Marked by the Sun: The Hidden Initiation Behind the Cross

For centuries, scholars and theologians have noted striking parallels between the symbols and rituals of ancient sun-worshiping cults and certain traditions within Roman Catholicism. From Druidic nature rites under oak trees to the Mithraic mysteries of Rome’s legions, elements of pre-Christian paganism appear to have infiltrated or been syncretized into Church practices. This exposé examines these connections in detail – encompassing Druidic rituals (oak, mistletoe, solstice ceremonies, beliefs akin to purgatory), the solar iconography of Catholic regalia (papal tiaras and monstrances), the Mithraic rites (lion symbolism, forehead markings, December 25 observances, secret initiations), the Egyptian ankh and cross symbolism, the “winged lion” figures from Daniel’s prophecy to St. Mark’s icon, and Roman Catholic doctrines such as Marian veneration, purgatory, the Eucharist, Sunday worship, and claims of apostolic succession. We will draw on historical records, archaeological findings, and Scripture to shed light on a “Mystery Babylon” pattern – an esoteric syncretism where ancient pagan worship forms have resurfaced under a Christian veneer. The goal is a comprehensive, scholarly yet Christian critique, illuminating how and why these pagan parallels might have been woven into the fabric of the Church.

Druidic Sun Worship and Sacred Groves

One of the earliest examples of sun-centered paganism comes from the Druids, the priestly class of ancient Celtic peoples. They led nature worship in sacred groves of oak trees and conducted rituals with mistletoe harvested at the solstices. The oak was revered as symbolic of the supreme deity in Druid belief, and mistletoe (a parasitic plant on the oak) was considered a sacred panacea – dramatically harvested with golden sickles during specific astral alignments (e.g. winter solstice) in hope of renewing life and fertility. These ceremonies took place in forest clearings, reminiscent of later practices by secret societies (like the modern Bohemian Grove) which also gather in secluded groves for occultic pageantry, invoking parallels to Druidic nature rites.

Druid cosmology venerated natural cycles (sun and seasons) and espoused a belief in the immortality and transmigration of the soul. Julius Caesar observed during his conquest of Gaul that “the main object of [Druidic] education is to imbue their scholars with a firm belief in the indestructibility of the human soul, which...passes at death from one tenement to another”. This teaching – that death is not the end – emboldened warriors, much as a similar hope in afterlife (or Purgatory) later comforted medieval pagan. In fact, Celtic lore spoke of an interim Otherworld where souls tarried. An Inverness Gaelic legend describes ghosts coming from “a sort of pleasant Purgatory, where they enjoyed awhile a free and easy condition of existence”. Roman writers like Ammianus Marcellinus noted that the Druids “occupied themselves with profound and sublime questions… and sustained the immortality of the soul”. Thus, well before Christianity, the Druids had concepts akin to a temporary holding place for souls and rebirth, foreshadowing the Catholic idea of purgatory and the hope of resurrection – though in Druid belief this interim state was not for purification by fire, but a “pleasant” waystation for spirits.

Another Druidic practice was initiation through secret knowledge. The Druids conducted oral initiation into their mysteries, requiring candidates to memorize vast lore and undergo tests of wisdom (sybolised by the owl) and character. These hidden teachings were said to resemble other mystery religions (the Eleusinian or Egyptian rites) and were possibly imported from the East. The initiation often took place at night in groves, invoking secrecy and sacred oaths. We find a parallel in later monastic and mystical Christian traditions where certain teachings were reserved for the initiated clergy, and where rituals (like Easter Vigil or Christmas Midnight Mass) occur at special night hours in sanctified spaces. Furthermore, groves – denounced in the Old Testament as sites of idolatry (cf. Isaiah 1:29) – became the very places where Druids worshipped creation more than the Creator, much as later syncretized Christianity would be accused of mixing nature-worship with worship of God (e.g., carrying over tree veneration into folk Catholic customs like Christmas trees or May poles). It is noteworthy that Scripture repeatedly condemns sun and nature worship (e.g. the sun-worshipers in Ezekiel 8:16 are called an “abomination”), underscoring the incompatibility of such practices with pure monotheism.

In Druid practice, certain symbols also emerge that resurface later. The serpent was sacred – symbolizing wisdom or divine power – and according to 19th-century occult scholars, “the serpent was the symbol of Hu, the Druidic Osiris”, often depicted in a cruciform or winged manner to signify regeneration and spirit. Druids personified a father god and mother goddess (Hu the Mighty and Ceridwen), a divine father-mother duo analogous to Osiris-Isis or other pagan pantheons. This is striking when one considers how later folk Catholicism would elevate Mary (Mother of God) alongside the Father and Son in devotion – effectively a divine mother figure in all but name. The Druid god Hu was explicitly a sun-god whose legends included a death and resurrection motif. Indeed, Albert Pike, a Masonic historian, noted that “the lost word of Masonry is concealed in the name of the Druid god Hu” – a telling admission that modern secret societies traced their “word of power” back to Druid sun-worship. This Druid legacy of sun veneration, serpent symbolism, and secret rites sets the stage for later adaptations in Roman Empire religions and, as we shall see, in compromised Christian rituals.

Sun Symbols in Pagan Regalia and Catholic Vestments

The symbolism of the sun, source of light and life in pagan thought, permeated the regalia of ancient cults, and many of these solar insignia appear in Catholic vestments and sacred objects. A prime example is the radiant crown or halo. In pre-Christian art, solar deities (e.g. Apollo, Sol, Mithras) were depicted with a crown of rays. Roman emperors such as Constantine – who syncretized sun worship with Christianity – issued coins of himself with a radiate halo, identifying with Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun). This practice of portraying holy figures with a halo continued in Christian iconography, where saints and even Mary are encircled by a glowing nimbus reminiscent of the sun’s disk. The Catholic explanation is that the halo represents heavenly glory; yet its form is undeniably that of the sun disk long used in pagan art.

