www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology House of the Theotokos in Ephesus, Turkey

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/09/...dxnnlx=1157360521-n648/1aFwSaWmyE5Zk5yWA

I thought some might appreciate this...

Gordo

Actually, the fact that the New York Times did the article is a miracle

Thanks for sharing!

What the Turks will do to get money off good Christians. Everyone knows the house was taken to Lorretto ages ago.

Where is Lorretto?

A quick check in Google the Great brought this gem up.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/loreto-holy-house.htm

Yes, I thought Loreto was different from the House at Ephesus. I was at Ephesus myself a few years ago. It is quite wrong to blame the Turks for identifying this as the house where Mary lived. That comes from the Greek Orthodox christians who lived in the area until the ethnic cleansing which accompanied the formation of the Turkish State out of the Ottoman Empire. The local Orthodox believed that Ephesus was the site of the Dormition of the Mother of God, even though the official Orthodox claim Jerusalem. The site at Ephesus is a shrine not only for Christians (mainly roman catholics) but also Muslims as well, who have a great devotion to the Mother of Jesus. It is a plain church, especially by Orthodox standards, and shows clear signs of having originated as a dwelling. I found it very moving to visit, without getting hung up on the historicity or otherwise.

I recall visiting the house years ago. I would not base too much on what the German seer said, (I read her book and really didn't like it), but a great deal on the 'confirmation' by the original Christian inhabitants. It seems when certain beliefs are passed from generation to generation, there is an element of truth to it.

I know where my mother came from, there is a rock carved with seats. It has always been called 'daskalopetra', which means teacher's rock. The teacher is the poet Homer and it has always been considered the place where he taught. Now that goes back three thousand years.

At first it was not accepted as fact by archiologists, and they assumed it was originally a temple, but after realizing that it was known as the teacher's rock for centuries, they finally accepted it as factual. :rolleyes:

It is said that Mary left Jerusalem during a time of Christian persecution and went to Ephesus. When the persecution stopped, she went back.

Zenovia