![Shrine of Saint Lachtin's Arm NMI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Shrine_of_Saint_Lachtin%27s_Arm_NMI.jpg)
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of
veneration
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...
as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
,
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
,
shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
, and many other religions. ''Relic'' derives from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''reliquiae'', meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb ''relinquere'', to "leave behind, or abandon". A
reliquary
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
is a
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
that houses one or more religious relics.
In classical antiquity
![Hero cult Louvre CA308](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Hero_cult_Louvre_CA308.jpg)
In
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
or
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
might claim to possess, without necessarily displaying, the remains of a venerated
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
as a part of a
hero cult
Hero cults were one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. In Homeric Greek, "hero" (, ) refers to the mortal offspring of a human and a god. By the historical period, however, the word came to mean specifically a ''dead'' ma ...
. Other venerable objects associated with the hero were more likely to be on display in sanctuaries, such as spears, shields, or other weaponry;
chariots, ships or
figureheads; furniture such as chairs or
tripods
A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...
; and clothing. The sanctuary of the
Leucippides at
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
claimed to display the egg of
Leda
Leda may refer to:
Mythology
* Leda (mythology), queen of Sparta and mother of Helen of Troy in Greek mythology
Places
* Leda, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia
* Leda makeshift settlement, Bangladesh, a refugee camp ...
.
[Gunnel Ekroth, "Heroes and Hero-Cult", in ''A Companion to Greek Religion'' (Blackwell, 2010), pp. 110–111.]
The bones were not regarded as holding a particular power derived from the hero, with some exceptions, such as the divine shoulder of
Pelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus.
He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the O ...
held at
Olympia. Miracles and healing were not regularly attributed to them;
rather, their presence was meant to serve a
tutelary function, as the tomb of
Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
was said to protect
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
.
The bones of
Orestes
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...
and
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describe ...
were supposed to have been stolen or removed from their original resting place and reburied. On the advice of the
Delphic Oracle, the
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
ns searched for the bones of Orestes and brought them home, without which they had been told they could not expect victory in their war against the neighboring
Tegea
Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal un ...
ns.
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
says that the Athenians were likewise instructed by the oracle to locate and steal the relics of Theseus from the
Dolopia
Dolopia ( grc, Δολοπία) is a mountainous region of Greece, located north of Aetolia.
Geography
Dolopia was located between Epirus and Thessaly, eventually absorbed into the latter. It was a mountainous district in the southwestern corner of ...
ns.
The body of the legendary
Eurystheus
In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos.
Fami ...
was also supposed to protect Athens from enemy attack, and in
Thebes, that of the prophet
Amphiaraus
In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Ad ...
, whose cult was oracular and healing. Plutarch narrates transferrals similar to that of Theseus for the bodies of the historical
Demetrius I of Macedon
Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynast ...
and
Phocion the Good. The bones or ashes of
Aesculapius at
Epidaurus
Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the ...
, and of
Perdiccas I
Perdiccas I ( gr, Περδίκκας, Perdíkkas) was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia. He ruled somewhere between 650 BC and 620 BC.
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from ...
at Macedon, were treated with the deepest veneration.
As with the relics of Theseus, the bones are sometimes described in literary sources as gigantic, an indication of the hero's "larger than life" status. On the basis of their reported size, it has been conjectured that such bones were those of
prehistoric creatures, the startling discovery of which may have prompted the sanctifying of the site.
The head of the poet-prophet
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
was supposed to have been transported to
Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...
, where it was enshrined and visited as an
oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
. The 2nd-century geographer
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
* Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
reported that the bones of Orpheus were kept in a stone vase displayed on a pillar near
Dion, his place of death and a major religious center. These too were regarded as having oracular power, which might be accessed through dreaming in a
ritual of incubation. The accidental exposure of the bones brought a disaster upon the town of Libretha, whence the people of Dion had transferred the relics to their own keeping.
According to the ''
Chronicon Paschale
''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...
'', the bones of the Persian
Zoroaster
Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...
were venerated, but the tradition of
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
and its scriptures offer no support of this.
Buddhism
![Buddha relics](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Buddha_relics.JPG)
In
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, relics of the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
and various sages are venerated. After the Buddha's death, his remains were divided into eight portions. Afterward, these relics were enshrined in
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
s wherever Buddhism was spread.
Some relics believed to be original remains of the body of the Buddha still survive, including the
relic of the tooth of the Buddha
The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide.
History The relic in India
According to Sri Lanka ...
in Sri Lanka.
A stupa is a building created specifically for the relics. Many Buddhist temples have stupas and historically, the placement of relics in a stupa often became the initial structure around which the whole temple would be based. Today, many stupas also hold the cremated remains or
ringsel of prominent Buddhists. In rare cases, the whole body is conserved, as in the case of
Dudjom Rinpoche
Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...
. A year after his death in 1987, his physical body was moved from France and placed in a stupa in one of his monasteries near
Boudhanath
Bouddha ( ne, बौद्धनाथ; ; , ), also known as Boudhanath, Khasti Chaitya and Khāsa Chaitya is a stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.Snellgrove, David. ''Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and Their Tibetan Successors'', 2 vols., p. 3 ...
, Nepal.
Pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
s may view his body through a glass window in the stupa.
The Buddha's relics are used to show people that enlightenment is possible, to remind them that the Buddha was a real person, and to also promote good virtue.
