The Holy Foreskin
Professionally called “The Holy Prepuce” is a relic of, well, foreskin removed during Jesus’s circumcision. At least 18 churches in Europe have claimed to possess this delicate piece starting from the year 800 when Charles the Great gifted it to Pope Leo III, grateful for being crowned Emperor. Most of the sites are connected to the Feast of the Holy Circumcision (1st of January), popular in France and in Italy. The last known trace of the foreskin relic was in Calcata, Italy, from where it vanished in 1983. Just like with other “missing” relics, there are many rumors and they just get crazier and crazier.
Image: Friedrich Herlin, Circumcision of Christ scene from Twelve Apostles Altar, 1466, St. James’s Church, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
#Catholicism #Artifacts
Professionally called “The Holy Prepuce” is a relic of, well, foreskin removed during Jesus’s circumcision. At least 18 churches in Europe have claimed to possess this delicate piece starting from the year 800 when Charles the Great gifted it to Pope Leo III, grateful for being crowned Emperor. Most of the sites are connected to the Feast of the Holy Circumcision (1st of January), popular in France and in Italy. The last known trace of the foreskin relic was in Calcata, Italy, from where it vanished in 1983. Just like with other “missing” relics, there are many rumors and they just get crazier and crazier.
Image: Friedrich Herlin, Circumcision of Christ scene from Twelve Apostles Altar, 1466, St. James’s Church, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
#Catholicism #Artifacts
Tezcatlipoca • God of Sorcery & Night
Tezcatlipoca was one of the most powerful and feared gods in Aztec mythology, a deity of night, sorcery, destiny, conflict, rulership, and the unseen forces of fate. His name means “Smoking Mirror,” referring to obsidian mirrors used in divination and ritual vision. Often depicted with black markings, a jaguar form, or a smoking obsidian mirror replacing one of his feet, Tezcatlipoca embodied both creation and destruction, rewarding kings with power while also bringing chaos, temptation, and downfall. He was the eternal rival of the feathered serpent god , and together they shaped and destroyed worlds in Aztec cosmology. As a shape-shifter and master of illusion, Tezcatlipoca represented the unpredictable nature of existence—the hidden hand behind war, ambition, and sudden change.
#Aztec #Mesoamerica
Tezcatlipoca was one of the most powerful and feared gods in Aztec mythology, a deity of night, sorcery, destiny, conflict, rulership, and the unseen forces of fate. His name means “Smoking Mirror,” referring to obsidian mirrors used in divination and ritual vision. Often depicted with black markings, a jaguar form, or a smoking obsidian mirror replacing one of his feet, Tezcatlipoca embodied both creation and destruction, rewarding kings with power while also bringing chaos, temptation, and downfall. He was the eternal rival of the feathered serpent god , and together they shaped and destroyed worlds in Aztec cosmology. As a shape-shifter and master of illusion, Tezcatlipoca represented the unpredictable nature of existence—the hidden hand behind war, ambition, and sudden change.
#Aztec #Mesoamerica
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