devotion to the saints

7/27/2019 Devotion to the Saints

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(c)Veneration of the relics of the saints.

The word relics is derived from the latin vocable reliquire (the counter part of the Greek

leipsana) meaning to leave behind. In the language of the Church, it is the name given to the

remains of the saints, as well as to objects that have been closely connected with Christ or the

saints.

The veneration of the relics of the saints can be traced back to the earliest ages ofChristianity. In the eye witness account of the martydom of St. Polycarp which was written

around 156 A.D, we are informed that when the aged bishop Polycarp was martyred, killed with

a dagger after the fire which his persecutors lited to consume him failed to do its job.1

Many

Christains watching desired to take his body away and to touch his holy flesh. But, as the

author says, the jealous and envious evil one the adversary of the race of the just, saw the

greatness of his martydom and his irreproachable life from the beginning; he saw also that he

was crowned with a crown of immortality and had won an inestimable prize. So he took

measures that his poor body should not be taken away by us. So he put up Nicetas the father

of Herod, and the brother of Alise, to request the Governor not to surrender his body, lest, it

was said, they might abandon the crucified one and begin to worship the man. They said this at

the suggestion and instigation of the Jews who also watched as we were going to take the body

from the fire.2The author clarifies the mistaken notion saying: For they did not know that we

can never abandon the innocent Christ who suffered on behalf of sinners for the salvation of

those in the world who have been saved, and we cannot worship another. He then goes on to

make a sharp distinction between the worship offered to Christ and the veneration offered to

the martyrs: For we worship Him *Christ+ as the Son of God, while we love the martyrs as

disciples and imitators of the Lord, for their insuperable affection for their own King and Teacher.

With them may we also be made companions and fellow disciples.3

Polycarp persecutors decide

that his body should be burnt: The centurion put the body in the middle, as was their custom,

and burned it. But even with this, the Christians of Smyrna did not shun or neglect the remains

of the martyred bishop. And so, afterwards, we took up his bones, morevaluable than preciousstones and finer than gold, and put them in a proper place. There, as far as we were able, the

Lord will permit us to meet together in gladness and joy and to celebrate the birthday of his

martyrdom, both in memory of those who fought the fight and for the training and preparation

of those who will fight.4

The document known as the Martyrdom of Polycarp is a letter from the Church of Smyrna

addressed to the Church of God at Philomelium and all the communities of the Holy Catholic

Church everywhere5

Thus, the Martrydom of Polycarp was written with the intention that its

contents would be read in churches everywhere. Now in the passage cited above, the author

speaks of the honour which they, the Christains of Smyrna, offer to the relics of their martyred

bishop Polycarp without any attempt to explain to his readers why a Christain should veneratethe relics of the martyrs. He treats the practice of venerating relics as something know to his

readers. It is also important to note that the Martyrdom of Polycarp was not rejected either by

1.Martyrdom of Polycarp, 16,1.

2.Ibid, 17,1-2a.

3.Ibid, 17,2b-3.

4.Ibid,18,2-3.

5.Ibid, Introduction.


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the Christain communities of the second century or by the Christain writers of the second

century for conveying novel ideas but was accepted in that century by all who read it and was

widely disseminated, as can be seen from the history of the transmission of the document found

at the end of the document and the translations of the document which has come down to us

from many parts of the ancient Christian world. Therefore the practice of venerating relics was

common place within the Church when the author of the Martyrdom of Polycarp wrote about itin the year 156 A.D. But that neccessarilly imply that Christains were venerating the relics of the

martyrs long before that time.

From the Martyrdom of Polycarp we saw that in the earliest days it was the practice of the

local Christian community of a martyr to come together on the aniversary of that martyr so as to

celebrate the liturgy above or on the grave of that martyr. In those times there were some

martyrs who were honoured by the universal Church and not only by their local communities. In

the case of such martyrs, Christians must have travelled long distances to visit their(i.e. the

martyrs) local communities so as to participate in the liturgical celebration that was held over or

on their graves. That such was the case can be seen from the next testimony which we are about

to cite.

The Depisito Martyrium in the Chronograph of Philocolus of the year 354 (cf. Martyrologium

Hieronymianum) demonstrates that there was about the year 258 A.D a shrine of the Apostles

Peter and Paul on the Via Appia under the basilica of St. Sabastian which in ancient times was

called memoria apostolorum (memory of the Apostles). Excavation in St. Sabastian which began

in 1915 has proved the existance of such a shrine about the year 258 in which the Apostles were

honoured by refigeria, memorial services, as the numerous inscriptions (graffiti) on the walls

testify. In these, visitors to the shrines invokes the intercession of the two Apostles. Here are a

few examples:

Peter and Paul, remember us

Peter and Paul, pray for Leonitus

Paul and Peter, pray for Victor

Paul, Peter, prayfor Eratus

Paul, Peter, pray for Sozomen

Thus, the custom of visiting the shrines of the saints with the intention of obtaining the aid of the

saints was an old age custom in the Church before the year 258 A.D.

In the Proconsula Acts of St. Cyprain, the bishop of Cathage, who was martyred September 14,

258, we are informed that during the execution of the blessed bishop his brethren held out

pieces of cloth and handkerchiefs *to receive the bood as relics+.6

This practice of holding out

pieces of cloths during the execution of a martyr in order to collect his or her blood and try and

obtain relics of them seem to be wide spread in the third century. The Christian Poet Prudentius

(348-405), who probably was relying on reliable tradition, informs us that the Christians who

6.The Proconsula Acts of St. Cyprain, 6.


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witness the martyrdom of the Spanish deacon Vincent(d.304) used linen to collect his blood as

relics:

Did you not, O Vincent, heroic witness,

Destined to meet death in a srange arena,

Presage your ordeal by blood that moistenedStreets of this city?

These drops the saints townsmen preserved and cherish

As though their soil sheltrered his very body

And his sacred relics were resting in the

Tomb of his fathers7

From all the city you might see

The faithful thronging to the scene

To make for him an easeful bed

And wipe the blood from gaping wounds.

They kiss the double furrows made

By cruel lacerating claws,

And even lick with pious joy

His body stained with purpling gore.

And many moisten linen cloths

With blood that oozes from his wounds

To keep as relics in their homes

For generations yet to come.8

The Chruch historian Eusebius Pamphilus(263-336), writing before the year 303 A.D., informs

us that the chair of the Apostle St. James has been venerated by the Christian community atJerusalem from the earlist times:

The throne of Jameswho was the first to recieve from the Saviour and His Apostles the episcopacy of

the Jerusalem church and was called Christs brother, as the sacred book showhas been preserved to

this day. The Christians there, who in their turn look after it with such loving care, make clear to all the

veneration in which saintly men high in the favour of God were regarded in time past and are regarded to

this day9

Eusebius, also makes mention of the custom of visiting the shrines of the Martyrs with the

intention of obtaining their aid:

These customs*i.e. of honouring those who have departed from this life+ also may fitly be adopted on the

death of those beloved of God, whom you would not do wrong in calling soldiers of the true religion.

7.Prudentius, The book of the Martyrs Crowns, 4,89-96.

8.Ibid,5,333-344.

9.Eusebius Pamphilus, History of the Church, 7,19.


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Hence comes also our custom of visiting their tombs, and offering our prayers beside them, and

honouring their blessed souls, believing that we do this with good reason.10

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, writing in the 350s, speaks of the discovery of the True Cross and its

veneration at Jerusalem and adds that particles of it have been taken by pilgrims to places that

now cover almost the whole world.

