Christians in Connecticut

[Hesychios]

In the stillness of Cockaponset State Forest, southern Connecticut, near the town of Guilford, masterfully carved from solid rock, stands North America’s oldest Christian church. Recent epigraphic evidence found here suggests that it is 1500 years old, and linked to a voyage of Christian Byzantine monks who fled from North Africa during the 5th Century, in the wake of the Vandal invasions. Greek and North African inscriptions, Greek cupule patterns in the form of Chrismons (monograms of Christ), baptismal fonts, a cathedra or throne, candelabras and an altar have been found at the site.

These items indicate that it was a place of worship, an Early Christian Church. …

Has anyone else heard of this? I just encountered the article today and do not know what to make of it.

There is some possibility of a hoax here, or a great chance for misinterpretation, I suppose.

It would be nice if some folks from Connecticut had a chance to visit the site and post on their impressions.

 

[mark_a]

Has anyone else heard of this? I just encountered the article today and do not know what to make of it.

There is some possibility of a hoax here, or a great chance for misinterpretation, I suppose.

It would be nice if some folks from Connecticut had a chance to visit the site and post on their impressions.

Interesting how the site is replete with inscriptions about Mary.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[mark_a]

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[mark_a]

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[Non_Serviam]

Interesting article. If it truly is Mi’kmaq as the article suggests, then that could have a significant impact on historical studes related to their later reception of Christianity. It may not have been totally foreign to them.

What would have been interesting would have been to discover if the writing was in Mi’kmaq hieroglyphs or if an orthography using Greek letters had been created.

Very interesting.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Was this church here about the same time that the lost tribes of Israel came out here and the Lamanites were punished and the Angel Moroni preserved the Mormon preachings of Jesus for Joseph Smith?

 

[Nine_Two]

I haven’t yet read the entire article, I will, but it seems the author wants it to be a bit too much. I note the fact that he interprets “Northern lands” in a Moroccan manuscript as meaning North America, when in fact Connecticut isn’t very far north of Morocco, but is very far west (meaning they’d probably call it the “Western Lands”).

 

[mark_a]

I haven’t yet read the entire article, I will, but it seems the author wants it to be a bit too much. I note the fact that he interprets “Northern lands” in a Moroccan manuscript as meaning North America, when in fact Connecticut isn’t very far north of Morocco, but is very far west (meaning they’d probably call it the “Western Lands”).

The rest of the sentence:

They tell of a voyage

undertaken by North African Christian monks sailing “toward the setting sun,”

I’m skeptical just because there hasn’t been a bigger flap over this, but I intend to follow the story.

 

[Nine_Two]

The rest of the sentence:

I’m skeptical just because there hasn’t been a bigger flap over this, but I intend to follow the story.

In a time when there was no way to measure longitude I’m still skeptical, especially when the trade winds from Spain end up in South America. Unless they went first to seas dominated by vikings, or used galleys crewed by slaves (Or they were a very big group of monks), I’m sticking with that not adding up.

 

[Hesychios]

In a time when there was no way to measure longitude I’m still skeptical, especially when the trade winds from Spain end up in South America. Unless they went first to seas dominated by vikings, or used galleys crewed by slaves (Or they were a very big group of monks), I’m sticking with that not adding up.

I am skeptical as well. I can’t help it, that’s part of my nature.

I also have doubts about the North African history they present.

I have given it further thought. Specifically I wonder how they can suggest Byzantine monks were in that part of North Africa in those centuries. Christian monasticism originated in Egypt with St Anthony (died 356AD). Monasticism had to spread from there to Cappadocia, Thrace and Achaia (St Basil the Great - died 379AD) and other such places to take on a ‘Byzantine’ character before spreading to north Africa.

Saint John Cassian (died 435AD) brought Egyptian/Palestinian monasticism to Gaul. Saint Augustine (died 430AD) supposedly initiated a community with a rule of his own devising in his area of Hippo (modern Tunis). Saint Patrick (died 493AD) brought monasticism from Gaul to Ireland. So monks were traveling all over, and many were migrating from the east to the wilds of the west.

