St Joseph of Arimathea

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All quoted text is from The Grail Church copyright Ó Holy Grail, 1995. *

“Guardianship of the Holy Grail had been given to Joseph of Arimathea. … Joseph was one of the early disciples of Our Lord (the Bible confirms that the apostles at Jerusalem referred to Joseph as being a disciple of Christ), but he nevertheless needed to be properly ordained by the laying on of hands by one of the original apostles for him to begin his apostolic appointment as first bishop of the Grail Church. Joseph bade farewell to Philip and the faithful in Gaul [where he had arrived, having been expelled from Palestine in an oarless boat with other disciples] and set off with his company of twelve for the Sacred Isle of the West. Reaching the shores of the most hallowed ground on earth the small band of disciples sailed the waterway until they came in sight of a lofty green hill - Glastonbury Tor. … Following their arrival the travellers made their way up a hill in sight of the Tor and Joseph, weary from his journey, stopped to rest. He thrust his pastoral staff into the ground whereupon it immediately took root and eventually blossomed. … The task of rebuilding the first Church was completed in AD 39. It was sixty feet in length and twenty-six feet wide, akin to the pattern of the Tabernacle. Joseph installed a shrine for the Holy Grail at its central altar where the Last Supper was celebrated in memory of Christ. The Grail Church, then, was founded in Britain in AD 36, having been consecrated by Christ Himself [taking three years to rebuild].”

“Joseph of Arimathea, the first apostle of Britain, lived within four years of the second expulsion of the persecuting Romans. Imperial Rome had failed to crush the Church of the New Covenant - the Grail Church. Not once had the foot of the invader marched on the sacred soil of Glastonbury. Only John, of the original apostles of Christ, outlived Joseph. Fifty years after he had placed the Body of Our Lord in the tomb, Joseph went to his immortal reward and joined the saintly company that had preceded him on July 27th, AD 82.”
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“The Foundation Head and Supreme Pastor and Bishop of [what I describe as] the Grail Church is Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself from whom all bishops and pastors derive their spiritual powers and jurisdiction. The New Testament shows that we may believe in the living Christ only if we believe in His Bodily Resurrection. Life without a body is not human life. This is what we are told. We are free to reject it, but not to modify it or pretend that the New Testament tells us something else. We may accept or refuse the message, but we may not change it. Our Lord did not commit rule and authority within the Church to all the faithful indiscriminately, but only to the apostles and to their lawful successors in due order.”

"First Apostle of Britain was Joseph of Arimathea who was also the first appointed bishop in the Grail Church. But the first and the last Bishop and Supreme Head of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church - of which the Grail Church was but a small part - is Jesus Christ."

“The scourged and crucified Body of Our Lord was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven. The cup sealed with His Precious Blood is the ultimate symbol of our union with God as Christ is the only way to the Father.”

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