DRAMA OF THE LOST DISCIPLES TO BRITAIN #16
by George Jowett (1961)
THE END OF THE GOLDEN TRAIL
JOSEPH, the Apostle of Britain, lived within four years of
witnessing the second expulsion of the persecuting Romans from
the Sceptred Isle. During those years the soil of Britain had
become saturated with the blood of friend and foe in numerous
battles and not once had the foot of the invader penetrated
through the lines of the British warriors to set foot on the
sacred Isle of Avalon, and none ever would. The desperate efforts
of Imperial Rome to crush the power of the Word had succeeded in
fanning the flame into an unquenchable fire that was then
sweeping from Britain and Gaul into many other lands. The
Christian spark Joseph had fostered was to be his enduring
monument. The life of no Apostle, not even St. Paul, was more
filled with high purpose, enterprise and achievement than was the
life of the uncle of Jesus; (SOMEWHAT WAY OVER THE TOP - St. Paul
was used in a much greater way - for starters he wrote 14 books
of the New Testament - Keith Hunt) therefore, there is no regret
in stating that Joseph was not privileged to live to see the two
memorable Christian conquests that were to follow his demise.
In spite of the many sorrows that had shadowed his life, his
personal triumphs in spreading the teachings of 'The Way' from
Britain far outweighed the tragedies he had shared and witnessed.
He had viewed the first Christian army raised which shattered the
Claudian Legions in the first pitched battle in defence of the
new faith and the death on the field of the first Christian king,
replaced by the noble Arviragus. Massed war continued under the
dual leadership of the Pendragon Caradoc and Arviragus, in which
the Flag of the Cross was first flown. The non-compromising
armistice was between the Roman Emperor and the two dauntless
British leaders. The British defeat at Brandon and the
treacherous betrayal of Caractacus into captivity with all his
royal family, followed by the Roman pardon of the British king,
and the strange alliances between the scions of Rome with the
royal British prince and princesses was unusual. The slaughter of
the defenceless and the atrocious Menai massacre was avenged in
the triumph and tragedy of the Boadicean campaign. Through it all
there was an overflowing stream of converts aflame with the fire
of the Gospel, spreading from Avalon into the land and camp of
the enemy, valorously defiant. The martyrdom of Aristobulus and
Simon Zelotes in Britain must have wrung his heart, but the
founding of the first Christian church at Rome and the mission of
St. Paul in Wales with the royal British must have soared his
stalwart heart.
Joseph lived to see all but one of the original Apostles of
Christ go to their immortal reward. The fate of most of them has
been recited. James, brother of St. John, had been put to the
sword by Herod, A.D.64. And James, the brother of Jesus, was
hurled from a pinnacle of the Temple to his death, A.D.62. 1 On
his monument is written: "He hath been a true witness both to
Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ." St. John outlived
Joseph. Apparently he was one of the very few apostles and
disciples of Christ to die a natural death at the extreme age of
101 years.
Fifty years after Joseph had placed the body of Jesus in His
tomb he laid down the sceptre of his mortal life on July 27, A.D.
82. Loving hands and heart laid him to rest among the saintly
company that had preceded him, close beside the grave of the
Virgin Mary, near the little wattle church which he and his
twelve companions had built over forty years before after setting
foot on British soil.
Cressy, in "Church History of Brittany," writes: "Joseph
was buried near the little wattle church he built."
Across the stone lid of the sarcophagus on which his bones
were later buried, under the initials of Joseph of Arimathea, are
inscribed these immortal words: "Ad Brittanos veni post Christum
Sepelivi. Docui. Quievi." (To the Britons I came after I buried
the Christ. I taught, I have entered my rest).
In these few simple words are contained more tragedy,
romance, and drama than in any other inscription ever written;
words so characteristic of all the faithful Apostles of Christ,
seeking no self-justification, merely a simple record of a duty
performed.
Maelgwyn of Avalon, who wrote about A.D.450, describes the
place of burial in these words:
"Joseph of Arimathea, the noble decurion, received his
everlasting rest with his eleven associates in the Isle of
Avalon. He lies in the southern angle of the birfurcated line of
the Oratorium of the Adorable Virgin."
