Relics associated with Jesus
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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 philosopher Erasmus wrote about the proliferation of relics, and the number of buildings that could be constructed from wooden relics claimed to be from the crucifixion cross of Jesus.[1] Similarly, at least thirty Holy Nails were venerated as relics across Europe in the early 20th century.[2] Part of the relics are included in the so-called Arma Christi ("Weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion.
Some relics, such as remnants of the crown of thorns, receive only a modest number of pilgrims, while others, such as the Shroud of Turin, receive millions of pilgrims, including Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.[3]
As Christian teaching generally states that Christ was assumed into heaven corporeally, there are few bodily relics apart from those described as being removed or expelled from Christ's body prior to his ascension, such as the Holy Foreskin of Jesus or the blood of the Oviedo Shroud.
The True Cross
The "
Tradition and legend attribute the discovery of the True Cross to
Pieces of the purported
Acheiropoieta
A number of
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin is the best-known and most intensively studied relic of Jesus.[9]
In 1988, radiocarbon dating determined that the shroud was from the Middle Ages, between the years 1260 and 1390.[10]
Sudarium of Oviedo
The
The Sudarium is soiled and crumpled, with dark flecks that are symmetrically arranged but do not form an image as with the Shroud of Turin. Proponents for the relic's authenticity, such as Vatican archivist Msgr Giulio Ricci,[13] contend that both cloths covered the same man.
Image of Edessa
The
Veil of Veronica
The Veil of Veronica, used to wipe the sweat from Jesus' brow as he carried the cross, is claimed to bear the likeness of the face of Christ. Today, several relics are claimed to be the Veil of Veronica, with several age-old copies also being venerated.
Rome
An image kept in
The
Alicante
The image at the Monastery of the Holy Face in Alicante, Spain was acquired by Pope Nicholas V from relatives of the Byzantine Emperor in 1453 and placed in Alicante in 1489.[citation needed]
Siena
The Jaén Cathedral in Spain has a copy of the Veronica which probably dates from 14th century Siena, known as the Santo Rostro and acquired by Bishop Nicholas de Biedma.[18]
Manoppello
In 1999, Father Heinnrich Pfeiffer announced at a press conference in
Gallery
-
The Vatican Veil of Veronica
-
The Manoppello Image
-
Superposition of the Veil of Manoppello on the negative of the Shroud of Turin
Other relics
Nativity and childhood
Wooden pieces claimed to be remnants of the manger of the baby Jesus reside in the Holy Crib reliquary at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.[22] The relic consists of five narrow pieces of sycamore wood, which tradition holds to have been brought from the Holy Land either by Empress Helena (see 326-28 pilgrimage), or in the time of Pope Theodore I (642-649).[23][24] In 2019, a fragment of the crib was removed from the Holy Crib reliquary and placed on permanent display at the Church of Saint Catherine in Bethlehem.[22]
The Last Supper
Last Supper knife
The knife used by Jesus during the Last Supper was also a matter of veneration in the Middle Ages, according to the 12th-century Guide for Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela.[26] According to French traveler Jules-Léonard Belin the knife used by Jesus to slice bread was permanently exhibited in the Logetta of St Mark's Campanile in Venice.[27]
Holy Chalice (Holy Grail)
The Holy Chalice is the container Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve wine (Matthew 26:27–28).[28]
Several Holy Chalice relics are reported in the legend of
Crown of Thorns
The relics of
The accounts of pilgrims to Jerusalem report the Crown of Thorns. In 409, Paulinus of Nola states the Crown was kept in the basilica on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. In 570, Anthony the Martyr reports the Crown of Thorns in the Basilica of Zion. Around 575, Cassiodorus wrote, "Jerusalem has the Column, here, there is the Crown of Thorns!" Between the 7th and the 10th centuries, the Crown of Thorns was moved to the Byzantine emperors' chapel in Constantinople for safekeeping. In 1238, the Latin Emperor
Louis IX, the king of France redeemed the Crown from the Venetian Bank. On 10 August 1239, the king deposited 29 relics in Villeneuve-l'Archevêque. On 19 August 1239, the relics arrived in Paris. Wearing a simple tunic and with bare feet, the King placed the Crown of Thorns and other relics in the palace chapel in a structure he commissioned. During the French revolution, the relics were stored in the National Library. After the Concordat in 1801, the relics were given to the archbishop of Paris who placed them in the Cathedral treasury on 10 August 1806. Since then, these relics have been conserved by the canons of the Metropolitan Basilica Chapter, who are in charge of venerations, and guarded by the Knights of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Napoleon I and Napoleon III each offered reliquaries for the crown of thorns. They were on display at Notre-Dame Cathedral during scheduled religious ceremonies, until a serious fire struck the cathedral on 15 April 2019.[35][36]
Crucifixion
Many relics currently displayed result from the journey of
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, 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.
Many churches claim to have relics from the
The
The
Other claimed relics, based on the
- The Latin: tunica inconsultilis; John 19:23),[39] for which the soldiers cast lots at the Crucifixion, is claimed by the cathedral of Trier, Germany, and by the parish church of Argenteuil, France. The Argenteuil church claims that their Holy Coat was brought by Charlemagne.[40]
- The crucifixion site called Golgotha, is in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Inside the church the crucifixion site consists of a pile of rock about 7 metres (23 ft) long by 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide by 4.8 metres (16 ft).[citation needed]
- The Bridle of Constantineare reported to be made from the Holy Nails.
- The Longinusto pierce Jesus' side when he was on the cross.
- The Holy Sponge, is reported to be in church Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome.
