Knights of the Holy Cross

The Vatican Under Attack

 In year 846  Muslim Arabs arrived in a fleet at the mouth of the Tiber, made their way to Rome, sacked the city, and carried away from the basilica of St. Peter all of the gold and silver it contained. They also attacked two other churches as well as desecrating  the tomb of St. Peter.

And this was not just an incidental attack. In 827 the Arabs had conquered Sicily, which they kept under their dominion for two and a half centuries. Rome was under serious threat from nearby. In 847, the year after the assault, the newly elected pope Leo IV began the construction of walls around the entire perimeter of the Vatican, 12 meters high and equipped with 44 towers. He completed the project in six years. These are the “Leonine” walls, and significant traces of them still remain. But very few today know that these walls were erected to defend the see of Peter from an Islamic jihad. And many of those who do know this remain silent out of discretion. “Bridges, not walls” is the fashionable slogan today.  When we consider the persecution of Christians in Egypt ,  Nigeria , Sudan, Pakistan , Iraq , Malaysia, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia by Muslim countries we can see the folly of the " Bridges not walls " statement.  I dare say that sayings like that to the persecuted Christians must seem criminal. Shame on the Vatican as well as other Christian Church governing bodies that sit by passively while our bothers and sisters in Christ are under assault .  

Islam as it was in 827 as it still now in 2010.

The Destruction Of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

In 1009 AD, the Fatimite Khalif of Egypt al-Hakim explicitly ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Arab historian Yahia ibn Sa`id describe the events thus: "the holy deed commenced on Tuesday, the fifth day before the end of the month of Safar of the year 40 0 of the Egira (1009 AD in our calendar). Only those parts of difficult access were spared". They started by demolishing the tomb itself, the dome and the high parts of the buildings until the debris at their feet blocked their destruction. For eleven years the Christians were prohibited to visit the rubbles on the site and were not allowed in to pray in these ruins. It was only some years later that the Christians could rebuild their sanctuary on the site. This was due to a peace treaty between the Byzantine emperor Argyropulos and the successor of al-Hakim in which the reconstruction of the Holy Sepulchre basilica was stipulated. Works started under emperor Constantine Monomacus. It hard to imagine the destruction of the of the most important church in all Christianity being destroyed by the Muslims.Indeed the Muslim writers of the time called it a holy day when the church was destroyed. In it almost 1000 years later and little has changed with the Muslims mind. Today Christian churches are attacked in Egypt, Pakistan Indonesia, Iraq and other Muslim countries. Saudi Arabia while funding the building of mosques all over Christian countries will not allow any church building in their country.

via xavier823.typepad.com

The Battle of Malta

"A formidable army composed of audacious barbarians is descending on this island. These persons, my brothers, are the enemies of Jesus Christ. Today it is a question of the defense of our faith -- as to whether the Gospels are to be superseded by the Koran. God on this occasion demands of us our lives, already vowed to his service. Happy will be those who first consummate this sacrifice."

Jean Valette 1565

Jean Valette in 1565 was the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John. He gave the speech above just before the Muslim Turks were about to attack the tiny island of Malta with a force of over 35,000 men.There were only 700 knights defending Malta against this force. They would be outnumbered 5 to 1. By the end of the battle 75% of the knights would be dead or injured. But through the heroic stand and with protection of our lord Jesus Christ the knights defeated this Islamic Crusading army thus saving Malta as well as most of southern Europe. Today all we here about from the Muslims is about European Crusaders attacking the Middle east. What they forget to mention are the scores of Islamic Crusades that were launched against Christian Europe long before and long after the European Crusades.