11

There is archaeological evidence to support the above statement of St. Cyril that relics of the

True Cross were distributed in those times to other regions in the Christian world. In 1889 two

French archaeologists, Lataille and Audollent, discovered at Tixter near Setif in Algeria (North

Africa) an inscription of the year 359 in which, among other relics, is mentioned the sacred

wood of the cross.

A nun named Aetheria (Egeria) of southern Gaul or Spain who came to Jerusalem on

Pilgrimage in the 380s, has left us with a detailed description of the veneration of the True

Cross at Jerusalem. The event took place on Good Friday:

Then a chair is placed for the bishop in Golgotha behind the Cross, which is now standing; the bishop

duly takes his seat in the chair, and a table covered with a linen cloth is placed before him; the deaconsstand round the table, and a silver-gilt casket is brought in which is the holy wood of the Cross. The casket

is opened and (the wood) is taken out, and both the wood of the Cross and the title are placed upon the

table. Now, when it has been put upon the table, the bishop, as he sits, holds the extremities of the

sacred wood firmly in his hands, while the deacons who stand around guard it. It is guarded thus because

the custom is that the people, both faithful and catechumens, come one by one and, bowing down at the

table, kiss the sacred wood and pass through. And because, I know not when, some one is said to have

bitten off and stolen a portion of the sacred wood, it is thus guarded by the deacons who stand around,

lest any one approaching should venture to do so again. And as all the people pass by one by one, all

bowing themselves, they touch the Cross and the title, first with their foreheads and then with their eyes;

then they kiss the Cross and pass through, but none lays his hand upon it to touch it.12

Here mention is made of the custom of venerating relics with signs of reverence such asbowing and kissing.

There is evidence in St. Optatus treatise The schism of the Donatists written about 367 A.D.

that the custom of venerating relics with signs of reverence such as kissing, was familiar to

Christians way before Egeria made mention of it. St. Optatus, in that work, narrates to us an

event involving a wealthy Spanish Catholic lady Lucilla and an arch Deacon Caecilian which took

place in Carthage (Tunisia, Northern Africa) in the year 300 A.D.:

No one is unaware that the Schism, after the consecration of Caecilian, was effected at Carthage through

a certain mischief-making woman named Lucilla. When the Church was still in tranquility, before her

Peace had been disturbed by the storms of persecution, this woman could not put up with the rebuke

which she received from the archdeacon Caecilian. It was said that she kissed a bone of some martyr orother----if he was a martyr----before she received the spiritual Food and Drink. Having then been

corrected for thus touching----before she touched the Sacred Chalice----the bone of a dead man (if he was

a martyr, at least he had not yet been acknowledged as such), she went away in confusion, full of wrath.

10.Ibid,Preparation for the Gospel, 13,9.

11.St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses, 10,19; cf. 4,10; 13,4; Letter to Constantius, 3.

12.Iteineranio Egeriae, 37,1-3.


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This was the woman upon whom, whilst she was angry and afraid that she might fall under the discipline

of the Church, on a sudden, the storm of persecution broke.13

The wealthy lady was reprimanded not because she paid religious veneration to the relics of

the martyrs but because the martyrs, whose relics she paid religious veneration to, had not

been authenticated by the Church. We should remember that about that time Catholics inAfrica were strictly forbidden to honour with religious veneration any martyr who had not been

recognised as such. There are some, who in a fit of fanatical enthusiasm had surrendered

voluntarily to the persecutions, thus bringing death upon themselves. Those who had been

guilty of this practice, which the Church never tolerated, far from being considered martyrs,

were looked upon by Catholics as disobedient and self destroyers. But we can still move

backwards earlier than the time of Lucilla in tracing this custom of venerating the relics of the

saints with signs of reverence. Tertullian as far back as the year 203 made mention of it when

speaking of the custom of venerating the instrument of torture of the martyrs: *What

unbelieving husband+ will permit her to creep into prison to kiss a martyr's chains?14

St. Athanasius of Alexandria, in his life of St. Anthony which was written about 357 A.D.,

informs us that a couple of moments before St. Anthonys death (356) he gave orders that his

garment should be shared to certain individuals. After his death those individuals preserved his

garments as a precious treasure:

Divide my garments. To Athanasius the bishop give one sheepskin and the garment whereon I am laid,

which he himself gave me new, but which with me has grown old. To Serapion the bishop give the other

sheepskin, and keep the hair garment yourselves1146. For the rest fare ye well, my children, for Antony is

departing, and is with you no more. Having said this, when they had kissed him, he lifted up his feet, and

as though he saw friends coming to him and was glad because of themfor as he lay his countenance

appeared joyfulhe died and was gathered to the fathers. And they afterward, according to his

commandment, wrapped him up and buried him, hiding his body underground. And no one knows to this

day where it was buried, save those two only. But each of those who received the sheepskin of the

blessed Antony and the garment worn by him guards it as a precious treasure. For even to look on them is

as it were to behold Antony; and he who is clothed in them seems with joy to bear his admonitions15

St. Basil of Caesarea, in a letter to St. Ambrose written about 375 A.D., speaks of the

transportation of the relics of the Milanese Catholic bishop St. Dionysius who was forced out of

his see during the arian upsurge and who died in exile at Cappadocia:

No doubt a great aid to the attainment of the object desired was the presence of our well beloved and

reverend son Therasius the presbyter. He voluntarily undertook all the toil of the journey; he moderated

the energy of the faithful on the spot; he persuaded opponents by his arguments; in the presence of

priests and deacons, and of many others who fear the Lord, he took up the relics with all becoming

reverence, and has aided the brethren in their preservation. These relics do you receive with a joyequivalent to the distress with which their custodians have parted with them and sent them to you. Let

none dispute; let none doubt. Here you have that unconquered athlete. These bones, which shared in the

conflict with the blessed soul, are known to the Lord. These bones He will crown, together with that soul,

in the righteous day of His requital, as it is written, "we must stand before the judgment seat of Christ,

13.St. Optatus of Milevis, The Schism of the Donatists, 1,16.

14.Tertullian, To his wife,2,4.

15.St. Athanasius, Life of Anthony, 91-92.


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that each may give an account of the deeds he has done in the body." One coffin held that honoured

corpse. None other lay by his side. The burial was a noble one; the honours of a martyr were paid him.

Christians who had welcomed him as a guest and then with their own hands laid him in the grave, have

now disinterred him. They have wept as men bereaved of a father and a champion. But they have sent

him to you, for they put your joy before their own consolation. Pious were the hands that gave;

scrupulously careful were the hands that received. There has been no room for deceit; no room for guile. I

bear witness to this. Let the untainted truth be accepted by you.16

St. Gregory of Nyssa, in his Praise of Theodore the Martyr which was delivered on February 7,

381, at Euchaita, where the martyrion of the saint was, says:

Should a person come to a place similar to our assembly today where the memory of the just and the

rest of the saints is present, first consider this house's great dignity to which souls are lead. God's temple

is brightly adorned with magnificence and is embellished with decorations, pictures of animals which

masons have fashioned with delicate silver figures. It exhibits images of flowers made in the likeness of

the martyr's virtues, his struggles, sufferings, the various savage actions of tyrants, assaults, that fiery

furnace, the athlete's blessed consummation and the human form of Christ presiding over all these

events. They are like a book skillfully interpreting by means of colors which express the martyr's struggles

and glorify the temple with resplendent beauty. The pictures located on the walls are eloquent by theirsilence and offer significant testimony; the pavement on which people tread is combined with small

stones and is significant to mention in itself. These spectacles strike the senses and delight the eye by

drawing us near to [the martyr's] tomb which we believe to be both a sanctification and blessing. If

anyone takes dust from the martyr's resting place, it is a gift and a deserving treasure. Should a person

have both the good fortune and permission to touch the relics, this experience is a highly valued prize and

seems like a dream both to those who were cured and whose wish was fulfilled. The body appears as if it

were alive and healthy: the eyes, mouth, ears as well as the other senses are a cause for pouring out tears

of reverence and emotion. In this way one implores the martyr who intercedes on our behalf and is an

attendant of God for imparting those favors and blessings which people seek. From all this, oh devout

people, learn that "the death of his holy ones is admirable before the Lord" [Ps 115.6], for all men

comprise one and the same body; they share the same substance as one dough and are carried off to

death. However, the martyr's suffering bestows grace which is lovable, joyful and undeniable as the text

above teaches. Therefore we believe that appearances hold out the promise of future blessings procured

from trials endured in the world.17

Elsewhere in his sermon on the Forty Martyrs delivered in March 383, he wrote concerning

their bodies which were burnt by their persecutors:

We now see that these men gifted with a three-fold blessing attained what they set out to accomplish.

The despot who sought vengeance quickly bestowed victory upon the martyrs once death overtook their

bodies in battle and ordered that the habitation of these holy souls be handed over to the flames. In this

fashion he imitated savage beasts and cruel men. Having ripped apart the garments [bodies] of men who

have fled, he lacerated their clothes and burned their homes once they escaped. One of the martyrs

rightly said to him, "No longer do I fear your cruelty, oh foolish man. I will tremble when our souls draw

near to these frozen bodies, not the tormentor's arrogance which vanquishes the courage of the saints.

Although this terror has passed and remains stuck in the mud, you do not realize that I have fled the body.

The intense assaults ranged against us have been a means of securing fortitude. Why should we delay?

The bodies have been consumed by flames. We have scattered their ashes and burnt remains, and the

entire earth praises these saints. I will share in their merits by placing my parents' bodies beside the

16.St. Basil of Caesarea, Letter 197,2.

17.St. Gregory of Nyssa, Praise of Theodore the Martyr, PG 46,741-740.


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remains of these soldiers. In this way they will rise at the resurrection with those who are filled with

greater confidence. I know they will prevail because I have witnessed their courage and faith before

God.18

This custom of seeking burial near the tombs of the martyrs, which St. Gregory here

mentions, was widespread in the fourth century. Pope St. Damascus (366-384), in one of the

poems which he inscribed on the wall close to the tomb of Pope St. Sixtus II (257-258), says:

Here, should you ask, lies a vast company of the righteous gathered together; the venerable tombs

preserve the bodies of the saints, but the kingdom of heaven has caught to itself their glorious souls. Here

are the companions of Xystus, who bear away the trophies from the enemy; here many of the leaders

who serve the altars of Christ; here is laid the bishop who lived in the long peace; here the holy confessors

whom Greece sent; here young men and boys, old men and their chaste grandsons, who preferred rather

to keep intact their virgin modesty. Here I, Damasus, wished, I confess it, to lay ray limbs, but I feared to

vex the holy ashes of the righteous.(Extant in the Papal crypt in the Catacomb of Callixtus)

St. Paulinus of Nola (354-431) informs us in one of his poems that Celsus who died in infancy

sometime between the years 372-394 was buried near the shrines of the martyrs in his nativeland: In the city of Complutum we buried *the body of Celsus+, alongside the martyrs with

whom he shares the compact of the tomb, so that with the blood of the saints close by he may

sprinkle our souls when they are in fire after death.19

Infact, the actual grave inscriptions of many of such cases have come down to us. Here we

shall content ourselves with quoting just a few:

"Serpentius bought himself a tomb from the fossor [i.e. grave-digger] Quintus near the grave of the martyr

S.Cornelius."(Cemetery of Callisto, now near Avellino)

"Januarius and Silana bought themselves a tomb to hold two bodies near the grave of S. Felicitas." (Cemetery of S.

Felicitas)

"They prepared a sepulchre for their daughter above the arcosolium near the grave of the martyr S. Hippolytus."

(Cemetery of S. Hippolytus. Lateran Museum)

"Valeria and Sabina during their lifetime bought from Apro and Victor a grave for two bodies in the new crypt

behind the saints."(Northcote, Roma Sotterranea, p.171)

"It is unquestionable that we Januarius and Britia bought a place in front of [the sepulchre of] Lady Emerita from

the diggers Burdo and Micinus and Muscus for the consideration of one solidus of gold and a half in the Consulship

of our Lords Theodosius and Valentinian for the 2nd time*i.e. 426 A.D.+(Cemetery of Commodilla)

"Victor, in peace, son of Bishop Victor of the City of the Ucrenses. He lived 39 years 7 months. He departed on the

11th day before the Calends of November, in the Consulship of our Lord Honorius, for the sixth time, Augustus (i.e.October 22nd, 404 A.D.) Buried in the Basilica of Saints Nasarius and Nabor, in the second arch near the window."

(In vico quodam ad S. Marae supra Minervam ; De Rossi, n. 534.)

18.Ibid, Second Letter concerning the Forty Martyrs.

19.St.Paulinus of Nola, Poem,31,605.


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A detailed explanation of the practice of seeking burial near the tombs of the martyrs may be

read in St. Augustines treatise On care to be had for the deadwritten between the years 424-

425 A.D. There the holy doctor wrote:

The providing for the interment of bodies a place at the Memorials of Saints, is a mark of a good human

affection towards the remains of one's friends: since if there be religion in the burying, there cannot butbe religion in taking thought where the burying shall be. But while it is desirable there should be such like

solaces of survivors, for the showing forth of their pious mind towards their beloved, I do not see what

helps they be to the dead save in this way: that upon recollection of the place in which are deposited the

bodies of those whom they love, they should by prayer commend them to those same Saints, who have as

patrons taken them into their charge to aid them before the Lord. Which indeed they would be still able

to do, even though they were not able to inter them in such places. But then the only reason why the

name Memorials or Monuments is given to those sepulchres of the dead which become, specially

distinguished, is that they recall to memory, and by putting in mind cause us to think of, them who by

death are withdrawn from the eyes of the living, that they may not by forgetfulness be also withdrawn

from men's hearts. For both the term Memorial most plainly shews this, and Monument is so named from

monishing, that is, putting in mind. For which reason the Greeks also call that mnhmeon which we call a

Memorial or Monument: because in their tongue the memory itself, by which we remember, is called

mnhmh. When therefore the mind recollects where the body of a very dear friend lies buried, andthereupon there occurs to the thoughts a place rendered venerable by the name of a Martyr, to that

same Martyr doth it commend the soul in affection of heartfelt recollection 21and prayer. And when this

affection is exhibited to the departed by faithful men who were most dear to them, there is no doubt that

it profits them who while living in the body merited that such things should profit them after this life. But

even if some necessity should through absence of all facility not allow bodies to be interred, or in such

places interred, yet should there be no pretermitting of supplications for the spirits of the dead: which

supplications, that they should be made for all in Christian and catholic fellowship departed, even without

mentioning of their names, under a general commemoration, the Church hath charged herself withal; to

the intent that they which lack, for these offices, parents or sons or whatever kindred or friends, may

have the same afforded unto them by the one pious mother which is common to all. But if there were lack

of these supplications, which are made with right faith and piety for the dead, I account that it should not

a whir profit their spirits, howsoever in holy places the lifeless bodies should be deposited. Whentherefore the faithful mother of a faithful son departed desired to have his body deposited in the basilica

of a Martyr, forasmuch as she believed that his soul would be aided by the merits of the Martyr, the very

believing of this was a sort of supplication, and this profited, if aught profited. And in that she recurs in

her thoughts to this same sepulchre, and in her prayers more and more commends her son, the spirit of

the departed is aided, not by the place of its dead body, but by that which springs from memory of the

place, the living affection of the mother. For at once the thought, who is commended and to whom, doth

touch, and that with no unprofitable emotion, the religious mind of her who prays. For also in prayer to

