One of the lesser known (but still interesting) sites near the ancient city of Ephesus is the house of Mary.
One reaches the house by driving on the valley floor ....
The historicity of Mary following the Gospels is, historically speaking, a bit thin. At the Cross, Christ gave John the task of caring for His mother ("Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother"). Early church historians place John in the city of Ephesus, especially in his later years. It would make sense that, if John was to care for Mary, Mary accompanied John.
The discovery of the house dates back to a vision by a Catholic nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, who saw a vision of a house on a hill near the city of Ephesus (which had not been rediscovered at that time), sometime in the early 19th Century. In A.D. 1881, the foundations of a house were found based on the description of Emmerich's vision by a French priest and confirmed by two other priests.
The foundations of the house are consistent with time period in question. Since then, the house has been rebuilt into a chapel.
I can neither confirm nor deny the legitimacy of this site (frankly, we do not know what happened to Mary following the Day of Pentecost). It is not hard for me to believe, however, that John would have done everything to protect the mother of his Saviour and his Friend, up to and including hiding her from the persecution of the day.
Nevertheless, it's a beautiful place. Even without verification, I can see why it would be a popular tourist spot. Lore and legend play a big part in the personality of a place.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it was very beautiful - and just the sort of place one would hide the mother of a what was a "major criminal" in the Roman Empire (walking, it would have taken quite a while to get up there).
DeleteI believe you have commented before how much we discount lore and legend to our peril.
The passage of time changed the known into was lost, good thing somebody had the wherewithal to do some sleuthing.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - Reading the story behind it at the link, it does seem very interesting indeed. Obviously Emmerich saw something - how could she not, if she had never been and yet the house was there? We are certainly better for its discovery.
DeleteThat is why it is called faith and not belief.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Ed. And oddly enough, Christianity of all varieties is not impacted by the potential that this is "the house" or not. And I suspect that God is not "put off" by the fact that someone built a chapel on a beautiful hillside for worship based on a vision.
Delete