Chalice discovered in Egypt can be the oldest reference to the Messiah. But it’s a big “you can,” at least for now.
It is not the Holy Grail, but a glass found in 2008 by French archaeologist Franck Goddio may be the oldest material evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ. Others guarantee the opposite: the cup in question has nothing to do with the central figure of Christianity.
The artifact, found during underwater excavations on the submerged island of Antirhodoson the way of Alexandria, the date of the early first century or even the first century BC and is in an incredible state of conservation, according to that of the Marine archaeologist. Recorded in Greek, he brings the enigmatic inscription “Dia chrosta the Goistais”, whose translation continues to divide experts.
According to the biblist Jeremiah Johnston, interviewed by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the inscription must be understood as “through Christ, the fortune teller.” For the investigator, the reference is proof that the name of Jesus was invoked shortly after his death, as the healer that many say are. The glass in question would have been used in practices of an old manner of oil and water divination, where the invocation of Christ would add authority to the ritual.
If Johnston’s reading is confirmed, it would be the oldest physical testimony of veneration to Jesus outside the Christian texts. But other academics have a totally opposite voice.
Historian Angelos Chaniotis, linked to Oxford and Princeton, suggests that the inscription may simply signal an offer made by someone named Chractos to a religious association called Ogoista. Klaus Hallof, from the Greek registration institute in Berlin, cited by, admits that the play is linked to Hellenistic or Egyptian cults, such as Hermes, Athena or Isis, or even a smaller deity known as Osogo.
Finally, György Nameth of Eötvös Loránd University proposes a more pragmatic explanation: the inscription could not allude to any religious figure, but only identify one ointmentbeing the chalice a utilitarian container.
