Holy Nail

Treasury of Trier Cathedral

Eastern Orthodox. In Christian symbolism and art, they figure among the Arma Christi or Instruments of the Passion, the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus

. Like the other Instruments, the Holy Nails have become an object of veneration among many Christians and have been pictured in paintings.

The authenticity of these relics is doubtful. The Catholic Encyclopedia wrote:[1]

Very little reliance can be placed upon the authenticity of the thirty or more holy nails which are still venerated, or which have been venerated until recent times, in such treasuries as that of Santa Croce in Rome, or those of Venice, Aachen, the Escurial, Nuremberg, Prague, etc. Probably the majority began by professing to be facsimiles which had touched or contained filings from some other nail whose claim was more ancient. Without conscious fraud on the part of anyone, it is very easy for imitations in this way to come in a very brief space of time to be reputed originals.

It is not clear whether Jesus was crucified with three or with four nails, and the question has been long debated.^[1] The belief that three nails were used is called Triclavianism.

The bridle and helmet of Constantine

Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the True Cross in Jerusalem in the fourth century AD, the Holy Nails were recovered too. Helena left all but a few fragments of the cross in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, but returned with the nails to Constantinople

. As Theodoret tells it in his Ecclesiastical History, chapter xvii:

The mother of the emperor, on learning the accomplishment of her desire, gave orders that a portion of the nails should be inserted in the royal helmet, in order that the head of her son might be preserved from the darts of his enemies. The other portion of the nails she ordered to be formed into the bridle of his horse, not only to ensure the safety of the emperor, but also to fulfil an ancient prophecy; for long before Zechariah, the prophet, had predicted that 'There shall be upon the bridles of the horses Holiness unto the Lord Almighty.

The fifth-century Church historian of Constantinople,

Cathedral of Milan, and the other in the cathedral treasury of Carpentras Cathedral

.

The

Iron Crown of Lombardy has been said to contain one of the nails; however, scientific analysis has shown that the crown contains no iron.^[3]

The band that was supposed to have been formed from a nail is actually 99% silver.