relic
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What is a religious relic?
A religious relic is strictly the mortal remains of a saint, but the term also includes any object that has been in contact with the saint.
Christianity and Buddhism have emphasized the veneration of relics. The Christian veneration of relics is based on the idea that reverence for the relics honors the saint. Though the expectation of favors may accompany devotion, it is not integral to it.
In Hinduism, the veneration of relics is largely absent. Islam has a cult of relics associated with its founder and with saints; however, the use of relics has no official sanction.
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Why do people in some religions value relics?
Relics are valued in some religions because they are believed to be the mortal remains or objects that have been in contact with a saint or religious figure. Veneration of relics is emphasized in Christianity, especially in Roman Catholicism, and in Buddhism.
In Christianity, reverence for relics is thought to honor the saint, and God's miracles are believed to occur in their presence. In Buddhism, relics are regarded as the living presence of the Buddha, and legends of miraculous powers have arisen around them. Though not officially sanctioned, Islam also has a cult of relics associated with its founder and with saints.
Reliquaries, or shrines that contain relics, are nearly universal. They come in various forms and sizes and are often portable for processions or pilgrimages.
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What are some common types of relics in religion?
Relics are physical objects associated with a holy person or religious tradition and are considered worthy of veneration.
Common types of relics include:
* Corporeal relics The mortal remains of a saint or religious figure, such as bones, teeth, or hair. In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, some incorruptible bodies of saints are considered holy relics and treated with great esteem.
* Objects Items that have come into contact with a saint, such as clothing or personal possessions.
* Reliquaries Shrines or containers that house and display relics. They come in various forms and materials, like wood, bone, ivory, and precious metals.
* Ashes After the Buddha's cremation, his ashes were divided. According to tradition, one set of relics came from the pyre’s ashes.
* Fragments of the True Cross Among the most venerated of Christian relics were the fragments of the True Cross.6 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How are relics usually stored or displayed?
Relics, which include the remains of saints or objects associated with them, are typically housed in reliquaries, or shrines. These can be portable for processions or fixed. Reliquaries come in various sizes, forms, and materials, such as wood, bone, ivory, glass, and metals like gold and silver. Some examples include a skull in a glass reliquary, or those constructed to resemble churches, chapels, or sarcophagi.
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What role do relics play in religious ceremonies or traditions?
Relics play a significant role in religious ceremonies and traditions, particularly in Christianity and Buddhism. In Christianity, relics are the mortal remains of saints or objects that have been in contact with them, and their veneration is believed to honor the saint. Similarly, in Buddhism, relics, such as the cremated remains of the Buddha, are enshrined in stupas and temples, becoming important pilgrimage sites. These relics are regarded as the living presence of the Buddha, often associated with miraculous powers. While Islam has a cult of relics, it lacks official sanction, and Hinduism largely lacks relic veneration due to its view of the physical world as an illusion and its lack of a historical founder.
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How have views about relics changed throughout history?
Views on relics have transformed throughout history across various religions. Initially, relics were highly venerated, seen as tangible links to saints or religious figures, with miraculous powers attributed to them.
In Christianity, the practice of venerating relics grew, especially during the Middle Ages, with the belief that it honored the saint. The Council of Trent in 1563 affirmed the practice but also set rules to ensure authenticity and prevent abuse. However, the Protestant Reformation brought a negative view of relics, rejecting their veneration.
Similarly, while Islam has a history of relics associated with its founder, it lacks official endorsement, and some theologians have denounced the practice. In contrast, Buddhism has canonically established relic worship since its early days, with stupas built over the Buddha's remains becoming pilgrimage sites.
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relic, in religion, strictly, the mortal remains of a saint; in the broad sense, the term also includes any object that has been in contact with the saint. Among the major religions, Christianity, almost exclusively in Roman Catholicism, and Buddhism have emphasized the veneration of relics.
The basis of Christian cult veneration of relics is the conception that reverence for the relics redounds to the honor of the saint. While expectation of favors may accompany the devotion, it is not integral to it. The first Christian reference to relics comes from Acts of the Apostles and explains that handkerchiefs that touched the skin of St. Paul while he was preaching in Corinth were able to heal the sick and exorcise demons. During the 2nd century ce, in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, the bones of the martyred bishop of Smyrna are described as “more valuable than precious stones.” The veneration of relics continued and grew in Christianity. Generally, the expectation of miracles increased during the Middle Ages, while the flood of Eastern relics into Europe during the Crusades raised serious questions as to their authenticity and ethical procurement. St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Roman Catholic theologian, however, considered it natural to cherish the remains of the saintly dead and found sanction for the veneration of relics in God’s working of miracles in the presence of relics.
Roman Catholic thought, defined in 1563 at the Council of Trent and subsequently affirmed, maintained that relic veneration was permitted and laid down rules to assure the authenticity of relics and exclude venal practices. Among the most venerated of Christian relics were the fragments of the True Cross.
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In the Eastern Orthodox churches, devotion is focused on icons rather than upon relics, though the antimension (the cloth upon which the divine liturgy is celebrated) always contains a relic. The attitude of the 16th-century Protestant Reformers toward relics was uniformly negative, and the veneration of relics has not been accepted in Protestantism.
Like Christianity, Islam has had a cult of relics associated with its founder and with saints. In Islam, however, the use of relics has had no official sanction; indeed, Muslim theologians have frequently denounced the veneration of relics and the related practice of visiting the tombs of saints as conflicting with the Prophet Muhammad’s insistence on his own purely human, nondivine nature and his stern condemnation of idolatry and the worship of anyone other than God.
Relic worship was canonically established in Buddhism from its earliest days. Tradition (Mahaparinibbana Sutta) states that the cremated remains of the Buddha (died c. 483 bce) were distributed equally among eight Indian tribes in response to a demand for his relics. Commemorative mounds (stupas) were built over these relics, over the vessel from which the bones were distributed, and over the collective ashes of the funeral pyre. The emperor Ashoka (3rd century bce) is said to have redistributed some of the relics among the innumerable stupas he had erected. Such shrines became important and popular centers of pilgrimage.
According to legend, seven bones (the four canine teeth, the two collarbones, and the frontal bone) were exempted from the primary distribution, and these have been the object of widespread devotion, with a number of shrines dedicated to them throughout Asia. Most famous of these sarira (“corporeal relics”) is the left canine tooth, honored at the Temple of the Tooth at Kandy, Sri Lanka. Other shrines reportedly have housed certain personal possessions of the Buddha, such as his staff or alms bowl. The alms bowl (patra), particularly, is associated with a romantic tradition of wanderings and, in different historical periods, has been variously reported as located in Peshawar or in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). In addition, the bodily remains and personal effects of the great Buddhist saints and heroes are also venerated. In Tibetan Buddhism, worship is accorded the carefully preserved bodies of the deceased monk kings (the Dalai Lamas), who in their lifetimes are regarded as reincarnations of a heavenly being, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
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Because relics are regarded as the living presence of the Buddha, popular legends of miraculous powers have sprung up around the relics and the places in which they are deposited.
In Hinduism, although images of divine beings have a major place in popular devotion, the veneration of relics as found in Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism is largely absent. This is probably a result of two facts: Hinduism has no historical founder, as do the other three religions, and it tends to regard the world of physical, historical existence as ultimately an illusion. Thus the mortal remains and earthly possessions of religious heroes or holy people are not generally regarded as having particular spiritual value.