God, men do with the members of their bodies that which becometh suppliants, when they bend their

knees, when they stretch forth their hands, or even prostrate themselves on the ground, and whatever

else they visibly do, albeit their invisible will and heart's intention be known unto God, and He needs not

these tokens that any man's mind should be opened unto Him: only hereby one more excites himself to

pray and groan more humbly and more fervently. And I know not how it is, that, while these motions of

the body cannot be made but by a motion of the mind preceding, yet by the same being outwardly invisible sort made, that inward invisible one which made them is increased: and thereby the heart's

affection which preceded that they might be made, groweth because they are made. But still if any be in

that way held, or even bound, that he is not able to do these things with his limbs, it does not follow that

the inner man does not pray, and before the eyes of God in its most secret chamber, where it hath

compunction, cast itself on the ground. So likewise, while it makes very much difference, where a person

deposits the body of his dead, while he supplicates for his spirit unto God, because both the affection

preceding chose a spot which was holy, and after the body is there deposited the recalling to mind of that

holy spot renews and increases the affection which had preceded; yet, though he may not be able in that
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place which his religious mind did choose to lay in the ground him whom he loves, in no wise ought he to

cease from necessary supplications in commending of the same .20

It is important here to mention another practice which was wide spread in the fourth century:

The practice of building basilicas over the tombs of the martyrs or on the spot where objects or

relics associated with Christs death were interred. In Jerusalem, the Emperor Constantine (285-339) had two basilicas, the Martyrion and the Anastasis, built on the spot where relics

associated with Christs death were interred. The Martyrion was built on the site of the

Crucifixion, and the Anastasis on the site of the Holy Sepulchre. In Rome, the basilica of St.

Peter which was probably completed in the 394 A.D was built over the graveyard on the Vatican

hill with the tomb of the Apostle St. Peter lying directly underneath the high alter. The libre

Pontificalis maintains that Emperor Constantine erected a place of worship on the Apostle St.

Pauls tomb, consecrated on the 18th

of November 324. The Church historian Socrates (fifth

century A.D) informs us that during the reign of Emperor Arcahius a basilica already stood near

the spot St. Acacius suffered martyrdom by hanging: Not long after the death of John, the

Emperor Arcadius died also. This prince was of a mild and gentle disposition, and toward the

close of his life was esteemed to be greatly beloved of God, from the following circumstance.

There was at Constantinople an immense mansion called Carya; for in the court of it there is a

walnut tree on which it is said Acacius suffered martyrdom by hanging; on which account a

chapel was built near it, which the Emperor Arcadius one day thought fit to visit, and after

having prayed there, left again.21In Bithynia, a basilica was erected over the tomb of St.

Euphemia who suffered martyrdom at Chalcedon, probably under Galerius (305-311). The

Church historian Evagrius (sixth century A.D) informs us that it was in this church that the

fourth Ecumenical Council of the Church met in 451 A.D: The place of meeting was the sacred

precinct of Euphemia, the martyr, situated in the district of Chalcedon in Bithynia, and distant

not more than two stadia from the Bosphorus. The site is a beautiful spot, of so gentle an

ascent.22

In Spain, a shrine was erected over the tomb of St. Eulalia of Merida who wasmartyred in Emerita in Lusitania (modern Merida) in the year 304 during the persecution of

Emperor Diocletian. The Christian Poet Prudentius, writing at the close of the fourth century,

speaks about that shine which already stood in his time: Favored indeed in the land that

preserves safe in its bosom her relics sublime: There in a temple agleam with the light glancing

from the marbles of Spain and the world, shrined are Eulalias sacred remains.23

In the city of

Seleucia (modern Silifke, Turkey) there stood a shrine in honor of St. Thecla. We know from St.

Gregory of Nazianzus correspondence that in the year 374 he withdrew to the shrine of the

highly praised maid Thecla.24

In Germany, a chapel was built over the graves of the soldier

martyrs, Sts. Cassius and Florentius, at Bonn. It was the old custom of visiting the graves of the

martyrs and celebrating the liturgy over or on their graves (Apoc. 6:9 could be an early allusion

to this custom but it is well attested from the second century onwards. See Martyrdom of

Polycarp cited above) that led to the practice of building basilica on the spot so that the altar

20.St. Augustine, On care to be had for the dead, 6-7.

21.Socrates, History of the Church, 6,23.

22.Evagrius Scholasticus, Church History, 2,3.

23.Prudentius, The book of the Crown, 3,191-195.

24.St. Gregory of Nazianzus, De vita sua, 548-9.
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would stand immediately over the martyrs grave. This practice, in turn, gave rise to the custom

of putting relics of the martyrs on the altars of ordinary parish churches within the city. St.

Ambrose of Milan, already in the year 386 A.D., makes mention of that custom:

Bring these victorious victims [i.e. the relics of the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius] to the spot where

Christ is the sacrifice. But He, Who suffered for all, upon the Altar, they, who have been redeemed by His

passion, under the Altar. This spot I had destined for myself, for it is fitting that the priest should rest

where he hath been wont to offer, but I give up the right side to the sacred victims: that spot was due to

the martyrs. Wherefore let us bury the hallowed relics, placing them in a worthy home, and let us employ

the whole day in faithful devotion.25

Victricius of Rouen, writing in the year 396 says to his flock during the arrival at Rouen of the

relics of the saints that were sent from Italy: Stretched out on the ground, and watering the

earth with our tears, let us call out with one voice, so that you [the saints], who inhabit forever

the holy Relics, may purge our bodies.26

St. Jerome, in a letter written around 404 A.D. to console Eustochium for the loss her mother

Paula, informs us of Paulas visit to the holy land:

In visiting the holy places so great was the passion and the enthusiasm she exhibited for each, that she

could never have torn herself away from one had she not been eager to visit the rest. Before the Cross

she threw herself down in adoration as though she beheld the Lord hanging upon it: and when she

entered the tomb which was the scene of the Resurrection she kissed the stone which the angel had

rolled away from the door of the sepulchre. [Matthew 28:2] Indeed so ardent was her faith that she even

licked with her mouth the very spot on which the Lord's body had lain, like one thirsty for the river which

he has longed for. What tears she shed there, what groans she uttered, and what grief she poured forth,

all Jerusalem knows; the Lord also to whom she prayed knows.27

During the time of St. Jerome, Vigilantius, a priest of Gaul, wrote a treatise in which he

attacked the veneration of relics of the saints and the keeping of night vigils. Vigilantius in his

attack on the veneration of the relics of the saints raised the objection that the practice is

idolatrous. St. Jerome was informed about this by Riparius, also a priest of Gaul. To Riparius, St.