Papal regalia likewise shows possible pagan continuities. The papal tiara (triple crown) is a distinctive headdress of the popes. While its direct origin was a Phrygian-style cap used in late antiquity, its symbolism as a triple crown of heaven, earth, and underworld authority could be seen as echoing the high priest of pagan Rome (the Pontifex Maximus title, which the popes inherited). Ancient Near Eastern priest-kings often wore conical crowns or miters with multiple tiers or horns denoting cosmic dominion. (Notably, the High Priest of Dagon in Philistine lore wore a fish-shaped mitre, and bishops’ mitres today bear a faint resemblance with their cleft “fish mouth” shape; a possible coincidence often remarked by critics.) While direct Druidic parallels to a tiara are scant, we do know Druids wore white robes and possibly a headband of oak leaves symbolizing solar radiance during ceremonies. The concept of a priestly headpiece signifying solar godship can be traced to Babylonian times. Thus, when a pope crowns himself with a towering tiara and claims temporal and spiritual authority, some see an echo of the ancient priest-kings who likewise donned lofty crowns as living images of the sun-god.

Osiris with royal staff, all-seeing eye, and ankh — pagan symbols of sun worship later absorbed into "Christianity" via Rome.

Perhaps the clearest link between Catholic vestments and solar worship is the monstrance – the sacred vessel used to display the Eucharistic host. Monstrances are typically made in the shape of a golden sunburst: a large disk with gilded rays emanating from the center, often topped by a cross. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “the most appropriate form for the monstrance is that of the sun emitting rays”. This is an astonishing admission – the Church itself chose a sun symbol to exhibit what it proclaims to be the Body of Christ. Anti-pagan polemicists thus often refer to the consecrated host as the "Sun-wafer", accusing the Church of dressing Jesus in the garb of Sol Invictus. Indeed, an image of Pope John Paul II shows him holding a large sunburst monstrance, identical in form to a sun icon, as the faithful kneel before it. Catholics argue the sun-like shape simply symbolizes Christ the “light of the world.” Yet pagan cultures used virtually the same sunburst design to represent their gods: e.g., in Egypt, the goddess Isis was depicted with a sun disk cradled between the horns of a bull (Apis); this icon is “virtually identical to the Catholic monstrance”, especially when the mother-and-child motif is considered. In a side-by-side comparison, a statue of Isis with infant Horus on her lap – wearing the sun disk headpiece – mirrors the imagery of Mary enthroned with the Eucharist or with baby Jesus, complete with a radiant halo. Such parallels have led some scholars to label Catholic Marian devotion as repackaged “Mother-and-Child” worship from Babylon and Egypt.

For the ancient Egyptians, the goddess Isis was the model of the loyal wife and mother, as well as a powerful magician

In addition to the sunburst monstrance, the Jesuit Order’s seal contains the letters IHS inside a blazing sun. Many scholars believe that the letters "IHS," so often displayed within a blazing sun on altars, vestments, and monstrances, stand for the Latin phrase “In Hoc Signo Vinces” ; “In this sign you will conquer”, a reference to Constantine’s alleged vision of a cross of light before battle. Others believe that the letters IHS are actually a Christogram, an abbreviation of the Greek name for Jesus (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ), transliterated into Latin letters. However, regardless of its original meaning, the troubling fact remains: when "IHS" is emblazoned within a golden sunburst and publicly paraded as an object of adoration, as frequently seen in Roman Catholic processions and monstrances, it visually mirrors ancient sun worship. In pagan traditions, particularly in Egypt and Rome, the image of a disk or solar symbol surrounded by rays was a central object of veneration. Now, under the guise of honouring Christ, the Church carries forth this very imagery; fusing Christian confession with pagan form. Scripture leaves no room for such syncretism. The prophet Ezekiel condemned the priests of Israel for turning their backs on the temple of the Lord to worship the sun in the east, calling it an abomination (Ezekiel 8:16).

One must ask: how can the modern Church claim to obey the God of the Bible while parading sun disks in His name?

The continuity of sun symbolism is also evident in church architecture: many great cathedrals are aligned East-West (facing the rising sun), and circular stained-glass “rose windows” often resemble solar mandalas. St. Peter’s Square itself has an obelisk at the center (a solar phallic monument of Osiris from Egypt) and is designed with an oval colonnade that some say represents the sun’s encompassing arms. Critics point out that obelisks and sexual symbols were “modifications of sun worship, symbols of the fecundating power of that luminary”. Dr. Albert Mackey, a renowned Masonic scholar, noted that the very point-within-a-circle symbol (a dot within a ring) used in Masonry is “undoubtedly of phallic origin”; a union of male/female interpreted as the Sun god’s union with nature. Tellingly, in Catholic liturgy, two vertical candlesticks often flank the Eucharist on the altar, which Mackey reveals actually correspond to the two solstices (summer and winter) in pagan symbolism, rather than the oft-claimed “St. John’s” figures. Thus, even the layout of sacred space and objects in church can carry latent sun-worship meaning.

Another vestige of pagan regalia is the use of keys and lions in symbolism. The Vatican’s coat of arms features two crossed keys (symbolizing the keys of St. Peter). Yet in Mithraic temples, statues of the enigmatic lion-headed god (often identified with Time or the evil principle) show him holding a key in each hand. This winged lion figure, entwined by a serpent and holding keys, was a powerful image in the mystery cult of Mithras. It is difficult not to see a parallel with the Church’s lion and key symbols: St. Mark is symbolized by a winged lion (with no biblical reference) and indeed a famous bronze winged lion statue towers in St. Mark’s Square in Venice. This Lion of Venice, though now a Christian emblem of the evangelist, is actually an ancient pagan artifact repurposed; likely a 300 BC statue from a monument to the god Sandon or a Chinese tomb guardian that found its way to Venice. As one art historian remarked, Venice’s lion is an “international enigma” with origins far outside Christianity. The winged lion of Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:4) symbolized the empire of Babylon; a beast with eagle’s wings that was later connected to “Mystery Babylon” in Revelation. How telling that the Church, centered in Rome (widely identified by Protestants as the “Babylon” of Revelation 17), should adopt a winged lion as a prominent symbol, and even possess literal relics like the “Chair of St. Peter” decorated with mythological scenes. In a startling discovery, the wooden throne claimed to be used by the Apostle Peter – now encased in the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica – has ivory panels depicting the labours of Hercules and other pagan myths. The presence of Hercules’ feats (a hero often equated with sun-god virtues) on the very seat of the pope’s authority is a striking illustration of syncretism: the Church not only absorbed pagan people, but even their artistic and symbolic vocabulary, “Christianizing” it in name while the imagery remained unmistakably pagan.

