The topic of the Holy Grail has been a topic of fierce controversy by scholars and scientists alike for hundreds of years. Jesus Christ of Nazareth has been the focus about whom the Holy Grail myths have surrounded. Mary Magdalene is considered to be the woman with whom Jesus created his bloodline, if indeed such existed. Many believe that the Holy Grail is a cup, and there are several ideas to where it may be hidden and what secrets the cup may hold. The thought that the Holy Grail could actually be the result of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ’s marriage is one that has shocked Roman Catholics around the globe.

Whenever there is mention of the Holy Grail, Jesus Christ is the first person to come to mind. Jesus was born to a Mary Shalom, who is considered the blessed “virgin mother” by Christianity. Christianity tells us that Mary was filled with the holy spirit and was impregnated by the divine power of God and not a mortal man. Her husband, Joseph of Bethlehem, was to be the adopted father of Jesus on earth, and he served his purpose after being contacted by an angel in his sleep of the Lord’s plans. Jesus was considered to be the Messiah, the Son of God, who had been sent to Earth to teach humans about the Lord’s law and to wipe away sin. He was later crucified, which Christianity says was God’s sacrifice so that all people could be forgiven of original sin. Jesus of Nazareth led his life as a teacher and rabbi, and he traveled throughout the Middle East with twelve disciples whom he chose himself. Jesus taught people the “Word of God” and educated people on the way of living purely. Of the many things that Jesus taught through his ministry, he especially stressed tolerance, love and peace to each and every person he encountered. Jesus is also said to have performed several miracles, including healing a blind man to see again and transforming a meager amount of food into enough to fill the crowd he was teaching several times over.

Jesus’ ministry lasted until he was in his mid thirties; unfortunately, the end of his life soon followed once he had angered many priests and Lords throughout the towns he visited during his ministry. They called him a false prophet and held strong grudges against him. After much debate, it was decided by the Roman Empire that Jesus would be put to death. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified by Pontius Pilot under accusations of sedition against the Roman Empire and Church. Jesus Christ was buried after his death, and according to the Christian teachings, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven as the Prince of Peace in the Kingdom of Heaven. Christianity says that Jesus came in spirit to tell his disciples of his revival into heaven, and he promised them all a place in heaven as well. He left it in their charge to continue his teachings and establish a church against the Roman Empire’s wishes.

Mary Magdalene was a very unique figure in Christianity, blended as either a woman of evil or a woman who held the very heart of Jesus Christ. Magdalene is said to have come from Magdala, which was at the time known for its fishing and fish salting. 1Magdalene is often confused with two other women named Mary in the Bible: Mary Shalom and Mary of Bethany. There are several texts in the Bible that suggest that Mary and Jesus were quite close to one another. The Bible says that whenever Jesus rose from the dead, Mary Magdalene was the person to whom he appeared. He asked her to tell the disciples that he had risen and to continue building the church on his teachings. Mary Magdalene told the news of Jesus to the

other disciples, and this is when it is said that the Holy Spirit poured out over all of them during Passover. According to the Bible, Jesus first met Mary of Magdala on his journey and was asked to help her. It is said that she was possessed, and Jesus drove several demons from her body and freed her from the evil spirits that fed on her. Mary Magdalene was shown as a harlot and a prostitute throughout the Bible. The demons within her were the result of her sins, and she was forgiven by Jesus.

Although the Bible makes Mary Magdalene out as a prostitute, there is little evidence actually proving this. Magdalene was painted as a saint long after her demise, and she was considered by some as blessed among all women. The story of the Holy Grail say that Jesus and Mary fell in love, resulting in a bloodline. Many artists have drawn and sculptured her likeness throughout the ages in which she was admired and adored. Artists like Da Vinci and Michelangelo have both shown a deep interest in Magdalene. In Leonardo’s “The Last Supper,” it is rumored that in the earliest painting he drew Mary Magdalene sitting next to Jesus Christ at the table, and not John, as it was supposed to be. Many scholars and scientists have expressed an interest in what seems to be symbolism. Supposedly, Mary Magdalene and Jesus sit at an angle in the painting which can clearly be expressed as a “V”. The V is to stand for the shape of a woman’s birth canal and also the sign for a male, the chalice. Leonardo is said to have believed that Jesus and Mary had a child together by the formation of where they sat. Also, in his paintings, Leonardo purposely drew Jesus and Mary both in red and blue, as though they corresponded with each other and created one.

