Posted on 09/06/2013 7:15:37 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
A relic hunter dubbed 'Indiana Bones' has lifted the lid on a macabre collection of 400-year-old jewel-encrusted skeletons unearthed in churches across Europe.
Art historian Paul Koudounaris hunted down and photographed dozens of gruesome skeletons in some of the world's most secretive religious establishments.
Incredibly, some of the skeletons, said to be the remains of early Christian martyrs, were even found hidden away in lock-ups and containers.
They are now the subject of a new book, which sheds light on the forgotten ornamented relics for the first time.
Thousands of skeletons were dug up from Roman catacombs in the 16th century and installed in towns around Germany, Austria and Switzerland on the orders of the Vatican.
They were sent to Catholic churches and religious houses to replace the relics destroyed in the wake of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s.
Mistaken for the remains of early Christian martyrs, the morbid relics, known as the Catacomb Saints, became shrines reminding of the spiritual treasures of the afterlife.
They were also symbols of the Catholic Church's newly found strength in previously Protestant areas.
Each one was painstakingly decorated in thousands of pounds worth of gold, silver and gems by devoted followers before being displayed in church niches.
Some took up to five years to decorate.
They were renamed as saints, although none of them qualified for the title under the strict rules of the Catholic church which require saints to have been canonised.
But by the 19th century they had become morbid reminders of an embarrassing past and many were stripped of their honours and discarded.
Mr Koudounaris' new book, Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, is the first time the skeletons have appeared in print.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Did you all actually see the last sentence in post 154? If that doesn’t say it all I’m not sure what will.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all.....
The Catholic Church venerates, or gives due respect to, saints. Venerating their bodies and relics is a matter of natural justice, was practiced from the earliest times, and is biblical (2 Kings 13:21).
To this day, it is customary for a relic of a saint to be placed beneath the church's altar. In fact, the practice was mandated until 1969.
According to the article, when medieval churches were desecrated, and robbed of their saints and/or relics, these bodies and/or relics were replaced.
If you object to the veneration of relics, see the practices of the early Church, and 2 Kings 13:21.
If you object to burying saints with jewelery, see the contemporary practice of burying people with jewelery.
If you object to exhumation and reburial, I don't know what to tell you.
Decorating skeletons is repulsive and grotesque.
They look downright demonic.
There’s not much left to wonder about from someone who thinks this is just fine.
“But was there a reason for it consistent with Christianity? Yes - other posters have pointed out the Biblical use of expensive oils to anoint the dead.”
That was a Jewish practice, and it was simply part of the standard funerary preparations, like us putting a nice suit and a fresh haircut on a corpse before a wake. Citing that doesn’t really offer any justification for digging someone up and dolling up their bones like this.
Regardless, according to Luther, you're entitled to your own interpretation of the Bible.
As for me, I will follow the pillar of truth, which wrote, preserved, and canonized the Bible.
And where do you go to church?
LOL, and sure, again that is just totally what this revealing article is about, and what is shocking both Catholics and non Catholics on this thread, just like earlier it was about some one burying his wife with her jewels.
All of which is very complex. Who has final say on the interpretation of Roman Catholic doctrine on FR? Do Roman Catholics vet everything they say though the home office in Rome? Or are all of these things just your individual interpretations of Papist doctrine?
Why should we trust any of you to get it right?
The whole business of relics, weeping statues, the thirty some nails used to nail Jesus, flying houses, etc. is fraud and these claims of “saints” are too. Who knows who these bones belong to. Leave the bones, take the jewelry.
You have been the most dedicated Catholic on this thread, and the most effective defender of this Catholic practice.
Kind of proves the point we Prods have been making since I have been on FR, now doesn't it?
That you're humorless?
And you holy rollers need to get a sense of humor as well as an education in art history. I suggest you start with James Frazier’s “The Golden Bough,” to find out about religion, culture and ritual. I only wish he lived on into the 21st Century so he could track down evangelicals’ weird ideas.
You don’t think all Christians are saints?
Decorating dead corpses with jewels and gold is *art*?
Just.....
wow......
No, it’s not. It’s sick.
Nah, we have a great sense of humor! But that many Papists will cut off their nose to spite their face.
And where is this practice currently being performed? After reading up on this story (which comes out of Germany), I have found out it occurred in the 17th century.
And proud to defend my faith with humor, sarcasm and knowledge of art history.
Holy Roller?
My dear, you obviously have never been to a conservative Reformed church!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.