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Historical and Sacred Objects
 | Relic in Waterford supposed to contain part of the ‘True Cross’
Throughout medieval times churches were obsessed by the desire to collect ‘holy relics’ – body parts or other items connected with Jesus and the saints. Most of these were, of course, fakes but some may be genuine and even the fakes have some historic interest. At best, this was a way of attracting tourists and their money, at worst it was to result in the idolatrous worship of objects.
Relics should not be regarded as objects for adoration nor should one’s faith be based upon their authenticity. They should be regarded as interesting indications of the faith (and error) of earlier times and as potential links back into history. Some may even be genuine and priceless sources of evidence.
It is in this spirit that we have included information about some of the more famous relics that have been preserved over the centuries.
Pieces of the ‘True Cross’ were once thought to have magical powers but enough pieces were said to remain to create several crosses. This is disputed but no piece can be shown to be genuine.
According to the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore web site:
This is an important Reliquary of Silver and bears the inscription: ‘Ista Particula Sacratissime Crucis Pertinent Ad Ecclesiam Cathedralem Sanctissime Trinitatis Waterfordie HIS MAR 1620’
Translation: ‘This particle of the Most Holy Cross belongs to the Cathedral Church of The Most Holy Trinity Waterford Jesus Mary 1620’
The Case or Shrine, in the shape of an Archiepiscopal Cross, measures nearly 9 inches by 2.5 inches. In its bed within the shrine rests the particle of Sacred Wood in the form of a double-armed Cross. On one of the silver clips at the side is an inscription, obviously very old: ‘Lignum de Vera Cruce’ (Wood of the True Cross). There is no evidence as to the provenance of this relic. It certainly was revered in Waterford long before the Reformation of the 16th century. One writer suggests that it might perhaps have been a companion of the Relic in Holy Cross Abbey and have come from King Muircheartach O’Brien of Munster who had received it from Pope Paschal II (1099 –1118). King Muircheartach O’Brien was closely involved in the appointment of Waterford’s first Bishop in the 11th century.
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Coffin of Jesus's Brother James
 | WASHINGTON (BP) — A limestone bone box dating to approximately 63 A.D. is being heralded as "the only New Testament-era mention of the central figure of Christianity," according to the Biblical Archaeology Society.
It is "the first-ever archaeological discovery to corroborate biblical references to Jesus," the Society's journal states.
The existence of the box, roughly 20 inches long, 10 inches wide and 12 inches high, was announced Oct. 21 at a news conference in Washington, D.C.
It apparently once contained the bones of James, the brother of Jesus. An inscription on the box reads, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus."
An extensive article about the limestone box, called an "ossuary," appears in the November-December issue of the Biblical Archaeology Review, published by the Washington-based Biblical Archaeology Society. The article is titled, "Burial Box of James the Brother of Jesus."
The journal's Web site notes in part:
"The family relationships contained on the new find helped experts ascertain that the inscription very likely refers to the biblical James, brother of Jesus (see, for example, Matthew 13:55-56 and Galatians 1:18-19). Although all three names were common in ancient times, the statistical probability of their appearing in that combination is extremely slim. In addition, the mention of a brother is unusual – indicating that this Jesus must have been a well-known figure."
Of the ossuary's authenticity, the Web site notes:
Laboratory tests performed by the Geological Survey of Israel note that the "thin sheen…that forms on stone and other materials over time…shows no trace of modern elements." As stated in a letter from the Israeli agency, "No signs of the use of a modern tool or instrument was (sic) found. No evidence that might detract from the authenticity of the (covering residue) and the inscription was found."
James has been widely regarded in Christian history not only as Jesus' brother, but as the leader of the church at Jerusalem once he became a believer in one of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances. James also is widely regarded as the author of the New Testament Book of James. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, James was killed by Jewish authorities around A.D. 62.
The burial box of James was purchased about 15 years ago for $700 or less by a private collector in Jerusalem who wishes to remain anonymous, according to news reports. The collector was told at the time it had been unearthed near the Mount of Olives. The collector, a Jew, had no idea of its significance until a conversation last spring with Andre Lemaire, a specialist in ancient inscriptions at the Sorbonne University in Paris, who subsequently authored the Biblical Archaeology Review article.
"Like many ossuaries obtained on the antiquities market, it is empty," the journal's Web site notes. "Its history prior to its current ownership is not known."
Of the use of limestone boxes containing bones of the deceased, the Web site states:
"In the first century A.D., Jews followed the custom of transferring the bones of their deceased from burial caves to ossuaries. The practice was largely abandoned after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 A.D. No one knows for certain why the practice started or stopped, but it provides a rare period of self-documentation in which commoners as well as leaders left their names carved in stone."
The Web site also notes, "Ancient inscriptions are typically found on royal monuments or on lavish tombs, commemorating rulers and other official figures. But Jesus, who was raised by a carpenter, was a man of the people, so finding documentation of his family is doubly unexpected."
The inscription is in Aramaic, the common language among Jews of the first century.
Steven M. Ortiz, assistant professor of archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press, "Based on initial reports, the find appears to be authentic. Dr. Lemaire is a noted paleographer of distinction and is familiar with authenticating actual epigraphic finds and possible forgeries.
"This chance find is going to have a tremendous impact on New Testament scholarship," Ortiz stated.
"This is not going to impact the scholarly community in regards to whether Jesus was an actual person, as most scholars acknowledge the historicity of Jesus," he noted. Rather: "The find will have its greatest influence/impact on placing Jesus back in his first century B.C. Jewish context," he said, countering "a trend to interpret Jesus within a non-Jewish environment and reevaluate the nature of the Jewish Galilean community."
