Post by dionysios on May 29, 2015 0:41:00 GMT
The most ancient Christian world maps of which I am aware are those of Cosmas Indicopleustes, and these world maps have Jerusalem located at the centre of the world. According to nineteenth century historians of science including John Draper and William Beazeley, Cosmas's maps and his book 'Christian Topography' constituted the foundation of medieval european maps and geography. A ninth century copy of Cosmas's book is on display at Saint Catherine's monastery in Sinai, Egypt where he was a monk during the reign of the Roman Emperor Justinian in the sixth century.
A sixth century Mosaic Christian map of the world is on the floor of the Church of Saint George in Madaba, Jordan. This mosaic contains the oldest known map of Jerusalem. In their learned book on the Madaba map, archeologists Piccirillo and Alliata affirm that this mosaic world map in Madaba was actually commissioned by Cosmas Indicopleustes. The map depicts the garden of Eden in the east beyond the ocean with four River heads that flow westwards underground from the garden and resurface as the Euphrates, Tigris, Nile, and Ganges. (Perhaps this accounts for the underground aquifers of the world as branches of one of these four, but that is just speculation.)
In Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock exists on the ancient Jewish Temple Mount on the eastern end of Old City Jerusalem. However, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located approximately a mile west of this in the Christian quarter. According to Christian tradition and the most ancient Christian records and consensus of church fathers, it is built on the location where Christ was crucified, buried, and resurrected.
This was located outside of ancient Jerusalem. A chapel of Adam is located on the first floor of this Church because it is the traditional burial place of Adam himself which is why it is called Golgotha, the place of the skull in the Bible because Adam's bones were there. It is located directly underneath the chapel of Calvary on the second floor which is where Christ was crucified. At the moment of His death, an earthquake opened the ground, and His Blood went down on to Adam's skull thereby cleansing Adam and his descendants of sin.
The nave of the main Church is located a few yards north of this. In the middle of it is located an object called the omophoron which marks the exact, literal, physical geographical centre of the world. The tomb once owned by Joseph of Arimathea where Chist was buried and resurrected is located a few yards directly west of this omophoron.
All this is in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
A sixth century Mosaic Christian map of the world is on the floor of the Church of Saint George in Madaba, Jordan. This mosaic contains the oldest known map of Jerusalem. In their learned book on the Madaba map, archeologists Piccirillo and Alliata affirm that this mosaic world map in Madaba was actually commissioned by Cosmas Indicopleustes. The map depicts the garden of Eden in the east beyond the ocean with four River heads that flow westwards underground from the garden and resurface as the Euphrates, Tigris, Nile, and Ganges. (Perhaps this accounts for the underground aquifers of the world as branches of one of these four, but that is just speculation.)
In Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock exists on the ancient Jewish Temple Mount on the eastern end of Old City Jerusalem. However, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located approximately a mile west of this in the Christian quarter. According to Christian tradition and the most ancient Christian records and consensus of church fathers, it is built on the location where Christ was crucified, buried, and resurrected.
This was located outside of ancient Jerusalem. A chapel of Adam is located on the first floor of this Church because it is the traditional burial place of Adam himself which is why it is called Golgotha, the place of the skull in the Bible because Adam's bones were there. It is located directly underneath the chapel of Calvary on the second floor which is where Christ was crucified. At the moment of His death, an earthquake opened the ground, and His Blood went down on to Adam's skull thereby cleansing Adam and his descendants of sin.
The nave of the main Church is located a few yards north of this. In the middle of it is located an object called the omophoron which marks the exact, literal, physical geographical centre of the world. The tomb once owned by Joseph of Arimathea where Chist was buried and resurrected is located a few yards directly west of this omophoron.
All this is in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
