Father Pellegrino Maria Ernetti (1925-1994) was a Benedictine priest, scientist, and world-class authority on "archaic" music (pre-Christian to 10th century A.D.). He claimed to have yoked quantum physics to the occult arts to construct a time-machine-- the chronovisor. Father Ernetti said he had traveled to Rome in 169 B.C. to witness a performance of the now-lost tragedy, Thyestes, by the father of Latin poetry, Quintus Ennius. He claimed to have used the chronovisor to watch Christ dying on the cross. Why would so distinguished a churchman have felt the need to confabulate such a story? Is the Vatican suppressing the full truth of Father Ernetti’s life and achievements? The reader may find the answer in this book.

Father Ernetti's Chronovisor has been translated into ten languages, including, in May 2004, a Portuguese-language version entitled Cronovisor do Padre Ernetti: A Criaçao e o Desaparecimento da Primeira Maquina do Tempo.  For details,  click here.   New Paradigm Books Director John Chambers was interviewed on the subject of  Father Ernetti's Chronovisor  on July 5, 2002 on THE  ART BELL SHOW (now the George Noory  COAST TO COAST AM Show).
 

Reviews in Full

"Certainly a Cult Classic in the Making. Fortean Rating: 4 out of 4 Stars. 
Jeremy of Hampstead, Fiona of Bloomsbury, beware. European-style intellectual novels are making a comeback with a New Age touch. There are now no excuses for being a pre-industrial writer any more. Father Ernetti's Chronovisor is a beautifully written literary-cum-fictional experiment, in the Umberto Eco tradition. The book could have been a candidate for a review by Arthur Koestler in the long-defunct CIA-sponsored Encounter magazine. It could well represent a growing anti-pop movement in that genre which is now called "pan-dimensional." This style, while not "stream-of-consciousness" or collage, nevertheless juxtaposes many elements: an esoteric story, essays on occultism, historical elements and technological myths--just about everything that FT readers are interested in. Father Ernetti was an Italian Benedictine monk who died in the middle years of this [the 20th] century. He lived in the lovely abbey on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, just off the main island of Venice, and as a scientist and musicologist, he was an authority on archaic music. Using his knowledge of the physics of chordal structures, he claimed to have made a time-machine. This was based on a new principle he had uncovered, involving musical frequencies, harmonic resonance and the relationship of these things with the astral plane. By means of this machine, Father Ernetti said that he witnessed Christ dying on the Cross. To prove that he could do such a thing, he brought back a fragment from Thyestes, a play of Quintus Ennius (239-169 B.C.). This new material, though it fitted perfectly Ennius's play, caused great controversy within the church, as of course did Father Ernetti's claimed visions of the life of Christ. How did the obviously sincere Father Ernetti construct his machine? To try and answer that question, we are treated to a fascinating investigation threading through Edison, Edgar Cayce, Mesmer, and even Whitley Strieber!" - Colin Bennett, The Fortean Times, July, 2000

"...has garnered huge critical acclaim....A riveting read.  Subtitled, "The Creation and Disappearance of the World's First Time Machine," this book tells the story of a little-known Benedictine monk, Father Pellegrino Maria Ernetti, who lived in Italy around the middle of the 20th century. Ernetti's claim to fame was his assertion that he had combined ancient occult knowledge with modern scientific discoveries to create a time machine, the Chronovisor. He then claimed to have used this machine to witness such historical events as the Crucifixion, and to "open a window" on ancient Greece and Rome. Peter Krassa's book is a well-researched account of Ernetti's life and work that has garnered huge critical acclaim. Originally published in Germany, the book now has a new English translation, but, at present, is only available in a U.S. edition. However, those willing to take the necessary pains to get hold of a copy are sure to be rewarded. The book dips into many of the areas that will be of interest to X Factor readers, from fringe science to the occult, and offers insights into the lives of many of the great figures within the world of 20th-century paranormal phenomena. Above all, however, this book is an intriguing account of one man's attempts to understand the secrets of the universe and his own place within it. A riveting read."   -X Factor (U.K.), early June, 2000, No. 91.

