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Posted on 04/12/2007 3:18:30 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
WARS have been fought over them, pilgrims trudged thousands of miles just for a glimpse - and millions of Christians believe they have miraculous powers.
Every item associated with the very first Easter, when Christ was crucified, has become a holy relic.
The Spear of Destiny is venerated in Vienna and Crown of Thorns are treasured in Paris. And tiny pieces of the True Cross hold places of honour in churches around the world.
There are so many relics that even in the 16th century, Dutch philosopher Erasmus remarked: "There was so much wood from the Cross, Christ must have been crucified on a whole forest."
So it's no surprise that controversy rages about their authenticity - but for many Christians around the world these relics, some as simple as splinters of wood, iron nails and pieces of cloth, are a direct connection to the heart of their faith.
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University says: "The appeal of relics is they put you in touch with holiness, God and salvation. You can actually touch them and be associated with the event that saved humanity from hell."
For centuries they've been imbued with mystical powers but in our more sceptical, secular times their authenticity is often called into question
Professor MacCulloch is firmly with the sceptics.
"To be frank, I don't think any of the relics could be described as genuine," he says. "None of them are authentic. Nothing is much earlier than the fourth century."
Occasionally, they may contain a fragment of an item from biblical times though.
Professor MacCulloch says: "These are genuine souvenirs for devoted pilgrims. They symbolise the Cross, so they aren't entirely to be despised. So although they were sold by the equivalent of today's postcard sellers, they represent something real to people.
"They were created by devoted ordinary people who gave them to churches as an expression of devotion and a kindly act.
"It was an act of piety and as good as giving a sum of money because they could attract pilgrims and donations.
"They still have a role for people who find them useful. To the rest of us, they tell us something about the importance of holiness to past generations."
SPEAR OF DESTINY
BELIEVED to be the spear with which Roman centurion Longinus pierced Jesus' side, owners have included the first Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne and Adolf Hitler - and it was coveted by Napoleon.
Legend says that whoever owns it, controls the fate of the world - hence its name. But to lose the spear would mean losing everything.
Charlemagne was apparently unbeatable with the lance in his hand but died within weeks of dropping it.
Hitler's downfall was even more rapid once he lost possession of the spear. American GIs found it hidden in a hole in Nuremberg, and one hour and 20 minutes later, the German dictator was dead in his Berlin bunker.
The spear is now an exhibit at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, in Vienna, but tests on the spear in 2003 showed it is no older than 8th century.
TURIN SHROUD
PERHAPS the most famous relic of the crucifixion is the Shroud of Turin. This 14ft-long bloodstained linen cloth shows the image of a scourged and crucified man and is claimed to be the material in which Christ was wrapped after his death.
As early as the 6th century there were reports of a shroud marked with the face of Jesus but by the 13th century, the cloth was in Constantinople, from where it is believed it was carried to Turin by Knights Templar.
Carbon-dating in 1988 dated it from approximately 1350, but believers say the tests were flawed because the cloth was repaired in the Middle Ages.
THE TRUE CROSS
IN 326AD Emperor Constantine of Rome - who had converted to Christianity - sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem to gather Christian relics. At the site of Christ's death at Golgotha, Helena claimed to have found the remains of three crosses, the nails used to crucify the victims - and, most significantly, a sign marked "King of the Jew". To work out which was the cross on which Christ was crucified, all three were touched by a leper. When the leper was cured by the third, Helena was convinced this was the True Cross.
The church of Santa Croce in Rome is home to a treasure trove of relics, including a large reliquary (far left) containing fragments from the True Cross and the Titulus Crucis (left), the panel identifying the condemned man.
CROWN OF THORNS
CRUELLY forced on to the head of Christ by the Romans to mockingly proclaim him King of the Jews, the thorns have multiplied dramatically over the past 2,000 years.
One even made its way to Britain, eventually finding a home at a Catholic public school in Lancashire.
The most renowned relic is produced during Lent at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. It was originally bought in 1239 by France's Louis IX from the King of Jerusalem, John of Brienne.
Santa Croce in Rome also holds two holy thorns (right) from a plant which cannot actually be identified.
VERONICA'S VEIL
LAST year Pope Benedict XVI made a pilgrimage to Manoppello in central Italy to pray before a cloth revered in the town for 500 years.
The veil is said to have been used to wipe blood, sweat and tears from the brow of Christ as he carried the cross to his crucifixion.