Jerome wrote a letter (about 404 A.D.) in which he examines and refutes the objections of

Vigilantius based on his knowledge of them from Riparius. Later, when Riparius had sent him

the book written by Vigilantius, St. Jerome wrote his treatise Against Vigilantius (406 A.D.) in

which he examines and refutes the objections of Vigilantius based on his knowledge of them

from Vigilantius book. In both his letter to Riparius and his treatise Against Vigilantius, St.

Jerome distinguished between latria and dulia, and pointed out that that the veneration of the

relics is a relative veneration, i.e. refers really to the person of the martyr. In his letter to

Riparius:

You tell me that Vigilantius...has again opened his fetid lips and is pouring forth a torrent of filthy venom

upon the relics of the holy martyrs; and that he calls us who cherish them ashmongers and idolaters who

pay homage to dead men's bones. Unhappy wretch! To be wept over by all Christian men, who sees not

that in speaking thus he makes himself one with the Samaritans and the Jews who hold dead bodies

25.St. Ambrose, Letter 22,13. See 22,1.

26.Victricius of Rouen, De Laude Sanctorum, 6.

27.St. Jerome, Letter 108, 9.
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unclean and regard as defiled even vessels which have been in the same house with them, following the

letter that kills and not the spirit that gives life [2 Cor. 3:6]. We, it is true, refuse to worship or adore, I say

not the relics of the martyrs, but even the sun and moon, the angels and archangels, the Cherubim and

Seraphim and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to

come[Eph. 1:21]. For we may not serve the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever

[Rom. 1:25]. Still we honour the relics of the martyrs, that we may adore Him whose martyrs they are. We

honour the servants that their honour may be reflected upon their Lord.28

; And in his treatise Against Vigilantius:

As to the question of tapers* i.e. candles+, however, we do not, as you in vain misrepresent us, light them

in the daytime, but by their solace we would cheer the darkness of the night, and watch for the dawn, lest

we should be blind like you and sleep in darkness. And if some persons, being ignorant and simple minded

laymen, or, at all events, religious women of whom we can truly say,[Rom. 10:2] I allow that they have a

zeal for God, but not according to knowledge adopt the practice in honour of the martyrs, what harm is

thereby done to you? Once upon a time even the Apostles pleaded that the ointment was wasted, but

they were rebuked by the voice of the Lord. Christ did not need the ointment, nor do martyrs need the

light of tapers; and yet that woman poured out the ointment in honour ofChrist, and her heart's devotion

was accepted. All those who light these tapers have their reward according to their faith, as the Apostle

says: Let every one abound in his own meaning. Do you call men of this sort idolaters? I do not deny, that

all of us who believe in Christ have passed from the error ofidolatry. For we are not born Christians, but

become Christians by being born again. And because we formerly worshipped idols, does it follow that we

ought not now to worship God lest we seem to pay like honour to Him and to idols? In the one case

respect was paid to idols, and therefore the ceremony is to be abhorred; in the other the martyrs are

venerated, and the same ceremony is therefore to be allowed. Throughout the whole Eastern Church,

even when there are no relics of the martyrs, whenever the Gospel is to be read the candles are lighted,

although the dawn may be reddening the sky, not of course to scatter the darkness, but by way of

evidencing our joy [Mt. 25:1].29

From the passage of St. Jeromes letter to Riparius which we cited above, it appears that

Vigilantius in rejecting the Christian practice of venerating relics raised the objection that the

bodies of martyrs are unclean. This objection was not original with Vigilantius. It was the same

objection which the heathens before and during his time raised against that Christian practice.

To the heathens, the bodies of the dead were an object of loathing. For this reason, they were

greatly offended when they saw Christians treating the bodies of martyrs with reverence and

erecting places of worship over their tombs. For example, Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-

363), in his anti-Christian treatiseAgainst the Galileans, wrote:

But you are so misguided that you have not even remained faithful to the teachings that were handed

down to you by the apostles. And these also have been altered., so as to be worse and more impious, by

those who came after. At any rate neither Paul nor Matthew nor Luke nor Mark ventured to call Jesus

God. But the worthy John, since he perceived that a great number of people in many of the towns of

Greece and Italy had already been infected by this disease, and because he heard, I suppose, that even

the tombs of Peter and Paul were being worshipped ----secretly, it is true, but still he did hear this,----he, I

say, was the first to venture to call Jesus God. And after he had spoken briefly about John the Baptist he

referred again to the Word which he was proclaiming, and said, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt

among us."[Jn. 1:14) But how, he does not say, because he was ashamed. Nowhere, however, does he call

28.Ibid, Letter 109,1.

29.Ibid, Against Vigilantius,7.
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him either Jesus or Christ, so long as he calls him God and the Word, but as it were insensibly and secretly

he steals away our ears, and says that John the Baptist bore this witness on behalf of Jesus Christ, that in

very truth he it is whom we must believe to be God the Word. But that John says this concerning Jesus

Christ I for my part do not deny. And yet certain of the impious think that Jesus Christ is quite distinct

from the Word that was proclaimed by John. That however is not the case. For he whom John himself

calls God the Word, this is he who, says he, was recognised by John the Baptist to be Jesus Christ. Observe

accordingly how cautiously, how quietly and insensibly he introduces into the drama the crowning wordof his impiety; and he is so rascally and deceitful that he rears his head once more to add, "No man hath

seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared

him."[Jn. 1:18] Then is this only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father the God who is the

Word and became flesh? And if, as I think, it is indeed he, you also have certainly beheld God. For "He

dwelt among you, and ye beheld his glory."[Jn. 1:19]Why then do you add to this that "No man hath seen

God at any time"? For ye have indeed seen, if not God the Father, still God who is the Word.But if the

only begotten Son is one person and the God who is the Word another, as I have heard from certain of

your sect, then it appears that not even John made that rash statement. However this evil doctrine did

originate with John; but who could detest as they deserve all those doctrines that you have invented as a

sequel, while you keep adding many corpses newly dead to the corpse of long ago? You have filled the

whole world with tombs and sepulchres, and yet in your scriptures it is nowhere said that you must grovel

among tombs and pay them honour. But you have gone so far in iniquity that you think you need not

listen even to the words of Jesus of Nazareth on this matter. Listen then to what he says about sepulchres

: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres; outward the

tomb appears beautiful, but within it is full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."[Mt. 23:27]If,

then, Jesus said that sepulchres are full of uncleanness, how can you invoke God at them? . . .

Therefore, since this is so, why do you grovel among tombs? Do you wish to hear the reason? It is not I

who will tell you, but the prophet Isaiah: "They lodge among tombs and in caves for the sake of dream

visions."[cf. Ish. 65:4) You observe, then, how ancient among the Jews was this work of witchcraft,

namely, sleeping among tombs for the sake of dream visions. And indeed it is likely that your apostles,

after their teacher's death, practised this and handed it down to you from the beginning, I mean to those

who first adopted your faith, and that they themselves performed their spells more skilfully than you do,

and displayed openly to those who came after them the places in which they performed this witchcraft

and abomination.30

Elsewhere, in his Edict on funerals issued on February 12 in the year 363 and which was

probably aimed at the Christians who buried their dead by day, we read:

As I have said, death is rest; and night harmonises with rest. Therefore I think it is fitting that business

connected with the burials of the dead should be performed at night, since for many reasons we ought to

forbid anything of the sort to go on by day. Throughout the city men are going to and fro each on his own

business, and all the streets are full of men going to the law courts, or to or from the market, or sitting at

work at their crafts, or visiting the temples to confirm the good hopes that the gods have vouchsafed. And

then some persons or other, having laid a corpse on the bier, push their way into the midst of those who

are busy about such matters. The thing is in every way intolerable. For those who meet the funeral are

often filled with disgust, some because they regard it as an evil omen, while for others who are on the

way to the temples it is not permitted to approach for worship till they have cleansed themselves fromthe pollution. For after such a sight it is not permitted to approach the gods who are the cause of life and

of all things least akin to decay31

30. Julian the Aposate, Against the Galilians.

31.Ibid, Letter 56.


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Eunapius of Sadis, who like Julian was an initiate of Eleusinian mysteries, says in his Lives of the

Sophists written about 405 A.D.:

They fettered the human race to the worship of slaves, and those not even honest slaves, instead of the

true gods. For they collected the bones and skulls of criminals who had been put to death for numerous

crimes, men whom the law courts of the city had condemned to punishment, made them out to be gods,

haunted their sepulchres,and thought that they became better by defiling themselves at their graves.

"Martyrs" the dead men were called, and "ministers" of a sort, and "ambassadors" from the gods to carry

men's prayers, these slaves in vilest servitude, who had been consumed by stripes and carried on their

phantom forms the scars of their vi llainy.32

The early Christian writers responded to this objection by pointing out that the bodies of the

martyrs are holy and that they deserve to be venerated (i)because the bodies of the martyrs

which lie in the grave is an essential part of the person of the martyr whose soul is now in

heaven (ii)because they were once vessels in which the spirit dwelt (iii) because they will rise

gloriously and immortal on the last day (iv) because they are members of the body of Christ (v)

because God Himself honors them by working miracles through them. Thus the Christian

compiler of the Apostolic Constitution (400 A.D.) wrote:

Do not therefore keep any such observances about legal and natural purgations, as thinking you are

defiled by them. Neither do you seek after Jewish separations, or perpetual washings, or purifications

upon the touch of a dead body. But without such observations assemble in the dormitories, reading the

holy books, and singing for the martyrs which are fallen asleep, and for all the saints from the beginning of

the world, and for your brethren that are asleep in the Lord, and offer the acceptable Eucharist, the

representation of the royal body of Christ, both in your churches and in the dormitories; and in the

funerals of the departed, accompany them with singing, if they were faithful in Christ. For precious in the

sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. And again: O my soul, return unto your rest, for the Lord has

done you good. And elsewhere: The memory of the just is with encomiums. Proverbs 10:7 And, The souls

of the righteous are in the hands of God. Wisdom 3:1 For those that have believed in God, although they

are asleep, are not dead. For our Saviour says to the Sadducees: But concerning the resurrection of thedead, have you not read that which is written, I am the God ofAbraham, and the God of Isaac, and the

God of Jacob? God, therefore, is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him. Exodus 3:6;

Luke 20:38 Wherefore, of those that live with God, even their very relics are not without honour. For even

Elisha the prophet, after he was fallen asleep, raised up a dead man who was slain by the pirates of Syria.

For his body touched the bones of Elisha, and he arose and revived. Now this would not have happened

unless the body of Elisha were holy. And chaste Joseph embraced Jacob after he was dead upon his bed;

and Moses and Joshua the son of Nun carried away the relics of Joseph, and did not esteem it a

defilement. Whence you also, O bishops, and the rest, who without such observances touch the departed,

ought not to think yourselves defiled. Nor abhor the relics of such persons, but avoid such observances,

for they are foolish. And adorn yourselves with holiness and chastity, that you may become partakers of

immortality, and partners of the kingdom of God, and may receive the promise of God, and may rest for

ever, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.33

St. Augustine, in his treatise The City of God which he began writing around 413 A.D.:

The bodies of the dead, nevertheless, are not to be despised and thrown aside, and least of all, those of

the righteous and faithful, which were used in a chaste manner by the Spirit as the organs and vessels for

32.Eunapius of Sadis, Lives of the Sophists.

33.Apostolic Constitution,6,30.
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all good works. For if the dress or the ring or anything of the sort belonging to parents is more dear to

their offspring as their affection for them was the greater, certainly then the bodies themselves are not to

be scorned, which are more intimately joined to us than anything we wear.34

St. Jerome refutes the uncleanliness objection at length in his letter to Riparius:

I ask Vigilantius, Are the relics of Peter and ofPaul unclean? Was the body ofMoses unclean, of which we

are told (according to the correct Hebrew text) that it was buried by the Lord Himself?[Deut. 34:6] And do

we, every time that we enter the basilicas of apostles and prophets and martyrs, pay homage to the

shrines ofidols? Are the tapers which burn before their tombs only the tokens ofidolatry? I will go farther

still and ask a question which will make this theory recoil upon the head of its inventor and which will

either kill or cure that frenzied brain of his, so that simple souls shall be no more subverted by his

sacrilegious reasonings. Let him answer me this, Was the Lord's body unclean when it was placed in the

sepulchre? And did the angels clothed in white raiment merely watch over a corpse dead and defiled, that

ages afterwards this sleepy fellow might indulge in dreams and vomit forth his filthy surfeit, so as, like the

persecutor Julian, either to destroy the basilicas of the saints or to convert them into heathen temples?..If

the relics of the martyrs are not worthy ofhonour, how comes it that we read Precious in the sight of the

Lord is the death of his saints? If dead men's bones defile those that touch them, how came it that the

dead Elisha raised another man also dead, and that life came to this latter from the body of the prophetwhich according to Vigilantius must have been unclean? In that case every encampment of the host of

Israel and the people of God was unclean; for they carried the bodies of Joseph and of the patriarchs with

them in the wilderness, and carried their unclean ashes even into the holy land. In that case Joseph, who

was a type of our Lord and Saviour, was a wicked man; for he carried up Jacob's bones with great pomp to

Hebron merely to put his unclean father beside his unclean grandfather and great grandfather, that is,

one dead body along with others.35

Also, in his treatise Against Vigilantius, we read:

And have you the audacity to speak of the mysterious something or other which you carry about in a

little vessel and worship? I want to know what it is that you call something or other. Tell us more clearly

(that there may be no restraint on your blasphemy) what you mean by the phrase a bit of powderwrapped up in a costly cloth in a tiny vessel. It is nothing less than the relics of the martyrs which he is

vexed to see covered with a costly veil, and not bound up with rags or hair-cloth, or thrown on the

midden, so that Vigilantius alone in his drunken slumber may be worshipped. Are we, therefore guilty of

sacrilege when we enter the basilicas of the Apostles? Was the Emperor Constantius I. guilty of sacrilege

when he transferred the sacred relics of Andrew, Luke, and Timothy to Constantinople? In their presence

the demons cry out, and the devils who dwell in Vigilantius confess that they feel the influence of the

saints. And at the present day is the Emperor Arcadius guilty of sacrilege, who after so long a time has

conveyed the bones of the blessed Samuel from Judea to Thrace? Are all the bishops to be considered not

only sacrilegious, but silly into the bargain, because they carried that most worthless thing, dust and

ashes, wrapped in silk in golden vessel? Are the people of all the Churches fools, because they went to

meet the sacred relics, and welcomed them with as much joy as if they beheld a living prophet in the

midst of them, so that there was one great swarm of people from Palestine to Chalcedon with one voice

re-echoing the praises of Christ? They were forsooth, adoring Samuel and not Christ, whose Levite and

prophet Samuel was. You show mistrust because you think only of the dead body, and therefore

blaspheme. Read the Gospel Matthew 22:32 The God ofAbraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob:

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. If then they are alive, they are not, to use your expression,

kept in honourable confinement;

34.St. Augustine, The City of God,1,13.

35.St. Jerome, Letter 109,1-2.
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Does the bishop of Rome do wrong when he offers sacrifices to the Lord over the venerable bones of the

dead men Peter and Paul, as we should say, but according to you, over a worthless bit of dust, and judges

their tombs worthy to be Christ's altars? And not only is the bishop of one city in error, but the bishops of

the whole world, who, despite the tavern-keeper Vigilantius, enter the basilicas of the dead, in which a

worthless bit of dust and ashes lies wrapped up in a cloth, defiled and defiling all else. Thus, according to

you, the sacred buildings are like the sepulchres of the Pharisees, whitened without, while within they

have filthy remains, and are full of foul smells and uncleanliness.36

From St. Jeromes refutation we can see how widespread the practice of venerating the relics

ofthe saints was in the fourth century, for he speaks of all the bishops and all the churches as

embracing it.

St. Paulinus of Nola in his letter to Severus written in the year 402 speaks of the veneration of

the True cross: Every year during the Lords Pasch the bishop of that city brings it out to be

venerated by the people; he leads them in this show of respect. Only on the day when we

celebrate the mystery of the cross itself is that source of mysteries brought out to mark the

holy and solemn occasion; but occasionally devout pilgrims who have come there merely for

that purpose beg that it be shown them as reward for their long journeying. It is said that this

request is granted only by the kindness of the bishop; and it is likewise by his gift alone that

these tiny fragments of sacred wood from the same cross are made available to win great

graces of faith and blessings.37

Ghazar Parpetsi, in his History of the Armenians written at the end of the fifth century,

informs us of the veneration that was paid to St. Sahak and his relics after his death:

The coveted remains of this blessed man were taken *g37+ by a multitude of priests and azats to

[Sahak's] own native sephakan village named Ashtishat in the district of Taron. There they built a

repository for the saint and placed the pure body of this just man in a place fit for the honest. They also

built a glorious church there and a martyrium for the saints and adorned [them] with precious and costly

[58] vessels. They established at the spot a monastery for a multitude of clerics, establishing continual

maintenance of produce for the ease of the elderly [members] of the brotherhood. The azats and priestsof the district established at that place (with enthusiastic popular support) yearly assemblies [where] from

time to time and with the voluntary support of the masses of people and [the participation of] a great

number of people who had come from distant places, they commemorated the day of his death. Much

benefit for the healing of every sort of disease was obtained from the saint's relics. And with joyous hearts

they would return to their own dwelling.38

St. Bede the venerable, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English nation which was written in

the year 730 A.D., informs us that when St. Augustine (d.605 A.D.) Christianized the Britons, the

bishop of Rome, St. Gregory (540-604), on hearing this sent to him among other things that

were necessary for worship, the relics of the holy apostles and martyrs:

Moreover, the same Pope Gregory, hearing from Bishop Augustine, that he had a great harvest, and but

few labourers, sent to him, together with his aforesaid messengers, several fellow labourers and ministers

of the word of whom the first and principal were Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus, and Rufinianus, and by them

all things in general that were necessary for the worship and service of the church, viz., sacred vessels and

36.Ibid, Against Vigilantius,5.8.

37.St. Paulinus of Nola, Letter, 31.6.

38.Ghazar Parpetsi, History of the Armenians, 18.
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vestments for the altars, also ornaments for the churches, and vestments for the priests and clerks, as

likewise relics of the holy apostles and martyrs; besides many books. He also sent letters, wherein he

signified that he had transmitted the pall to him, and at the same time directed how he should constitute

bishops in Britain.39

Elsewhere, St. Bede informs us of the veneration offered to the incorrupt body of St.

Etheldreha (d. 679), daughter of King Anna of the East Angles and Queen Hereswide of England:

The body of the holy virgin and spouse of Christ, when her grave was opened, being brought into sight,

was found as free from corruption as if she had died and been buried on that very day; as the aforesaid

Bishop Wilfrid, and many others that know it, can testify... They washed the virgin's body, and having

clothed it in new garments, brought it into the church, and laid it in the coffin that had been brought,

where it is held in great veneration to this day40

The citations can be multiplied. But those we have provided are enough to show that the

Church from the earliest times approved and fostered the veneration of relics of the saints.

The teaching of the Church regarding the veneration of relics is clearly expressed by the

council of Trent in the following words:

The holy bodies of the holy martyrs and of others living with Christ, which were the living members of

Christ and the temple the Holy Ghost, [See I Cor. 3:16; 6:19; II Cor. 6:16] to be awakened by Him to

eternal life and to be glorified, are to be venerated by the faithful,[Cf. II Council of Nicaea (787), can. 7]

through which many benefits are bestowed by God on men, so that those who maintain that veneration

and honor are not due to the relics of the saints, or that these and other memorials are honored by the

faithful without profit, and that the places dedicated to the memory of the saints for the purpose of

obtaining their aid are visited in vain, are to be utterly condemned, as the Church has already long since

condemned and now again condemns them41

The above declaration of the council of Trent was directed against the sixteenth century

Reformers who rejected the veneration of relics. Three objections were raised by them againstthe practice (i) that it is idolatrous. (ii) that it encourages superstition (iii) that it is unscriptural.

During those troubled times, in many places where those in authority had abandoned the old

faith and had embraced the new ideas of the Reformers, pilgrimages were prohibited, the

tombs of the saints were defaced and their relics destroyed. Although presently, the followers

of the Reformers (i.e. Protestants) no longer engage in the destruction of shrines and relics of

the saints but since they still reject the veneration of relics, and in their rejection of the practice

they still repeat the objection of the Reformers, we shall here respond to these objections.

Starting with the first of these objections. Earlier on in the section on the veneration of the

saints, we saw that in honoring a creature, an individual commits the sin of idolatry when he or

she offers the honor which belongs to God alone (i.e. divine honor) to that creature. Thus, in

honoring the relics of the saints, an individual is guilty of idolatry if the honor which he or she

offers to the relics of the saints is divine honor. In that same section, we also saw how one

offers divine honor to a creature. By considering or honoring that creature as a god, and also by

honoring that creature in place of God. Thus, an individual who considers or honors the relics of

39.Bede the Venerable, Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, 1,29.

40.Ibid,4,19.

41.Council of Trent, session 25, December 3, 1563.


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the saints as gods or who honors the relics of the saints in place of God, is offering divine honor

to the relics of the saints and, hence is guilty of the sin of idolatry. But Catholics do not offer

divine honor to the relics of the saints. We do not consider or honor the relics of the saints as

gods; for we believe there is only one God, the Blessed Trinity, and Him alone do we offer the

worship of adoration. Nor do we honor the relics of the saints in place of God, for we believe

that God cannot share His glory with another. We do not even offer absolute honor to the relicsof the saints, i.e. do not honor relics for their own sake, for we believe that there is no power in

the relics themselves entitling them to our honor. The kind of honor which we offer to the relics

is a relative honor, i.e. we honor the relics of a saint for the sake of the saint whom the relics

belong; and for the sake of God whose servant the saint is.

The problem with men like Calvin is that they fail to recognize that there is a distinction

between divine honor and inferior honor, and also that signs of reverence such as bowing and

kneeling do not always connote divine honor. This can be seen from his argument in that

passage: I admit that people do not arrive at once at open idolatry, but they gradually advance

from one abuse to another until they fall into this extremity, and, indeed, those who call

themselves Christians have, in this respect, idolatrised as much as Pagans ever did. They have

prostrated themselves, and knelt before relics, just as if they were worshipping God; they have

burnt candles before them in sign of homage; they have placed their confidence in them, and

have prayed to them, as if the virtue and the grace of God had entered into them. Now, if

idolatry be nothing else than the transfer elsewhere of the honour which is due to God, can it

be denied that this is idolatry? Calvin has a problem with prostrating and kneeling before

relics. To him the papists are idolaters for doing these things. But as we ha ve explained earlier

there is a distinction between divine honor and inferior honor, and signs of reverence such as

kneeling and prostrating do not always connote divine honor but can be used to offer inferior

honor to a creature. Now, when a Catholic kneels or prostrates before the body of a saint, our

intention is not to offer to that object the honor which belong to God. The kind of honor which

we intend to offer to the relics of the saints by such acts of reverence is inferior honor, and thiswe offer to the relics of the saints not for their own sake but for the sake of the saints whose

relics they are; and for the sake of God whose servants the saints are.

The principle of offering relative honor to insensible objects is recognized in the Scriptures

themselves. The same principle is accepted in the various cultures of the world. Today as in

years before, we find people kissing the cloths or robes of their leaders as a sign of respect to

them, we find Christians including those from Protestant heritage kneeling before or kissing the

Bible as a sign of reverence to God whose word is contained in the book.

Calvin also speaks of us placing our confidence in relics and praying to them. But we would be

the most foolish of men if we do those things which Calvin here charges us of. Catholics are

fully aware that relics are insensible objects and so we do not pray to them for we know thatthey cannot hear us. So what are Catholics doing when we are found offering prayers before

the body of a saint or his relics? When we are seen praying before the body of a saint or his

relics our intention is to thank God for making the saint, whose body or relics we see lying

before us, His faithful servant; and to ask the saint, whose body or relics we see lying before us

but whom we believe is now with God in heaven, to intercede with God for us. The Christian

Poet Prudentius speaks of this in one of his hymns: Thus we shall honor her *St. Eulalias+ relics

enshrined here in this altar raised up in her name. She, at the foot of Gods heavenly throne,


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touched by our prayers and melodious hymns, graciously smiles on her people below.42

Here

we see one of the usefulness of relics which Catholic authors have long since pointed out to

their detractors. The relics of the saints remind us of their holy lives and inspire us to honor

their memory. This inspiration encourages us to thank God the source of all holiness, to imitate

the saints as we strive by Gods grace to live the Christian life, and to ask them for their prayers.

St. John Chrysostom, as far back as the fourth century, could write:

To show is great and varied providence towards the race of man, God in His loving-kindness fashioned

the whole creation. He stretched out the heaven and spread out the sea. He lit the lamp of the sun and

made the moon to shine. He gave us the earth for our dwelling and all the products of the earth to feed

and sustain our bodies. He has also given us the relics of the holy martyrs, although He has taken their

souls to Himself, for He says: The souls of the just are in the hand of God *Wis. 3:1+. But even to this day

He has left us their bodies to give us the exhortation and encouragement we need. Hence, as we stand

before the tomb of the holy ones, let us rouse ourselves to such zeal as to imitate them; as we look upon

their tombs, let us call to mind the deeds by which they won success; let us think of the reward stored up

for a triumph such as theirsBeloved, when you stand besides the tombs and your mind considers that

this whole throng hastens with such speed to gather here they may clasp the dust and reap the blessing

which comes from these tomb, how will you fail to show the same zeal as the martyr, so that you yourselfbe judged worthy of the same reward? If they enjoy such honor here from us, their fellow subjects, what

sort and how great a freedom to speak will they enjoy from the Master on the dread day when they are

going to shine forth more brilliantly than the ray of the sun? For He says: Then the Just will shine forth

like the sun *Mt. 13:43+.43

Similarly, St. Paulinus of Nola, in a letter which he wrote to Severus in the year 403 to inform

him he was sending him a relic of the true cross, comments:

Once you think that you behold the wood of which our salvation, the Lord of Majesty, was hanged with

nails whilst the world trembled, you, too, must tremble, but you must also rejoice. Let us remember that

the rocks were rent[Mt. 27:51] when this cross was seen; so let us imitate the rocks at least, and rend our

hearts with fear of God. Let us recall that the veil of the temples was also rent[Mt. 27:51] by the samemystery of the cross. We must realize that the rending of the veil was revealed to us that, hearing the

voice of the Lord and the mystery of His boundless love, we may refrain from things of the flesh and rend

in two the veil of unbelief. So, when we have uncovered the surface of our hearts, we may behold the

mystery of the saving gifts of GodI hope that the cross will not only be a reminder of its blessing, but

also generate for you incorruptibility, so that looking on it you may be fired to faith.44

From this one can understand why whenever a Catholic comes before a relic or relics of a

saint, it takes no time before he or she is seen praying before it. It is the relic(s) that inspires us

on this occasion to pray, and the content of such prayers as we have explained is filled with the

intent to love and glorify God, to love the saints, to imitate their virtues, and to seek their

intercession. There is nothing idolatrous about this.

But have there not been cases as claimed by Calvin whereby some in their zeal to honor relics

came to think that there is some power inherent in relics and so were led to honor them for

their own sake or to address prayers to them as if they could hear mens prayers? This question

42.Prudentius, The book of the martyrs crowns, 3, 211-215.

43.St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions,7,1.3.

44.St. Paulinus of Nola, Letter 31,1.6.


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takes us to the second charge put forward by the Reformers that veneration of relics

encourages superstition.

The Church, it should it should be noted, does not teach that there is any magical virtue or

physical curative efficacy residing in the relic itself. What the Church teaches is this: that relics

are often the occasion of God given miracles. This teaching is clearly stated by the Church at the

council of Trent in the document which we quoted above (through which many benefits arebestowed by God on men). This teaching was held by the Church in the early centuries as can

be seen from the following quotations from the early Church fathers and medieval writes. St.

John Chrysostom, writing in the fourth century, comments:

Let us have continuous recourse to them as physicians of the spirit. It was for this reason the good

Master has left their bodies with us, that we might stand beside their tombs and clasp them with the

whole strength of our soul, and in this way get from them the greatest healing for our illness of soul and

body. For if we stand beside them with faith, whether our sickness be of the body or the soul, we will not

leave their tombs without the healing of which we stand in need...The Master has graciously given us the

tombs of the martyrs to be our spiritual fountain which can pour forth the waters in abundance45

St. Augustine, writing in the fifth century, says:

To what do these miracles witness, but to this faith which preaches Christ risen in the flesh, and

ascended with the same into heaven? For the martyrs themselves were martyrs, that is to say, witnesses

of this faith, drawing upon themselves by their testimony the hatred of the world, and conquering the

world not by resisting it, but by dying. For this faith they died, and can now ask these benefits from the

Lord in whose name they were slain. For this faith their marvellous constancy was exercised, so that in

these miracles great power was manifested as the result. For if the resurrection of the flesh to eternal life

had not taken place in Christ, and were not to be accomplished in His people, as predicted by Christ, or by

the prophets who foretold that Christ was to come, why do the martyrs who were slain for this faith

which proclaims the resurrection possess such power? For whether God Himself wrought these miracles

by that wonderful manner of working by which, though Himself eternal, He produces effects in time; or

whether He wrought them by servants, and if so, whether He made use of the spirits of martyrs as He

uses men who are still in the bo

devotion to the saints

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