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Apostles successor's bones discovered in Iran

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  • Apostles successor's bones discovered in Iran

    Persian Journal, Iran
    July 29 2005

    Apostles successor's bones discovered in Iran
    Jul 29, 2005


    Shahriar Adl, the director of the team documenting three Iranian
    churches for registration on UNESCO's World Heritage List, said that
    they have discovered the bones of one of the successors of the
    Apostles of Jesus in one of the ceilings of the St. Stephanus Church,
    which is located near Marand in East Azarbaijan.

    Some historical sources, such as the travelogue of Frenchmen Jean
    Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689), some photos kept at Tehran's Golestan
    Palace, and the photos taken by Ali Khan Vali, the governor of
    northern Azarbaijan during the reign of the Qajar king Nasser ad'Din
    Shah and kept in the Adl family archives, indicate that the bones of
    Saint Stephanus (Saint Stephen), who acted as a direct successor to
    Saint Peter, Saint Matthew, and the Prophet Daniel, are being kept in
    the St. Stephanus Church.

    "The East Azarbaijan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department sent a
    letter to the Prelacy of Iran after the team discovered the bones,
    asking their representative to attend the process of gathering the
    bones from the site last Sunday," Adl said.

    The team has also discovered several pieces of board from the boxes
    containing the bones, yellow and beige clothes, seeds of frankincense
    and some pieces of wax, and ocher beside the bones.

    The bones have been examined by a team of anthropologists of the
    Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (CHTO).

    "The bones have been damaged because of the bad condition of the
    place. Thus, we could only determine that they are the bones of a
    single body but the individual bones can not be distinguished," said
    team member Farzad Foruzanfar.

    The complete skeleton belongs to a man about 50 years old with a
    strong body, he added.

    The bones have been transferred to the Prelacy of Azarbaijan in
    Tabriz because restoration work is currently underway in the church,
    but they will be returned after the renovation is complete.

    "The bones will be returned to be kept in a specific place during a
    special religious ceremony," East Azarbaijan Cultural Heritage and
    Tourism Department Director Ali-Akbar Taqizadeh said.

    Hayk Ajimian, an Armenian scholar and historian, recorded that the
    church was originally built in the ninth century CE, but repeated
    earthquakes in Azarbaijan severely damaged the original structure.
    The church was renovated during the reign of the Safavid king Shah
    Abbas (1588-1629).

    The general structure of the St. Stephanus Church mostly resembles
    Armenian and Georgian architecture and the inside of the building is
    adorned with beautiful paintings by Honatanian, a renowned Armenian
    artist.

    The CHTO plans to submit an application to UNESCO to register the St.
    Stephanus Church as well as the St. Thaddeus and Zorzor churches in
    West Azarbajian on the World Heritage List.
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