Christianity
History
One of the earliest sources that purports to show the efficacy of relics is found in 2 Kings 13:20–21:
Also cited is the veneration of relics from the martyr and bishop
Saint Polycarp of Smyrna
Polycarp (; el, Πολύκαρπος, ''Polýkarpos''; la, Polycarpus; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed ...
recorded in the ''
Martyrdom of Polycarp
''Martyrdom of Polycarp'' is a manuscript written in the form of a letter that relates the religious martyrdom of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (the site of the modern city of Izmir, Turkey) and disciple of John the Apostle in the 2nd centuryAD. It ...
'', written sometime from 150 to 160 AD.
[Head, Thomas. "The Cult of the Saints and Their Relics", The On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies (the ORB), College of Staten Island, City University of New York]
With regard to relics that are objects, an often cited passage is
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
19:11–12, which says that
Paul the Apostle
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
's handkerchiefs were imbued by God with healing power. In the
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
accounts of
Jesus healing the bleeding woman
Jesus healing the bleeding woman (or "woman with an issue of blood" and other variants) is one of the miracles of Jesus recorded in the synoptic gospels (, , ).
__TOC__
Context
In the Gospel accounts, this miracle immediately follows the exo ...
and again in the
Gospel of Mark 6:56, those who touched Jesus' garment were healed.
The practice of venerating relics seems to have been taken for granted by writers like
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
, St.
Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...
,
Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholici ...
, St.
Chrysostom, and St.
Gregory Nazianzen
Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...
. Dom Bernardo Cignitti, O.S.B., wrote, "
e remains of certain dead are surrounded with special care and veneration. This is because the mortal remains of the deceased are associated in some manner with the holiness of their souls which await reunion with their bodies in the
resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
."
[Mangan, Charles. "Church Teaching on Relics", Catholic Education Resource Center]
/ref> Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
(d. 1274) pointed out that it was natural that people should treasure what is associated with the dead, much like the personal effects of a relative.[ In an interview with ]Catholic News Service
Catholic News Service (CNS) is an American news agency owned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that reports on the Catholic Church.
The agency's domestic service is set to shut down at the end of 2022, but its Rome bur ...
, Fr. Mario Conte, executive editor of the Messenger of St. Anthony magazine in Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, said, "Saints' relics help people overcome the abstract and make a connection with the holy. ... Saints do not perform miracles. Only God performs miracles, but saints are intercessors."
In the early Church the disturbance, let alone the division, of the remains of martyrs and other saints was not practiced. They were allowed to remain in their often unidentified resting places such as in cemeteries and the catacombs of Rome
The Catacombs of Rome ( it, Catacombe di Roma) are ancient catacombs, underground burial places in and around Rome, of which there are at least forty, some rediscovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either i ...
. These places were always outside the walls of the city, but martyriums began to be built over the site of the burial. Since it was considered beneficial to the soul to be buried close to the remains of saints, several large "funerary halls" were built over the sites of martyr's graves, including Old Saint Peter's Basilica
Old St. Peter's Basilica was the building that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where the new St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...
. These were initially not regular churches, but "covered cemeteries" crammed with graves, wherein was celebrated funerary and memorial services. It may have been thought that when the souls of the martyrs went to heaven on resurrection day they would be accompanied by those interred nearby, who would thus gain favour with God.[
Some early Christians did attribute healing powers to the ''pulvis'' (dust) from graves of saints, including ]Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
. The cult of Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...
was very popular in Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, and centered at a great church built just outside the walls of Tours. When Saint Martin died on November 8, 397, at a village halfway between Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...
and Poitiers
Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...
, the inhabitants of these cities were well ready to fight for his body, which the people of Tours managed to secure by stealth. Tours became the chief point of Christian pilgrimage
Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative (especially in the Holy Land) and to sites associated with later saints or miracles.
History
Christian pilgrimages were first made to sit ...
in Gaul, a place for the healing of the sick.[ ]Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
had travelled to the shrine when he had contracted a serious illness. Later, as bishop of Tours, Gregory wrote extensively about miracles attributed to the intercession of St Martin. Nestorian Christianity
The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
utilized the ''hanānā''–a mixture made with the dust of Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...
's tomb–for healing and, within the Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول ...
, it is still consumed by a couple getting married in the Mystery of Crowning.
The Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...
in 787 drew on the teaching of St. John Damascene
John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and ...
[ that homage or respect is not really paid to an inanimate object, but to the holy person, and indeed the veneration of a holy person is itself honour paid to God.] The Council decreed that every altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
should contain a relic, making it clear that this was already the norm, as it remains to the present day in Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
churches. The veneration of the relics of the saints reflects a belief that the saints in heaven intercede for those on earth. A number of cures and miracles have been attributed to relics, not because of their own power, but because of the holiness of the saint they represent.["Relics of Saints"]
''Boston Catholic'', Archdiocese of Boston
Many tales of miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
s and other marvels were attributed to relics beginning in the early centuries of the church. These became popular during the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, and were collected in books of hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
such as the ''Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' (Latin: ''Legenda aurea'' or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in late medieval Europe. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary ...
'' or the works of Caesarius of Heisterbach Caesarius of Heisterbach (ca. 1180 – ca. 1240), sometimes erroneously called, in English, Caesar of Heisterbach, was the prior of a Cistercian monastery, Heisterbach Abbey, which was located in the Siebengebirge, near the small town of Oberdolle ...
