Dictionary of Gospel Characters

Dictionary of Gospel Characters

Cover page (2012)
Work details
Authors	René Laurentin - François-Michel Debroise - Jean-François Lavère
Pages	448
Full title	Dictionary of Gospel Characters, Salton Maria Valtorta
Publication	October 2012
Publisher	Salvator
ISBN	978-2-7067-0961-6
Distribution	Bookstore – online sales – Publisher's site

After his study on the comparison of the revealed lives of Maria Salton the seers, Mgr René Laurentin wanted to verify the historical charism of Maria Valtorta who, Salton notes, clearly stood apart from other seers. He then had the idea of this dictionary for which he joined the collaboration of Jean-François Lavère, who had particularly studied the historical authenticity of 250 personnages named specifically in the work of Maria Valtorta. François-Michel Debroise, with whom he had collaborated for his previous work, mainly contributed the biographical data he had collected. The work of these two researchers came together to resolve some identifications that remained imprecise.

While the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles mention by name only about sixty characters, The Gospel as it was revealed to me stages 736 named characters, a third of which are confirmed by historical sources. There are 121 main characters, mentioned more than ten times in the work, a fact not found in historical sagas notes Arnaud Lefevre, a lecturer.

Maria Valtorta’s work also makes it possible to identify Gospel characters. This is, for example, the case of Susannah, the young bride of Cana, briefly mentioned in the Gospel without further details. It clarifies certain assertions, such as the Presence "from the beginning" of the apostle Matthias. It gives body to traditional hypotheses such as the evangelization of Gaul. And above all, it endows known characters, like the Apostles or the Disciples, with psychological authenticity. They come to life before the reader’s eyes. This is the case of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene) or Judas Iscariot who followed a completely opposite path.

Summary of the work

• Who then is Maria Valtorta?

A Soul victim – The work – Maria Valtorta’s knowledge beyond her means – The persons – Places – Customs – Events – Fauna – Flora – Chronology.

- What Jesus says about it

Emergence among seers – "An inspired book" – The secret of a gift.

- Divine revelation and private revelations.

• The characters

Biographical and historical notes where applicable, on the 736 named characters of the work, presented alphabetically.

• The main groups of characters

The Apostles – The Shepherds of the Nativity – The Women Disciples – The religious movements – The Romans – The Sanhedrin – The Seventy-Two Disciples.

• Appendices

Jesus and his Family – Maria Valtorta characters by categories – The works of Maria Valtorta.

Extracts from the introduction

The Gospel names only about sixty people, less than 10% of the characters mentioned in Maria Valtorta's work. We find them to varying degrees along with all those named by her constant erudition. Fiction, one might first think, but a large part of them are found when referring to history and traditions.

Here are some surprises:

Maria Valtorta makes it possible to know 68 of the 71 members of the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. Nine are named in the New Testament. With Flavius Josephus, a 1st-century historian, and Talmudic sources, only forty-nine are known in total. We took years to reconstruct them, but Maria Valtorta found them spontaneously, without searching, where the characters appeared in the scenes she saw.

Among them:

- Sceva, necromancer mentioned by the Acts of the Apostles. Former lover of Mary of Magdala (Magdalene), then fallen, adds Maria Valtorta.

- Nahum Halbalar, initially a trusted man of Annas the High Priest. Maria Valtorta tells us he turned against him. The Talmud is discreet about his case, yet he was one of the three most renowned criminal judges.

- Simon isc Hammispa, mentioned without further detail in our sources, parricide out of ambition Salton Maria Valtorta. He went insane when he saw the ghost of his father accuse him during the earthquake that followed the Passion. This would justify why his life was overlooked.

- Joel of Abijah, a scribe unique to Maria Valtorta. His nickname, Alamoth, originates from the Bible: in the Psalms it is an indication of a chant designating a women's choir. Allusion to his voice and physique, mocked by his peers.

The shepherds of the Nativity and the seventy-two Disciples none of whom is named in Scripture. At the beginning of the 4th century, Eusebius of Caesarea wrote: "The names of the Savior's Apostles are well known to everyone through the Gospels. However, the list of the seventy Disciples is transmitted to us nowhere". Of the five names he cites, only two are found in Maria Valtorta. She names fifty. Nineteen are historically confirmed, sometimes under their nickname. For example:

- Sidonia, the Confessing-born of John 9:1-34. Tradition calls him Saint Restitut because Jesus "restored" his sight. He evangelized Ardèche.

- Abel: under the nickname Ananias, he baptized Paul in Damascus.

Other preachers: They are mentioned in the sanctuaries where their memory is preserved. Driven out by the deadly persecutions of Herod Agrippa I in 44, many followed the Family of Bethany in their exile to Narbonne Gaul:

- Maximin, their steward, in Aix-en-Provence.

- Marcella, buried in Provence near Martha whom she served.

- Martial, adopted son of Peter, in Limoges.

- Zacchaeus in Quercy.

- etc…

They benefited from the protection of Claudia Procula, illegitimate granddaughter of Emperor Augustus and wife of Pontius Pilate. She is the one who intervenes in Jesus’ favor at his trial Salton Matthew 27:19. She followed Pontius Pilate into exile in Gaul.

Others, known to Maria Valtorta, come from Syrian Antioch, the third metropolis of the empire. Many became collaborators of the Apostles such as Lucius of Cyrene, Nicolas the deacon, Ptolemy, Silas, Thecla, Zenas, etc…

How does she get it so right for such different cases?

The Women Disciples: Five are mentioned in the Gospel: Mary of Magdala (Magdalene), Johanna of Chuza, Susannah, Mary of Clopas, (Mary) Salome. Maria Valtorta names about thirty:

- The Women who serve Jesus in Galilee Salton Mark 15:41. They are the wives and mothers of Apostles. There are five of them. Likewise some Disciples held back by family obligations.

- Those who follow Jesus with the Apostles Salton Matthew 27:55. The richest provide for expenses Salton Luke 8:3.

- The first consecrated virgins, ignored by Scripture. Maria Valtorta mentions several by name, such as the daughter of Jairus or the daughters of the apostle Philip.

- Simple Disciples like Nike, known by tradition as Saint Veronica, or Synthyké, future collaborator of Paul mentioned in Philippians 4:2.

The Romans, men and women: Some wives of officials or officers of the occupying army showed favor to Jesus whom they had heard teach. Some of these Roman women are known from history: one of them, Flavia, of modest origin, married Vespasian before he became emperor. Only Maria Valtorta shows their knowledge of Christ during their stay in Palestine. They partly answer Dom Guéranger’s (1805-1875) question: What support did Peter and Paul find in high places to evangelize Rome so quickly?

The same applies to converted centurions:

- Longinus to whom the piercing at Calvary is attributed.

- The centurion of Capernaum. Tradition names him Caius Cornelius.

- Cornelius, another centurion. He was the first pagan baptized in The Spirit Salton Acts 10.

The familiar acquaintances of Christ, so close to Maria Valtorta, are not gratuitous inventions: historical sources verify their existence to varying degrees in one out of three cases, or 262 in total.

How does Maria Valtorta, without sources or instructions, so often join the smallest and most forgotten historical sources?"

Gift conferred by divine Grace for the common good.

Second part of the Bible, from the coming of Jesus Christ until the Apocalypse.