Every Orthodox Christian has heard about the relics of truly righteous Christians since childhood, but not everyone knows what it is, why and whether it is necessary for believers. Further questions arise about how to turn to them for help, and where the relics of the saints are kept.
Relics of saints, what makes them unique
After the death of a righteous person, the body turns into remains, they are called relics. Power is strength, that’s what bones were called in ancient times, emphasizing the strength of the main part of the once living body.
Holy relics are the remains of deeply religious people, canonized as celestials, who, during their lifetime, performed deeds pleasing to God to the Creator. They are endowed with enormous power grace.
Many parishioners, especially those who personally knew true believing messengers of God who performed miracles, including healings, note that after death their relics help those who come to them with requests.
Veneration of the relics
The Orthodox Church adopted the veneration of the relics of saints in 787 with the Second Council of Nicaea. Since that time, a teaching has appeared in the Church statutes according to which relics are considered bearers of grace and should be preserved and venerated.
There are several reasons for the establishment of this seemingly strange custom of venerating relics.
- Orthodox believers can clearly see that people who lived a righteous life are canonized and their relics do not decay.
- In worldly life, people worship busts, monuments to great people in the history of mankind; Orthodox believers have a clear example to follow in the form of the lives of Christians faithful to the Lord.
- The Church claims that during prayers the saint, whose relics are kept in the temple, is invisibly present.
If the temple does not have at least part of the holy remains, the Sacrament of the Eucharist is not celebrated in it.
Relics are carriers of the forces of grace; this is one of the foundations of the deep dogmas of the Orthodox Church, standing on the Incarnation and Redemption.
What do holy remains look like?
According to human concepts, remains include either the skeleton of a deceased person or his incorruptible body. This is a deep misconception. Many saints died a martyr's death, some were burned, and only ashes remained, and some were torn to pieces by lions, leaving only a certain part of the body untouched.
Holy relics are different parts of the body, bones or ashes.
Holy relics
Holy remains also include incorruptible bodies, the most recognizable of which are:
- St. Luke and many other saints.
Why are the relics of saints not buried and how are they preserved?
The remains, which have miraculous powers, are not buried, but are preserved in temple crayfish, special boxes made of expensive wood and skillfully decorated with carvings, gold and stones. The transfer of remains from the burial place according to church custom is called the discovery of relics.
On patronal and major church holidays, cancer is displayed so that every person can honor the deceased saint and receive the power of grace from him.
Open shrine with relics
Sometimes holy remains are divided into several parts, so that each temple has its own part of the relics.
The Church emphasizes that holiness is not in the relics themselves or their parts, but in the grace emanating from them.
Incorruptible bodies - myth or reality
The incorrupt bodies of saints, emitting incense, baffle science and many scientists to this day. After all, according to the laws of the Church, embalming people is prohibited, and the bodies of saints after death emit favorable odors, and each body smells unique.
Egyptian pharaohs are embalmed with special compounds, but they still emit foul odors. Studies have shown that the body structure of saints changes, so this is impossible without God’s intervention.
The Church sees in this phenomenon the future resurrection of people, as promised in the Bible. Not all saints remained incorrupt, but special grace was bestowed on the remains of St. Spyridon of Trimifunt and St. Alexander of Svir.
Relics of St. Alexander of Svirsky.
Saint Matrona is one of the remains revered in Russia
During her life, Matronushka, as her admirers affectionately call her, was a simple blind peasant woman, but very loving of God. Residents of the surrounding areas noticed that miracles were happening through Matrona’s prayers. As the saying goes, the folk path to it did not grow. The folk soothsayer could not refuse people’s prayers even when she fell ill, and she helped those asking until her death.
Guardian of the relics of St. The Moscow Orthodox monastery became Matrona, where people still come to ask Matrona:
- become an intercessor before God in resolving controversial issues;
- grant healing;
- set up a business;
- free from the curse of infertility.
Pilgrims often come with requests to help find something or someone, missing people.
Prayers to Saint Matrona of Moscow:
Before approaching the shrine of St. Matrona, people must undergo a short training. You cannot approach holy relics in outer clothing; it is left outside, along with other things and bags. You can only bring flowers to the patron saint; the entire shrine is covered with them.
Saint Matrona
After reading a special prayer, you need to cross yourself twice and bow the same number of times with a deep bow, touching the ground with your hands, only after that you can kiss the sacred box. Then repeat the ritual of laying the cross and bowing.