. These miracle tales made relics much sought-after during the period. By the Late Middle Ages, the collecting of, and dealing in, relics had reached enormous proportions, and had spread from the church to royalty, and then to the nobility and merchant classes.
The Council of Trent
The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...
of 1563 enjoined bishops to instruct their flocks that "the holy bodies of holy martyrs ... are to be venerated by the faithful, for through these odiesmany benefits are bestowed by God on men". The Council further insisted that "in the invocation of saints, the veneration of relics and the sacred use of images, every superstition shall be removed and all filthy lucre abolished."[Thurston, Herbert]
"Relics"
''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 March 2014 There are also many relics associated with Jesus
A number of alleged relics associated with Jesus have been displayed throughout the history of Christianity. While some individuals believe in the authenticity of Jesus relics, others doubt their validity. For instance, the sixteenth-century phil ...
.
In his introduction to Gregory's ''History of the Franks'', Ernest Brehaut analyzed the Romano-Christian concepts that gave relics such a powerful draw. He distinguished Gregory's constant usage of ''sanctus'' and ''virtus
''Virtus'' () was a specific virtue in Ancient Rome. It carries connotations of valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth, perceived as masculine strengths (from Latin ''vir'', "man"). It was thus a frequently stated virtue o ...
'', the first with its familiar meaning of "sacred" or "holy", and the second as "the mystic potency emanating from the person or thing that is sacred. ... In a practical way the second word '' irtus' ... describes the uncanny, mysterious power emanating from the supernatural and affecting the natural. ... These points of contact and yielding are the miracles we continually hear of".[Medieval Sourcebook, Gregory of Tours (539–594), ''History of the Franks'', Books I–X]
Introduction by Earnest Brehaut (from his 1916 translation), pp. ix–xxv
ote: Many of Brehaut's opinions and prejudices would not be upheld by modern historians. Students should not rely on this ''Introduction'' as a guide./ref>
Relics and pilgrimage
Rome became a major destination for Christian pilgrims as it was easier to access for European pilgrims than the Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
. Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
erected great basilicas over the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul. A distinction of these sites was the presence of holy relics. Over the course of the Middle Ages, other religious structures acquired relics and became destinations for pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, substantial numbers of pilgrims flocked to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...
in Spain, in which the supposed relics of the apostle James, son of Zebedee
James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...
, discovered 830, are housed. Santiago de Compostela remains a significant pilgrimage site, with around 200,000 pilgrims, both secular and Christian, completing the numerous pilgrimage routes to the cathedral in 2012 alone.
By venerating relics through visitation, gifts, and providing services, medieval Christians believed that they would acquire the protection and intercession of the sanctified dead.[ Relics of local saints drew visitors to sites like Saint Frideswide's in ]Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and San Nicola Peregrino in Trani
Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, in southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani.
History
Overview
The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the fir ...
.[
Instead of having to travel to be near to a venerated ]saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
, relics of the saint could be venerated locally. Relics are often kept on a circular decorated theca
In biology, a theca (plural thecae) is a sheath or a covering.
Botany
In botany, the theca is related to plant's flower anatomy. The theca of an angiosperm consists of a pair of microsporangia that are adjacent to each other and share a commo ...
, made of gold, silver, or other metal.
Believers would make pilgrimages to places believed to have been sanctified by the physical presence of Christ or prominent saints, such as the site of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Economic effect
As holy relics attracted pilgrims and these religious tourists needed to be housed, fed, and provided with souvenirs, relics became a source of income not only for the destinations that held them, but for the abbeys, churches, and towns en route. Relics were prized as they were portable. They could be possessed, inventoried, bequeathed, stolen, counterfeited, and smuggled. They could add value to an established site or confer significance on a new location. Offerings made at a site of pilgrimage were an important source of revenue for the community who received them on behalf of the saint. According to Patrick Geary
Patrick J. Geary (born September 26, 1948) is an American medieval historian. He is Professor Emeritus of Western Medieval History at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. From 2004 to 2011, he also held the title of Disting ...
, " the communities fortunate enough to have a saint's remains in its church, the benefits in terms of revenue and status were enormous, and competition to acquire relics and to promote the local saint's virtues over those of neighboring communities was keen".[.] Local clergy promoted their own patron saints in an effort to secure their own market share. On occasion guards had to watch over mortally ill holy men and women to prevent the unauthorized dismemberment of their corpses as soon as they died. Geary also suggests that the danger of someone murdering an aging holy man in order to acquire his relics was a legitimate concern.[
Relics were used to cure the sick, to seek intercession for relief from famine or plague, to take solemn oaths, and to pressure warring factions to make peace in the presence of the sacred. Courts held relics since Merovingian times.][ St ]Angilbert
Angilbert ( – 18 February 814) was a noble Frankish poet who was educated under Alcuin and served Charlemagne as a secretary, diplomat, and son-in-law. He is venerated as a pre-Congregation saint and is still honored on the day of his dea ...
acquired for Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
one of the most impressive collections in Christendom.[ An active market developed. Relics entered into commerce along the same trade routes followed by other portable commodities. Matthew Brown likens a ninth-century Italian ]deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
named Deusdona, with access to the Roman catacombs, as crossing the Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
to visit monastic fairs of northern Europe much like a contemporary art dealer.
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
was a popular destination for English pilgrims, who traveled to witness the miracle-working relics of St Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
, the sainted Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
who was assassinated by knights of King Henry II in 1170.[ After Becket's death, his successor and the Canterbury chapter quickly used his relics to promote the cult of the as-yet-uncanonized martyr. The motivations included the assertion of the Church's independence against rulers, a desire to have an English (indeed Norman English) saint of European reputation, and the desire to promote Canterbury as a destination for pilgrimage. In the first years after Becket's death, donations at the shrine accounted for twenty-eight percent of the cathedral's total revenues.]
Counterfeits
In the absence of real ways of assessing authenticity, relic-collectors became prey to the unscrupulous, and some extremely high prices were paid. Forgeries proliferated from the very beginning. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
already denounced impostors who wandered around disguised as monks, making a profit from the sale of spurious relics. In his ''Admonitio Generalis'' of 789, Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
ordered that "the false names of martyrs and the uncertain memorials of saints should not be venerated".[ The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) of the Catholic Church condemned abuses such as counterfeit relics and exaggerated claims.][
Pieces of the ]True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
were one of the most highly sought-after of such relics; many churches claimed to possess a piece of it, so many that John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
famously remarked that there were enough pieces of the True Cross to build a ship from. A study in 1870 found that, put together, the claimed relics of the cross at that much later time weighed less than 1.7 kg. By the middle of the 16th century, the number of relics in Christian churches became enormous, and there was practically no possibility to distinguish the authentic from the falsification, since both of them had been in the temples for centuries and were objects for worship. In 1543, John Calvin wrote about fake relics in his '' Treatise on Relics'', in which he described the state of affairs with relics in Catholic churches. Calvin says that the saints have two or three or more bodies with arms and legs, and even a few extra limbs and heads.
Due to the existence of counterfeit relics, the Church began to regulate the use of relics. Canon Law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
required the authentication of relics if they were to be publicly venerated
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etym ...
. They had to be sealed in a reliquary
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
and accompanied by a certificate of authentication, signed and sealed by someone in the Congregation for Saints, or by the local Bishop where the saint lived. Without such authentication, relics are not to be used for public veneration. The Congregation for Saints, as part of the Roman Curia, holds the authority to verify relics in which documentation is lost or missing. The documents and reliquaries of authenticated relics are usually affixed with a wax seal
A seal is a device for making an impression in Sealing wax, wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interf ...
.
Classifications and prohibitions in the Catholic Church
In Catholic theology, sacred relics must not be worshipped, because only God is worshipped and adored. Instead, the veneration given to them was " dulia". Saint Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
declared, "We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are."
Up until 2017, the Catholic church divided relics into three classes:
* First-class relics: items directly associated with the events of Christ's life (manger, cross, etc.) or the physical remains of a saint (a bone, a hair, skull, a limb, etc.). Traditionally, a martyr's relics are often more prized than the relics of other saints. Parts of the saint that were significant to that saint's life are more prized relics. For instance, King St. Stephen of Hungary
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István király ; la, Sanctus Stephanus; sk, Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the f ...
's right forearm is especially important because of his status as a ruler. A famous theologian's head may be his most important relic; the head of St. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
was removed by the monks at the Cistercian abbey at Fossanova
Fossanova Abbey, earlier Fossa Nuova, is a church that was formerly a Cistercian abbey located near the railway-station of Priverno in Latina, Italy, about south-east of Rome.
History
Fossanova is one of the finest examples of early Burgundia ...
where he died. If a saint travelled often, then the bones of his feet may be prized. Catholic teaching prohibits relics to be divided up into small, unrecognizable parts if they are to be used in liturgy (i.e., as in an altar; see the rubrics listed in Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar).
* Second-class relics: items that the saint owned or frequently used, for example, a crucifix
A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
, rosary
The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...
, book, etc. Again, an item more important in the saint's life is thus a more important relic. Sometimes a second-class relic is a part of an item that the saint wore (a shirt, a glove, etc.) and is known as ''ex indumentis
The phrase ''ex indumentis'' is Latin for "from the clothing", most commonly used when referring to Second Class holy relics of saints or blessed individuals.
In proper ecclesiastical phraseology, ''ex indumentis'' should only be used when r ...
'' ("from the clothing").
* Third-class relics: any object that has been in contact with a first- or second-class relic. Most third-class relics are small pieces of cloth, though in the first millennium oil was popular; the Monza ampullae
The Monza ampullae form the largest collection of a specific type of Early Medieval pilgrimage ampullae or small flasks designed to hold holy oil from pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land related to the life of Jesus. They were made in Palestine, p ...
contained oil collected from lamps burning before the major sites of Christ's life, and some reliquaries had holes for oil to be poured in and out again. Many people call the cloth touched to the bones of saints "''ex brandea''". But ''ex brandea'' strictly refers to pieces of clothing that were touched to the body or tombs of the apostles. It is a term that is used only for such; it is not a synonym for a third-class relic.
In 2017, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints abolished the relics of the third degree, introducing a two-stage scale of classification of relics: significant (insigni) and non-significant (non insigni) relics. The first are the bodies or their significant parts, as well as the entire contents of the urn with the ashes preserved after cremation. The second includes small fragments of the bodies, as well as objects used by saints and blesseds.
The sale or disposal by other means of "sacred relics" (meaning first and second class) without the permission of the Apostolic See is nowadays strictly forbidden by canon 1190 of the Code of Canon Law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
. However, the Catholic Church permits the sale of third class relics. Relics may not be placed upon the altar for public veneration, as that is reserved for the display of the Blessed Sacrament
The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...
(host or prosphora and Eucharistic wine after consecration in the sacrament of the Eucharist).
File:3rd class relic PIO.jpg, Third-class relic (cloth) of Saint Pio
Francesco Forgione, OFM Cap., better known as Padre Pio and as Saint Pius of Pietrelcina ( it, Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 188723 September 1968), was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a s ...
of Pietrelcina
File:Rome San Pietro in Vincoli 12-1-2011 10-38-51.jpg, St. Peter's chains, preserved in San Pietro in Vincoli
San Pietro in Vincoli (; Saint Peter in Chains) is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II.
The '' Titulus S. Petr ...
, Rome, a second-class relic
File:Strdubmainaltar.jpg, Main Altar of St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...
, containing the remains of Saint Cessianus
Cessianus (''ca.'' 295 - 303) is a Roman Catholic saint and martyr. At the age of eight, he was martyred during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in 303.
History
Pope Gregory XVI presented Bishop Mathias Loras with the remains o ...
, a boy martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
ed during the Diocletianic Persecution
The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...
File:Relics of Saint Demetrius.jpg, Relics of St. Demetrius in the cathedral of Thessalonika
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, Greece
File:Visoki Decani 08.JPG, Relic of the True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
, Decani Monastery
Decani (; la, of the dean) is the side of a church choir occupied by the Dean. In English churches, this is typically the choir stalls on the south side of the chancel. The opposite side is known as Cantoris.
The association of the Dean with the ...
, Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
File:Relic Of Blessed Pope Jphn Paul II 7119.JPG, Relic of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, declared a saint in 2014, in the Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Eastern Orthodoxy
The importance of relics in the Byzantine world can be seen from the veneration given to the pieces of the True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
. Many great works of Byzantine enamel
The craft of cloisonné enameling is a metal and glass-working tradition practiced in the Byzantine Empire from the 6th to the 12th century AD. The Byzantines perfected an intricate form of vitreous enameling, allowing the illustration of small, ...
are ''staurothekes'', or relics containing fragments of the True Cross. Other significant relics included the girdle worn by the Virgin, and pieces of the body or clothing of saints. Such relics (called contact relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s, or secondary relics) were, however, scarce and did not provide most believers with ready access to proximity to the holy. The growth in the production and popularity of reproducible contact relics in the fifth and sixth centuries testifies to the need felt for more widespread access to the divine. These contact relics usually involved the placing of readily available objects, such as pieces of cloth, clay tablets, or water then bottled for believers, in contact with a relic. Alternatively, such objects could be dipped into water which had been in contact with the relic (such as the bone of a saint). These relics, a firmly embedded part of veneration by this period, increased the availability of access to the divine but were not infinitely reproducible (an original relic was required), and still usually required believers to undertake pilgrimage or have contact with somebody who had.
The earliest recorded removal, or translation
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
of saintly remains was that of Saint Babylas
Babylas ( el, Βαβύλας) (died 253) was a patriarch of Antioch (237–253), who died in prison during the Decian persecution. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine rite his feast day is September 4, i ...
at Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
in 354, but, partly perhaps because Constantinople lacked the many saintly graves of Rome, they soon became common in the Eastern Empire, though still prohibited in the West. The Eastern capital was therefore able to acquire the remains of Saints Timothy, Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
and Luke
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
, and the division of bodies also began, the 5th century theologian Theodoretus
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pivo ...
declaring that "Grace remains entire with every part". In the West, a decree of Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name.
Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium
...
only allowed the moving of a whole sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
with its contents, but the upheavals of the barbarian invasions relaxed the rules, as remains needed to be relocated to safer places.
The veneration
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...
of relics continues to be of importance in the Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
. As a natural outgrowth of the concept in Orthodox theology of theosis, the physical bodies of the saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
s are considered to be transformed by divine grace
Divine grace is a theological term present in many religions. It has been defined as the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptati ...
—indeed, all Orthodox Christians are considered to be sanctified
Sanctified may refer to:
*Sanctification, the process of making holy
Music Albums
* ''Sanctified'' (album), by Morgana Lefay, 1995
*''Sanctified'', by Jack McDuff, 1961
*''Sanctified'', by the Rance Allen Group, 1975
Songs
*"Sanctified", by The ...
by living the mystical life of the Church, and especially by receiving the Sacred Mysteries
Sacred mysteries are the areas of supernatural phenomena associated with a divinity or a religious belief and praxis. Sacred mysteries may be either:
# Religious beliefs, rituals or practices which are kept secret from the uninitiated.
# Beliefs ...
(Sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...
). In the Orthodox service books, the remains of the departed faithful are referred to as "relics", and are treated with honour and respect. For this reason, the bodies of Orthodox Christians are traditionally not embalmed
Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...
.
The veneration of the relics of the saints is of great importance in Orthodoxy, and very often churches will display the relics of saints prominently. In a number of monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
, particularly those on the semi-autonomous Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
in Greece, all of the relics the monastery possesses are displayed and venerated each evening at Compline. As with the veneration of icons
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...