Long before the time of Maelgwyn, a magnificent Abbey had
risen over the original site, enclosing the wattle church encased
in lead for its preservation, and the relics of the sainted
group. All
......
1 Eusebius, quoting Hegesippus.
......
the early and later authorities refer to the same resting-place
of Joseph, as cited by Maelgwyn, and rarely do they fail to quote
the inscription as it appeared on Joseph's tomb. Among the
notable historians who make special reference to the inscription
are John of Teignmouth, Leland, Hearne and Morgan.
Gildas the Wise, A.D.425, whom modern historians refer to as
the first British historian of reliable reportage, lived for
quite a time at Glastonbury. He had access to all the records and
original documents in the famous Abbey. His reference to the
coming of Joseph to Britain, his life there and his death were
written from examination of the old records.
William of Malmesbury is held in the highest esteem as an
exacting, honest writer. His worthiness was so great that he was
invited by the Abbot of Glastonbury to dwell among them and write
a faithful history of the Abbey from a study of the ancient MSS.
In A.D.1121 he wrote his "Antiquity of Glastonbury." In
corroboration of his fine work he refers to the Eleutherian
Mission at Glastonbury, A.D.183, quoting from the record they had
left. He writes:
"They also found the whole story in ancient writings how the holy
apostles, having been scattered throughout the world, St. Philip
the Apostle coming into France with a host of disciples, sent
twelve of them into Britain to preach, and that - taught by
revelation - constructed the said chapel which the Son of God
afterwards dedicated to the honour of His Mother. Their leader,
it is said, was Phillip's dearest friend, Joseph of Arimathea,
who buried our Lord."
The learned Archbishop Ussher refers to William of
Malmesbury as 'our chief historian.' Leland and others call him
'an elegant, learned, and faithful historian'. William dwelt
twice at the famous Abbey in order to complete his splendid MSS.
At that time, before the great fire, all the treasured records
and manuscripts were in existence and at his disposal. He also
confirms the time and place of Joseph's death and interment.
The original MSS. of William of Malmesbury's "Antiquity of
Glastonbury" is in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. A
translation from the original Latin was made from it by Thomas
Hearn in 1727. Hearn adds to the record the death of William of
Malmesbury in 1142, details of the great fire which destroyed the
Abbey in 1184, with a listing of all the Abbots to the time of
the Dissolution in 1539.
Archbishop Ussher, church historian, writes in his carefully
detailed work of "St. Joseph's burial in the bifurcated line next
to the corner of St. Mary's Chapel and of the silver and white
cruets containing the sweat and blood of Christ buried with him."
(Surely Ussher did not mean any literal sweat and blood of
Christ, but in a figure of speech - Keith Hunt). He recites the
presentation by St. Joseph of the Flag of the Cross to Arviragus,
'for the insignia of the British race.' (I have to doubt the
"cross" stuff being of any true nature, or taking place, but in
the mind of some over-zealous historians - Keith Hunt). The
Archbishop provides a copy of the licence, copied from the royal
archives in the Tower of London, given by Edward III in 1345, to
one John Bloom of London, with the right to excavate the body of
St. Joseph beneath the enclosure of the monastery, and his
finding of the body exactly where all had stated it rested. The
document was signed by King Edward on June 8, 1345. Ussher also
quotes from the 'Record of the burial of St. Joseph and his
companions', from The Great Register of the Monks of Glaston.
William Goode, the Jesuit, born at Glastonbury and educated
there during the reign of Henry VIII, confirms the old records,
further stating:
"There was in existence at Glastonia inscribed tablets to
perpetuate St. Joseph's memory, chapels, crypts, crosses, arms,
and the observance of the feast of St. Joseph for six days at the
Kalends of August, as long as the Monks enjoyed most securely the
King's charters."