Prayer to Matrona of Moscow
O blessed Mother Matrono, with your soul standing in heaven before the Throne of God, with your body resting on earth, and exuding various miracles by the grace given from above.
Look now with your merciful eye on us, sinners, in sorrow, illness and sinful temptations, our waiting days, comfort us, desperate ones, heal our fierce ailments, allowed by God to us through our sins, deliver us from many troubles and circumstances, pray to our Lord Jesus Christ forgive us all our sins, iniquities and falls, in whose image we have sinned from our youth even to this day and hour, and through your prayers having received grace and great mercy, we glorify in the Trinity the One God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever. Amen.
According to the testimony of people who have visited Saint Matrona, the answer is felt immediately; if the person asking leaves in peace, everything will be fine. In case of anxiety in the heart, the request is rejected because it is unnecessary or does not bring any good.
Stories of the theft of relics
Believing in the great power of grace of the holy remains, everyone tried to take possession of them. The history of the Church contains several evidence of the theft of relics. A clear example of such an action is the story of Nikolai Ugodnik, who was originally buried in Myra Lycia.
Tomb of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Sailors of all countries reverence St. Nicholas as their patron, both in past times and now. On one of their visits to the Myra Lycian port, Barian sailors entered the temple where the relics of the Saint were kept, tied up the monks and stole part of the relics, which were divided into parts and transported to different countries:
- France;
- Italy;
- Byzantium.
The relics of the Apostle Mark were also stolen; they were taken to Venice, abducted in Alexandria. The body of Spyridon of Trimythous was transported from Constantinople to the island of Corfu.
More about holy relics:
Both the Orthodox and Catholic churches at the level of scientific research, and Christians themselves are conducting research into the authenticity of the remains. A striking example of this is the case with the acquisition by the Church of the remains of Seraphim of Sarov, which were stolen by atheists and kept in the museum of atheism.
To investigate the authenticity, a special commission of historians, historians, and biologists was created, which confirmed that a truly Christian value had been found - the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Important! The veneration of holy relics by the Orthodox Church is not accidental; it is based on the fundamental truths of faith and the power of grace emanating from the remains of people faithful to death to Jesus Christ.
People who believe that the holiness of the soul is transferred to the body should treat holy relics as an example to follow. Only loyalty to the Savior, life according to His canons with reverence and veneration of the Trinity, the Mother of God and all the saints, grants eternal life not only to the soul, but also to the remains.
The Creator helps those who seek a meeting with Him through fasting and prayer. Worshiping relics without reverence for the Savior is idolatry, which is a great sin.
Archpriest Vladimir Golovin - What is the power of holy relics?
“The merciful God, who gives us countless opportunities for salvation, along with other paths, also opened the path that can attract us to virtue - leaving us, among other things, the relics of saints; for the tombs of saints excite to imitation those who look at them.”
John Chrysostom.
The relics of St. Ambrose of Milan and the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Ambrose (Milan).
Relics (lat. reliquiae) are the remains of saints of the Christian church, which are the object of religious veneration in the Orthodox and Catholic churches.
The veneration of relics in Christianity has ancient origins and has been mentioned in written evidence since the 2nd century (see History of the veneration of relics). The dogma of veneration of the relics of saints and the obligation to place them in the altars of churches was finally enshrined in 787 at the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
In the Church Slavonic language, the word “relics” is used in relation to the remains of any deceased people. For example, in the rite of burial of the laity, the following expressions are often found: “the relics of the deceased lie in the house”, “having taken the relics of the deceased, we go to the church”, “prayer is read near the relics”, “having placed the relics in the coffin”. The very word “power” in the Slavic language is derived from the word “power”, and according to the views of ancient times, human strength was not in the flesh (body), but in the bones, that is, the human skeleton. The expression “only the relics remain” is still used in modern Russian to describe a very thin person, that is, as a synonym for the phrase “one skeleton”, “one skin and bones”. In relation to the remains of saints, they usually said “holy relics” or “honest relics.” Thus, in the report on the discovery of the relics of St. Neil of Stolbensky to the Novgorod Metropolitan Pitirim in 1667, it was said: “The tomb and his holy body were given over to the earth, but all his holy relics are intact.”
