Relic

see also: Etymology of Relic

Latin reliquiae : remainders, it is what remains materially of a person honoured like Saint E: objects having belonged to him, instruments of sound Torment, Clothing S, Os, Internal organ S, wick of Hair X… which one preserves with veneration.

The Culte returned with the relics, which is addressed to the saints, is a worship of respect and not of worship. This worship goes back to the Martyr S of the first centuries of Christianity, on the tombs of which one came to request and celebrate the mass. The first attested testimony of the worship of the relics is in the relation of the martyrdom of Saint Polycarpe.

In Christianity, a relic is part of the body or object having belonged to Jesus, a saint or holy. One often associates supernatural properties to him, primarily capacities of cure. To the the Middle Ages, the relics gave place to Pèlerinage S and lucrative traffics. One preserved them (and always preserves them) in Reliquaire S and Châsse S often richly decorated. Sometimes, the reliquary took the form of the human remainder (arm for a bone of arm for example). The relics could also be in the furnace bridge S of the churches. One also placed them in the Regalia (crowns in particular) and the swords of the knights. The catholic and the orthodoxe perpetuate the tradition of the worship associated with the relics, whereas the Protestant gave up it, in particular because it gave place to a mercantile exploitation.

The Christian relics most famous

Relics of the life of Jesus

the Holy Chalice (mythical the Graal), preserved in the Cathedral of Valence in Spain.
the Saint-Shroud of the Cathedral Saint-Jean-Baptist of Turin
the Holy Crown (crown of spines) of Jesus: acquired in 1239 for 135.000 books, by the king Louis IX of France. He made build the the Ste Chapelle in order to preserve it. It was given to the archbishop's palace of Paris in 1804 and always preserved at the Trésor of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.
the Holy Face, linen used by Holy Veronique to wipe the face of Christ during her rise with the Martyrdom
the Holy Tunic of Christ
the Sandals of Christ
the pieces of Holy-Cross, also said True Cross, would have been discovered in 326 by Helene, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantin I {{er}}. She then was split and dispersed: a fragment is with the Basilique Holy-Cross-in-Jerusalem of Rome, another with the the Ste Chapelle of Paris since Louis XI at the 13th century.
the Holy Lance which bored the side of Christ at the time of Passion.
the Nail S of Passion of Christ
the Holy Bit (Carpentras) forged starting from a nail of the Crucifixion
the Holy Tears
the Holy Blood contained in a Gate vault with the abbey church of the abbey of the Trinity of Fécamp in Normandy.
the Holy Blood of Christ preserved at the basilica of Saint-Blood with Bruges, brought back in 1150 by Thierry of Alsace.
the Sainte Sponge
the Saint Umbilical point
the Saint Foreskin of Jesus de Nazareth is, for the Christian , one of the rare physical relics of Christ, with the Saint Blood.
the Holy Cradle of the Holy-Marie-Major Basilica of Rome

Other Christian relics

relics of Holy Jacques Major the of the Cathedral of Saint-Jacques-to-Compostelle.
relics of Holy Marc with the basilica Saint-Marc of Venice
the Tunic of Marie, preserved in the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Chartres
the cranium of Holy Foy at Conches
the blood of Holy January ( San Gennaro ) in the cathedral of Naples: the blood contained in the bulb is liquefied twice a year (at the beginning of May and the September 19th); if the “Miracle” does not occur, the tradition wants that misfortunes fall down on the town of Naples.
the Mounting containing momifié whole body the naturally of Holy Rita with Lucques in Italy.

At the time of the Fourth crusade took place the catch of Constantinople, the city with the many relics: the cross made control on the treasures (relics and precious stones) of Constantinople, spoils given between the hands of the bishop of Troyes, Garnier de Trainel, in which one found a piece considerable of the Vraie Cross, blood of the Christ, the Saint Chalice of the Cène, but also the chief of Saint Philippe, the arm of Saint Jacques Major the or the whole body of Sainte Helene virgin. The church of Saint-Zacharie in the VAr, has the " San Sabatoun" , fits become relic having belonged to Marie, and brought back by a crusader.

Relics in the other religions

To thank UNO for having issued bank holiday the Buddhist festival of the Vesak, the Thailand, the Sri Lanka, as well as the Myanmar decided to transfer 12 bones from Bouddha to the seat of the the United Nations, with New York.

Relics of Mahomet in Turkey

At Istanbul in the Palais of Topkapi are preserved a certain number of relics of the Islam, such as swords of Mahomet. In a room of the harem, at the walls covered with Earthenware of the 18th century, is piously preserved a coat of the Prophète and other relics having belonged to him of which a tooth and a hair of barb, its sabers of combat, two gold swords, enriched by invaluable stones. The moulding of the hand of the Prophet and the prints of his feet. One finds also a hand of Saint Jean-Baptiste, which was formerly with the monastery of Saint-Jean-of-Stoudion of Constantinople in Turkey.

With Konya, in the Mausoleum Mevlana, a box shelters a hair of the beard of the prophet Mahomet.

Critical approach

Dispute of the authenticity :

Here for example an extract of the text written by Pierre Dubois about 1937 in connection with the relics of Longpré-the-Body-Saint:

“the faith of the Moyen-âge was as materialist as naive: it honoured with a unanimous veneration the most singular relics. Astute traffickers of Palestine or Constantinople had gotten for Croisés quite strange memories of the characters and biblical events. It was necessary to await the 16th century… and the publication of a famous proclamation of Calvin in 1543 so that is alerted the reason and is condemned, by the Church itself, the devotion with many ridiculous and sometimes indecent objects a flag (lange) that Our Lord had with the entour kidneys with the Nativity of the branches of the bush that Moïse saw to ignite the stone of the Sinai where God had sat when it gave to Moïse the Tables of the Law…”

Idolâtrie and superstition :

Bernard Heyberger (university lecturer at the university of High-Alsace/Mulhouse) written in connection with the pilgrimages in a collective work of 1996:

“the Concile of Thirty reaffirmed the legitimacy of the worship dedicated to the relics, the tombs and the images. But it placed the popular devotion under the narrow control of the bishop, responsible for in expurger all " superstition" , in particular at the time of its pastoral visits in the parishes. The clergy throws a glance of suspicion on the individualism of the pilgrim and his devotions " indécentes".”

See too

References

Random links: