A strange series of seemingly linked news stories popped up recently about something called the Ark of Gabriel. It’s referred to as “Gabriel’s Instructions To Muhammad” and is mentioned in conjunction with mass deaths in Saudi Arabia, Russian military operations, secret bases in Antarctica and, most recently, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. What is the Ark of Gabriel and why is it suddenly in the news?

While substantiated references to the Ark of Gabriel seem to be non-existent, there are plenty of unsubstantiated tales about it. The most popular story is that the Archangel Gabriel – who many believe told Mary she would give birth to Jesus and dictated the Koran to the Prophet Muhammed – also gave an ark to Muhammed to bury at a place of worship where it would not be removed until the end of the world. It’s not the same as the Ark of the Covenant, which is mention in the Christian Bible and the Koran.

That place of worship was believed to be the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram Mosque) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where millions pilgrimage annually. The Grand Mosque was being expanded in 2015 when, on September 11th, a crane fell, killing 107 people, including a construction crew. One rumor was that the construction crew had discovered the Ark of Gabriel and was killed by a “plasma emission.” Less than two weeks later, on September 24th, an estimated 4,000 worshipers were killed in what was officially called a stampede and unofficially called another “plasma emission” linked to the Ark.

The story picks up in December 2015 when unconfirmed reports arose of the Russian naval research vessel Admiral Vladimisky arriving at the Saudi port city of Jeddah to pick up the Ark and take it to Antarctica for safekeeping, possibly in the secret Nazi UFO base there that apparently the Russian government knows the location of. Russian ships were indeed seen in the area at that time on “maneuvers” and the Vladimisky had visited the port, but reportedly for R&R and supply replenishment.

Fast forward to February 2016 when rumors of the Ark’s movement portending the end of the world reportedly prompted Pope Francis to meet with Patriarch Kirill, the first meeting of the heads of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches in almost 1,000 years. Parts of their meeting were secret but it was alleged that the Pope gave the Patriarch an “ancient secret manuscript” about the Ark of Gabriel.

Where did Patriarch Kirill go after meeting with Pope Francis? To Antarctica! It was there he was photographed walking with penguins but not photographed allegedly praying with the secret document over the Ark of Gabriel at the Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Church – the only church in Antarctica. The Ark and most likely the secret manuscript were then allegedly taken by Russian secret forces to an even more secret hideaway in Antarctica.

There are a lot of holes and unanswered questions in this seemingly linked series of events, starting with the unconfirmed history of the Ark of Gabriel and ending with why sworn enemies Russia and Saudi Arabia would be cooperating to protect a religious “secret weapon.”

Whether you believe any or all of it, it’s a story worthy of Dan Brown for those who love the smell of conspiracy in the morning.