"Everything about the life of Father Pellegrino Ernetti suggests that this Italian Benedictine priest-scientist was a man of integrity and would not have created a hoax about his work on the chronovisor--a camera that allegedly could tune into the past or future and take pictures. Venice-based Father Ernetti (1925-1994) was an authority on archaic music, a scholar in Greek and Latin, a sought-after exorcist, a confidant of the influential, and an object of questioning by the Vatican and NASA. His work on the so-called chronovisor stemmed from his time at Father Gemelli's electroacoustical laboratory at the Catholic University in Milan from 1952. So writes Peter Krassa in his fascinating exposé of Ernetti's life and work, translated from German and now expanded with supporting documents--such as the translation of the lost Latin classic, Ennius's Thyestes, supposedly retrieved via the chronovisor. Krassa draws on commentaries from associates of Ernetti, some of them priest-parapsychologists who were excited that he may have found a way to tap the elusive akashic records. Apparently the chronovisor (if it ever existed) was dismantled, its capacity for misuse too great to justify continued experimentation. Fr Ernetti went very quiet in the last decade of his life (by choice or force?), but, in late 1993, he and two surviving scientists from the project presented their findings at the Vatican before four cardinals and a scientific committee. What transpired has not been divulged." - NEXUS New Times, Vol. 7, No. 5, Aug.-Sept., 2000:

"It seems that this past summer I made a grave error; I wish to amend it now. I was attracted to Father Ernetti’s Chronovisor as soon as it arrived at The New Times, but never quite understanding what the book was, I continued to pass on it for review. When I recently tackled it just to better know my draw to the thing, I found myself on a journey that I knew I must share. While The New Times works to review only the latest titles, this one (at just over half a year old) deserves a second look.

"Purporting to be a biography, the book is a great deal more. Yes, it is fascinating enough as a biography — it tells of a scientist/theologian who developed a machine to look into the past — but it is also much more. To set the context of Father Ernetti, to show how his chronovisor fit into the human quest for spirit, the author also offers fascinating accounts of others who have added so much to our spiritual understandings. The chronovisor, after all, purported to grasp both sounds and images from the still-existent waves of the past, held forever in the Akashic records.

"Mr. Krassa does not merely offer examples of what these are, but gives an entire background by telling us of the 18th-century birth of mesmerism and animal magnetism, which effects came from 'a "vital fluid" diffused everywhere throughout the universe.'  The author shows the spread of this belief in varied forms, and takes us through the lives of people like Madame Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner, and Edgar Cayce to explain where all of this went. He even tells of Thomas Edison’s apparatus to contact the dead!

"Enter Father Ernetti and his chronovisor. The father was widely known for his expertise in archaic music, and for his interest and talent in science and languages. When he began to speak of a machine built by scientists that allowed them to witness the past in 3D, you can bet that people took note. But with fascinating irregularities to the claims, people’s reactions widely varied. A huge reaction set in when Ernetti claimed to have photographed the crucified Christ — and when the photo was proven a fake. Ernetti was a man of good repute, and Mr. Krassa examines why an honest man would lie in this way, why he would withhold information on the supposed machine, and just what was really going on with the father.

