It is also believed that when King Solomon met the Queen of Sheba the Ark was transfer to her land, modern-day Ethiopia and Yemen, by their son Menelik. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians have claimed to have possession of the Ark for the last 3,000 years in a chapel in the town of Aksum where monks devote their lives to protecting it. By having custody of the Ark it is believed that the line of kings of the Ethiopian Empire, which directly descended from Menelik and thus Solomon, was protected by God until the socialist Derg took power and ousted Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974.



There is yet another belief that differs greatly from all those formerly mentioned, that the location of the original Ark of the Covenant is not important, because the location of the New Ark of the Covenant is in heaven. When the Ark arrived before King David he danced uncontrollably (1 Chronicles 15:29, 2 Samuel 6) and parallel, when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth the baby in her womb, John the Baptist, instantly leaped (Luke 1:41-44). If Jesus was the Word of God made Flesh (John 1:1-14), his original dwelling place while incarnated (Mary’s womb) housed the Word just as the old Ark did. Ancient Christians often referred to Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant, a title still used today by many Catholic and Orthodox Christians alike as well as the belief that she was assumed into heaven.

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The Significance of the Holy Grail

By: Alexandria Addesso

Many a quests and adventures have been made in pursuit of what is known as the Holy Grail. While like many other lost historical artifacts, especially those considered to be sacred, the Holy Grail could be worth a considerable amount to the right person. This journey to uncover such an object has provoked treasure hunters and serious artifact collectors alike as well as provided a plot line for many novels dating back to the Middle Ages and as recent as the Indiana Jones series.

But what exactly gives the Holy Grail it's worth or draw? It’s presumed monetary value is enough to draw many, but what is the monetary value and what deems it as such? To understand the answer we must first truly understand what the Holy Grail is, and what it means to those who give it value.

The Holy Grail was believed to be the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper when instituting the Eucharist, the sacrament in which bread and and wine was transubstantiated into His Body and Blood. Luke 22:26-28:



While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Legend also says that Joseph of Arimathea, the member of the Sanhedrin that got permission to take Jesus’ body off the cross and prepare it for burial, caught Jesus’ Blood in the Grail as it flowed when He hung from the cross.



Like many other religious and sacred artifacts, the Holy Grail is significant for worship and veneration. And although there are endless stories of the Holy Grail being missing, many of the Catholic faith believe they have the Holy Grail or Sangreal in the Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady in Valencia, Spain. And there the faithful venerate it. It is believed that it was originally in Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Seplucher for several hundred years after the death of Christ and a document says it was received at the cathedral in Valencia in 1437.



While the significance of the Grail for the religious faithful is evident, nonreligious for nearly a thousand years have sought the Grail for a different reason, divine power. The belief that drove King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table as well as SS soldiers was that such divine power would render a ruler undefeatable. For those that believe the Chalice of Valencia is not the true Holy Grail, the search for divine power continues.

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