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We all got a little excited earlier this week when it sounded like the head of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia would reveal the Ark of the Covenant to the public.

This was the report that came in...

Abuna Pauolos is in Vatican City this week, meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. It is from this holy city that Pauolos confirmed the Ark of the Covenant’s presence in Ethiopia, and that he will be announcing its unveiling this Friday:

“Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries.”

There's just one minor detail that everyone seems to have missed. The statement from Abuna Pauolos reads as follows:

Non sono qui per dare delle prove che l’Arca sia in Etiopia, ma sono qui per dire quello che ho visto, quello che so e che posso testimoniare. Non ho detto che l’Arca sarà mostrata al mondo. E’ un mistero, un oggetto di culto.

That basically translates as follows:

I am not here to give proofs that the Ark is in Ethiopia, but I am here to say what I saw, what I know and I can attest to. I didn’t say that the Ark would be revealed to the world. It is a mystery, an object of veneration.

So, we will not get to SEE the Ark of the Covenant, or even verify its existence...but then again, that's why it's called a "Leap of Faith", I suppose.

The Ark of the Covenant is a sacred container written of in the Old Testament. It is said to contain the original Ten Commandments tablets, as well as manna, the mythical food that the Israelites ate while wandering through the desert.

It was made of wood, but covered in pure gold. On top, two cherubim faced each other, their wings outspread to form the “throne of God”. It’s supposed weight has been widely debated, with numbers ranging from 180 to 8,000 pounds.

Theologians have never been able to agree on the Ark’s fate, but many believe Menelik I brought it to Ethiopia. Menelik was the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and was the first Jewish emperor of Ethiopia.

Today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church boasts that it sits under lock and key in the Chapel of the Tablet, near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. It is only used occasionally in ritual processions, but almost no one has seen it, let alone gotten photographic evidence.

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