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RELICSOFTHECHRIST

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ELICSFTHE

CHRIST

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY

Joe Nickell

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Publication of this volume was made possible in part

by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Copyright 2007 by The University Press of Kentucky

Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,

serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre

College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,

The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College,

entucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University,

orehead State University, Murray State University,

orthern Kentucky University, Transylvania University,

niversity of Kentucky, University of Louisville,

and Western Kentucky University.

All rights reserved.

Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky

663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008

www.kentuckypress.com

1 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1

ibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ickell, Joe.

Relics of the Christ / Joe Nickell.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-2425-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-8131-2425-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Jesus ChristRelics. 2. Relics. 3. Religious articles. I. Title.

BT465.N53 2006

232.96'6dc22

2006029341

This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting

the requirements of the American National Standard

or Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.

anufactured in the United States of America.

Member of the Association of

American University Presses

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List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: The Life of Jesus 1

The Christ 1The Nazarene 5

The Mythologized Jesus 8

The Physical Evidence 11

1. The Cult of Relics 13

The Origin of Relics 13

The Veneration of Relics 16

The Dispensation of Relics 18Authentication 21

2. Christian Relics 26

Nativity and Infancy 26

Life and Ministry 31

Disciples 33

Later Saints 40

3. The Holy Grail 50

Grail Legends 50

Historical Evidence 53

Contents

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CONTENTSvi

he Grail as Relic 56

he Da Vinci Hoax 60

4. Self-Portraits of Jesus 67he Likeness of Jesus 67

he Image of Edessa 69

Veronicas Veil 71

5. The True Cross 77

Visions of Constantine and Helena 77

he Holy Cross 82

he Titulus 86Fragments and Nails 90

6. Other Crucifixion Relics 96

Relics of the Trial and Scourging 96

he Crown of Thorns 100

he Holy Garments 103

he Lance of Longinus 106

7. Holy Shrouds 111

esus Jewish Burial 111

oly Winding Sheets 114

Shroud of Constantinople 117

Shrouds in Art and Liturgy 120

8. The Shroud of Turin 122

he Affair at Lirey 122A Confessed Forger 128

ourney of the Holy Shroud 130

A Linen Cloth 134

9. Photograph of Christ 139

mage on the Shroud 139

he Imprinting 142

edical Evidence 147A Work of Art 150

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CONTENTS vii

10. The Sudarium of Oviedo 154

Companion Relic 154

istorical Record 156ogus Science 159

Carbon Dating 164

11. Blood of Jesus 167

oly Blood 167

Blood on the Shroud 174

Blood on the Sudarium 177

12. The James Ossuary 180

ackground 180

Provenance 184

Further Suspicions 186

he Verdict 189

Conclusion 191

References 193Index 201

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llustrations

The Annunciation 3

The Holy Family 7

Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead 10

Relic collection at the Church of Maria Ausiliatrice 14

Relic chapel in the Church of Maria Ausiliatrice 17

Reliquary of the reputed blood of Christ 21

Reputed relic of St. Augustine 22

Ten Commandments being given to Moses 23

Basilica of St. Eustorgio in Milan 28

Depiction of the Magi at Basilica of St. Eustorgio 28

St. Marks Basilica in Venice 38

Crypt supposedly holding relics of St. Mark 38Lunette depicting St. Mark , the Virgin, and Christ 39

St. Januarius holding vials of his own blood 45

Gilded bust of St. Januarius 48

Luigi Garlaschelli and the Pozzuoli Stone 48

Suit of cups in the tarot deck 51

Knights Templar 54

Statue of Faith holding the Holy Grail 57The Antioch chalice 59

Cover of The Da Vinci Code 61

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ILLUSTRATIONSx

Statue of Leonardo da Vinci 62

Purported relics of Mary Magdalene 64

Face of Christ imprinted on cloth 69Veronica offers her veil to Jesus 72

Veronica displays her veil 72

Veronica engraving on linen 74

Jesus dies on a cross 78

Byzantine cross 79

Crusaders capturing Jerusalem 84

View of Golgotha 85Cover of The Quest for the True Cross 88

Embossed token of the True Cross 93

Collection of relics from Constantinople 99

Jesus with the Crown of Thorns 101

Cover of The Spear of Destiny 110

Burial of Jesus 113

Holy Shroud of Besanon, France 117

Crusaders desecrating a church in Constantinople 119

Container of the Shroud of Turin 123

useum of the Shroud in Turin 123

Shroud of Turin carried aloft by angels 124

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist 132

Walter C. McCrone 133

Photographs of the Shroud of Turin 141

Detail from photoreproduction of the shroud 144

Negative photo of the face on the shroud 146

Negative photo of experimental image 147

Cover of The Oviedo Cloth 157

ap of Spain 158

Sketch of the Oviedo cloth 161

Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges 171

Painting in Bruges depicting the Holy Blood 171Lighted cross at Church of Maria Ausiliatrice 172

The James ossuary 181

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ILLUSTRATIONS xi

Ossuaries at Royal Ontario Museum 182

The James ossuarys inscription 183

Ossuary exhibition at Royal Ontario Museum 186Drawing of rosettes on James ossuary 187

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am grateful for the assistance of many people, including all my col-

leagues at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, notably,

Paul Kurtz, chairman, and Barry Karr, executive director, for their

continued support. So, too, the entire staff of Skeptical Inquirer ma -

azine, in which some portions of this book appeared.

Specifically, I want to thank Timothy Binga, director of CFI Li-

braries, for research assistance; Thomas Flynn, editor of Free Inquiry,

or help in various ways; and Paul E. Loynes for word processing.

I appreciate all the efforts of the staff at the University Press of

Kentucky, especially Gena Henry for her continuing interest in this

book.

any others assisted in various ways, especially my Italian col-leagues and friends, including Paola de Gobbi, Francesco Chiminello,

and Matteo Fillippini (in Venice); Massimo Polidoro (in Milan); Ste-

ano Bagnasco, Andrea Ferrero, Claudio Pastore, Beatrice Mautino,

and Mario Tomatis (in Turin); and Luigi Garlaschelli (who accompa-

ied me to Naples).

And, of course, once again I am grateful for the encouragement

and assistance of friends and family, especially the love of my life,Diana Harris; our beautiful daughter, Cherette Roycroft; my son-in-

law, Randy Roycroft; and my grandsons, Chase and Tyner.

Acknowledgments

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The Life of Jesus

The founder of Christianity, the religious movement that helped

shape the course of Western civilization, was an itinerant, wonder-

orking, Palestinian rabbi from Nazareth named Yeshua (in He-

brew), today known as Jesus (from the Greek form of that name). He

as been viewed in quite different ways. As portrayed in the Chris-

tian Gospels, he was the Messiah, or Christ (from the Greek anoint-

ed); scholars have attempted to understand him as a historical

gure, sometimes called the Nazarene; and some have even seen him

as largely or even completely fictitious, the product of an evolving

ythology. This chapter treats each of these views in turn and then

sets the tone for the remainder of the book, which investigates the

eputed relics of Jesus and his family and followers, examining howthey contribute to an understanding of what is necessarily a story of

a story.

T e C rist

The primary source of information about the life of Jesus is the four

GospelsMatthew, Mark, Luke, and Johnsupplemented by other

Christian texts, including apocryphal Gospels, and scant non-Christianritings. Three of the four GospelsMatthew, Mark, and Lukeare

known as the synoptic Gospels (from the Greek synoptikos, with

one eye) because of their similarities. Matthew appears first in the

NTRODUCTION

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