THE HOUSE OF THE VIRGIN MARY
25/9/2009 ·
Another monk by the name of Gouyet, who read Emmerich’s book and was inspired by her visions, was the first to search fort he house. Journeying from Paris to Palestinein 1881 and later to İzmir, he was nevertheless unable to find the house described. Ten years later in 1891 Eugéne Poulain, the head of the Lazarists, having read Emmerich’s divinely revealed account with a twinge of doubt, formed a delegation to examine the truth of her claims. Father Jung, a priest known for his healthy scepticism, was also included among its members. Indeed, the delegation was set up to refute Emmerich’s claims rather than to corroborate them. On 27 July 1891, led by a guide named Mustafa from Ayasuluğ (Selçuk), they began their search for the house of the Virgin Mary. Using a compass, they followed the direction and paths described by Catherine Emmerich as they climbed the mountain. Following two days of uninterrupted exploration, they were nearly prostate from heat and thirst when they finally emerged onto a plateau on Mt. Bülbül at eleven in the morning on 29 July 1891. They stotted some women working in a nearby tobacco field.
“ ….all they wanted was water. Nero ! Nero ! Water ! Water ! they cried. ‘There’s no water here, but you can drink from the spring below the monastery replied the women, pointing to a ten-minute path. The travellers ran. When they reached the spot, they were surprised. There, below the towering trees, was a dilapidated old house , or small monastery! Immediately an idea popped into their heads. This field and plateau they had crossed…these ancient ruins…the name, Panaghia Capouli, or ‘Mary’s Gate’ ….the sharp rocks…..the mountain in the background……the view of the sea….Was this it? Was this the house, or grave, they were looking for? Their hearts were pounding with excitement. Quick! They had to be sure! According to Catherine Emmerich’s description, when you looked down from the top of the mountain where the house stood, you could see Ephesus on side and on the other side the sea, which was supposed to be closer than Ephesus to the east. Forgetting everything- thier exhaustion, their thirst, the heat-in their excitement, they dashed up the mountainside. Stil they were sceptical. But there on the right lay Ayasuluğ (Selçuk), embracing Prion and Ephesus like a horseshoe, and on the left were the sea and island of Samos(Sisam) in full view ” p.11-12.
It all matched Sister Catherine Emmerich’s description. For two days theyexamined the house and the ruins. Two weeks later new delegations arrived and carried out further investigations, uncovering new details. They made a detailed plan and drawingsof the ruins. They had found the house where the Virgin Mary spent her last days. The discovery was received with interest throughout the world. On 31 December 1892, Sister Marie de Mandat Gransey, director of the French Hospital, bought the house and its environs, which thus became the property of the Lazarists. Following all this research and investigation, the Archbishop of Smyrna, Monsignor A.P. Timoni, gave his approval for a service to be held in the Panaghia Capouli church, and beginning in 1896 Christians began to come on pilgrimage. The house was restored in 1951 and the area turned into a national park with construction of an asphalt road by the Turkish goverment. Pope Paul VI visited the site in 1967 and prayed, and Pope John Paul II later declared it a place of pilgrimage.
In boks on the subject, the following evidence is quoted in support of the claim that the Virgin Mary spent her last days at Ephesus : The first churches named fort he Virgin Mary ( the Twin Churches) are located in Ephesus. A letter written following a Church Council held in 431 contains the words, “ The City of Ephesus where St. John came together with the Virgin Mary” When he was crucified, Jesus is claimed to have uttered words to the effect that he was entrusting his mother to the care of St. John; furthermore, there is a widespread belief that St. John, who left Jerusalem and came to Smyrna (İzmir) where he died and is buried, must have brought the Virgin Mary with him as well. The “Dormition”, celebrated every year for centuries on the 15th of August by the Greeks of Çirkinceli (modern Şirince), or ancient Ephesus, as the day Virgin Mary fell into sleep is further support of the claim. Research and excavations conducted by archaeologists in the ruins of the Virgin Mary’s house have determined that the foundations of the ruins date from the first, the upper sections from the fourth century A.D.
Gazi İskender AKDOĞU October 2001
The Bulletin of the Yapı Kredi
Sermet Çifter Research Library No: 3
Yorum (0) Yorum yaz!Arkadaşına Gönder!
0 yorum yazılmıştır
« Önceki ::