At which palace was the severed head of St. John the Baptist kept?

SOTHC

Taken from http://www.travelpost.com/travel/cctraveler2/page8 Across the square is the Omayyad Mosque (early 8th century) a must-see. Before you enter the mosque you’ll pass by Saladin’s Mausoleum also included in the admission price. Beyond that a gate leads into the courtyard. Take time to walk around and admire the three minarets and the beautiful gold and green mosaics especially on the main portal and the raised treasury. You can enter the mosque’s prayer hall at either end of the courtyard. Walk around the prayer hall first—if prayers aren’t being said—and then have a seat on the carpets and soak in the atmosphere. (The silver shrine near the center of the prayer hall is said to contain the severed head of John the Baptist.) Nov 17 06, 3:13 PM

zbeckabee

Muslim tradition maintains that the head of John the Baptist is interred in the Umayyad Mosque. In later times it was rumored that the Knights Templar also had possession of the head of St John the Baptist. Some Christians believe that his head is kept in Rome. Some that it is buried in the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. [2] John's right hand, with which he baptised Jesus, is claimed to be in the possession of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Cetinje monastery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John_the_Baptist Nov 17 06, 3:20 PM

lanfranco

Quite a few places and people have claimed to have the head of the Baptist, including this church in Rome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Silvestro_in_Capite Nov 17 06, 3:27 PM

SOTHC

There is also a place that has a smaller version. They claim it was John The Baptist as a boy Nov 17 06, 3:32 PM

zbeckabee

And...so are we to assume that he was headless then for the remainder of his life? Nov 17 06, 4:17 PM

lanfranco

Sad to say, zbeck, when it comes to the Baptist, we don't have any of those fun stories about a saint walking around with his head tucked underneath his arm. But check out St. Denis and St Minias. Nov 17 06, 5:22 PM

zbeckabee

Was ANYONE (back then) buried with their head attached? Nov 17 06, 5:44 PM

lanfranco

Certainly. But there were many saints who were missing various crucial body parts when they were consigned to their martyrs' graves: St. Lucy and her eyes, St. Agatha and her breasts, St. Apollonia (patron saint of dentists) and her teeth .... In fact, here's a fun St. Lucy painting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy Nov 17 06, 5:54 PM

zbeckabee

Interesting!!! By the way...and speaking of body parts...how about that Rasputin display in St. Petersburg? Nov 17 06, 8:52 PM

Baloo55th

If the Great Ressurection happens that some of the fundamentalists expect, there ain't 'arf going to be a lot of bits of bodies whizzing to and fro. Hard-hat time, or what? Nov 18 06, 11:19 AM

AskEverything

Watch the soon coming video by BibleVideos, HEADHUNTING AND JUDGES 7:25 by Ditlieb Felderer, where the issue of Bible headhunting is dealt with. The cutting off of heads, if the Bible is right, was thus a common practice long before the Salome dancing case request. Then there was David cutting the head off Goliath, and where is his head today? Joined in with the issue is head shrinking which also seems to have Gideon involved in. Likely the taking of Jericho by Joshua was a typical headhunting affair. The city fell flat in order for the captors to more easily carry out the heads. bible_fact@yahoo.com; Skype phone: biblefact/ Mar 13 08, 8:18 AM