Where Is Apostle Matthew Buried?

This is the subject of dispute for American television and scientists of the Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan

An archeological expedition that was organized by the American television company IPV News USA found an object that looks an something to store relics in. As scientists believe, the object could have been used to store the remains of the Biblical monk Apostle Matthew.

IPV News USA Director Sergey Melnikoff is certain that he found the grave of one of the authors of the Gospel. Ancient legends say that Apostle Matthew died on his way to India. The archbishop of Bishkek and Central Asia Vladimir supported Sergey Melnikoff. Vladimir said that Matthew organized several new Christian communities during his journey, including communities on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. This journey was a hard one for an old man; he fell ill and eventually died. Specialists say that Matthew was buried on the shore of Issyk-Kul Lake in a Christian monastery, which was inundated later.

Archeologists say that there are ancient towns on the bottom of the lake. Kyrgyz archeologists know of about a dozen settlements on the bottem of the lake. One of them was the town of Chigu, the capital of the powerful state of the Usuns. The Usuns were the people that used to populate the entire Issyk-Kul Basin.

Arabian chronicles also frequently mention the ancient settlements in the Issyk-Kul region. Ancient Mideast travelers told many stories about the southern shore of the lake. They said that the towns of the “mountain pearl” were celebrated for their riches and great number of people. There used to be many little towns in the region in the eighth century B.C. The major one was the town of Barskhan.

This town is mentioned in the works of the outstanding Asian philosopher Biruni. He wrote that the residents of Issyk-Kul unraveled the secret receipt of the ferro-alloy, which only the Chinese used to know. However, any historic evidence of the ancient Kyrgyz cities was lost by the end of the 16th century. Scientists believe that the towns were inundated as a result of a monster earthquake. According to another version, the lake flooded those towns without any quake.

Attention to the Issyk-Kul Basin is growing every year. The fame of the mountain pearl even reached the USA. IPV News USA’s success is basically explained by the so-called underwater radar that the company used in its research. This radar allows one to see silt-covered objects on a computer screen. Nevertheless, the foreigner’s finding caused a negative reaction on the part of local scientists. Representatives of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences claimed that Sergey Melnikoff falsified his discoveries in his chase after a piece of sensation. They also accused the American team of illegal activities, since they allegedly did not have permission to conduct archeological research.

Nevertheless, the works are still going on. The news about the relics of the Biblical apostle attracted the attention of other international companies. A special television expedition of the world-known Discovery channel is reportedly going to visit Kyrgyz Lake.

Yury Razgulayev PRAVDA.Ru Bishkek Kyrgyzstan

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov