A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
On Friday, over a hundred people watched on as 10 devotees were nailed to wooden crosses, among them Ruben Enaje, a 63-year-old carpenter and sign painter. The real-life crucifixions have become an annual religious spectacle that draws tourists in three rural communities in Pampanga province, north of Manila.
The gory ritual resumed last year after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has turned Enaje into a village celebrity for his role as the “Christ” in the Lenten reenactment of the Way of the Cross.
Ahead of the crucifixions, Enaje told The Associated Press by telephone Thursday night that he has considered ending his annual religious penitence due to his age, but said he could not turn down requests from villagers for him to pray for sick relatives and all other kinds of maladies.
This is an act of religious devotion, not an execution; for his ends he’s doing it just fine.
Crucifixion killed by asphyxiation when the pinned prisoner could no longer support their own diaphragm. They didn’t survive long enough to starve.
Thank you for your clarification. Can you please provide me resources where I can read up more on the details of Roman crucifixion in regards to it being used as a form of criminal punishment used by law enforcement?
I could, but as I would have to look it up myself first I don’t want to.
Half a Denarius says @PugJesus would have some ideas thereabout; Rome seems to be a special interest about which PJ enjoys infodumping.
That or there’s always Wikipedia.
CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY CRUCIFY CRUCIFY CRUCIFY
@FfarieOxide is correct, crucified prisoners typically died long before starving. You might enjoy this for some detail on attitudes and details of the punishment. Some religious commentary included, YMMV on that.
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