(Again all this - crosses, arms - probably got ADDED by the Monks
as time went on - such happens - old basic history gets a new
frame from Monks that were no longer pure in Christian faith and
truth, and become influenced by the adoptions of various physical
things that had become part of their theology - Keith Hunt)
He also reports seeing the brass plate on an overturned
cross in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He relates the arrival
of Joseph with the Bethany group, the gifts of land to Joseph by
King Arviragus, the silver cruets, size of the wattle church, and
of the stone bearing the strange words 'Jesus-Maria', the arms of
the abbey, the cross on the shield, and burial of Joseph at
Glastonbury.
(Again truth mixed with traditional errors that had become part
of the theology of the day - Keith Hunt)
For over one thousand years annual pilgrimages were made to
the tomb of St. Joseph by pilgrims from all parts of the
Christian world in the month of August.
The conversion of Britain by Joseph, and his establishment
of the first Christian church above ground at Avalon, was not
only the challenge of the British church in refuting the Papal
claim to seniority as Christ's vice-regent on earth; it extended
into the important matters of state when dealing with nations
subject to Vatican control. British kings, queens and ambassadors
defied Papal interference, refusing to treat with him or his
emissaries. They would cite the record that Britain held
seniority as being the first Christian nation, and that church
was ruled by its Bishops, with Christ alone as the recognized
Head of the Church.
(This was true for many centuries, but the author did not see, or
refused to see, the Roman Catholic church did gain the influence
and did finally rule Britain for many centuries - Keith Hunt)
The kings and queens, by the terms of their Christian oath
at coronation, gave allegiance to God, through Jesus Christ, and
not to man or a church founded on a usurped authority. Strangely
enough, the Vatican never denied British priority even when
seeking to make alliances, or bring the British Church within the
Roman Catholic fold. Royal and ambassadorial replies were
pregnant with the Christian claim by Britain based on the life
and death of Joseph in that country, St. Paul and others of
Christ's elect who had dwelt among them. When controversy and
antagonism was at its height between the Vatican and Britain
during the reigns of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I, Sir
Robert Wingfield, English Ambassador to Spain, personally
compiled the records of the Council of Constance in a book,
proving that at the four great church councils British Bishops
had been accorded seniority as head of the councils Pisa 1409,
Constance 1417, Sienna 1424 and Basle 1434, on the grounds that
'Joseph of Arimathea brought the faith to Britain immediately
after the Passion of Christ'. Wingfield named the presiding
British church dignitaries at Pisa: Robert Hallam, Bishop of
Salisbury; Henry Chicele; and Thomas Chillenden, Prior of Christ
Church, Canterbury; Hallam was the leader at Pisa and at Sienna.
Others were Nicholas Bubwith, Bishop of Bath and Wells; the famed
Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester; and Nicholas Frome,
Bishop of Glastonbury, who was chief delegate at Basle in 1434.
This record was published at Louvain in 1517, a copy of which is
in the Royal Library, and another in Sir Henry Wooton's. It was
republished in the reign of Elizabeth I and again under the
Stuarts. The title of the work is "A Briefe Abstract of the
Question of Precedency Between England and Spain," employed by
Sir Henry Nevile at the commission of the French king in an
effort to bring peace between England and Spain, 1579.
(All this may be so, that Britain had the first place in the
arrival of Christianity, but that is all separate from the
historical facts that Rome DID conquer the British church and
stamped out much truth that the British church held, like the 7th
day Sabbath, and Passover not Easter, as the death of Christ. The
author refused to see the facts of history, that the Roman
Catholic church and theology did conquer the nation of Britain -
Keith Hunt)
It is of special notice that no book could be published
without a royal licence. Charles I provided another licence for a
printing in 1642. This book was entitled "Precedency of England
in Respect to the Antiquity of Christian Religion" immediately
after the Passion of Christ in this Realm. In 1651 Oliver
Cromwell gave a licence substantiating the same claim.
In recent years Lord Queenborough discovered and purchased a
copy of the 1642 edition, which he presented to the Royal Society
of St. George.
Throughout the ages to present times such as been the power
of the story of Joseph of Arimathea that kings, queens and people
of Britain have defended the sovereignty of the Christian faith
against all usurpers and aggressors.
What a triumphant history!