At all times, Christians piously preserved and revered any remains of saints, even those preserved in the form of bones, dust or ashes, which were also called holy relics. So Jerome the Blessed wrote that the highly revered relics of the prophet Samuel existed in the form of dust, and the relics of the apostles Peter and Paul - in the form of bones. This is especially true for the remains of ancient saints, most of whom accepted martyrdom, often consisting of burning and torn to pieces by beasts. Although, as E.E. Golubinsky notes, the compilers of the lives of saints about the discovery of their relics allowed themselves freedom in testimony regarding the state of the relics.
Researchers note that “...in the language of ancient church literature, incorruptible relics are not incorruptible bodies, but preserved and undecayed bones.”
In Russia in the 18th-19th centuries (according to a number of researchers, under the influence of the Western Church), the idea of relics appeared as incorruptible bodies that preserved the appearance of a person who had just died. This belief, which quickly spread among the laity and a number of clergy, was repeatedly condemned by Russian bishops. At the beginning of the 20th century, in preparation for the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov, from whose remains only bones were found, which raised doubts among a number of believers about his holiness, the Church began explanatory work on the issue of incorruptible relics. Thus, Metropolitan Anthony (Vadkovsky) of St. Petersburg publicly announced that the incorruption of relics is not among the grounds for canonizing a saint. During the process of canonization, even when an incorrupt body is discovered, greater attention is given to the fact of the presence of miracles through prayers to the ascetic. In their absence, canonization does not take place.
If the relics of a saint have not been subjected to rotting and decay, this is perceived as a special miracle and contributes to the growth of veneration for this saint (there are separate mentions of the incorruption of the relics of saints in their akathists).
In addition to the relics themselves, contact relics were also venerated, that is, everything that came into contact with the body of the saint during life or after death: clothing, brandeum, chrism, instruments of martyrdom and other objects. Relics could also be created by contact with a saint's grave or other contact relics. The relics begin to be mixed into paints or mastic for painting icons. This type of wax was used to paint the Blachernae icon, which was revered in Constantinople as the defender of the city and the Byzantine emperors, and after being transferred to Moscow in 1653 it became one of the main Russian icons.
shrines.
Blachernae icon (painted using mastic with particles of relics).
The relics of saints were valuable property, which sometimes served as a reason for conflict. For example, the remains of St. Mark, kept in Venice, were, according to church tradition, stolen by three Venetian merchants from Alexandria in the early Middle Ages. To transfer the relic to the ship, the traders resorted to a trick: the body of the evangelist was placed in a large basket and covered with pork carcasses, which the Saracens could not touch even during customs inspection. For greater reliability, the basket was hidden in the folds of the sail of one of the ships. The stories are similar to the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from the city of Myra to Bari in 1087 (in honor of the transfer, the Russian Orthodox Church established a celebration on May 22 (May 9, old style) and St. Spyridon from Constantinople to the island of Corfu in 1456.
The incorrupt relics of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky - Fr. Corfu city of Kerkyra.
The transfer of relics, like any relics, has an important sacred meaning in the Christian worldview - it marks the spread of holiness and thereby increases the status of the temple in which the relics are located.
In the Middle Ages and modern times, the location of especially revered relics was especially important for the distribution of the number of pilgrims crossing Europe from one end to another in order to worship shrines. Possession of a revered relic sharply increased the attractiveness of the monastery or cathedral that housed the shrine and increased its income from donations. The most powerful stream of people from all corners of the European continent rolled along the road of St. James, which led to Santiago de Compostela, where the apostle rested. Today this road and the cathedrals built along it are included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
The first discovery of relics in the history of the Russian Church was the discovery of the relics of Grand Duchess Olga, which were transferred to the Tithe Church by Prince Vladimir. Following this, under the Grand Duke Yaroslav in 1026, the bodies of Saints Boris and Gleb were removed from their graves and placed in the church; in 1071, their relics were solemnly transferred to a new church built by Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich in Vyshgorod, and in 1115 another the solemn transfer of their relics to the stone church built in their honor.
The relics are preserved and revered for moral, edifying and liturgical purposes, and according to the teachings of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, they are carriers of grace-filled powers that can be given by God to believers through the remains of saints.