The winged lion of Venice

Many Catholic symbols and vestments carry a visual language that was first spoken in pagan sun cults. The sunburst monstrance, the radiant halos, the priestly miters and tiaras, the keys and winged lions, even the obelisks and sacred orientation of churches; all these can be traced to pre-Christian worship of sun, stars, and nature. From a biblical standpoint, this raises concern. Exodus 20:4-5 forbids making or bowing to graven images of anything in creation; yet in Catholic piety, kneeling before a sun-shaped object holding a piece of bread is routine. While the intent may be to worship Christ, the form closely imitates pagan idolatry of the sun; a practice Scripture condemned when Israel fell into it (Ezekiel 8:16-17). The mixing of these symbols fulfills what many see as the prophecy of “Babylon the Great, mother of harlots and abominations” (Rev 17:5) ; a religious system that presents a Christian face but is inebriated with images and rites of older idolatry.

Mithraic Mysteries and Christian Adaptations

In the first centuries after Christ, Mithraism was Christianity’s chief rival in the Roman Empire; and perhaps its greatest source of syncretic influence. The Cult of Mithras, originating in Persia and spreading rapidly through Roman legions, was a secretive brotherhood dedicated to the worship of Mithras, often identified with Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. Its rites and doctrines bear uncanny parallels to later Christian practices, raising the question of whether deliberate counterfeiting or subtle borrowing took place as the Roman Empire transitioned from paganism to state-sponsored Christianity. Early Christian apologists such as Tertullian and Justin Martyr were keenly aware of these unsettling parallels. “The devil,” wrote Justin, “imitated the divine mysteries in the Mithraic rites.”

Consider first the matter of December 25, long recognized as the birthday of the sun in pagan circles. Within Mithraism; as well as the broader cult of Sol Invictus, the winter solstice was a sacred time of celebration, marking the rebirth of the sun after its seasonal “death.” According to early Christian writers, Mithras’s birth was honoured on December 25. Modern scholars agree that while Mithraic mysteries lacked an official public calendar, the Natalis Invicti festival held on December 25 was a widespread solar observance in Roman culture. Only in the fourth century did the Church assign Christmas to this same date, overtly overlaying the pagan Birth of the Unconquered Sun with the birth of the Son of God, who many believe was born in September. This strategic decision made it easier for pagan converts to embrace the new state religion, but at a cost; it merged sun-worship festivities into Christian tradition. Even today, Christmas customs retain traces of this solstice reverence: Yule logs, lights, and evergreen decorations (mistletoe) all symbolize nature’s endurance through winter, clear remnants of nature-venerating rites. As scholar Manfred Clauss observed, “the festival of Natalis Invicti, 25 December, was by no means specific to Mithras [alone]” but a broad-based celebration of the sun’s renewal; making Christianity’s adoption of this date a textbook case of religious syncretism.

Moreover, in Mithraic belief, Mithras, the sun god Sol Invictus, was believed to either dwell within or be mystically united with the solar orb. In Roman Mithraism, Mithras was not originally identical to the sun, but by the height of the cult in the Roman Empire, the two figures had become deeply entwined. Inscriptions refer to “Sol Invictus Mithras”;“the Unconquered Sun, Mithras”; and Mithraic iconography frequently depicts Mithras banqueting with Sol, symbolizing a mystical union with the solar deity. Over time, the two became almost interchangeable in worship. The cult’s entire calendar revolved around solar cycles, with particular emphasis on the December 25 festival celebrating the rebirth of the sun; a fact that also sheds light on why the papal bull Inter Gravissimas was issued to strip ten days from the calendar and forcibly realign our reality to these pagan solar observances. This manipulation ensured that the worship of the sun god would remain fixed, and that spring equinox festivals would not drift out of sync again; a blatant act of cosmic sorcery, not Christian worship.

How on earth can anyone call this the faith of Christ?

In Mithraic liturgy and iconography, the sun disk itself came to represent Mithras’ presence; his dwelling place. This is explicitly affirmed by modern scholars. The great Mithraic scholar Franz Cumont writes in The Mysteries of Mithra: “Mithras is the lord of the sun and of light; in the course of time he becomes more and more identified with Sol himself, and finally he is said to dwell within the shining orb.” (Cumont, Mysteries of Mithra, ch. 5). The Roman inscriptions “Deo Soli Invicto Mithrae”; To the god, the invincible sun Mithras; further reinforce this identity. Mithraic art also portrays Mithras emerging from a cosmic egg or orb, again visually linking him to the solar sphere as a place of dwelling.

How can the host possibly contain the essence of Christ when the very priests who claim to call Him down from eternity itself do so while breaking God’s law? They openly violate the Fourth Commandment, trampling His eternal covenant by exalting Sunday — a pagan sun-day — in place of the true Sabbath, which Christ Himself declared He is Lord of (Matthew 12:8). To invoke Christ into a sun disk while rejecting His own commandments is pure lawlessness — a counterfeit worship that mocks the very holiness it pretends to honour.

This pagan notion stands in stark contrast to the nature of Jesus Christ, who is the eternal Logos, existing outside of created time and space. Christ is uncreated light (John 1:9), not a finite celestial body. Yet in the Roman Catholic Mass, the wafer; a sun disc-shaped host; is displayed inside a blazing sunburst monstrance, and the faithful are taught that this object contains the very essence of Christ. But how can this be reconciled with biblical truth? Christ is not, and never was, the sun orb or any material representation of it. To place Him symbolically inside a solar disk is to subtly return to the ancient theology of Mithras; a god who lived within the sun; and thereby reduce the transcendent Christ to a creaturely symbol. This is why the imagery of the monstrance is so troubling: it does not merely echo pagan art; it implies a false cosmology, one that binds the eternal Son of God to the visible created order. As Scripture reminds us, “the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands” (Acts 7:48), nor in man-made disks of bread.

The shift from Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday worship offers a second example of solar influence. In AD 321, the emperor Constantine, a devotee of Sol Invictus before his conversion, issued the first imperial Sunday law, commanding: “On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest…” The very language of the edict reflects its pagan origins: Constantine called it “the day of the Sun,” not the Lord’s Day. Over time, the Church embraced this shift, codifying it at the Council of Laodicea in AD 364. Even in modern times, Catholic leaders have acknowledged this change as a mark of ecclesiastical authority: “Sunday is our mark of authority... the Church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact” (Catholic Record, 1923).

Nonsense! No mere mortal holds the slightest authority to alter God’s eternal covenant, let alone to break the Fourth Commandment and replace it with the veneration of a sun god. No apostle was ever granted the power to abolish the Sabbath; nor would a true servant of God ever desire to! Anyone who loves the God of Scripture delights to obey His commands out of love. So what does it say of those who not only trample His eternal Sabbath, but also manipulate the calendar itself — erasing ten days from time with Inter Gravissimas to ensure that sun-god worship remains fixed to the spring equinox, while bearing the coat of arms of a winged dragon? Do they take Catholics for complete fools; or have they, through sorcery, blinded the minds of millions to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ?

The coat of arms of Pope Gregory XIII brazenly features a winged dragon — an unmistakable symbol of the serpent, the ancient enemy of God.

Among certain Protestant and Adventist interpreters, this enforced observance of Sunday; a tradition rooted in sun cult homage; is viewed as a potential candidate for the “Mark of the Beast” described in Revelation 14:7-9. Though Catholics today claim that Sunday honours Christ’s resurrection, this has already been historically disproven (as shown in my previous post https://www.rebuildspirit.com/post/sunday-worship-is-lawlessness-honouring-man-over-god) The undeniable fact remains: this so-called “sacred day” was deliberately aligned with sun worship under the decree of a syncretizing emperor; a blatant outworking of Mystery Babylon, where truth is corrupted and merged with the traditions of paganism.

This is NOT Christian

The practice of ritual baptism and marking the forehead also reveals disturbing parallels. Within Mithraic initiation, new adherents underwent ritual purification through ablution; a ceremonial bath, as noted by Tertullian. At the culmination of their initiation, these converts were marked on the forehead ; a practice Tertullian called a diabolical mimicry of Christian anointing with oil (chrism) upon the forehead. Scholars suggest that the Mithraic mark may have taken the shape of an “M” or a small cross. Strikingly, in the Roman Catholic Church today, the faithful are likewise marked on the forehead; in Confirmation (anointed with oil), on Ash Wednesday (marked with a cross of ashes), and in various liturgical blessings. This mark is presented as the “seal of God,” yet Revelation 13 and 14 warn of a false mark on the forehead that will be imposed by the Beast in a counterfeit of God’s true seal. The fact that the concept of a forehead mark pre-existed in pagan mysteries raises legitimate questions: could the widespread Christian practice of the forehead cross have roots in these very traditions?

Adding weight to this concern is the historical use of the Tau cross (T); the “mystic Tau”; as a sign upon the foreheads of Babylonian initiates. Alexander Hislop documents that the letter T (initial of Tammuz) was marked on Chaldean believers as “the sign of life” and was called the Tau. Moreover, Ezekiel 9:4 references an invisible divine marking on the righteous, using the Hebrew word tav, which in Paleo-Hebrew was shaped like a cross (†). The convergence of these elements suggests that the Catholic use of the forehead cross may stem not from purely biblical precedent, but from an amalgamation of Scripture with pagan initiation practices; a classic example of Christian form masking pagan substance. The sobering reality is that Revelation’s “mark of the beast”; which many associate with papal traditions, mirrors this dynamic precisely, as Tertullian himself warned: Mithra’s mark was a counterfeit of the Christian seal.

Another profound parallel is found in the Eucharistic meal. Mithraism had its own sacred banquet, as noted by Justin Martyr around AD 150: “In the Mysteries of Mithras... bread and a cup of water are set before the initiate with certain prayers.” Justin viewed this as a demonic imitation of the Christian Eucharist. In Mithraic art, banquet scenes depict Mithras dining with Sol over the slain bull, representing a communion of flesh and wine.The Roman Catholic Mass similarly features a sacred meal of bread and wine, which; according to Catholic dogma; becomes the literal body and blood of Christ through transubstantiation, a mystical transformation. To any discerning observer, this mirrors the ancient mystery-cult practice of consuming the god to achieve union; a thoroughly pagan idea, not apostolic Christianity. Yet even worse, this blasphemous ritual is performed by priests who claim they have the power to “call Christ down” from heaven into the wafer. But the Apostle Paul expressly refutes such arrogance: “Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above)” (Romans 10:6, KJV). And again, Scripture is clear: “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21, KJV). Christ remains in heaven at the right hand of the Father until His appointed return; no priest can summon Him into a wafer through incantations. Yet what is the Roman Catholic Church; breakers of God’s covenant, doing by claiming to perform this very act, while walking in open disobedience to God’s Fourth Commandment? “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, KJV); and that is Saturday, not Sunday. How can they presume to call down Christ while trampling His Father’s law underfoot?

Such a practice is spiritual fraud; a counterfeit worship that dishonours both the Son and the Father. Do they even worship the true God of the Bible at all? Or, like the Gnostics; whose doctrines were seeded by none other than Simon Magus, the sorcerer condemned in Acts ;do they secretly regard the God of the Old Testament as the “demiurge,” an evil god to be overthrown? Such a perverse worldview would certainly help explain the abominations the Church has been complicit in: from centuries of antisemitism, to aiding and abetting Nazis after World War II, to turning a blind eye during the Holocaust itself. It would also shed light on Nazi affinity with the very symbols of darkness: the sun runes used by Heinrich Himmler, the sun sigils of the SS, and perhaps the SFS symbol found on an ancient Roman Catholic monstrance; as previously discussed. These are not the marks of a Church serving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but signs of an apostate system, trafficking in Mystery Babylon’s sorceries. (see my previous post https://www.rebuildspirit.com/post/the-mysterious-sfs-on-the-monstrance).