(NO not triumphant at all! The Roman church prevailed and
obliterated many original truths that the British church had
received from the apostles. This is clearly evident by the
teachings and traditions of the present day Church of England,
which is just about a clone of the Roman Catholic church, with a
different head Bishop in a different city - Keith Hunt)
Every time I visited Glastonbury and stood before the Altar
of St. Joseph amid the ruins of this glorious Abbey, my mind
became crowded with the circumstances and incidents in the life
of the Apostle of Britain. I seemed to sense the spirit of the
noble decurio and his wonderful companions, and felt in my heart
that the prophecy of Abraham, of Jacob, Isaiah, Jesus and St.
Paul, had been fulfilled to the people of 'the Isles', through
the medium of the uncle of Jesus.
(Yes truth - real truth was brought to Britain by Joseph and some
of the apostles, but it was finally obliterated by the church of
Rome - Keith Hunt)
Further reference to the tomb of St. Joseph of Arimathea at
Glastonbury cannot be more fittingly presented than by reciting
the words of the Rev. Lionel Smithett Lewis, former Vicar of
Glastonbury, who devoted most of the eighty-six years of his life
to searching the age-old archives, examining ancient tomes,
official documents and yellowed manuscripts to substantiate the
validity of the story of the life and death of St. Joseph and the
Bethany family at Avalon, and in preserving the fascinating
record of the most historic Christian church in the world. He
writes:
"The body of St. Joseph, whose burial at the wattle church of St.
Mary was recorded by Maelgwyn of Avalon, writing about A.D.450,
lay undisturbed till the year 1345, when Edward III gave his
licence to John Bloom of London to dig for the body if the Abbot
and monks permitted, and just as the discovery of the bones of
King Arthur at Glastonbury in 1190 were recorded in far-away
Essex by the monk Ralph de Coggeshall, so in a far-away monastery
in 1367 we find a monk recording that 'the bodies of Joseph of
Arimathea and his companions were found at Glastonbury.' The
remains of St. Joseph were put in a silver casket which could be
raised at will from a stone sarcrophagus, the base of a shrine to
which the frequent pilgrimage was made. This stone altar tomb,
the base of the shrine, like the Holy Thorn, survived the
Reformation. Holinshed, in his 'Chronicle', A.D.1577, speaks of
St. Joseph's sepulchre as being still at Glastonbury, and the
learned John Ray in his 'Itinerary' records that on June 2, 1662,
'We saw Joseph of Arimathea's tomb and chapel at the end of the
church.' As we have seen, the Holy Thorn was cut down in the
Great Rebellion. The aftermath of the same period saw the altar
tomb of St. Joseph leave its shrine. During the Commonwealth a
Nonconformist divine was put in as incumbent of the Parish
Church. In 1662 this interloper was turned out and a Churchman
instituted. It was that very same year, in which by God's
Providence John Ray came to Glastonbury and saw the tomb in the
ruined chapel. Later in the year, tradition says, from fear of
Puritanical fanaticism like that which destroyed the Holy Thorn,
silently, hastily at night, the altar tomb was removed from the
ruined shrine in St. Mary's Chapel at the Abbey, and placed in
the churchyard of the Parish Church for protection outside of the
East end of St. Mary's Chapel in that Church. There it remained
till the autumn of 1928, when loving hands brought it reverently
into the Church, and placed it in the ancient St. Katherine's
Chapel, the North Transept. Moreover, there is a plinth inside to
receive the silver ark with the Saint's remains. A glass top was
put on the tomb that all generations might see what was found."
As a matter of fact it was the Rev. Lewis who accidentally
rediscovered the stone sarcophagus of Joseph. One autumn day,
while walking by the ancient cemetery, he saw a large stone
object, evidently lifted by the frosts, protruding from out of
the earth. On examination, it was recognized as being the stone
sarcophagus of St. Joseph. Willing hands helped to excavate the
stone, and as the Rev. Lewis says in his report, it was
re-inshrined in St. Katherine's Chapel, where it can be seen
today.
It is indeed remarkable that it should be preserved
undamaged from the rains, frost and snow, after reposing for two
hundred and sixty-six years in its hastily constructed grave,
where it had been placed in the dead of night to protect it from
the desecrating hands of the fanatical Puritans.