Although the Bible speaks so negatively about Mary Magdalene, there are better things said about her in the texts called the “Lost Gospels” and the “Dead Sea Scrolls.” These gospels are said to have been ones that were written at Jesus’ time but were rejected for being published in the Bible during the construction of Catholicism. After the death of Jesus, Catholicism became the new official religion of the Roman Empire, and Paganism was quickly done away with before the establishment. Emperor Constantine and a large council of lords and priests gathered together to shape and mold what would later become the layout of modern-day Catholicism. They began to construct the bible through manuscripts and gospels sent to them. Constantine chose which books would be within the Bible and which ones would be forgotten. Along with the help of the council, the rules and traditions of Christianity were formed, right down to the day that Jesus’ birth would be celebrated. This is why people believe that the Bible is more a creation of man than God’s word, for Constantine could have possibly poured into whatever he wanted to and gotten away with it.

Of all the gospels sent to appeal at the council of Constantine, roughly only 51 manuscripts of the 140 that were sent were accepted and included in the Catholic Bible. 2

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Lost Gospels were found throughout different time periods in history, and they contained the gospels of Judas, Mary Magdalene, Phillip and Thomas. Science says that Constantine probably rejected these books because they may have hinted at what Jesus had with Mary Magdalene. In several of the gospels, it is said that the disciples were jealous of Mary. They were unaware of why Jesus seemed to love her more than them, and it was recorded that Jesus often kissed Magdalene on the lips and that Jesus and Mary were considered “companions.” A few texts also say that Magdalene was at the foot of the cross during Jesus’ crucifixion scene- like a true wife- and not watching from the sidelines like the Bible says. These gospels proved that Mary Magdalene was more important to Jesus than the Holy Bible has let on. Many believe that she has been unfairly judged.

Modern-day Catholics and Christians both believe that the Holy Grail is actually a cup and not the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene at all. The Holy Grail, as a cup, was supposed to have been lost after the argument that broke out during the Last Supper whenever Jesus announced that one of the disciples sitting there would betray him thrice. The Bible says that Judas Iscariot got so upset that he left the room and disappeared into the night. As it happened, Judas did betray Jesus to Roman guards who sought to execute him after the Last Supper had taken place.

According to Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous power. 3 Whoever finds it would be able to live forever or something along those lines. However, many people do not believe that the cup holds any sort of power. They believe that the legend was started by treasure hunters who hoped to find a cup that would convince others that it was the Holy Grail itself. Historians and scientists both agree that if the Holy Grail were a cup, the chance of it being destroyed since the time it was used is very likely. The cup would have been made out of ordinary materials not strong enough to endure thousands of years of being buried deeply underground. The Holy Grail was possibly fabricated, but many people believe that the cup does exist and is currently in the possession of somebody who has descended from a disciple or follower of Jesus. Many believe that the cup may be near or around Israel, being safely guarded by an anonymous party. Christians do not like the idea of the cup containing an essence of sorts because owning the cup would make one like God Himself. They believe that the Holy Grail is just an ordinary cup worth something beyond measure.

The Holy Grail is also referred to as a holy vessel, a dish that holds the divinity and secrets of Christ’s time here on Earth. Many poets and writers have written about the power and majestic force of the Holy Grail, and it has been admired for hundreds of years. The Holy Grail, as a cup, has been recreated into dozens of films involving adventurers searching for it, or a quest to knowledge. Several movies depict great adventures undertaken by confused and truth-seeking protagonists who wish to find the dish of the Holy Grail and bring it back home. Producers make sure that the cup is not found but try to symbolically show the great love that is created as a result of the journey and the reasons people embark on such quests to find a Holy Grail. But it remains to be that sixty percent of people who practice a branch of Catholicism think of a cup at mention of the notorious Holy Grail, while forty think of a bloodline. 4

Although many people believe that the Holy Grail is a cup or vessel of divine secrets, more people are interested in the thought that the Holy Grail is actually the bloodline created by Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The two were often referred to as lovers in some lost gospels and secrets that were supposedly left in the words of Leonardo Da Vinci and others. There is a belief that Jesus and Magdalene were secretly married under quiet conditions so as to not bring any attention of their union to the Roman Empire. It is obvious why the disciples were displeased by how much Jesus loved Mary, since the social status of women forbade them to have a free- thinking mind. The Gospel of Thomas says that Mary Magdalene would often grasp many of Jesus’ teachings and try to express them in her own way.

