The mother of all corruption and shame.The Catholic Church of Amiens in France have kept John the Baptists skull on a plate.

Jesus explains there have never been a greater man than John the Baptist walking the Earth. Still a Catholic Church in France, feels the need to keep a skull on a plate, and claims it is the very head of the baptist.

Surely this picture is insane enough. But what should make the Catholic World grasping for fresh air, is an Italian claim, that the skull of the baptist is also to be found in Church of S.Sivestro in Rome. To be correct, only the backside of the skull has been kept in the city of the Vatican. And this piece of the head can be adored and venerated at a glass mounter.

We need to take a look at a lot of pictures. Lets start with the photos from the Church in France.

This is the official Catholic story:

The head of John the Baptist on display in Amiens Cathedral. The relic was brought back from Constantinople (modern Istanbul) in 1206 after the sacking of the city by the Fourth Crusade.

The best site with photos of this skull, is made by an Orthodox “Christian”. Take a look.

Since both Rome and a city in France is involved here, we have a problem with a dual claim to the same head. It is worth noticing that both these two Catholic Churches admit that they do support Catholic priests who have fought over a skull, and broken it into at least two pieces.

The skull, or the head of John the Baptist, is nevertheless
not so “impressive” inside the Church in the city of Rome. Lets take a look:

Who, if not Papist priests, have cut the skull of John the Baptist into two pieces?

And the skull might have been cut in three, with one piece left in Turkey. Please keep on reading.

This is surely one of the most bizarre example of Church adoration and veneration of any item. Two half skulls, separated by two national borders, by two Churches that both has the Pope as their head.

But this story does not end here. To make the legacy of John the Baptist more complicated, the Grand Mosque of Damascus Syria also claim to have the head of John the Baptist. This head is kept in a small chapel inside the Islamic dome.

This amazing picture from a Mosque, can be viewed at this site.

The official Syrian version:

Sheltered inside the mosque is the small chapel and shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yahia to the Muslims) where tradition holds that the head of John is buried. One legend says that when the church was demolished, his head was found underneath, complete with skin and hair. This head is believed by some to possess magical powers and continues to be the focus of the Mandaeans’ annual pilgrimage, when they press their foreheads against the metal grill of the shrine and reportedly experience prophetic visions.

And there is also a forth claim to the head, of the Jew who baptized the savior of the World.  This head is kept in a Museum in the German city of Munich. In the Residenze, a castle belonging to the past Catholic Kings of Bavaria.

If is of course difficult to understand, what is so special about people who keep the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

It was only the completely wicked and evil wife of King Herod who took pleasure in such a gruesome sight. And probably also King Herod and his staff and followers.

Why do our modern day Church goers want to share her joy, and probably also Herodias final destination?

It is bad enough to see four different institutions trying to convince the World, they they have the genuine skull.  The story eventually fall into the deepest pit of perversion, when a handful of Catholic and Orthodox Churches claim they have collected parts of his headless body.

These claim presented by religious people, should leave the World’s best pathologists speechless.

The Ottoman Empire did not only manage to slaughter and kill 1,5 million Armenians in the bloodiest genocide prior to the Holocaust. In Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, modern day Turkey claim they have both his right arm, and a part of his skill. In fact, the top of his skull.

I am sure many Muslims will be puzzled by the fact, that Islam do collect such items for adoration, just like collection of any idols. The same Museum also claim to be the correct holder of some of Muhammad’s beard. The Islamic relics does not look very different from the Catholics. But that is a different story.

The problem with the Turkish claim of holding the right arm of John the Baptists, is that an Greek Orthodox Church claims to have the very same hand in its collection of relics.

And a Orthodox Church in Bulgaria recently claims they found one tooth of the Baptist.

The story of the corrupt Catholic Word of relics could have been continued for years. But there is surely a limit of how much perversion my readers can take.

Let me make a summery:

We know that John the Baptist lost his head, but not His salvation.

All those who have made a mockery out of his legacy, deserve to be beheaded today it self. But that kind of punishment would not be Biblical.

There is something eternal and much worse waiting for them, the day they find them self in the fire of Hell, both body and soul.

First published: October 2nd 2010.