Relic
|
|
The word relic comes from the Latin reliquiae ('remains') and there are many pre-Christian instances of some bone or other part of the corpse, or some intimately associated object, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial. The preservation of relics is a primitive instinct, and it is associated with shamanism as well as many other developed religious systems besides that of Christianity. Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism and Hinduism. In some denominations of Christianity, a relic is an object of religious veneration, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of a saint. A shrine that houses a relic is called a reliquary.
| Contents |
Christian relics
History of Christian relics
Reliekschrijnbinnen.jpg
Many tales of miracles and other marvels were attributed to relics beginning in the early centuries of the church; many of these became especially popular during the Middle Ages. These tales are collected in books of hagiography such as the Golden Legend or the works of Caesar of Heisterbach. These miracle tales made relics much sought after during the Middle Ages.
Pieces of the True Cross were one of the most highly sought after such relics; many churches claimed to possess a piece of it, so many that Erasmus famously remarked that there were enough pieces of the True Cross to build a ship from. The Shroud of Turin is another relic whose authenticity is questionable. The abbey church of Coulombs in France, among several others, claims to possess the relic of Jesus' circumcision - the Holy Prepuce.
Romano-Christian daemons and the "virtue" of relics
In his introduction to Gregory of Tours Ernest Brehaut analyzed the Romano-Christian concepts that gave relics such a powerful draw (see link). He distinguished Gregory's constant usage of "sanctus" and "virtus", the first with its familiar meaning of "sacred" or "holy", and the second
- "the mystic potency emanating from the person or thing that is sacred. These words have in themselves no ethical meaning and no humane implications whatever. They are the keywords of a religious technique and their content is wholly supernatural. In a practical way the second word [virtus] is the more important. It describes the uncanny, mysterious power emanating from the supernatural and affecting the natural. The manifestation of this power may be thought of as a contact between the natural and the supernatural in which the former, being an inferior reality, of course yielded. These points of contact and yielding are the miracles we continually hear of. The quality of sacredness and the mystic potency belong to spirits, in varying degrees to the faithful, and to inanimate objects. They are possessed by spirits, acquired by the faithful, and transmitted to objects."
Opposed to this holy "virtue" was also a false mystic potency that emanated from inhabiting daemons who were conceived of as alien and hostile. Truly holy virtus would defeat it, but it could affect natural phenomena and effect its own kinds of miracles, deceitful and malignant ones. This "virtue" Gregory of Tours and other Christian writers associated with the devil, demons, soothsayers, magicians, pagans and pagan gods, and heretics. False virtus inhabited images of the pagan gods, the "idols" of our museums and archaeology, and destroying it accounts for some of the righteous rage with which mobs of Christians toppled sculptures, and smashed classical bas-reliefs (particularly the faces), as our museums attest.
The transmissibility of this potency, this virtus, is still reflected in the Roman Catholic classifications of relics in degrees, as mentioned above. By transmission, the "virtus" might be transmitted to the city. When St Martin died, halfway between the cities of Tours and Poitiers, November 8, 397, at a village halfway between Tours and Poitiers, the inhabitants of these cities were well ready to fight for his body,which the people of Tours managed to secure by stealth. The story of the purloining of St Nicholas of Bari is another example. The Image of Edessa was reputed to render that city impregnable.
- Ernest Brehaut, in his introduction to Gregory of Tours, analyzes the 6th-century meanings of sanctus and virtus (http://charlemagne.celtic-twilight.com/gregory_of_tours/pagexix.htm)
Roman Catholic classification and prohibitions
- 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, a limb, etc.) Traditionally, a martyr's relics are often more prized than the relics of other saints. Also, some saints relics are known for their extraordinary incoruptibility and so would have high regard. It is important to note that parts of the saint that were significant to that saint's life are more prized relics. For instance, King St. Stephen of Hungary'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 was removed by the monks at the Cistercian abbey at Fossanova where he died). Logically, if a saint did a lot of travelling then the bones of his feet may be prized. Current Catholic teaching prohibits relics to be divided up into small, unrecognisable parts (see the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Canon Law). Thus even the many relics that are enshrined in churches and cathederals worldwide must be at least a finger or small bone, etc.
- Second-Class Relics
- An item that the saint wore (a sock, a shirt, a glove, etc.) Also included is an item that the saint had, for example, a crucifix, book etc. Again, an item more important in the saint's life is thus a more important relic.
- Third-Class Relics
- The Third-Class Relics above fall into two categories. The first category is a piece of cloth touched to the body of a saint. The second category is a piece of cloth brought to the shrine (or site of the vision) of the saint.
It is prohibited by the Catholic Church to sell First- and Second-Class Relics. Generally, the sale of sacred things including relics is called 'simony'. When the church prohibits the selling of "sacred relics" it is referring to First- and Second-class relics. It is not referring to Third-class relics. It is not prohibited by the church to sell Third-Class Relics.
Non-Christian relics
At Athens the supposed remains of Oedipus and Theseus enjoyed an honor that is very difficult to distinguish from a religious cult, while Plutarch gives accounts of the translation of the bodies of Demetrius (Demetrius iii) and Phocion (Phocion xxxvii) which in many details anticipate Christian practice. The bones or ashes of Aesculapius at Epidaurus, and of Perdiccas I at Macedon were treated with the deepest veneration, as were those of the Persian Zoroaster, according to the Chronicon Paschale (Dindorf, p. 67).
Buddhist relics
In Buddhism, relics of the Buddha and various saints are venerated. Originally, after the Buddha's death, his body was divided for the purpose of relics, and there was an armed conflict between factions for possession of the relics. Afterward, these relics were taken to wherever Buddhism was spread.
Some relics believed to be original relics of Buddha still survive including the much revered Sacred Relic of the tooth of the Buddha in Sri Lanka.Buddha_relics.JPG
More relics of bone which were discovered during archaeological excavations of a stupa built in Peshawar, Pakistan by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in the second century A.D. In 1909, three pieces of bone (approx 1? in. or 3.8 cm long) were found in a crystal reliquary in a bronze casket bearing an effigy of Kanishka and an inscription recording his gift. They were removed to Mandalay, Burma by the Earl of Minto, Viceroy and Governor General of India, in 1910, for safekeeping. They were originally kept in a stupa in Mandalay but this has become dilapidated and is used for housing. The relics are meanwhile being kept safely in a nearby monastery until funds can be found to build a new stupa to house the relics next to Mandalay Hill. The crystal reliquary holding the bones is now enclosed in a gold and ruby casket provided by Burmese devotees. The miniature gold stupa in which they were transported to Mandalay may be seen in the photo to the left of the modern ruby and gold reliquary.
The 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 ashes of prominent/respected Buddhists who were cremated.
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).
Fantasy RPG
In role-playing games, a relic is a magical object with marvelous and alarming power, originating from a deity as opposed to manmade origins. (Compare to Artifact.)
List of famous real or alleged relics
- Main article - Alleged relics of Jesus Christ
- Holy Nails
- Spear of Destiny
- Turin Shroud
- pieces of the True Cross
- the Holy Prepuce