Philip Coppens’ publishing career began at the age of 23, when he edited the legacy of the late Belgian historian Marcel Mestdagh’s research into European megaliths into a much-anticipated sequel. That same year, he also helped edit a controversial non-fiction thriller on the theft of Jan Van Eyck’s The Adoration of the Lamb, which was made into a documentary both for Flemish television and the BBC.
If there is one thing that sets Coppens apart from other writers, it is that he is often ahead of the trends. He wrote the first guide in more than four decades about Rosslyn Chapel – the only one to do so before The Da Vinci Code made that Scottish chapel world famous in 2003. He also researched the origins of the Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull, before the 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie, resulting in a series of controversial articles, which even came to the attention of The Washington Post.
As a journalist, he had investigative research into the Kennedy assassination submitted before a US government enquiry in 1993. Two years later, he broke the story of the existence of Chinese pyramids to an international audience. Many of the stories in the so-called “esoteric field” have at one point passed through his hands, including The Templar Revelation, the book on which The Da Vinci Code was based. In 1999, he was the principal researcher for Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince’s The Stargate Conspiracy, which investigated current politicians’ apparent obsession with ancient Egypt, thus combining his passion for politics and history. The book was dedicated to him.
He is the author of The Stone Puzzle of Rosslyn Chapel (2002), on the enigmatic Scottish chapel and its relationship with freemasonry and the Knights Templar; The Canopus Revelation (2004), on the lore of the star Canopus in ancient cultures; Land of the Gods (2007), on the prehistory of Southern Scotland and the myth of King Arthur; The New Pyramid Age (2007), detailing the most recent discoveries that have changed our understanding of pyramids; andServants of the Grail (2009), identifying the real people encoded into the medieval Grail legends. Most recently, he has published an ebook, 2012. Science or Fiction?, with Digital Journeys, which aims to bring clarity as to what 2012 is truly all about. The ebook is also the first to have incorporated video, featuring an interview-style conversation with Philip. His latest book is The Ancient Alien Question (2011), addressing the question whether extra-terrestrial contact has occurred in our past.
This picture is one of the most fascinating I found of Philip and I can not wait to talk to him.
Carrying the Bones of Mary Magdalene
Life can be full of interesting and beautiful surprises. Some weeks ago, we learned – by coincidence – that the relic of St Baume, the tibia of Mary Magdalene, was going to tour Southern California, making its way down from San Francisco to San Diego. The relic is one of the most renowned relics of this saint, and key to her sojourn in Southern France.
Each day, and sometimes twice a day, a church had opened its doors so that this precious relic could be put on display for veneration, normally accompanied by a celebration of mass.
Both Kathleen and I had seen the relic in its native setting of St Baume – as recently as May 2010 – but the opportunity to see this relic while on tour in California was not going to be missed. A number of factors – and a very late and impromptu adjustment of our own plans – meant we saw the relic in Hollywood, at St Victor’s, on March 5. We were too late for mass, but were happy to see (as we entered) that the relic could be approached and even touched – in its display cabinet – by all those desiring to venerate it. In fact, you could venerate it more closely and more personally than in its French setting.
Afterwards, we made our way to the little (mobile) information booth, where through a series of interesting coincidences, Kathleen was identified by Paula Lawlor, the organiser of the tour, and we all got to talk, me with Father Thomas, the Dominican priest of St Baume whom we had see celebrate mass in May in St Baume and who accompanied this relic throughout California.
When the veneration was about to end, Father Thomas unexpectedly asked whether I could help him carry the relic to the car, so they could make their way to Montclair – the next step on the pilgrimage. And so I ended up carrying the bones of Mary Magdalene in what was a most surprising and unexpected and beautiful little procession. So I put Mary Magdalene in the back of a car… cool!
Learn more of Philip —-> Here
Tune in live December 5th at 7 PM EST —–> HERE
The Gut And Bone Show 