According to the teachings of the Church, relics cannot work miracles by themselves and not according to the merits of the deceased. The Seventh Ecumenical Council in its acts said this on this issue: “Our Savior Christ has given us saving springs, the remains of saints, pouring out benefits in manifold ways on the worthy. And this through Christ, who dwells in them.”
The Church venerates the relics of saints as temples of the Holy Spirit in which God lives by his grace
and after the physical death of the saint.
Application.
Incorruptible relics of Catholic saints.
The incorrupt relics of St. Zita - Lucca, Tuscany.
St. Zita was born in 1212 in the village of Monsagrati, near the city of Lucca, Tuscany. At the age of 12, she began serving in the Fatinelli family's house. For a long time, employers overworked the girl and often beat her. However, the continuous bad attitude towards Zita did not deprive her of inner peace and tranquility. Zita endured the bullying humbly, which ultimately softened the attitude of her owners and work colleagues towards her. Zita's constant piety and patience led the Fatinelli family to Christian conversion. Zita considered her work a calling from God and an element of personal repentance.
St. Zita died on April 27, 1272 at the age of 60, having served the Fatinelli family for 48 years. After her death, members of this family began to venerate Zita as a saint. In 1580, her body was exhumed and it turned out that the relics of Saint Zita were incorrupt. They were transferred to the Basilica of St. Fridian in the city of Lucca, where they are currently kept.
In 1696, Zita was canonized. Memorial Day in the Catholic Church is April 27.
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The incorrupt relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous - Nevers France.
Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) was a Catholic saint, famous for her belief that the Virgin Mary appeared to her. The apparitions were recognized as authentic by the Catholic Church and turned Lourdes into a place of mass pilgrimage.
Saint Bernadette's body was exhumed three times. The first time this was done in 1909, the remains were found incorrupt, which served as an additional argument for canonization. The second time the body was exhumed in 1919, and the third in 1925, after which her relics were placed in a reliquary in the chapel of St. Bernadette in Nevers. Beatification took place on June 14, 1925, canonization on December 8, 1933. Saint Bernadette's feast day is April 16; in France, her day is also celebrated on February 18. Place of appearance of the Mother of God St. Bernadette has become one of the main centers of Catholic pilgrimage. Up to five million pilgrims come to Lourdes every year. Sources of the Catholic Church claim that in the first 50 years of pilgrimage alone, at least 4,000 people received complete cures for a variety of diseases. On the site of the grotto of the apparition, a sanctuary was erected, the temple of Notre-Dame de Lourdes.
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(Compiled from Wikipedia)
One of the most revered Moscow saints is loved by all our people, and therefore the queue for the shrine with her remains is lined up everywhere like crazy. You and I have the rare opportunity at any time to venerate the relics of not only Matronushka, but also other saints. After all, miraculous relics are kept in many Moscow churches and monasteries. In No. 5 of AiF for 2011, a map of miraculous icons was published, now we will talk about the relics.
Relics are revered primarily because they have the gift of miracles and the power of healing. With the relics, according to John of Damascus, “demons are cast out, illnesses are healed, the weak are healed, lepers are cleansed, temptations and sorrows disappear.” Worshiping them contributes to the transformation of the world. “The saints were filled with the Holy Spirit during their lifetime, but when they died, the grace of the Holy Spirit is present both with their souls and with their bodies in the tombs,” wrote John of Damascus. Because of this, temples and monasteries in which reliquaries and arks are kept become places of pilgrimage.
In the Church Slavonic language, the word “relics” is used in relation to the remains of any deceased people. In relation to the remains of saints, they usually said “holy relics” or “honest relics.” In Russia XVIII-XIX centuries. the idea of relics appeared as incorruptible bodies that preserved the appearance of a person who had just died. Although at all times, Christians have piously revered any remains of saints, even those preserved in the form of bones, dust or ashes. The custom of dividing the relics of saints into parts and then placing them in different churches became particularly widespread in the Greek Church. But veneration also extends to a number of objects that were in physical contact with the saint’s body, primarily to the funeral cloth and wax from the candles that stood on the saint’s grave.
St. Ambrose of Milan called the relics “seeds of eternity.” By honoring them, we thus remember those who, in their spiritual feats, realized the Creator’s plan for the world. Blzh. Jerome of Stridon writes: “We do not honor, we do not worship, we do not serve the creature more than the Creator, we venerate the relics of martyrs in order to worship the One for Whom they suffered.”