Nearly nineteen hundred years have passed since the uncle of
Jesus was laid to his everlasting rest at Glastonbury, yet as
recent as thirty years ago this sacred relic that contained his
remains is almost miraculously raised from its centuries' old
grave by an act of nature, to remind us, by the Will of God, of
the trenchant drama of 'The Way', and our long Christian
inheritance, out of which the most powerful democracies in
history founded their constitutions - the Commonwealth of the
British nations, and the great republic of the United States of
America.
In many ancient histories describing the life of St. Joseph
in Britain there is constant reference to the Holy Cruets. The
story is that the two cruets contained the blood and sweat of
Jesus and were brought by Joseph to Britain and were buried with
him in a niche carved into his stone coffin. The old records
indicate that the two cruets were held in the highest reverence
by the Abbey throughout its existence. They are assigned as part
of the coat of arms of Joseph. The cruets are shown imposed on a
shield, one on each side of a thorny cross, with liquid droplets
covering the rest of the space on the shield, symbolizing the
blood and sweat of Jesus entering the cruets. They were the arms
of the Abbey, and appeared in one of the large stained-glass
windows of the church. The cruets and the Arthurian cross are
much in evidence in the church records. King Arthur adopted the
Cross of St. George as his kingly badge which can still be seen
carved in the stone over one of the standing doorways.
(All GARBAGE and silly fanatical additions that come along in
time and story-telling from the mind-set of false theology, from
the Church of Emgland, as much as it has come from the Church of
Rome - this relic and that relic - this part of the cross - that
part of Jesus - and on it goes. It is silly and crazy theology to
think any part of the literal body of Christ went anywhere with
any disciple - Keith Hunt)
The story of the search for the Holy Grail by the Knights of
the Round Table carries a double meaning. It is generally
believed that the search was for the Cup of the Last Supper,
which Joseph is claimed to have concealed in Chalice Hill. On the
other hand, the word Grail in old English means 'elements', which
some writers indicate meant the lost cruets, in a few instances
named vials. The record hardly bears out this belief, as all the
early writings centuries prior to the time of King Arthur clearly
state that the cruets, or vials, were placed within the
sarcophagus of Joseph at his death and buried with him. The word
Grail is also employed to mean a container, a chalice or a cup,
which might better indicate that the search of the Knights of
King Arthur was directed to find the Cup, which seems to be the
most popular opinion. Mention of the Cup is shrouded in silence
following the record of its concealment, but the cruets persist
so strongly through the ritual of the old church, and as
associated with Joseph, that there is no doubt that they
represented an important memorial to the Bethany mission,
perpetuated in tradition and ritual during those dramatic years.
(The cup of the "last supper" is another Christian mythology
myth, that bears no true record of being taken anywhere outside
of that last supper room. Such "relics" are part of the false
ideas and traditions of the Babylon Mystery Religion church - the
church of Rome, which has also crept into parts of the Church of
England - Keith Hunt)
In the report of Maelgwyn, reference is made to the fact
that Joseph was buried with his eleven associates near to the
Virgin Mary. Later records mention twelve associates and Leland,
1 who held a licence from Henry VIII to search the records of all
the cathedrals, abbeys and places of learning in 1534, checked
the library of Glastonbury Abbey. He reports thirteen associates
laid to rest with Joseph, exclusive of the Mother of Jesus, and
many records state that all the associates of Joseph and many
other martyrs and saints were finally gathered together by his
side and that of the gentle Virgin.
......
1 Notes made as King's Antiquary.
......
As we know, there were twelve companions who came to Britain with
Joseph on his first arrival. If we add Marcella, the maid of the
Bethany sisters, and Mary, we have fourteen members in the
Bethany group. The last mention by Leland, the King's Antiquary,
would indicate that all had been brought to Avalon, who had not
died there, to be together as they had originally requested. We
read of King Ina, A.D.700, having a large number of martyrs
reinterred at Avalon, and among them was the son of Joseph, who
had laboured at Cor Eurgain, and died at Glastonbury, over whom
King Ina erected a church.
Not many years ago the church of King Ina was excavated at
Glastonbury, but from lack of funds to maintain it has since
become covered over again.