Notably, the very term “host” comes from the Latin hostia, meaning sacrificial victim; an offering sacrificed to the gods, to appease them or secure favour. In Catholic theology, Christ is repeatedly offered as a victim during each Mass; a doctrine that blatantly contradicts the clear teaching of Hebrews 10:10-14, which declares that Christ’s sacrifice was once for all. But one must ask: as the faithful consume this sun-shaped disk, believing it to hold the essence of Christ, are they themselves becoming the true sacrificial victims in this rite? Are they being spiritually offered up; not to the true God of Scripture; but to a sun god, for the benefit of the "Holy" Roman Empire's earthly wealth and power?

Scripture solemnly warns that Babylon; the Beast system; trafficks in the souls of men (Revelation 18:13). Even the Apostle Peter exposed this deception: “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you” (2 Peter 2:3, KJV). And what did our Lord Jesus Himself say? “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21, KJV). God’s people belong to Him alone; they are not to be bartered, manipulated, or consumed in pagan rites. Indeed, the parallel is striking: much like Moses was commanded to say to Pharaoh; that self-deified sun king of Egypt; “Let My people go” (Exodus 5:1), so too must the true Gospel now cry out to the captives of this modern Babylonian system: Come out of her, My people! (Revelation 18:4). In 1 Corinthians 10:20-21, Paul draws a sharp boundary: “The things Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons… you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” Yet the parallels between Mithraic communion and the Catholic Eucharist are so pronounced that early Christians insisted Mithraism had copied them. Modern historians suggest that Mithraic influence may have shaped Catholic Eucharistic theology itself; an unsettling possibility. At minimum, as Christianity became the state religion, it absorbed and sanitized many pagan ritual forms to ease conversion; thereby fulfilling Revelation’s vision of the woman (church) intoxicating the nations with the wine of her adulteries (Revelation 17:2-5).

The hierarchical structure of Mithraism also casts a long shadow over Catholic ecclesiology. The cult was organized into seven grades of initiation: Corax (Raven), Nymphus (Bridegroom), Miles (Soldier), Leo (Lion), Perses, Heliodromus, and Pater (Father). The highest rank, Pater, meaning “Father,” was the title reserved for the head of each Mithraic congregation. It is remarkable; and perhaps not coincidental, that “Father” (papa, from which pope derives) eventually became the supreme title of the Bishop of Rome. While “father” in a spiritual sense is biblical (1 Corinthians 4:15), Jesus explicitly warned against the use of religious honourifics: “Call no man father [as a spiritual title]” (Matthew 23:9).

Once again, they trample Christ’s clear command — a revealing display of how little they truly love Him.

The earliest Church did not employ “pope” in its modern sense. By the fourth century, however, Roman bishops had begun adopting high titles, mirroring the Pontifex Maximus, the chief pagan priest. It is well documented that the College of Pontiffs; Rome’s pagan priesthood; was eventually absorbed into the Christian clergy. The imperial title Pontifex Maximus, once held by Roman emperors, became associated with the papacy and is still found inscribed on papal monuments (PONT MAX). Thus, the organizational structure of Catholicism; a supreme High Priest in Rome presiding over various clerical ranks; parallels not only the Old Testament Levitical system but also the hierarchy of ancient mystery cults, wherein an Arch-hierophant or “Father” governed lower initiates. The Mithraic Pater Patrum;“Father of Fathers” ; bears striking resemblance to the modern papal titles “Holy Father” and “Servant of Servants”. The integration of pagan structures deepened when Constantine and subsequent emperors granted the Church both civil authority and access to pagan temples. Many Mithraea; underground sanctuaries of the cult, were converted into Christian chapels, their altars re-consecrated but their architectural symbolism left largely intact. Thus, the Church quite literally repurposed pagan sacred space for Christian use, an undeniable sign of religious syncretism.

Even the prominent use of lion symbolism in the Church reflects possible Mithraic influence. Among the Mithraic grades, the fourth level was Leo (Lion), with initiates donning lion-emblazoned garments and associating with the element of fire. Mithraic reliefs often depict a lion-headed figure ; the god of eternal time entwined with a serpent, or Mithras emerging from stone accompanied by a lion. The lion was likewise an important symbol in Babylonian and Persian iconography. In Scripture, Christ is the Lion of Judah, but the lion also represents Satan (1 Peter 5:8) and worldly empires (Daniel 7:4). The Vatican’s heraldry has, at times, included lions supporting the papal arms, and many Catholic cathedrals feature lion statues, often interpreted as symbols of Judah or St. Mark. However, considering Mithraism’s widespread popularity among Roman soldiers; who converted to Christianity in great numbers, it is likely that the lion motif entered church art through familiar cultural channels rather than direct biblical inspiration. The ritual “Lion’s Paw” grip in Freemasonry; a secret handshake invoking lion strength to symbolically raise a candidate from death; resonates with Mithraic themes. Just as Christ raised the dead by taking them by the hand, Masons imitate this with the “Lion’s Paw” grip to raise Hiram Abiff in Masonic legend. The recurrence of this potent lion symbol across such disparate systems suggests a common pagan root, deeply embedded in religious consciousness long before it was adapted to Christian or Masonic settings.

In sum, Mithraism’s impact on Roman Christianity seems undeniable when one aligns the parallels: a Sun-day holy day, a December 25 festival, a sacred meal of bread and wine, purifying baths and forehead marks, a hierarchical priesthood with a “Father” and even similar iconography (lions, keys, halos). The Church in adopting these forms may have rationalized it as “spoiling the Egyptians” (taking what was pagan and giving it new meaning for Christ), but critics argue it was more often a capitulation to popular pagan religion – essentially baptizing Mithraism into Christianity.

Ezekiel 23:8 (KJV):"Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her."

And again:

Ezekiel 23:19-21 (KJV):"Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.""For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.""Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth."

Theologically, this compromises the purity of apostolic teaching. The New Testament emphasizes preaching of the Word and inner spirituality over ritual, yet by the fourth century the liturgy in Rome had become a sacramental drama in ornate Mithraic-style chapels, filled with candles, incense, choirs – elements common in temple cults of Isis, Mithras, and others. It’s no wonder that in 1882 Ernest Renan quipped: “If Christianity had been arrested in its growth by some deadly malady, the world would have been Mithraic”. In truth, Christianity did not die – but in prevailing, it absorbed its rival. The result was what many Protestant reformers later dubbed “popery – a blend of Christ and pagan superstitions”. The Book of Revelation’s vision of a harlot dressed in purple and scarlet (the colours of Roman bishops and cardinals) with a golden cup in her hand full of abominations (a likely allusion to the chalice of the Mass filled with what some radicals called “the wine of Babylon”) seems to eerily fit the Roman Church that emerged. The Church itself even preserved the memory of Rome = Babylon: in 1 Peter 5:13, Peter cryptically says “She who is in Babylon... greets you”, which many commentators agree was a code for Rome. Thus, from the vantage of a Christian exposé, Rome indeed became “Mystery Babylon” by blending the worship of the True God with the time-honored worship of the sun and stars.

The Cross, the Ankh, and the Serpent Symbolism

No symbol is more central to Christianity than the Cross; yet historical evidence shows that the cross was also a prominent pagan emblem long before the time of Christ. The form of the cross, whether shaped as †, T, or ☥, appears in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and Europe, often imbued with mystical meaning. In fact, the earliest Christians were hesitant to use the cross as a public symbol, not only due to the shame associated with crucifixion, but because Scripture does not assign any inherent spiritual power to the physical form of the cross itself. It was only after the time of Constantine that the cross became a dominant icon of the institutional Church. This naturally raises a crucial question: did the cross symbol truly come from apostolic tradition, or was it absorbed through pagan syncretism?

the ankh is a solar cross — used by sun-worshipping cults — and later adopted by compromised strands of early Christianity

Consider the Egyptian ankh (☥), or crux ansata — a cross with a looped top, which was the Egyptian hieroglyph for “life.” Gods such as Ra or Isis are frequently depicted holding the ankh, bestowing eternal life upon pharaohs. The ankh resembles a human figure or a cross topped by a sun-like circle, representing eternity or the solar deity itself. By the fourth century, Egyptian Christians (Copts) had adopted an ankh-like shape as a variant Christian cross, known as the Ansate cross, now said to symbolize eternal life through Christ. But this was a direct appropriation from the old pagan religion, a deliberate replacement of one meaning with another. The reality is that the ankh predates the Christian cross by thousands of years. Elsewhere, simple cross forms; whether T or X (ironically, formerly known as Twitter), served as ancient sun symbols or amulets. For example, the swastika or fylfot, a form of rotating cross, represented the revolving sun and cosmic force in many ancient pagan cultures. The Celtic cross; a cross set within a circle; is an obvious fusion of Christian and solar symbolism, most likely intended to ease the conversion of Celtic sun-worshippers.

The Tau cross, or T-shaped cross, also has deep pagan roots. The letter T was sacred in Chaldea as the initial of Tammuz, the Babylonian dying and rising sun god. Alexander Hislop writes, “That which is now called the Christian cross was originally no Christian emblem at all, but was the mystic Tau of the Chaldeans and Egyptians — the true original form of the letter T — the initial of Tammuz.” This mystic Tau was marked upon the foreheads of pagan initiates and worn as a talisman of life. Kings likewise bore the Tau on garments or as scepters, claiming divine authority. It is no small coincidence that Christians eventually came to venerate the same sign, calling it the Cross of Christ. By the sixth century, we have clear records of believers routinely making the “sign of the cross” on their bodies and of decorative crosses filling church buildings; practices entirely unknown in the first three centuries of the faith. When Paul declares in Galatians 6:14 that he glories in the “cross of Christ,” he was speaking of the sacrificial death of Jesus, not an object or a mystical symbol. The Romans began using a crossbeam (patibulum) in their human sacrifices/crucifixions.

The widespread adoption of the cross and the sign of the cross arose alongside the mass conversion of pagans under Constantine’s rule. As Hislop notes, when these unconverted multitudes entered the Church, they were accustomed to the mystic Tau as a sign of life; and they simply continued its use, now under the label of the “Cross of Christ.” It is a sobering reality: the veneration of the cross, far from being purely biblical, is in large part a baptized relic of Babylonian idolatry.

The serpent is another example of compromised symbolism. In Scripture, the serpent is both a symbol of evil (as the devil in Eden) and a type of salvation (the bronze serpent Moses lifted in the wilderness, foreshadowing Christ — John 3:14). Pagan religions, however, frequently revered the serpent in its own right. The Druids, as already noted, venerated the serpent as a sacred emblem of their sun god Hu, often displayed in cruciform shape. The serpent, particularly in the form of the adder (Vipera berus), the only venomous snake native to Britain, featured prominently in Celtic and Druidic symbolism. The adder was revered as a powerful emblem of wisdom, rebirth, and hidden knowledge — themes that align closely with sun cult initiation rites. In Celtic mythology and Druidic lore, serpents embodied the power of the earth, the cyclical nature of life, and the unseen cosmic forces that governed the natural world.

Adderbury Church" — named for the adder, sacred to the Druids who worshipped the serpent, the sun, and the Morning Star (Lucifer). Venus — the "light-bearer" — draws a pentagram in the heavens every 8 years, a symbol of both occult Venus-worship and Satan himself. And yet a so-called 'Christian' church bears this name? Mystery Babylon in plain sight.

In Mithraic and other mystery cults, the serpent symbolized eternity or hidden wisdom; often depicted coiled around a lion-headed figure in Mithraic art. This brings us to the modern Vatican. The Paul VI Audience Hall is an architectural monstrosity, unmistakably shaped like a giant serpent’s head, complete with window “eyes” and a central aisle forming the tongue.