It was no secret that many wanted Jesus to be killed because of his radical thoughts on love and peace and teachings against the modern-day Paganism. If Jesus and Mary were discovered, Mary would have been punished severely after the crucifixion of Jesus, which, as the Bible says, he knew would happen. Some believe that Jesus and Mary only married because there was a child involved. In ancient times a woman would marry a man immediately if she were to bear his child so as not to shame the family name or the man in question. Mary and Jesus may have had intimate relations during Jesus’ ministry and may have wanted to marry as soon as possible so as to minimize the risk of being suspected. We can think that Jesus had as many as one to three children. The gender of them all would have to have been one girl and two boys. However, the possibility of Jesus leaving heir of only one child is more than likely. 5 If the two only had a single child, they could have married before Mary was impregnated. She could possibly have been pregnant at the time of the crucifixion as well. There is a reference to a beloved disciple to Jesus in the book of John who is without a name. Perhaps this nameless child was the hidden son of Jesus. 6 Scholars believe that if the two had a daughter, her name would have been Sarah.

Due to explorations of an old tomb in the Middle East, archeologists were led to believe that they found the tomb of Jesus Christ’s family. They surmised that Jesus would have been reburied in a proper family tomb after he was laid to rest by the Roman guards. The diggers found names of people who coincidentally were all mostly known members of Jesus’ family. The name of his brothers, his mother, Joseph, his sisters and even Mary were all within the tomb. Through mathematical formulas and guess work, the archeologists did not believe that the names could have all been coincidences. Although they were forced to close the tomb shortly after, they managed to find another name, “Judas,” and believed that by the place of burial that he may have been the son of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

If Jesus and Magdalene did have a child or children, Mary and the offspring would have to have been protected after Jesus’ death. The Roman Empire would have seen her as a threat if they knew of the relationship between the two. Also, many believe that Mary Magdalene was selected to continue the church under orders from Jesus before his death, although that would have served as a difficult thing to accomplish. If Jesus and Mary had a child, keeping it hidden would be a main priority, as anyone who was found connected with Jesus after his death was persecuted. 7It is a possibility that Magdalene fled Jerusalem and the Middle East and hid in Egypt. It is also a possibility that Mary Magdalene was hidden by friends and family so that she could nurse and raise her child without the knowledge of the Roman Empire. Magdalene and the bloodline of Jesus would have to have been protected even after her death. Many believe that his is where a group or organization was created to hide the bloodline and the knowledge of Jesus and Mary’s union . The group called the Priory of Sion was supposedly the group that hid and

shielded the Jesus and Mary bloodline. The members of the group were called to have been great artists and famous people of the day and age. They would have protected the secret of Jesus and Magdalene and fought for the life of their descendents.

The thought of this bloodline existing is perfectly illustrated in the best selling novel by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code. It was followed by a movie that was equally successful, and it got people to wondering if maybe a bloodline of Jesus Christ did exist. It angered the church that such accusations were made, for they continued to say that Jesus was not married and that he had no children.

More than sixty percent of the people who have read The Da Vinci Code later were inspired to take a greater look into their faith and to study the identity of Jesus Christ. 8Scientists and scholars do not believe that there would be many, if any, surviving members of the legacy alive to this day. 8 Whether or not one will find out if this is true or not is hard to decide.

At the end of this quest for truth concerning the Holy Grail, only one thing can be assumed and treasured. The Holy Grail, if in existence, is either a cup of divine power or a bloodline created by Jesus of Nazareth and Mary of Magdala. Perhaps Jesus and Mary Magdalene did have a relationship more than just student and teacher. Maybe the two fell in love, and although Jesus knew his ministry was the most important thing in his life, he could not help loving as any man of flesh does. And perhaps the cup really is the true grail, and maybe it is hidden deep within the earth or destroyed altogether. Or there is a possibility that the cup is in the possession of somebody who will not unleash its secrets no matter what the cost. The cup or bloodline is lost, at any rate. Regardless of what the Holy Grail is, Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene both did exist. Jesus was a wonderful man, a prophet of pure wisdom and a teacher of all things that can make a human’s existence tolerable. No matter how long the Grail continues to elude us, destroyed or not, we can assume that love will always survive any trials, just as Jesus himself taught the world.