, the veneration
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...
(Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
; δουλια, ''dulia'') of relics in the Orthodox Church is clearly distinguished from adoration (λατρεια, ''latria
Latria or latreia (also known as latreutical worship) is a theological term (Latin ''Latrīa'', from the Greek λατρεία, ''latreia'') used in Catholic theology and Eastern Orthodox theology to mean adoration, a reverence directed only t ...
''); i.e., that worship which is due to God alone. Thus Orthodox teaching warns the faithful against idolatry and at the same time remains true to scriptural teaching (vis. 2 Kings 13:20–21) as understood by Orthodox Sacred Tradition
Sacred tradition is a theological term used in Christian theology. According to the theology of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian churches, sacred tradition is the foundation of the doctrinal and spiritual authority o ...
.
The examination of the relics is an important step in the glorification
Glorification may have several meanings in Christianity. From the Catholic canonization to the similar sainthood of the Eastern Orthodox Church to salvation in Christianity in Protestant beliefs, the glorification of the human condition can be a ...
(canonization) of new saints. Sometimes, one of the signs of sanctification is the condition of the relics of the saint. Some saints will be incorrupt
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their ...
, meaning that their remains do not decay under conditions when they normally would (natural mummification
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...
is not the same as incorruption). Sometimes even when the flesh does decay the bones themselves will manifest signs of sanctity. They may be honey-coloured or give off a sweet aroma. Some relics will exude myrrh. The absence of such manifestations is not necessarily a sign that the person is not a Saint.
Relics play a major role in the consecration of a church. The consecrating bishop will place the relics on a diskos
A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium.
Western usage
In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...
(paten) in a church near the church that is to be consecrated, they will then be taken in a cross procession to the new church, carried three times around the new structure and then placed in the Holy Table
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...
(altar) as part of the consecration service.
The relics of saints (traditionally, always those of a martyr) are also sewn into the antimension
The antimins (from the Greek , ''Antimension'': "instead of the table"), is one of the most important furnishings of the altar in many Eastern Christian liturgical traditions. It is a rectangular piece of cloth of either linen or silk, typical ...
which is given to a priest by his bishop as a means of bestowing faculties upon him (i.e., granting him permission to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries). The antimens is kept on the Holy Table
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...
(altar), and it is forbidden to celebrate the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...
(Eucharist) without it. Occasionally, in cases of fixed altars, the relics are built in the altar table itself and sealed with a special mixture called wax-mastic.
The necessity of provide relics for antimensions in new churches often necessitates continuous division of relics. An account of this process can be found in a treatise of the pre-revolutionary Russian church historian . According to Romansky, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church operated a special office, located in the Church of Philip the Apostle in the Moscow Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...
, where bones of numerous saints, authenticated by the church's hierarchs, were stored, and pieces of them were prayerfully separated with hammer and chisel to be sent to the dioceses that needed to place them into new antimensions.
While Orthodoxy does not make use of the strict classification system of the Roman Catholic Church, it too recognizes and venerates relics which may pertain to Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
or a saint, such as a relic of the True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
, the Chains of Saint Peter
Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
( feast day, 16 January), the grapevine cross of Saint Nino
Saint Nino ( ka, წმინდა ნინო, tr; hy, Սուրբ Նունե, Surb Nune; el, Αγία Νίνα, Agía Nína; sometimes ''St. Nune'' or ''St. Ninny'') ''Equal to the Apostles and the Enlightener of Georgia'' (c. 296 – c. 33 ...
of Georgia, etc. Places can also be considered holy. When one makes a pilgrimage to a shrine he may bring back something from the place, such as soil from the Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
or from the grave
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...
of a saint.
In art
Many churches were built along pilgrimage routes. A number in Europe were either founded or rebuilt specifically to enshrine relics, (such as San Marco in Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
) and to welcome and awe the large crowds of pilgrims who came to seek their help. Romanesque buildings developed passageways behind the altar to allow for the creation of several smaller chapels designed to house relics. From the exterior, this collection of small rooms is seen as a cluster of delicate, curved roofs at one end of the church, a distinctive feature of many Romanesque churches. Gothic churches featured lofty, recessed porches which provided space for statuary and the display of relics.
Historian and philosopher of art Hans Belting observed that in medieval painting, images explained the relic and served as a testament to its authenticity. In ''Likeness and Presence'', Belting argued that the cult of relics helped to stimulate the rise of painting in medieval Europe.[
]
Reliquaries
Reliquaries
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fe ...
are containers used to protect and display relics. While frequently taking the form of caskets, they have many other forms including simulations of the relic encased within (e.g., a gilded depiction of an arm for a relic consisting of arm bones). Since the relics themselves were considered valuable, they were enshrined in containers crafted of or covered with gold, silver, gems, and enamel. Ivory was widely used in the Middle Ages for reliquaries; its pure white color an indication of the holy status of its contents. These objects constituted a major form of artistic production across Europe and Byzantium throughout the Middle Ages.
