TOMB OF MOTHER MARY IN PAKISTAN

       (Tomb of Mother Mary)

Catholic believe in the assumption of Mary into heaven in bodily form. Pope John Paul II said on 25th June 1997 that Mother Mary experienced natural death prior to her assumption into heaven. According to some 5th century document, while attending the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, the Patriarch of Jerusalem was asked for the relics of Virgin Mary from the Juvenal by the Emperor Marcian and his wife Pulcheria. As per the account, Juvenal replied that on the third day after her burial, Mary's tomb was found to be empty. Only her shroud was preserved in the church of Gethsemane. In AD 452 the shroud was sent to Constantinople, where it was kept in the Church of Our Lady of Blachernae. It is also believed that what was left in the tomb was the cincture of the Virgin Mary or that dropped by her during assumption.

In 1972 a Franciscan friar and archeologist excavated the site and found trace of a 1st century cemetery there. Later the local Christians made small shrine consisting the tomb. During 5th century the Patriarch took the initiative to construct a church over the tomb. Unfortunately this was destroyed in the Persian invasion in 614 AD. The church was rebuilt many times but destroyed continuously. However the tomb was left untouched as for Muslims it is the burial place of the mother of prophet Isa (Jesus).

The Eastern Orthodox Church believes that Virgin Mary lived in the vicinity of Ephesus at Selcuk, where there is a place currently known as the House of the Virgin Mary and venerated by Catholics and Muslims. The book of John about the Dormition of Mary written between 1st to 7th century places her tomb in Gethsemane. Many eminent people of this period too argue that the tomb was in Jerusalem. According to a Nestorian tradition that another tomb of Virgin Mary is located in Mary, Turkmenistan a town originally named Mari.

There is another claim that Jesus after surviving the crucifixion, travelled to India alongwith Virgin Mary where they remained until the end of their lives. The Ahmadiyya movement believe that Mary was buried in the town of Murree, Pakistan and her tomb is presently located in the shrine Mai Mari da Asthan. The authenticity of these claims is not yet academically established and has not undergone any scholastic or academic research, not canonical endorsement from the Holy See, nor anyone else. This tomb in Pakistan is venerated by local Muslims, Hindus and Christians. Many scholars from across the world including Muslims, Buddhists and Christians do not approve the theory behind this tomb.

(Indebted to Wikipedia for all data)

K V George