The most revered relics of saints in Moscow
1. Relics of Saint Matrona of Moscow. They ask her for healing from illnesses, and for pregnancy, and for admonition. It is also believed that Matrona herself knows who and what to give. Pokrovsky Stavropegial Convent - st. Taganskaya, 58, st. m. "Marxists".
2. "Kiya Cross" with particles of the relics of more than 100 saints: John the Baptist, the prophet Daniel, the apostles Paul and James, the brother of the Lord, the evangelists Luke and Matthew, Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine. The reliquary, made to the size of the Cross of the Lord, was made with the blessing of Patriarch Nikon - in memory of salvation from a shipwreck on the White Sea. Temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh - Krapivensky lane, 4, st. metro stations "Trubnaya", "Chekhovskaya".
3. Particles of over 150 saints of God in arks and icons. Temple of the Martyr John the Warrior - st. B. Yakimanka, 46, st. m. "Oktyabrskaya".
4. Reliquary with part of the rod of Moses. The same one that turned into a snake (and back) and absorbed the wands of Egyptian sorcerers. It was lost many centuries ago, and how a piece of it got into the Moscow temple is a mystery. Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary - st. Goncharnaya, 29, st. m. "Taganskaya".
5. Arks for 100 and 50 relics. Among them is St. Great Martyr Catherine, Andrei Bogolyubsky, Apostle Andrew the First-Called and others. Temple of the Venerable Zosima and Savvatius of Solovetsky Wonderworkers - st. Baikalskaya, 37a, st. m. "Shchelkovskaya".
6. Relics of St. Nicholas. One of the most beloved Orthodox saints, people turn to him with various requests - from the most serious, health-related, to momentary, everyday ones. Church of St. Nicholas on the Three Mountains - Novovagankovsky lane, no. 9, art. m. "Krasnopresnenskaya".
7. Reliquary arks with particles of the holy relics of the venerable fathers Kiev-Pechersk, with particles of the Robe of the Lord, the Robe of the Mother of God, the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Particles of the relics of the holy apostles and Russian saints are also kept there, including the high priests of Moscow, St. Seraphim of Sarov, Cyril and Mary of Radonezh, the venerable Optina elders, St. Basil the Blessed. Novospassky Stavropegial Monastery - Krestyanskaya Square, 10, Art. m. "Peasant Zastava".
8. Reliquary cross with particles of relics St. Nicholas, St. Sergius of Radonezh, St. Andrew of Crete, a piece of the Holy Sepulcher, the tomb of the Mother of God and the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. Church of the Ascension of the Lord on Gorokhovoy Pole - st. Radio, 2, st. m. "Baumanskaya".
9. Relics of the Blgv. book Dimitry Donskoy. This saint should be prayed for to preserve faith, moral purity, determination, and courage. Cathedral of the Archangel Michael (Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin) - Kremlin, Cathedral Square, Art. m. "Borovitskaya".
10. Relics of Moscow metropolitans. In the northern aisle rest the relics of St. Peter of Moscow, with whose blessing the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin was founded in August 1326. The temple also contains the relics of the Russian patriarchs Job and Hermogenes. Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Kremlin, Cathedral Square, Art. m. "Borovitskaya".
11. Particle of the relics of St. Andrew the First-Called. He was the first of the apostles to follow Christ, and then brought to him his brother, the holy Apostle Peter. They pray to him for all sorrows. Cathedral of Christ the Savior - st. Volkhonka, 15, st. m. "Kropotkinskaya".
12. A particle of the relics of the great martyr. St. George the Victorious. Patron of the Orthodox army, as well as Moscow. Church of St. George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill - pl. Pobeda, no. 36, st. m. "Kutuzovskaya".
It is said: " The coffin and his holy body were given over to the earth, but his holy relics are all intact" It is also clear that the saint’s body was subject to decay - surrendered to the earth, and the remaining bones are called holy relics, but it is reported that his relics everything is intact.
Incorruptibility of the relics
At all times, Christians piously preserved and revered any remains of saints, even those preserved in the form of bones, dust or ashes, which were also called holy relics. So Jerome the Blessed wrote that the highly revered relics of the prophet Samuel existed in the form of dust, and the relics of the apostles Peter and Paul - in the form of bones. This is especially true for the remains of ancient saints, most of whom accepted martyrdom, often consisting of burning and torn to pieces by beasts. Although, as Professor E.E. Golubinsky notes, the compilers of the lives of saints about the discovery of their relics allowed themselves freedom in testifying regarding the state of the relics.
