The Joshua Memorandum

In the Prologue of The Joshua Memorandum, Roman Emperor Constantine receives a missive from his mother, Helena Augusta, who has been doing excavations in Palestine. She requests his assistance in correctly translating an Aramaic scroll she has recently discovered there-a scroll with revelations which could prove troublesome to her new-found Christian faith. Constantine is going to grant his Noble Mother's request; but upon reflecting on what she has already sent him regarding the contents of that scroll, he decides to also use those contents as a bargaining chip with the Christian bishops who are about to hold their First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in the year 325.Sixteen centuries later, John Boyer, a graduate major in history at UC Berkeley, attends a year-end party at Professor Vernon's house, and for the first time in many years, he wears a most unusual ring he has had in his possession since he was young. Vernon is fascinated with it, especially with the engraved symbols on it. Later, when John is at home and alone, he reflects on that ring. We learn that when he was seven years old, he was an orphan living with his grandparents in a small village on the island of Samos, Greece, and had recently been adopted by his paternal uncle who lived in California. Shortly before immigrating to America, young Yannis and his cousin found a metal box in an abandoned monastery near their village. The box contained three old scrolls, on one of which was attached the ring. They kept the ring and turned the scrolls over to their grandfather who, after consulting with the village priest, had them hidden. What John does not know is that Professor Vernon's fascination with his ring and the further research he does on it, together with two other totally independent events that take place during that summer, will lead to the discovery of the scrolls and the eventual disclosure of their contents. From the Monastery of St. John in Patmos, Greece; to John's home villag