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A reliquary (also referred to as a shrine, chasse or monstrance) is a container for holy relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones or shreds of clothing, or some object associated with the saints or other holy figures. (The authenticity of any given relic is often a matter of debate). A philatory is a transparent reliquary to contain and exhibit the bones and relics of saints. A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ... Various religions treat the details of such a person differently and their viewpoints are seen below. ... Grays illustration of a human femur, a typically recognized bone. ... Various religions treat the details of such a person differently and their viewpoints are seen below. ...

Buddha relics from Kanishka's stupa in Peshawar, Pakistan, now in Mandalay, Burma. Teresa Merrigan, 2005

Sacred relics have long been important to both Hindus and Buddhists. They became an important part of Christian ritual from about the 4th century They provided a means of protecting and displaying holy relics, and were to have miraculous powers of intercession. They ranged in size from simple pendants or rings to coffin-like containers to very elaborate ossuaries. Many were designed with portability in mind, often being exhibited in public or carried in procession on the saint's feast day or on other holy days. Pilgrimages often centered around the visitation of holy relics in reliquaries. Download high resolution version (1473x993, 173 KB)This picture is of the ruby and gold relic casket holding a crystal reliquary with three fragments of bone believed to be true relics of Gautama Buddha, buried by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in the 2nd century A.D. at his stupa in... Download high resolution version (1473x993, 173 KB)This picture is of the ruby and gold relic casket holding a crystal reliquary with three fragments of bone believed to be true relics of Gautama Buddha, buried by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in the 2nd century A.D. at his stupa in... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, known by Christians as Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... A coffin (in North American English, also known as a casket) is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains -- either for burial or after cremation. ... An ossuary is a chest, building, well or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. ... A pilgrimage is a term primarily used in religion and spirituality of a long journey or search of great moral significance. ...

The earliest reliquaries were essentially boxes, either simply box-shaped or based on an architectural design (e.g. taking the form of a model of a church); these were known as shrines or chasses. Relics of the True Cross became very popular from the 9th century onwards and were housed in magnificent gold and silver cross-shaped reliquaries, decorated with enamels and precious stones. From about the end of the 10th century, reliquaries in the shape of the relics they housed also became popular; hence, for instance, Pope Alexander I's skull was housed in a head-shaped reliquaries. Similarly, the bones of saints were often housed in reliquaries that recalled the shape of the original body part, such as an arm or a foot. According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Alexander I was Pope from about 106 to 115. ...

During the later Middle Ages, the monstrance was introduced - a form of reliquary which housed the relic in a rock crystal or glass capsule mounted on a rod, enabling the relic to be displayed to the faithful. Reliquaries in the form of jewellery also appeared around this time, housing tiny relics such as pieces of the Holy Thorn. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... A Holy Thorn might be either One of the thorns from the Crown of Thorns The Glastonbury Thorn Category: ...

A view inside the shrine of Saint Boniface of Dokkum in the hermit-church of Warfhuizen in the Netherlands. The little folded paper on the left contains a bone-fragment of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the folded paper on the right a piece of the habit of saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The big bone in the middle (about 5 cm in length) is the actual relic of Saint Boniface.

16th-century reformers such as Martin Luther opposed the use of reliquaries and regarded them as idolatrous. Many reliquaries, particularly in northern Europe, were destroyed during the Reformation, being melted down or pulled apart to recover precious metals and gems. Nonetheless, the use and manufacture of reliquaries continues to this day in the Catholic Christian and Orthodox Christian countries. Post-Reformation reliquaries have tended to take the form of glass-sided caskets to display relics such as the bodies of saints. Download high resolution version (1192x840, 307 KB)selfmade File links The following pages link to this file: Relic Reliquary ... Download high resolution version (1192x840, 307 KB)selfmade File links The following pages link to this file: Relic Reliquary ... For the Roman general of this name, see Bonifacius. ... A hermitage is the retreat of a hermit. ... Warfhuizen (Gronings: Waarfhoezen) is a village in Groningen, a province in the extreme North of the Netherlands. ... Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. ... Bernard of Clairvaux, in a medieval illuminated manuscript. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Luther at age 46 (Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1529) The Luther seal Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German theologian, an Augustinian monk[1] and an ecclesiastical reformer, whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... The term Orthodox Christian refers to two Christian traditions: Oriental Orthodoxy, which separated from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in the 5th century; Eastern Orthodoxy, which the Roman Catholic church separated from in 1054 was the church that was started by the apostles. ...

Reliquaries in literature

In A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first of the Brother Cadfael mysteries written by Edith Pargeter writing as Ellis Peters, she fictionalizes the real-life exhumation of the bones of St. Winifred. Winifred's bones are then placed into a reliquary which is later brought back from the saint's home in Gwytherin, Wales to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury, England. The reliquary then occasionally figures into the remainder of the Cadfael mysteries. Brother Cadfael is the fictional detective in a series of murder mysteries by the late Edith Pargeter writing under the name Ellis Peters. ... Edith Mary Pargeter, BEM (September 28, 1913–October 14, 1995) was a prolific British author of works in many categories, especially history andhistorical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. ... Saint Winefride (also: Saint Winifred, Gwenfrewi, Saint Gwenfrewy, Guinevere, Winfred of Wales) was a 7th century Welsh woman who had her head severed from her body by an enraged suitor, Caradog. ... For an explanation of often confusing terms such as Great Britain, Britain, United Kingdom, England and Wales and England, see British Isles (terminology). ... Shrewsbury (pronounced either /ˈʃɹuːzbɹiː/ or /ˈʃɹəʊzbɹiː/) is a town of 70,059 [1] in Shropshire, England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Reliquary

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