The Vandals were knocking down doors in Spain by 410AD and in north Africa by 430AD. Is it possible that a community some East Roman monastics had established themselves somewhere in modern Algeria/Morocco by that date? Yes, I suppose so but they would not have been there very long. Would they be identifiably ‘East Roman/Byzantine’? I don’t know how much they could have been identifiable as Byzantine/Basilian, but North Africa was certainly western Roman at the time (it wasn’t certifiably ‘Byzantine’ until the conquest by Justinian in 534AD). The monastic tradition was still very young at the time of the Vandal conquest and I have doubts that it was ‘fully formed’ with regional characteristics we would recognize today as ‘Coptic’ or ‘Byzantine’ or ‘Latin’.

I would certainly like to hear from any Connecticut locals who may have a chance to see the site.

 

[puzzleannie]

the photos look like weathered rocks to me and I don’t see actual photos of the sites in all the sketches. But if Pohl, who supposedly discovered the significance of the site, had his interview with the author in 1976, some 40 years after his findings, the site would be widely discussed and very well known in peer review journals of archeology, so I should think a search would bring up lots of documentation and studies in the intervening time, if there is anything important there. I can’t help link “story in Connecticut” with “the boys at Yale” who were always pulling Ann Landers’ leg.

 

[mardukm]

In a time when there was no way to measure longitude I’m still skeptical, especially when the trade winds from Spain end up in South America. Unless they went first to seas dominated by vikings, or used galleys crewed by slaves (Or they were a very big group of monks), I’m sticking with that not adding up.

It’s my understanding that navigators during that time tried their best to always have sight of land.

If anyone noticed, the Greek letters are not actually traced out in the rock. The apparent Greek letters were formed by “connecting the dots” from the holes that were found. I suppose any number of alphabetical designs can be created from those holes.

The only inscription that was not based on connecting the dots seems to be the Latin inscription, I’ve actually seen large worm trails in rock that looked like letters. Seeing as how those Latin letters are very crude, I’m going to assume they were made by worms, and not monks.

And what would a Latin inscription be doing in a Greek chapel anyway?

Blessings

 

[Nine_Two]

It’s my understanding that navigators during that time tried their best to always have sight of land.

They generally did but there are known exceptions, but those were always with sailing ships (which brings up the point of trade winds going to South America). Galleys and other oared boats never had the capacity to make such a long journey due to their larger crews (and therefore more mouths to feed and less places to store it).

And what would a Latin inscription be doing in a Greek chapel anyway?

The million dollar question.

 

[Hesychios]

I am going with the thought that the whole concept is wishful thinking, or perhaps a way of making money by selling creative dispatches.

I will no longer take the news item seriously.

 

[prodromos]

I find it odd that he can state with such certainty that the flame shaped hole and the rectangular hole were (a) baptismal fonts and (b) one was for baptising adults and the other for baptising infants. There seem to be some quite large leaps taken in my opinion.
I am also unable to see how drawing two sides of a fish can in any way form the Chi-Rho symbol.
Also, ICΘYC is formed by using just the first letters of the Greek for “Jesus Christ God’s Son Saviour” and is an ancient Greek word for “fish”. If, as the article suggests, the acrostic is formed with ICXCΘYC, then it no longer forms any Greek word and is certainly not the well known acrostic shown above.

I also am suspicious.

John

 

[manualman]

Something smells funny to me.

Seems like something somebody would attempt to conjure up in an attempt to prove that one kind of christianity was in North America before some other kind of christianity was. Did it first show up around April 1?

 

[mark_a]

Something smells funny to me.

Seems like something somebody would attempt to conjure up in an attempt to prove that one kind of christianity was in North America before some other kind of christianity was. Did it first show up around April 1?

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