List of claimed relics
* Relics of the True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
of Jesus are claimed by many churches around the world. The same applies to Holy Nail
Relics that are claimed to be the Holy Nails with which Jesus was crucified are objects of veneration among some Christians, particularly Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox. In Christian symbolism and art, they figure among the ''Arma ...
s, Holy Sponge
The Holy Sponge is one of the Instruments of the Passion of Jesus. It was dipped in vinegar (; in some translations sour wine), most likely posca, a regular beverage of Roman soldiers, and offered to Jesus to drink from during the Crucifixion, ac ...
s, Holy Lance
The Holy Lance, also known as the Lance of Longinus (named after Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his crucifixion.
Biblical references
The l ...
s, Holy Thorns and other Instruments of the Passion
Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Chris ...
. Famous examples are the Holy Nail in the Iron Crown of Lombardy
The Iron Crown ( lmo, Corona Ferrea de Lombardia; it, Corona Ferrea; la, Corona Ferrea) is a relic and may be one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Early Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fi ...
in Monza Cathedral
The Duomo of Monza (), often known in English as Monza Cathedral, is the main religious building of Monza, Italy. Unlike most duomos, it is not in fact a cathedral, as Monza has always been part of the Diocese of Milan, but is in the charge of an ...
, the Holy Lance that was part of the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire in the Hofburg Palace
The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and the Holy Thorn Reliquary
The Holy Thorn Reliquary was probably created in the 1390s in Paris for John, Duke of Berry, to house a relic of the Crown of Thorns. The reliquary was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1898 by Ferdinand de Rothschild as part of the Wad ...
in the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
* The Seamless robe of Jesus is kept in a purpose-built chapel in Cathedral of Trier, Trier Cathedral.
* The Sandals of Jesus Christ were donated to Prüm Abbey, Germany, by popes Zachary and Stephen II in the 8th century.
* The Marienschrein in Aachen Cathedral contains four important relics: the nappy and loin cloth of Jesus, the dress of Mary and the decapitation cloth of John the Baptist. The Karlsschrein in the same church contains the remains of Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
, who was locally venerated at a saint.
* The Girdle of Mary is kept in the Basilica of Our Lady, Maastricht, Basilica of Our Lady in Maastricht, Netherlands.
* The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral contains the remnants of the biblical Magi.
* St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican contains Saint Peter's tomb, Saint Peter's relics.
* St Paul's relics are allegedly contained in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Wall, in Rome.
*James the Great, St James' relics are reputedly held at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
*Luke the Evangelist, St Luke the Evangelist's body is held at the Abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
, Italy; his head, in the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague; and a rib, at his tomb in Thebes, Greece.
* St Mark the Evangelist's relics are held at St Mark's Basilica in Venice.
* St Matthew the Evangelist's relics are purported to be in the Salerno Cathedral, Cathedral of Salerno, Italy.
* St John the Evangelist's tomb is purported to be in the Basilica of St. John at Ephesus in Turkey, whereas his skull, or parts of it, are venerated at the Amiens Cathedral in France, at the Church of San Silvestre in Capite in Rome and at the Munich Residenz Palace. Other relics claimed to be those of John the Baptist were discovered in a Bulgarian monastery in 2010.
*Andrew the Apostle, St Andrew's relics are contained in the Basilica of St Andrew in Patras, Greece.
* Reliquary arms of Saint Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...
can be found in churches around the globe. Most contain only a fragment of the arm that allegedly touched Christ's side wound after the Resurrection.
* Saint Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
' relics are contained in the Church of the Jacobins, Toulouse, France.
* Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis of Assisi's relics are enshrined in the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, Italy.
* Saint Catherine of Siena's head is stored in San Domenico church, Siena, with her body in Santa Maria sopra Minerva Church in Rome.
* Sacred Relic of St. George, Saint George's arm is kept in Lod.
* Saint Servatius' relics are largely kept in a gilded chest and bust in the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht, Netherlands. Some of his relics are in Tongeren, Belgium, and Quedlinburg, Germany.
* Lambert of Maastricht, Saint Lambert's skull is contained in a reliquary bust in Liège Cathedral, Belgium.
* Hubertus, Saint Hubert's remains were enshrined in the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium.
* Willibrord, Saint Willibrord's remains are in Echternach, Luxemburg.
* Nun Maria Droste zu Vischering's (known as Mary of the Divine Heart) relics are exposed in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ermesinde, Portugal.
* The shin of Pope Pope Clement I, Saint Clement I is kept in the Iglesia de la Concepción (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), Church of the Conception of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
Hinduism
In Hinduism, relics are less common than in other religions since the physical remains of most saints are cremation, cremated. The veneration of corporal relics may have originated with the ''śramaṇa'' movement or the appearance of Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, and burial practices became more common after the Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent, Muslim invasions. One prominent example is the preserved body of Ramanuja, Swami Ramanuja in a separate shrine inside Srirangam Temple.
Islam
The veneration of the relics of saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
s became an incredibly important part of devotional piety in both Sunni and Shia Islam throughout the classical and medieval periods, with "the ubiquity of relics and ritual practices associated with them" becoming a mainstay of "the devotional life of the Muslims ... [all over the world but particularly in] the Near East and North Africa."[Josef W. Meri, "Relics of Piety and Power in Medieval Islam", ''Past and Present'' 103.5, in ''Relics and Remains'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 97] With the latter-day influence of the reformist movements of Salafism and Wahhabism, there is, according to some scholars, an erroneous perception which persists both among some modern Muslims and Western observers opining that "the Islamic experience['s relationship with relic-veneration] is marginal, because of the perceived absence of relics
in Islam." It is, however, evident that "the historical reality of relics in Islam" was very different, and that the classical Islamic thinkers posed various reasons for why the veneration of the relics of prophets and saints was permissible.
