Jesus Was Zoroastrian: The Padyab at the Last Supper
The night before his crucifixion, Jesus performed a ritual in the upper room. The ritual is recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 13. It has been read by Christians for two thousand years as a humble act of service, an example of the master washing the disciples' feet to teach them how to love one another. It is also a specific ritual procedure with a specific theological logic, articulated in specific words, codified in a specific religious tradition's scripture. The tradition is Zoroastrianism. The scripture is the Vendidad.
What this resource contributes
The night before his crucifixion, Jesus performed a ritual in the upper room. The ritual is recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 13. It has been read by Christians for two thousand years as a humble act of service, an example of the master washing the disciples' feet to teach them how to love one another. It is also a specific ritual procedure with a specific theological logic, articulated in specific words, codified in a specific religious tradition's scripture. The tradition is Zoroastrianism. The scripture is the Vendidad. The ritual is the padyab. This article documents what Jesus did at the Last Supper, what the Zoroastrian scriptural and liturgical tradition says about that exact procedure, and what the Hebrew Bible — the religious framework in which Jesus is conventionally placed — does not say about it. The evidence is on the page. The conclusion follows.
Topics and source signals
Primary sources detected
Vendidad · Hebrew Bible
Scholars detected
Mary Boyce