Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts

Friday, November 11, 2011

Interesting Facts About Saint Lorenzo Ruiz: The First Filipino Saint


Perhaps, the most famous religious Filipino ever is Saint Lorenzo Ruiz. Here are some of the most interesting facts about this Filipino saint.

1.) Saint Lorenzo Ruiz was born in 1600 CE in Binondo, Manila.
2.) He served as an altar boy at the convent of Binondo Church.
3.) Ruiz is also known as San Lorenzo de Manila.
4.) Lorenzo Ruiz is the first Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church.
5.) He was martyred during persecution of Japanese Christians under the Tokugawa Shogunate in the 17th century.



6.) Ruiz’s father was a Chinese and his mother was a Filipina.
7.) His parents were both Catholics and Ruiz was both fluent in Chinese and Tagalog.
8.) Lorenzo was educated by the Dominican friars and earned the title of escribano (calligrapher) because of his skillful hand and unsurpassed penmanship.
9.) Lorenzo Ruiz was a member of the Cofradia del Santissimo Rosario or Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary.
10.) He married and had two sons and a daughter with his Filipino wife.
11.) Life for the Ruiz family was generally peaceful, religious and full of contentment.
12.) In 1636, while working as a clerk at the Binondo Church, Ruiz was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard.
13.) Because of the allegation, Ruiz sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests.
14.) His companions were Saint Antonio Gonzalez; Saint Guillermo Courtet; Saint Miguel de Aozaraza, a Japanese priest; Saint Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz; and a layman named Saint Lazaro of Kyoto, a leper.
15.) Ruiz and his companions left for Japan on June 10, 1636, with the aid of the Dominican fathers and Fr.Giovanni Yago.
16.) Ruiz and company was arrested and persecuted for their Christian religion upon reaching Okinawa, Japan.
17.) They were brought to Nagasaki on July 10, 1636 and were tortured in many ways.
18.) They were hanged by their feet, submerged in water until near death and by water torture.
19.) Needles were also inserted in their finger nails and they were beaten until unconscious.
20. Because of the excruciating pain from these methods, some of Ruiz's companions recant their faith, but Ruiz never did.
21.) On September 27, 1637, Ruiz and his companions were taken to the "Mountain of Martyrs" and they were hung upside down into a pit known as horca y hoya, or tsurishi.
22.) TSURISHI was considered as the most painful way to die at the time because it involved the use of rocks to add weight to the person being punished.
23.) The individual being tortured suffocated quickly while being crushed by his own weight.
24.) On September 29, 1637, Lorenzo Ruiz died from hemorrhage and suffocation.
25.) Ruiz’s body was cremated and his ashes were thrown into the sea

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Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Most Holy Sites and Edifices in the World


Some remarkable buildings and sites are considered holy by some of the largest and major religions in the world. Here are the most sacred places of different religions in the world.

For Christianity
Church of the Holy Sepulchre


The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the most holy site for many mainstream denominations within Christianity. This is the site where Jesus Christ was crucified, died, buried and resurrected from the dead. It is also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christian. It is located in Jerusalem, Israel.

For Islam
Kaaba


Kaaba is the holiest place in Islam. The name means “The Cube” in English. This cube-shaped building is located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and has a mosque built around it. Regarded as the most sacred site, all Muslims around the world face Kaaba during prayers wherever they are.

Al-Masjid al-Haram


The most that surrounds the Kaaba is the Al-Masjid al-Harām mosque. The “Sacred Mosque” is the largest mosque in the world and is also known as the Grand Mosque. Millions of Muslims gathers here annually during the Hajj period – one of the largest gatherings in the world.

Judaism
Mount Sinai


Mount Sinai is a holy site for Judaism located near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Mount Sinai is the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It is also known by other names such as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa and Jabal Musa.

Hinduism
Varanasi City


Vanarasi City, which is located in Ultra Pradesh, India, is the most holy city in Hinduism. The city is considered by many to be the most sacred place of pilgrimage for Hindus irrespective of denomination.

Buddhism
Bodhgaya


Bodh Gaya or Bodhgaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage located in Bihar, India. The site is popular for being the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of Enlightenment, known by the Buddhist as Bodhimandala.

Tibetan Buddhism
Jokhang Temple


The Jokhang Temple or simply Jokhang is the holiest and sacred temple for Tibetan Buddhism. It is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa, the capitak of Tibet. It is also called Jokhang Monastery or Tsuklakang.

Confucianism
Temple of Confucius


For Confucianism, the most sacred places are the Temples of Confucius or Confucian Temples. These temples are devoted to the memory of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism. Qufu, the largest and oldest Temple of Confucius, is located in Shandong, China.

Judaism
Kodesh Hakodashim


Kodesh Hakodashim is Judaism Holy of Holies. It was the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle in the time of Moses and is now refers to the space on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Sikhism
Golden Temple


The Golden Temple or Hamandir Sahib is the most holy site in Sikhism/. This culturally important shrine is located in Amritsar, Punjab, India and regarded as one of the oldest Sikh gurdwaras.

Latter Day Saints
Holy of Holies


The Holy of Holies is the most sacred place for the Mormons or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is a room in the Salt Lake Temple wherein the church’s president — acting as the Presiding High Priest of the church — enters to act as High Priest of Israel in direct relationship with God, in accordance with the LDS interpretation of the Book of Exodus.

Druzism
Tomb of Jethro


For Druzism, the most holy place is Nabi Shu'ayb or Tomb of Jethro. It is where the tomb of the Islamic prophet Shu’ayb or the Biblical Jethro is located. It is the central figure in the Druze religion. 

Jainism
Pawapuri


Pawapuri is the most holy site in Jainism, a religion that originated in India. It is located in Nalanda, Bihar in India.  Jains consider Pawapuri to be their most important tirtha or pilgrimage site.

Samaritism
Mount Gerizim
The most holy site in Samaritism is Mount Gerizim. It is located near the present-day Palestinian city of Nablus known in Biblical time as Shechem. This is regarded as the “holy of holies” to the Samaritans.

Shintoism


Ise Shrine is the formal home of Amaterasu omikami, the primary deity of Shinto and traditionally believed to be a direct ancestor of the Japanese Imperial Family. This splendid shrine is located in the Ise City in Mie Prefecture, Japan It is officially known simply as Jingu.

Bahai’ Faith


This sacred structure is located in Bahji near Acre, Israel and is known as the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. This shrine is the most holy place for Baha’is and contains the remains of Baha u llah.



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