Roger of Hovedon, writing of the church al Marseilles,
founded by Lazarus, states that after serving the church seven
years, he died there and that his relics are at Marseilles.
However, relics do not necessarily mean the body. Relics were
associated with personal belongings which were preserved and
treasured by the church. It is quite likely that the body of
Lazarus was later transferred to Glastonbury. King Oswy, A.D.
840, was very active in transporting the bodies of martyrs and
disciples from abroad to be reburied either at Glastonbury or
Canterbury. Leland writes:
"The Isle of Avalon greedy of burials received thousands of
sleepers among whom Joseph of Arimathea by name, entered his
perpetual sleep. And he lies in a bifurcated line next the
southern angle of the oratory by 13 inhabitants over the powerful
adorable Virgin. Joseph had with him moreover in his sarcophagus,
two white and silver cruets filled with the blood and sweat of
Jesus. When his sarcophagus shall be opened it will be seen
whole, and untouched in the future, and will be open to the whole
world. From then neither water, nor dew from heaven, shall fail
those inhabiting this most noble island. For much time before the
Day of judgment these things shall be open in Josaphat and
declared to the living."
(Joseph had no such things as the blood and sweat of Jesus in
anything. That part of all this history is goobydigoo "relic"
fanatics of history ideas, which seems to have been not just a
part of the Roman church - Keith Hunt)
The statement by William of Malmesbury in "Acts of the
Kings, Book I," is also interesting and illuminating:
"The Church of which we are speaking - from its antiquity called
by the Angles by way of distinction "Ealde Churche" that is "old
Church" of wattle work at first, savoured somewhat of heavenly
sanctity even from its foundation, and exhaled it over the whole
country, claiming superior reverence though the structure was
mean. Hence, here arrived whole tribes of the lower orders,
thronging every path; here assembled the opulent of their pomp;
and it became the crowded residence of the religious and the
literary. . . . This church then is certainly the oldest I am
acquainted with in England, and from this circumstance derives
its name. In it are preserved the mortal remains of many saints,
some of whom we shall notice in our progress, nor is there any
corner of the church destitute of the ashes of the holy. The very
floor, inlaid with polished stone, and the sides of the altar,
and even the altar itself above and beneath, are laden with the
multitude of relics. The antiquity and multitude of its saints
have endued the place with so much sanctity that, at night,
scarcely any one presumes to keep vigil there, or during the day
spit upon its floor; he who is conscious of pollution shudders
through his whole frame. No one ever brought hawk or horses
within confines of the neighbouring cemetery who did not depart
injured either in them or in himself. It is sufficiently evident
that the men of that province had no oath more frequent or more
sacred than to swear by The Old Church, fearing the swiftest
vengeance on their perjury in this respect. In the meantime it is
clear that the repository of so many saints may be deservedly
called a heavenly sanctuary on earth. There are numbers of
documents, though I abstain from mentioning them for fear of
causing weariness, to prove how extremely venerable this place
was held by the chief persons of the country, who there more
especially chose to await the day of resurrection under the
protection of the Mother of God."
(One thing to have a building once upon a time and true saints
reposed there in death. It's another thing to start into the
fanatical ideas of some parts of the body of Jesus contained in
some kind of containers there also - that gets into a fanatical
"relic" mind-set - Keith Hunt)
It is impossible to enumerate herein even a partial number
of the thousands of illustrious names of kings, queens, apostles,
disciples, saints and martyrs buried within the great Abbey and
in its cemetery, in addition to St. Joseph and his twelve
consecrated members of the Bethany band, and of Mary the Mother
of Jesus. The illustrious host buried therein gave to this site
the title of the most hallowed ground on earth. In addition it
bears the name of the only royal cemetery dedicated in Christ.
We may mention in passing that King Coel, father of the famed
Empress Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, is buried
in the old cemetery at Glastonbury.