Behind the stage is an enormous bronze sculpture, “Christ Rising from Nuclear Chaos,” whose grotesque, writhing forms bear an eerie resemblance to a serpent’s fangs or a demonic mouth. The Vatican denies any intention of serpent imagery, yet the resemblance is so uncanny that it continues to provoke speculation of serpent-worship within the Church’s upper ranks.

But Revelation 12:9 is clear: “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” In any faithfulness to Scripture, the serpent ought to be a warning, not an object of reverence. Yet just as ancient paganism blended good and evil symbols indiscriminately, we now find the same ambiguous mixture in the trappings of compromised Christianity.

Bishop Vladimir Sokolovsky holding a bishop’s staff adorned with two serpents flanking a small cross at its summit.

Additionally, consider the Papal crosier (staff): in the late 20th century, Popes began using a modern crucifix staff where Christ’s corpus is bent in a contorted, almost broken form. Some critics likened this to the “Bent Cross” used by satanists; an icon allegedly brought into the Church under Pope Paul VI. While that might be speculation, it’s true that the straight, imperial cross staff was replaced by this jagged one. Could this reflect an infiltration of occult art? Or a concession to modern expression? Either way, it departs from traditional imagery, and its bent form recalls a serpent on a pole.

This cross-fetish was precisely what early Protestants condemned as idolatry: worship directed to a symbol rather than to God. They pointed out that if anything, the New Testament emphasizes the “message of the cross” (1 Cor 1:18) not the icon itself. The mixing of the cross symbol; which had magical significance in paganism; with Christian faith thus exemplifies the kind of esoteric infiltration we are examining. It’s noteworthy that the Rosicrucians (a secret society whose name means “Rosy Cross”) claimed to possess ancient wisdom blending Christianity with occult, using the rose cross symbol as their sigil. Similarly, Freemasonry incorporates the cross in some high-degree symbols (often along with a crown or other elements), linking back to those mystery teachings.

In conclusion of this section, the evolution of the cross symbol – from ankh, Tau, swastika, to the myriad crosses (Latin cross, Greek cross, Celtic cross, etc.) – shows a perennial symbol that pre-dates Christianity and extends far beyond it. The biblical term stauros reminds us that the original focus was on Christ’s sacrificial death, not on the geometrical shape of the gibbet. The post-biblical exaltation of the cross’s form and use as a ritual sign (forehead crosses, signings, idols) can be viewed as an assimilation of pagan symbology under a Christian pretext. The tragedy, from a theological perspective, is that what was “a cursed tree” (Galatians 3:13) became adorned and adored as a divine charm – a process indistinguishable from how pagans treat their amulets and idols. Hosea 4:12 rebuked Israel for “consulting a wooden idol”, and ironically medieval Catholics did exactly that with their veneration of the wooden cross.

Doctrinal Parallels and “Mystery Babylon” Personified

Beyond symbols and rituals, core doctrines and claims of the Roman Catholic Church have analogues in earlier pagan or Gnostic systems. It is as if the “Mystery Babylon” religion – a term used to describe an occult spiritual counterfeit spanning ages (Revelation 17:5) – poured its wine into the golden chalice of Roman Christendom. We will explore a few key areas: the veneration of a Divine Feminine (Mother and Child), the concept of purgatory and the afterlife, the idea of sacred priestly power and succession, and the phenomenon of secret knowledge orders (e.g., Gnosticism, Freemasonry) intersecting with the Church. Each shows the pattern of parallel and infiltration:

Marian veneration within the Catholic Church bears striking parallels to ancient mother-goddess worship. The Church’s exalted view of Mary; expressed through titles such as Queen of Heaven, Mother of God, Immaculate, Co-Mediatrix, and Assumed into Heaven; unmistakably mirrors the structure of earlier goddess cults. In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah condemns the Israelites for burning incense and baking cakes to the "Queen of Heaven," likely a reference to Ishtar or Astarte (aka Isis). Yet today, countless Catholics process with candles and cakes on Marian feast days, in similar ritualistic fashion, albeit dedicated to "Mary". The parallels are undeniable: Isis with Horus, Ishtar with Tammuz, Cybele with Attis, Shing Moo; the Chinese "Holy Mother" with child; all prefigure the imagery of Mary with the infant Jesus. At the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, held in a city formerly devoted to Artemis, the Church officially declared Mary Theotokos; God-bearer; thereby elevating her to near-divine status. This move served to satisfy the spiritual yearnings of pagan converts who longed for the familiar presence of a nurturing mother-deity. In practice, especially in Catholic countries, Mary is often functionally worshipped, despite the Church’s claim of offering her only “hyperdulia,” a special form of veneration allegedly distinct from worship due to God alone. Writers like Alexander Hislop long ago observed that both Mary and Isis are called "Queen of Heaven," and both are linked to a divine son who dies and rises; whether Horus or Jesus. The conversion of Rome’s Pantheon, once dedicated to Cybele and the pantheon of gods, into a Marian church is another stark example. Even the calculation of Easter remains tied to the spring equinox and coincides with pagan fertility festivals; the reason we still see symbols such as eggs and rabbits, which hark back to Eostre or Astart (Isis). In this light, the Marian cultus is the channel through which goddess worship flowed back into Christianity; a defining characteristic of Mystery Babylon, "the Mother of Harlots" (Revelation 17:5), which points to mother-goddess cults and their proliferating offshoots. Theologically, this usurps the sole mediatorship of Christ (1 Timothy 2:5), yet millions of Catholics routinely petition Mary as Advocata and Mediatrix, reviving the ancient role of Ishtar or Asherah; leading people to rely on a nurturing female figure rather than directly trusting in God.