"If I may reclassify the book, I’d call it investigative reporting of a fascinating mystery. And, it helps the reader understand better where we stand today by better seeing from where the spiritual movement has arisen. This is one of the most interesting accounts I have read, and I recommend it for those wanting to take an unusual reading trip."  - 

"Something about being able to travel to the past and perceive firsthand a bygone era or past event is extremely enticing, maybe because it seems so impossible. Author Peter Krassa uses this magic to produce a book which is simultaneously exciting and disappointing.  The nonfiction book begins like an adventure story. An Italian priest, Father Ernetti, stumbles upon the ability to communicate with the dead via standard audio recording equipment; as the plot unfolds he uses this knowledge to build the chronovisor, a machine that displays images from the past on a TV screen. This part of the book is well-written and suspenseful, with each chapter ending in a cliffhanger. Unfortunately, its similarities to fiction do not end there: Krassa fails to provide us with any real reason why we should accept this serial as truth. The only proof of the existence of the chronovisor he gives us is second-hand testimony from friends of the priest, who died in 1994. They say he told them of his fabulous machine; no testimony is given from anyone who actually saw it. This attempt to substantiate Ernetti’s claim does not hold up well against the hoaxes he was accused of perpetrating. The second half of the book, while not quite so spellbinding, may hold more interest for the discerning reader. In this section, Krassa gives detailed summaries of many key figures in the paranormal movement. These people’s lives, beliefs, discoveries and thoughts are truly fascinating, and inspire the reader to research these figures further. The purpose of this summary section is to lend historical credence to the possibility of a time machine, by discussing the nature of time, "etheric fluid," past attempts by individuals to time travel, and much more, and linking all these subjects together to "prove" how the time machine worked. Again, however, Krassa fails to convince, and the support for his story consists of leaps in logic and exercises in hypothesis. All in all, this book is very entertaining at first, and fascinating later on, but in the end I remain unconvinced of the reality of Father Ernetti’s chronovisor."  – Janet Brennan, Fate, November,  2000:

"In this unusual work, the author sets forth to describe Father Ernetti's creation of a time machine.  What is more unusual is that the Venetian priest managed to realize the contraption under the wing of the Roman Catholic Church.  Yet his machine afforded more than mere travel into the past and future, but rather embodied a kind of living metaphor for our time.  The Father's machine afforded a look at linearity, the Gregorian calendar, perhaps even Bishop Ussher's insistence that the world  was created on September 21, 4004 B.C., a belief still held by some even in this day of quantum non-locality.  The author describes other achronological curios such as Baird T. Spalding's Camera of Past Events, the Secret School of Whitley Strieber, as well as Edgar Cayce.  Also, information on Thomas Edison's device to contact the dead is described in this worthwhile volume."  -  Jaye C. Beldo, Dream Network, Vol. 19, No. 3. 

"For me what makes Father Ernetti's Chronovisor a treasure-trove of hard-to-find information is all the documentation on the Akashic Records it brings together for the first time, as well as the superb biographies of much-misunderstood yet seminal historical figures, such as Helena P. Blavatsky and Franz Mesmer. This fascinating book is a most welcome addition to my library." -  George Andrews, author of Extra-Terrestrials Among Us, Extra-Terrestrial Friends and Foes, and Pyramids and Palaces, Monsters and Mazes: The Golden Age of Mayan Architecture:

"Father Ernetti's Chronovisor is a brilliantly-researched, absorbing compendium of a current-times Benedictine monk's forays into specific events in the life of Christ and ancient Greece. Using his enigmatic invention--the chronovisor--scientist/scholar/exorcist Father Ernetti plumbs the depths and drives a cutting wedge into man's hidden past, our access to alleged akashic records, and the present-day relevance of those to such new and baffling paranormal techniques as electronic voice phenomena and transcommunications with television and computers. Peter Krassa illuminates his thesis with sparkling accounts of the life and achievements of such fellow time-travelers as Madame Blavatsky, Rudolph Steiner and Thomas A. Edison, and some others not quite so well-known, such as the controversial free energy inventor/genius(?) John Worrell Keely. Wow! Once you start reading Father Ernetti's Chronovisor, you won't put it down till you've finished. It is a first-rate, challenging mystery-thriller, not fiction but--whatever the true explanation behind it all is--the "real thing!" - Berthold E. Schwarz, M.D. (Psych.), author of Parent-Child Telepathy, UFO Dynamics, Psychiatric and Paranormal Aspects of UFOlogy, The Jacques Romano Story and many others:

