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=> The Mesopotamian origin of the Eucharist

The Mesopotamian origin of the Eucharist

Posted by Tiglath (Guest) - Thursday, July 31 2008, 11:38:21 (CEST)
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A bilingual ritual text from the collection "Evil Demons of Illness" (Arsakki marsuti) has the following prescriptions for the exorcist - it is presented as a command issued from the sky god Anu to his son Marduk:

[Take a] suckling pig [ and.....at] the head of the sick man
[put it (?) and] take out its heart and above the heart of the
sick man [put it], [sprinkle] its blood on the sides of the bed,
[and] divide the pig over his limbs and spread it on the sick
man; then cleanse that man with clean waters from the Deep
[Apsu] and wash him clean and bring near him a censer [and]
a torch, place twice seven loaves cooked in the ashes against the
outer door, and give the pig as his substitute, and give the
flesh and the blood as his blood; they [the demons] shall take
it; the heart which thou hast placed on his heart, as his heart
give it: they shall take it. [lacuna][that the] pig may be his
substitute....May the evil spirit, the evil-demon stand aside!
May the kindly spirit, the kindly demon be present!

Ancient Akkadian sources describe this as an exorcism ceremony conducted in order to purify the patient and ward off any evil ghosts that may have returned from the Netherworld.

The ritual text details the three standard Mesopotamian methods of purification; purification by water (“waters of life”), purification by blood (substitute in the Netherworld) and purification by fire (smoke from the censer).

The blood sacrifice was one of the elements adopted by Christianity whereas the hand washing ceremony conducted during these rituals was the element adopted by Islam.

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