It is not mentioned in the Bible but the story tells how a woman called Veronica braved the mob and Roman soldiers to force her way to Jesus on his way to Calvary and handed him the cloth.
Afterwards an image of Jesus' face miraculously appeared on it. Sceptics say it is simply the work of a medieval artist.
SHROUD OF OVIEDO
UNLIKE the Turin Shroud and Veronica's Veil, this has no dramatic facial image but, according to tradition, it was used to cover and clean the face of Jesus after the crucifixion.
Blood stains are visible, and tests found there are also traces of fluid from the lungs, often found around the face of victims of crucifixion.
The history of the cloth can be traced to the 7th century, first in Palestine and finally to Spain where it remains in the cathedral in Oviedo.
Carbon-dating marks it from the 7th century but believers point out that the blood stains match those on the head portion of the Shroud of Turin.
THE HOLY GRAIL
MORE has been written about the legendary grail than any other Christian relic.
The most popular tradition says it is the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper (below). Others say it is the cup in which Joseph of Arimathea caught the blood of Christ as he hung on the Cross.
And - as fans of Indiana Jones will know - it is believed to bestow eternal life on those who drink from it. But the Grail has never been found, despite thousands of searchers from knights to modern historians devoting their lives to the quest. A more modern theory - the basis of novel The Da Vinci Code - suggests Christ married Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail contains proof of the bloodline.
THE NAILS
CHRISTIAN scholars have long debated whether Christ was crucified with three or four nails.
But judging from the amount of churches and religious orders claiming possession of these metal relics over the years, it must have been one hundred times that number.
A possible reason for this is that the early Catholic Church produced a series of nail relics, each containing a small filing of a supposedly genuine nail.
The four "real" nails, however, were those discovered by Constantine's mother Helena. One is said to have ended up in the Iron Crown of Lombardy, left, now housed in the cathedral at Monza in Italy, another was used to make a bridle for Constantine and the other two were thrown into the Adriatic to calm a storm.
The only thing “holy” we have here on Earth is that which God helps create within our own hearts.
Why, it's so Christian of you to say that! I remember from the Gospel that Jesus made a special mention of how much He appreciates people's make false statements about whole groups of other people they don't even know, simply to help themselves feel superior in some little way.
Happy Easter, FRiend.
I believe that one of the miracles on earth is Free Republic.....
Which can turn a normally reasonable person like you into a Catholic bashing ‘tard....
All of these items are very interesting from a historical standpoint. A 6th Century fake (if that’s what someone really has) is still mighty old.
“make” = “making”
Nothing blows one’s Miss Manners image like a typso!
I once had the joy of venerating a piece of the True Cross.
I am reasonably confident of the provenance of the those pieces in the keeping of the Orthodox: good records were kept of the division of the Cross once Heraclius recaptured from the Persians after their sack of Jerusalem.
Of course as to Erasmus’s remark (also attributed to Luther) there was a joke current in the Christian East at the time of the Crusades:
Q: Why are there no cedars in Lebanon?
A: Because every Frank in Christendom has a piece of the True Cross.
Christ is Risen!
That’s cool.
It’s funny that the article, like almost all other MSM sources, not only discounts, but actually seems entirely unaware of, the holy grail.
The Santa Caliz was never lost; Unless the Muslims somehow swapped it out while they controlled Spain (despite never seeming to imagine what it was they had), the Holy Grail is in Valencia, Spain, where it has been for 17 centuries, since Emperor Valerius moved it from Rome (where Peter brought it).
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You seenm to be ascribing thoughts to Catholics here. Are you a Catholic? If not, please do not speak for us.
Thanks for the ping!
That's true, but for now, old stuff is still cool.
You can take your diamonds
and lock them in your room
and you will lose everything you save
You can take your flowers
and lay them on his tomb
but I know He rose up from the grave...
Seeing a line from Larry Norman brought back some old memories.
Cheers!
Wasn't it also Luther who said that Germany is the only place where one will find the graves of the 26 Apostles?
Christ is risen indeed!
Luther said a great many things.
That's true from a historical or artistic perspective. However, either way, it's still just stuff.
Many people find a well authenticated relic a help to devotion.
I'm not much of a keepsake person, but lots of my family were -- we've got locks of hair (some even in mourning brooches), autograph books, and about a million photographs. My great-great grandmother saved for years the letters her husband wrote her from the Civil War, and kept them in her jewelry box next to her bed (they are now in the library at Emory University).
A tangible connection with a great saint or even Christ Himself is pretty awesome.
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