"Is Father Ernetti's Chronovisor a flight of fancy or the real thing? The question has tantalized the scientific and religious communities for nearly 40 years, ever since the September day in 1952 when two Benedictine priests collaborating in a laboratory at the Roman Catholic University of Milan stumbled on its discovery. In a moment of frustration, Father Ernetti entreated his departed father for help with a problem, and was astounded to hear an answer from him through a recording device they were working on! This event led to the development of the Chronovisor, a time camera that can retrieve sound and sight images from space and project them on a screen. Father Ernetti eschews any connection with parapsychology or metaphysics, claiming instead that his machine is based on the scientific principle that light and sound waves are not lost after emission but are transformed and remain indefinitely in the ether. Without trying to explain the pertinent theories, suffice to say that the Chronovisor can recapture and reconstitute sound waves even from by-gone centuries--including a Roman tragedy that was performed in 169 B.C.! Ernetti is no visionary or magician, but a highly regarded scientist, an authority on prepolyphonic music, a professor, and the director of the Italian Secretariat of Religious Instruction of Man. As Krassa attempts to reconcile fact and fiction, his book will challenge your thinking--but we are reminded of Hamlet's observation: "There are more things on heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - P.S., The NAPRA Review, Vol. 11, No. 3, May-June, 2000:

"Time travel?  This book is based on the work of Father Pellegrino Ernetti, a well-respected Italian Benedictine priest, who claimed to have engineered a device to "view" the past called a "chronovisor."  First published in 1997 as Die Schichsal ist vorherbestimmt (Your Destiny is Foretold), by Peter Krassa, this edition has been expanded to include previously unreleased documents that have recently been made available to the American editors--the most intriguing of these being the long-lost Latin text of Quintus Ennius's play, Thyestes, which is reported to have been brought back through time by Father Ernetti. Reading this book is in itself an expedition in time travel.  We are introduced to leaders in the fields of occultism, spiritualism, alchemy and science, and we are taken to the beginnings of time and back again, in an exciting journey of possibility that gives more than enough credence to Father Ernetti's claims. This updated American edition leaves no stone unturned and is a comprehensive wealth of knowledge.  Each chapter is a story within this multifaceted work; both newcomers and serious students of occultism will be impressed by Peter Krassa's well researched and refreshingly unbiased study into time and space."  -  Kyles, Psychic Interactive, No. 4 (Australia): 

"A strange case!....The text of the play [Thyestes] is translated here, and there is genuine wonder why such an otherwise accomplished individual as Father Ernetti would have fabricated such a bizarre fantasy or hoax. A curious book, and a book for the curious." - Robert C. Girard, Arcturus Books Catalog, March, 2000:

"In the middle part of the twentieth century, Italian Benedictine monk Pellegrino Maria Ernetti claimed to have created a time machine he called the "chronovisor" through which he could see and hear events of the past including Christ dying on the cross and a performance of a now-lost tragedy, Thyestes, by the father of Latin Poetry, Quintus Ennius, in Rome in 169 B.C. Father Ernetti was a leading authority on archaic music and claimed to have combined the insights of modern physics with ancient occult knowledge of the astral planes to build his invention. After his death the chronovisor was nowhere to be found, leading his critics to proclaim this otherwise distinguished scientist-priest a fraud. This American edition of Peter Krassa's Father Ernetti's Chronovisor: The Creation and Disappearance of the World's First Time Machine includes the first translation from Latin to English of the text of Thyestes which Father Ernetti claimed to have recovered using the chronovisor. This and other newly-discovered documents contain astonishing revelations refuting the claims of fraud against the strange, tormented, brilliant Father Pellegrino Ernetti. Father Ernetti's Chronovisor is a highly recommended biographical study for students of metaphysics, religion, and science." - Midwest Book Review, April, 2000:

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