Queen Victoria had in her possession in the Royal Library a
genealogical chart showing the kings and queens of Britain who
were descended in direct line from the Shepherd King David. The
genealogical chart prepared by the Rev. Milner is considered to
be the greatest masterpiece in proving the same fact. Through
Joseph of Arimathea this strain was greatly strengthened. John of
Glastonbury, historian and genealogist, shows that the children
of Joseph married into the royal British families. For this
reason King Arthur and the Tudor line claimed to be descended
from Joseph. John of Glastonbury also asserts that the twelve
Knights of the Round Table were descended from the line of
Joseph, and their number of twelve was formed to perpetuate the
existence of the original twelve companions who arrived in
Britain with Joseph. The knights long ago passed into legend and
folklore, but the famous Round Table is preserved today in
Winchester County Hall, still wearing some of the green paint as
decorated by Henry VIII when he entertained the French king. The
original memories are still vivid of the chivalrous knights, the
Quest for the Holy Grail, King Arthur and the beautiful Queen
Guinivere, descendants of the Noblis Decurio. The Thorn which
Joseph planted on Weary All Hill grew to be a twin. The despoiler
cut one down. The other part was saved because a splinter pierced
the eye of the destroyer. He died from the wound. For thirty
years it lived, long enough to see a new generation revolt
against the hypocritical Puritans who had come to be hated for
their desecrations, and displace them. Fortunately, a number of
thorn trees had been budded from the surviving part of the
original Holy Thorn, which botanists agree was a Levantine thorn.
Every Christmas the blossoms are gathered to decorate the altar
of the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Glastonbury,
keeping alive the significance of the ancient Josephian story.
St. Ninian, a British missionary out of Avalon, educated in
Rome, founded Candida Casa, Whithom, Scotland, A.D.397. He was a
great scholar, having served under St. Martin at Marmontier. In
his travels he had found St. Jerome's original translations of
the New Testament, the Psalms and Mosaic Laws. These, with many
other important religious writings in the old British-Celto
language, he took with him to Candida Casa, along with a copy of
the Vulgate. Later, St. Columbanus, the great Celtic missionary,
who died A.D.615, with his Celtic co-worker St. Gall, went to
Italy, where he founded Bobbio. He took with him a large quantity
of the treasured MSS from Candida Casa and from other Celtic
church libraries. Remaining today are about seven hundred MSS. in
the original British-Celtic language, which can be seen in the
famed church libraries at Bobbio, Turin and Milan. On the margins
of many appear notes made by St. Columbanus, in the same
language, as readable today as when first written. At Bobbio are
many beautiful illuminated works from Candida Casa, and MSS of
Irish Bangor. St. Gall left Bobbio to found the great monastery
of St. Gall, Switzerland, and the monastery at Luxeuil in the
Vosges, with their magnificent libraries containing numerous
early British-Celtic manuscripts.
The famed library of St. Gallen was taken to Switzerland by
the Irish disciples of St. Gallus. Among them is the
religio-historical Irish MSS written A.D. 612 by St. Gallus, with
considerable seventh-century Irish MSS. and other treasured
ancient documents. In fact one finds more of these antique Irish
treasures on the continent than in Ireland.
The chief data concerning the early Christian British
missions are found in the British libraries, particularly in the
Welsh Triads, the Psalter of Cashal, and Chronicum Regum
Pictorum.
How deeply rooted were the lives and works of Joseph of
Arimathea and the Bethany group in the early Christian workers is
shown by the great wealth of documentation written by them during
the six hundred years of the Golden Christian Era. The drama of
the introduction of Christianity into Britain by Joseph was not
confined to the British chroniclers. There are in existence many
early works written by saints, scholars and church dignitaries
who laboured on the continent during his lifetime and the years
that followed. Some of the MSS produced in Gaul and Britanny make
startling reading. All tell the same story in different form and
the deep reverence in which Joseph was held by them is manifest
in every word. The story never grew old. The first two books off
the newly invented printing press, after the Bible, were on the
Life of St. Joseph. The scholarly and historical works written of
Joseph, the Apostle to the British, far outnumber the works
written on the life of any one of the Apostles of Christ, St.