- The Column of the Flagellation, which Jesus was tied to during the Basilica of Saint Praxedesin Rome.
Bodily relics
Christian teaching states that
See also
- Blood of Christ
- List of artifacts significant to the Bible
- Life of Jesus in the New Testament
Citations
- ^ Dillenberger 1999, p. 5
- ^ a b Thurston, Herbert (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ Pope John Paul II (1998-05-24), Pope John Paul II's address in Turin Cathedral, Holy See
- ISBN 1-85285-073-6p. 272
- ^ "NPNF2-01. Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". www.ccel.org.
- ISBN 9780297842286.
- ^ "Saint Helena Queen and Widow". anglicancatholic.org. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- ^ Cruz 2003, p. 200
- ^ "The Shroud of Turin is the single, most studied artifact in human history" statement considered as "widely accepted" in Lloyd A Currie, The Remarkable Metrological History of Radiocarbon Dating [II] Archived 2010-12-06 at the Wayback Machine, J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. 109, 2004, p. 200.
- S2CID 27686437.
- ISBN 1-84753-316-7. page 31.
- ^ John 20:6–7
- ^ Ruffin 1999, p. 47
- ^ Houlden 2003, vol. 2, p. 66
- ^ Wilson 1991
- ^ Nickell (2007), p. 75.
- ^ Wilson 1991, p. 157
- ^ Wilson 1991, p. 94
- ^ Ian Wilson, Holy Faces, Secret Places, page 161
- ^ The Face of God: The Rediscovery of the True Face of Jesus, Igantius Press, Paul Badde, 2010.
- ^ [1] J. Jaworski, G. Fanti 3-D PROCESSING TO EVIDENCE CHARACTERISTICS REPRESENTED IN MANOPPELLO VEIL (article)
- ^ a b "Relic thought to be from Jesus' manger arrives in Bethlehem". nbcnews.com. The Associated Press. 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
- ^ Longhurst, Christopher. "A Roman Christmas Ritual: Micro-Architecture and the Theatre of the Presepio". Sacred Architecture. 16 (Fall 2009). The Institute for Sacred Architecture. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ISBN 978-0307590749. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ Janekovic-Romer, Zdenka (1996), Javni rituali u politickom diskursu humanistickog Dubrovnika (in Croatian), Zavod za hrvatsku povijest Filozofskog fakulteta Zagreb - Institute of Croatian history, Faculty of Philosophy Zagreb, p. 78
- ISBN 978-90-04-10263-7
- ^ Belin, Julien-Léonard (1843), Le Simplon et l'Italie septentrionale: promenades et pèlerinages (in French), Belin-Leprieur, p. 218
- ^ Matthew 26:27–28
- ^ Thurston, Herbert (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ "The History of the Holy Chalice", Official website of the Valencia cathedral - The Holy Chalice of the Lord Supper
- ^ Griffin 2001, p. 103
- ^ Pope to Venerate Holy Grail, Zenit News, 2006-07-07, archived from the original on 2010-07-25
- ISBN 9780415939294.
- ^ John 19:12
- ^ Notre Dame de Paris - Veneration of the Crown Archived 2010-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Notre Dame fire: Paris Fire Brigade chaplain braved the blaze to rescue cathedral treasures". USA Today. 2019-04-17.
- ^ Nickell (2007), p. 96.
- ^ Nickell (2007), p. 169.
- ^ John 19:23
- ^ Nickell (2007), p. 104.
- ^ Jacques Albin Simon Collin de Plancy. Dictionnaire critique des reliques et des images miraculeuses, T. 2. 1827. / Jésus-Christ / P. 43-80.
- ^ P. Saintyves. Les reliques et les images légendaires. — Paris: , Mercure de France, 1912. — / Les reliques corporelles du Christ / P. 107—184.
- ^ "Where to See Religious Relics in Rome, Italy". about.com.
General sources
- Cruz, Joan Carroll (October 1984), Relics, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, ISBN 978-0-87973-701-6, retrieved 21 October 2010
- Cruz, Joan Carroll (May 2003), Saintly Men of Modern Times, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, ISBN 978-1-931709-77-4, retrieved 21 October 2010
- ISBN 978-0-19-512172-8, retrieved 21 October 2010
- Griffin, Justin (July 2001), The Holy Grail: the legend, the history, the evidence, McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-0999-0, retrieved 21 October 2010
- Houlden, James Leslie (2003), Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture, Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Inc, ISBN 978-1-57607-856-3
- ISBN 978-0-8131-2425-4
- Ruffin, Bernard (1999), The Shroud of Turin: the most up-to-date analysis of all the facts regarding the Church's controversial relic, Huntington: ISBN 978-0-87973-617-0
- Wilson, Ian (1991), Holy Faces, Secret Places, London: Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-26105-0
Further reading
- Bella, Francesco; Carlo Azzi (2002). "14C Dating of the 'Titulis Crucis'" (PDF). Radiocarbon. 44 (3). University of Arizona: 685–689. . Retrieved 2012-09-10.
- Benford, M. Sue; Joseph G. Marino (July–August 2008). "Discrepancies in the radiocarbon dating area of the Turin shroud" (PDF). Chemistry Today. 26 (4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
- Fernández Sánchez, José Luis (4–6 May 2010). "The Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin. A question of authenticity" (PDF). Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Scientific approach to the Acheiropoietos Images, ENEA Frascati, Italy.
- Klein, Holger A. (2006). "Sacred Relics and Imperial Ceremonies at the Great Palace of Constantinople" (OCLC 71787023.