who stole jesus' foreskin?

[raycarey]

first, a little background.....

As a Jew, Jesus would have been expected to be circumcised on his 8th day after birth. According to the Gospel of Luke 2:21 (but none of the other Canonical Gospels), Jesus' parents were explicitly instructed by the Archangel Gabriel to take Jesus to be circumcised at the Temple in Jerusalem. Luke states that when Jesus is circumcised, a man named Simeon, who had been awaiting the Jewish Messiah, prophecies in Luke 2:34-35 (KJV) "And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." After this, Simeon praised God using the words of what has become to be known as the Nunc dimittis, and is part of the Christian liturgy of Vespers and Evensong. Luke also states that an old woman who spent all her time in the temple praying, named Anna, praised the Lord.
According to the apocryphal Infancy Gospels, after Jesus' circumcision in a cave, Mary's midwife placed the foreskin in an alabaster jar filled with spikenard, a preservative, which she gave to her son, admonishing him "Guard well this jar of aromatic nard and do not sell it, even when they offer you 300 denarii". [1]
According to legend, the prepuce was eventually given to St. John the Baptist by Mary Magdalene. [2]

Holy Prepuce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

now, for our mystery....

In 1983, as the residents of Calcata, a small town 30 miles north of Rome, prepared for their annual procession honoring a holy relic, a shocking announcement from the parish priest put a damper on festivities. "This year, the holy relic will not be exposed to the devotion of the faithful. It has vanished. Sacrilegious thieves have taken it from my home." Not since the Middle Ages, when lopped-off body parts of divine do-gooders were bought, sold, and traded, has relic theft been big news. But the mysterious disappearance of Calcata's beloved curio is different.
This wasn't just the residuum of any holy human—nor was it just any body part. It was the foreskin of Jesus Christ, the snipped-off tip of the savior's penis, the only piece of his body he supposedly left on earth.

Who stole Jesus' foreskin? - By David Farley - Slate Magazine


i'm not saying i have the answer as to who stole it, but i thought it would be an appropriate thread to start considering the time of year and all...in fact, this might be a good topic to bring up during christmas dinner if there is a lull in the conversation.

[Butterfly]

I find this Bible historical facts fascinating as they mix fantasy, reality and religion. But it's really nothing more than intellectual masturbation

[Dougal]

and is part of the Christian liturgy of Vespers

I didn't think Vespers were invented till the 1950s, did they also have Lambrettas?

[jopi]

A while back I read that thirteen churches claim custodian to the prepuce.

[obsidian]

who kyped christ"s cock? when"s the movie?

[keda]

Only a matter of time before it becomes a blockbuster whodunnit.

[Hootad Binky]

Well I certainly don't have it.