In 2010, Kasimir Popkonstantinov discovered what he believes are the bones of one of the most famous of all saints: John the Baptist.
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Popkonstantinov made his discovery when excavating a sixth century church on the island, built on top of a basilica from the century before…[As he carefully dug, he found a box with] an inscription: “May God save you, servant Thomas. To Saint John.” …The epitaph on the smaller box…was the key piece of evidence that led him to believe that the bones could perhaps be those of John the Baptist.
The finding is hugely important, partly because John the Baptist was both a disciple of Jesus and his cousin – meaning they would share DNA.
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While DNA analysis can’t prove that these are the artefacts some believe them to be…Let’s assume for a moment that contamination could be completely ruled out and that DNA analysis demonstrated that DNA from the Shroud was a familial match to DNA from the James Ossuary – and that they are both related to the Bulgarian bones. Could this then have been the DNA of Jesus and his family? To answer that, all you need is a little belief.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Can we ever find Jesus’s DNA? I met the scientists who are trying to find out
For more background on the Genetic Literacy Project, read GLP on Wikipedia