Paul and Peter not excepted. Most of them were written by the
best scholarly minds, historians and church authorities of those
centuries. National disputes for over sixteen hundred years were
settled on the validity of Joseph's existence in Britain with the
Bethany Mission. Opposing nations recognized the validity of the
claim. Disputists in the highest international church councils
bowed to the belief, supported by the Popes and the Vatican into
the twentieth century. Under such close scrutiny a myth, legend
or tradition would have been disposed of in the first century
A.D. Instead, the keenest intellectuals over the centuries
solidly propounded the historic fact that Joseph of Arimathea and
the Bethany band did live, teach and die in Britain; that Joseph
was the actual Apostle to the British, who founded the first
Christian church above ground in Britain; that Britain was the
first nation to accept the Christ Faith and from her shores
stemmed the great army of missionaries that Christianized the
world; and that the Covenant People are represented in
Celto-Anglo-Saxondom.
How significant that everything appears to fall in line with
prophecy!
The words of Isaiah as he addressed the people "afar in the
Isles of the West" become trenchant with positive meaning, as
does the prophecy of Jeremiah. The prophets proclaimed that the
Star of Jacob would spring from the line of David, the Shepherd
King. Jesus, the Messiah, was descended from David, as also was
His greatest banner-bearer, Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus, the Light
of the World, directed His message to the 'lost sheep' whom He
foretold would receive Him and His Word, and keep it. To Paul He
gave His commission and the Apostle of the Gentiles went to the
'lost sheep of Israel', the Gentiles of the Isles. Joseph, the
uncle of Jesus, went ahead under divine inspiration to prepare
the way, converting and teaching the royal Gentiles, whom Paul
established in Rome, to found the first Christian church by the
uncircumsized. Joseph prepared the royal family in Britain, from
whom Paul established his mission to Wales, after Joseph had laid
the foundation. It was foretold that the redeemed lost sheep
would keep the faith. They proved it as no other nation did by
making the greatest blood sacrifice in history as they smashed
the would-be destroyers of 'The Way'. They produced the man who
conquered Rome with the Cross - Constantine the Great, who
nationalized Rome in the faith. One hundred and fifty years
before him his ancestors, the kings of Britain, were the first to
nationalize their nation in the name of Christ, take their
coronation oath and build their Parliamentary Constitution on the
Christian platform. The sons and daughters of Manasseh founded
from Britain the great republic of America, prophecy fulfilled by
Britain and America, founding God's Commonwealth on which the sun
never sets.
(All this is basically true but the author gets WAY BEYOND
"nationalistic pride" - his eyes are shut to the fact that
Constantine was NOT a true saint of God, and all the facts that
tell us true Christianity as it did come to Britain in the first
century, was perverted and lost as the centuries marched on, and
finally Babylon Mystery Religion, the Roman Catholic church, DID
spiritually CONQUER Britain, with false teachings and traditions,
which remain to this day in the Church of England and all the
Protestant churches of the world - Keith Hunt)
What a magnificent heritage and legacy the peoples of the
Anglo-Saxon world possess and all because of one man who came to
them in the beginning in the name of the Beloved One, as their
Apostle. As such he remains today a successful instrument of
divine guidance, Joseph of Arimathea, the Noblis Decurio, uncle
of Jesus and guardian of the Blessed Virgin, the Apostle of
Christian Anglo-Saxondom in God's Commonwealth.
In striving toward the ultimate goal in His service, we can
draw strength from the historic achievements of Joseph and his
illustrious band, and the glorious company of the faithful who
followed after making their supreme sacrifice, where necessary,
in the name of Christ.
Anyone who doubts the veracity of this majestic story does
so in face of irrefutable evidence. As Sir Henry Spellman in
"Concillia" truly writes: "For anyone to longer doubt the
historic authenticity of Glastonbury, and the Mission of Joseph,
is ridiculous."
..........
NOTE:
The story of Joseph and others coming to Britain is true. When
Rome arrived about 500 AD that church found a Christianity that
was in many ways different than her theology and traditions,
whereby the Roman ministers wrote back to the Bishop of Rome
saying the British church had many Jewish heresies.
BUT forget about the ideas of "relics" of the body of Jesus in
Britain, brought by Joseph or any other Christian - all of that
is theology from planet Pulto.
Keith Hunt
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