Saint Michael's line
A postulated alignment of Archangel Michael sites across Europe.
Saint Michael's line, also called the Sword of Saint Michael or the St Michael-Apollo Axis, is a straight alignment of monasteries and churches across Europe and the Holy Land, eight of which are dedicated to the Archangel Michael. Several sites on the same line in Greece are associated with ancient temples to Apollo. A separate alignment in England, part of the Mary and Michael Pilgrim's Way, is also referred to as Saint Michael's Line.
Quick Facts
- Number of dedicated sites
- eight
- Notable equidistant sites
- Mont Saint-Michel, Sacra di San Michele, Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo
- Best-fit loxodrome angle
- 60.45 degrees
- Average deviation
- 14 km / 8.7 mi
- Maximum deviation
- 42 km / 26.1 mi
- Length of english route
- 350 km / 217 mi
Facts from the source article.
History
French academic Jean Richer published a book in 1967 claiming geographical alignments between ancient Greek temples, including a Kerkyra-Delphi-Athens-Delos axis. In 1977, his brother Julian noted that extending this line crossed other cultic locations, naming it the St Michael-Apollo axis. Aligned sites include Skellig Michael, St Michael's Mount, Mont Saint-Michel, Sacra di San Michele, the Church of the Archangel Michael on Isola Maggiore, San Michele Arcangelo, and the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo. The three most important sites are equidistant from each other. The line also passes the Panormitis Monastery on Symi Island and ends at the Stella Maris Monastery on Mount Carmel.
Coincidence and linearity
Many churches dedicated to St Michael exist across Europe, so the chance that an arbitrary line would cross several lesser sites is high. Astrophysicist Luca Amendola noted in a 2016 blog post that the axis could be characterized as a 60-degree loxodrome, calculable with ancient navigation or surveying. His calculations of rhumb-lines between Apollo-cultic and St Michael-cultic sites showed strong linearity, with a best-fit angle of 60.45 degrees; he described the average deviation of 14 km and maximum of 42 km over 4190 km as astonishing. The Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo was established around 500 AD, Mont-Saint-Michel around 708 AD, and a pilgrimage route between them began. The Sacra in Piedmont, built around 1000 AD, was reportedly sited exactly halfway between the other two major sites, as the midpoint of the Via dell'Angelo pilgrimage trail. Other churches along the route were dedicated to St Michael to replicate the Gargano cult's success. Skellig Island's monastery, established by the eighth century, became associated with St Michael by the tenth century, while Mount Carmel and Stella Maris have no known historic or mythic connection to the archangel.
Legends
Some aligned locations may have had prior pagan connections, with cults re-channeled into Christian forms. Mont Saint-Michel, Sacra di San Michele, and the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo are reported to have been built at St Michael's behest. Legend holds that the line represents the blow St Michael inflicted on the Devil when casting him into Hell. A Ukrainian folk legend says St Michael gave thunder to the Prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel to fight the prophets of Baal.
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