Relics of the prophets
In Istanbul
While various relics are preserved by different Muslim communities, the most important are those known as The Sacred Trusts, more than 600 pieces treasured in the Privy Chamber of the Topkapı Palace, Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul.
Muslims believe that these treasures include:
* Hair from Prophet Muhammad's beard and footprint
* Sword of Ali
* Staff of Moses
* Turban of Islamic view of Joseph, Joseph
* Sword of David
* Pot of Abraham
* Forearm and hand of Yahya
Most of the trusts can be seen in the museum, but the most important of them can only be seen during the month of Ramadan. The Qur'an has been recited next to these relics uninterruptedly since they were brought to the Topkapı Palace, but Muslims do not worship these relics.
Sacred Cloak of the Prophet
A cloak () believed to have belonged to the prophet Mohammed is kept in the central mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan. According to local history, it was given to Ahmad Shah Durrani, Ahmad Shah by Mured Beg, the Emir of Bokhara. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. In 1996 Mullah Omar, leader of the Afghan Taliban, took it out, displayed it to a crowd of (religious scholars) and was declared ("Commander of the Faithful"). Prior to this, the last time it had been removed had been when the city was struck by a Cholera outbreaks and pandemics, cholera epidemic in the 1930s.
Contact relics
A contact relic, or secondary relic, is a physical object which has acquired the status of a relic due to a physical closeness to the body of a holy figure.
Marxism-Leninism
While Marxism–Leninism is an ideology rather than a religion, many communist states placed importance on the preservation of the remains of their respective founders, and making them available for veneration by citizens, in "secular cathedrals"[ of sorts. In both the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China the mausolea of, respectively, Lenin's Mausoleum, Vladimir Lenin and Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, Mao Zedong were the focal points of the two nations' capitals. The communists did not rely on the natural incorruptibility of the remains, but used an elaborate embalming process to preserve the lifelike appearance of the bodies.][
Minor communist nations would often seek the help of the USSR] or PRC to preserve the remains of their own founders in a similar way to how it was done in Moscow or Beijing. See Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum (Bulgaria, 1949), Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (Vietnam, 1973), Kumsusan Memorial Palace (North Korea, 1994). The bodies of the founders of the socialist Czechoslovakia, Mongolia, and Angola were also at some point made available for display and veneration in similar mausolea.
Even though Soviet Communism is commonly viewed as anti-religious in general, and anti-Christian in particular, parallels between the veneration of Lenin's body in his mausoleum (and, for a while, that of Joseph Stalin, Stalin's body as well[) and that of the relics of Christian saints in their reliquaries have not been lost on many observers.]
It is said that in the 1940s, some visitors to the mausoleum would cross themselves, as if entering a church. Even decades after the fall of communism, Russia's president would on occasion compare Lenin's body to the relics of Christian saints found in various monasteries.
Cultural relics
''Relic'' is also the term for something that has survived the passage of time, especially an object or custom whose original culture has disappeared, but also an object cherished for historical or memorial value (such as a keepsake or heirloom).
"Cultural relic" is a common translation for (), a common Chinese word that usually means "antique" but can be extended to anything, including object and monument, that is of historical and cultural value. However, this has some issues since the term has little resemblance to the English usage of "relic". In most cases, "artifact", "archaeological site", "monument", or just plain "archaeology" would be a better translation.
Relics in fiction
* ''The Relic'' by Eça de Queiroz, Dedalus Ltd, UK 1994.
* ''The Translation of Father Torturo'' by Brendan Connell, Prime Books, 2005.
See also
* Catacomb saints
* Hazratbal Shrine
* Relick Sunday
* Relics associated with Buddha
* Relics associated with Jesus
* Shrine of the Three Kings
* Translation (relic)
References
Further reading
*
* Brown, Peter; Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity; University of Chicago Press; 1982
* Vauchez, Andre; Sainthood in the Later Middle Ages; Cambridge University Press; 1997
* Mayr, Markus; Geld, Macht und Reliquien; Studienverlag, Innsbruck, 2000
* Mayr, Markus (Hg); Von goldenen Gebeinen; Studienverlag, Innsbruck, 2001
* Fiore, Davide; Human variation of a relic (original title: Variazione Umana di una reliquia); StreetLib, Italy; 2017
External links
The First-class Relics of St. Maximilian Kolbe
Relics in the Church of St Charles Borromeo, Wrocław, Poland
World tour of the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux
Relics and Reliquaries Collection, University of Dayton Special Collections
to: [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html Medieval Sourcebook, Gregory of Tours (539–594), ''History of the Franks'', Books I–X] (on the 6th century meaning of ''sanctus'' and ''virtus'')
Head, Thomas. "The Cult of the Saints and Their Relics", The On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies (the ORB), College of Staten Island, City University of New York
Smith, Judith M. H., "Portable Christianity: Relics in the Medieval West (c.700–1200)", Raleigh Lecture on History 2010
Butterfield, Andrew. "What Remains", ''New Republic'', July 28, 2011
''Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe''—joint exhibition of the British Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore
{{Authority control
Relics,
Sainthood