The doctrine of Purgatory provides another clear case of pagan syncretism. Officially, Catholicism teaches that Purgatory is a postmortem state of purification by fire for souls destined for heaven, yet such a concept has no explicit basis in the canon of Scripture. The Druids, as noted earlier, believed in a kind of pleasant Purgatory; an Otherworld where souls rested. In Platonic philosophy, souls underwent penance after death and were reincarnated; not quite Purgatory, but still a posthumous purification. The Egyptians envisioned a Netherworld where the soul faced trials and cleansing before uniting with Ra ( the sun god) Later, some Jewish sects (as referenced in 2 Maccabees 12:45) prayed for the dead; a text the Catholic Church uses to justify prayers for souls, although the practice likely arose under Hellenistic influence. Gregory the Great, in the sixth century, formalized the doctrine of Purgatory, precisely at a time when Germanic pagans, with their own afterlife beliefs, were flooding into the Church; a move that conveniently merged pagan notions with Christian teaching. Yet Gregory’s distortions did not stop there. In the same period, he slandered Mary Magdalene, falsely branding her a prostitute, despite the fact that Scripture nowhere states this. This calculated smear served to diminish her true apostolic witness. For Mary Magdalene had uniquely seen Christ’s ministry, His death, and His resurrection; fulfilling the very criteria of a true apostle. Indeed, she was the first to see the risen Christ (John 20:14–18) and was commanded to announce His resurrection to the others; something no Roman bishop could ever claim. By branding her as a fallen woman, Gregory effectively marginalized the apostolic succession of Mary, securing instead a male-dominated priesthood modeled after pagan hierarchies rather than the true witness of the Gospel.

The ancient Romans also prayed and offered sacrifices for the dead at festivals such as Parentalia, practices that survive today in Catholic All Souls’ Day and Requiem Masses. By the medieval period, Purgatory had been vividly described as a fiery underworld; functionally indistinguishable from pagan underworlds except for its temporary nature. One could argue that the Catholic Church simply met the psychological needs once filled by mystery cults and esoteric groups, offering secret knowledge about the afterlife and ways to assist the departed. Yet biblically, this doctrine remains dubious. Hebrews 9:27 states plainly: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Still, Catholic folk practices for souls; candles, Masses, pilgrimages; strongly resemble pagan rites for appeasing the dead.

Conclusion

In undertaking this deep investigation, we have seen how sun worship and mystery cults left an indelible imprint on the visible Church centered in Rome. From Druidic groves to Mithraic caves, from the banks of the Nile (Egypt’s ankh and Isis) to the seven hills of Rome, the symbols and rites of paganism found new life in Catholic Christianity. The Druids’ veneration of nature and sun resonates in the Church’s use of sacred evergreen at Christmas and the timing of feasts by solstices and equinoxes. The Mithraic lion, handshake, and Sunday found echoes in Christian liturgy and custom. The Babylonian Tau cross became the revered emblem of salvation. The Queen of Heaven worship, once abhorred by prophets, resurfaced in the elevation of Mary. And the very title “Pontifex Maximus” and regalia of Rome’s Caesar-priests passed to the Popes, who sat on a throne decorated with pagan scenes of Hercules and held a sun-god monstrance for the masses to adore.

What emerges is a portrait of a Church that, like King Saul, started humble but later consulted witches of Endor; like Solomon, endowed with wisdom yet later building high places for foreign gods. It presents itself as the continuation of the apostolic community, but carries much baggage from pre-Christian mystery religions. Truly, it fits the enigma of “MYSTERY” – a mixture so perplexing that John in Revelation 17:6 marveled with great astonishment when he saw the harlot.

For devout Christians seeking purity of worship, this study is a call to discernment and reformation. It is not about attacking individuals – many Catholics love Jesus in the knowledge they have – but about recognizing the “leaven of syncretism” that can corrupt the Gospel. The Apostle Paul’s charge to “come out from among them and be separate, and do not touch what is unclean” (2 Cor 6:17) rings as relevant as ever. It may mean spiritually separating from practices with pagan origin and clinging to biblical simplicity. Jesus Christ is sufficient; we do not need the solar cookies, the magic beads, the mother goddesses, or the secret societies to mediate Him to us. In fact, such additions obscure His glory and violate His call for worship (Exodus 34:14).

In the end, the Scripture and the Holy Spirit must guide the believer (not a self deified mortal). “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). Much of the syncretistic doctrine examined cannot stand up to the light of God’s Word. The plea is for the Catholic Church (and all churches) to cast off the relics of sun worship, mystery ritual, and human tradition, and return to apostolic Christianity – the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) – bereft of idols, mediated only by Christ, rooted in Scripture, and empowered by the Spirit, not by occult charms. Until that happens, those seeking truth must heed the voice from heaven: “Come out of her, My people” (Rev 18:4), lest we partake in her sins and in the judgments that surely will befall the great harlot when the Lord finally says “Enough!” and Babylon the Great is fallen.

Sources:

• Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War, describing Druid beliefs

• Ammianus Marcellinus on Druidic philosophy

• Sacred-Texts: Irish Druids (19th c. analysis of Druid belief)

• Universal Co-Masonry article on ancient mysteries (quoting Albert Pike and others on Druids and Hu)

• Albert Mackey, The Symbolism of Freemasonry – phallic sun-worship symbols in Masonry

• Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) on Monstrance design as sun-rays

• BibleLight exposé “Pagan Sun Worship and Catholicism – Monstrance” (with comparisons to Isis)

• Wikipedia: Mithraism (noting forehead mark ritual per Tertullian, and Dec 25 Natalis Invicti festival)

• Justin Martyr’s First Apology (chap. 66-67) contrasting Mithraic meals with Eucharist

• Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (1858), Chapter V, on the sign of the cross as Tau of Tammuz

• Roger Pearse’s Mithras site: description of lion-headed statue with wings and keys

• Nimrod – The Chair of St. Peter (Biblepaedia) citing Catholic Encyclopedia about Hercules carvings on Peter’s chair

• Scott Yonker, “Simon Magus and the Origins of the Catholic Church” (2017) – on Simon’s blend into Papal legacy

• Church of God writer I.A. Sadler, Mystery Babylon the Great (via academia.edu excerpt) – on Simon Magus as proto-Gnostic leader

• MinistryMagazine (Nov. 1948) “Pagan Sunday Observance” – quoting Constantine’s 321 Edict “venerable day of the sun”

• Wikipedia: Large Binocular Telescope – LUCI (formerly LUCIFER) instrument.