It also is important for the church because "it helps refocus the context of Jesus," Ortiz said. "There is a tendency to create Jesus in our 21st-century image. The church tends to mold the teachings of Jesus within the context of the issues facing the church, instead of molding the issues facing the church to the message and teachings of Jesus."
Mark F. Rooker, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told Baptist Press, "There are already some who doubt the validity of this archaeological find, and I am sure it will be thoroughly examined by archaeologists.
"If it is not a hoax," Rooker said, "one interesting thing about the description of James is that in addition to mentioning his father – the normal way to identify yourself in biblical times – it is also mentioned that his brother was Jesus. This would make a great deal of sense if, in fact, this was the James, son of Mary and Joseph, who was from the same family of the God incarnate, Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit when Mary (James' mother) was still a virgin."
Prior to the October 21 announcement of the bone box, the earliest historical mention of Jesus was in a papyrus fragment from the Gospel of John, written in Greek in about A.D. 125.
Hundreds of ossuaries have been found in recent years, according to Christianity Today, including one likely containing the bones of the high priest Caiaphas from the Gospels. Researcher Lemaire from the Sorbonne estimated there may have been as many as 20 Jameses with brothers named Jesus and fathers named Joseph among Jerusalem's 40,000 residents at the time, according to a CNN report. But, Lemaire noted, it is unlikely there was more than one Jesus meriting the distinction of a reference on his brother's ossuary. Only one other existent ossuary has a reference to a deceased person's brother and father, Lemaire reported.
"The James ossuary may be the most important find in the history of New Testament archaeology," said Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review. "It has implications not just for scholarship, but for the world's understanding of the Bible." The journal's website is www.bib-arch.org.
Shannon Baker and Kelly Davis contributed to this article.
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Turin Shroud
 | Is this the face of Jesus?
One of the most famous and controversial relics of all time is the Turin Shroud. If it is genuine it shows us an image of Jesus. Some claim it was forged by Leonardo da Vinci but dating tests have proved inconclusive.
The website www.shroud.com states:
The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist? Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud. It is, in fact, the single most studied artifact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before. And yet, the controversy still rages.
You can find out more on –
www.shroud.org
www.turinshroud.com
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Holy Lance
 The Holy Lance is a Carolingian winged lance with perforated work of unequalled perfection: a pointed, oval aperture chiselled out of the centre of the blade with a forged ornamental iron pin inserted into it. At the lower end of the lance are two blades that were added later and that extend to the wings of the lance and are tied to it with narrow leather thongs.
The first known description of the Holy Lance is found in the History of Luitprand of Cremona, which he completed in 961. Luitprands description of the Holy Lance is consistent with the actual data. The Holy Lance does indeed have crosses inlaid in brass on the knots of the pin as well as on the wings of the lance. Tiny reliquary particles of the nails of the Cross could have been forged into the lance in the shape of a cross for identification.
Luitprand says nothing about the reliquary character of the Holy Lance, but gives an account of its history, according to which in 921/22, Count Samson and his partisans entrusted dominion over the regnum Italicum to Rudolf, king of Burgundy, along with the Holy Lance, begging him to drive out Emperor Berengar. However, since the reliquary lance was a "treasure by which God binds the earthly and the celestial, the German king Henry secured its possession by bestowing lavish gifts on the Burgundian king. A tradition must have developed over the centuries obviously determined by the wishful thinking of the lances owner whereby the particles of various nails of the Cross became the one clavus domini that the iron pin was held to be, as it was mentioned in the inscription on the silver band of Emperor Henry IV (ruled 1084-1105). It remains unclear why the point of the lance was renamed St. Maurice in the inscription in which the Holy Lance is expressly addressed as a dual relic. It is also unclear whether the weapon served as a Franconian or Langobardian lance of power following the Carolingian era.
The Holy Lance remained the noblest imperial insignia for a long time, but its aura merged with that of the second imperial relic, the Particle of the Cross, during the Salian era. In later years there were intentions to increase the nimbus of the Holy Lance by reinterpreting it as the Lance of Longinus. In the first third of the 13th century, a papal document mentions the Holy Lance for the first time as a dual Passion relic, but only in the 14th century was its interpretation as a lance of Passion officially accepted. Emperor Charles IV ordered the inscription naming it the "Lance and the Nail of the Lord around 1354 on the golden sleeve visible today and introduced the Feast of the Holy Lance.
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Shrine of the Magi
The first item from Cologne is this casket of the Three Wise Men which rests on the High Altar of the Cathedral. The remains of the Three Wise Men were brought to the cathedral by Archbishop Reinald von Dassel in 1164 from Milan where they had been kept in a marble sarcophagus. The citizens of Cologne decided such important relics should be encased in Gold silver and precious stones.
The most famous craftsman was Nikolaus de Verdun who had to travel with his craftsmen to Cologne from Vienna in 1180. The casket took well over forty years to complete and comprised a basilica with a nave and single aisles. It measured 2.20m long by 1.10 wide and 1.53m high. On the upper section of the sides are the Apostles The back shows two scenes, of the Flagellation and the Crucifixion in the lower panels which depicts how the Lord atoned for the sins of the world. The upper panel shows how the faithful gathered round him.
On the front end there is the Adoration of the Three Wise Men and on the upper section Christ Judges the world
Along with many others I find it very hard to believe that the claims made for these being genuine could be true. However, in 1979 research dated the material the bones were wrapped in dated to between the second and fourth century A.D.
As well as the bones of the Three Wise Men the Casket contains the bones of Saint Felix, Saint Naborio and Saint Gregory of Spolito.
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