← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Walter Yannis
Thread ID: 19594 | Posts: 1 | Started: 2005-08-12
2005-08-12 18:35 | User Profile
[URL=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=184]Interfax[/URL] 9 August 2005, 17:35
Remnants of the monastery in which the relics of St. Matthews may reside discovered in Kirghizia
Bishkek, August 9, Interfax ââ¬â Kirghiz archeologists have discovered ruins of the Armenian monastery in which St. Matthews may have been buried, at eastern side of Lake Issyk-Kul in the north of the country.
Local mass media have reported Tuesday, citing the leader of the archeological expedition Vladimir Ploskikh, that the ruins of the monastery have been discovered near the village of Tiuf, on the land surrounded by water from three sides, though they had searched for them underwater. The ruins are concealed inside a large loam hill.
The search for the Armenian monastery in which, according to tradition, St. Matthews was buried began in 2000, prompted by information received from various sources, including the notes of Russian traveler Petr Semenov Tian-Shansky.
There is a legend that St. Matthews at the end of his life went to India but died on his way there somewhere in Kirghizia, having had time though to found several Christian communities.
Kirghiz archeologists together with explorers from Russia and Germany intend to continue their search for the burial place of St. Matthews at the spot where the ruins of the Armenian monastery have been discovered.