The researchers note that “...in the language of ancient church literature, incorruptible relics are not incorruptible bodies, but preserved and undecayed bones”(for example, in the chronicle of 1472 about the opening of the coffins of Moscow metropolitans in the Assumption Cathedral it is said this way: “Ion found the whole being, but Photea found the whole being, not everything, but one power.” ).
The fact of incorruption of the relics began to influence the decision on the issue of canonization of saints in a relatively late era, especially in the Russian Church. Professor I.V. Popov writes about the incorruption of the relics:
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During the process of canonization, even when an incorrupt body is discovered, greater attention is paid to the fact of the presence of miracles through prayers to the ascetic: in their absence, canonization is not performed.
If the relics of a saint have not been subjected to rotting and decay, this is perceived as a special miracle and contributes to the growth of veneration for this saint (there are separate mentions of the incorruption of the relics of saints in their akathists). To maintain the appearance of the relics, various means can be used (for example, wax mastic - a special composition that covers the relics, and especially their particles when placed in relics; when consecrating churches, the relics are anointed with myrrh; previously in Russia there was a custom of washing the relics), which is regarded by critics of veneration relics as fraud.
Reverence
Relics in the Old Testament
| And Josiah looked and saw the graves that were there on the mountain, and he sent and took the bones from the graves, and burned them on the altar, and desecrated it according to the word of the Lord, which the man of God proclaimed, who foretold these events. And Josiah said, What is this monument which I see? And the inhabitants of the city said to him, “This is the grave of the man of God, who came from Judea and proclaimed what you are doing on the altar of Bethel.” And he said: leave him alone, no one touch his bones. AND preserved his bones and the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. |
History of the veneration of relics
Procession with the relics of Saint Donatus
The veneration of relics dates back to the very first centuries of Christian history. In the centuries of persecution, when martyrdom for Christians was evidence of their convictions in the truth of the Resurrection of Christ from the dead and the subsequent victory over death, believers used all means to obtain the bodies of martyrs, and their burial places became sanctuaries. where Christian worship was held: “ Spending several days over his tomb singing hymns, Christians decided to continue to glorify his life and suffering, and when remembering him, glorify the Lord" Many stories about the ransom of the remains of saints found their way into their lives. For example, the life of Saint Boniface tells that he was sent by the righteous Aglaida to the East with the goal of ransoming and bringing the remains of the martyrs to Rome, but he himself suffered and his body was ransomed by his companions for 500 gold coins.
The veneration of relics and offering prayers to saints is attributed to early Christianity by researcher V.I. Petrenko. So in " District Message of the Smyrna Church"On the martyrdom of Saint Polycarp (2nd century) evidence is given of the veneration of martyrs" as disciples and imitators of the Lord"and their remains themselves. Moreover, the days of the death of martyrs were celebrated annually as “ their birthdays for the future life" Gregory of Neocaesarea (III century) established holidays in memory of the martyrs and placed their relics in his diocese in different places where Christians gathered for worship on the days of their memory. However, at the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 4th centuries, there were critical reviews of the veneration of relics from a number of clergy, who called this practice a concession to pagan mores. The first decision of a church council regarding the veneration of relics was made by the Council of Carthage (-419). He established in his rules that all altars erected in memory of martyrs " according to the dreams and vain revelations of some people" And " in which no body or part of the relics of the martyrs is placed"must be destroyed in order to " right-thinking people were not attached to such places by any superstition" The Council also decided to commemorate the martyrs where “ there is either a body, or some part of the relics, or, according to a legend handed down from faithful antiquity, their dwelling, or acquisition, or place of suffering».
Blachernae icon (painted using mastic with particles of relics)
In addition to the relics themselves, the so-called contact relics were also venerated, that is, everything that came into contact with the body of the saint during life or after death: clothing, brandeum, chrism, instruments of martyrdom and other objects. Relics could also be created by contact with a saint's grave or other contact relics. . The relics begin to be mixed into paints or mastic for painting icons. This type of wax was used to paint the Blachernae Icon, which was revered in Constantinople as the protector of the city and the Byzantine emperors, and after being transferred to Moscow in 1653, it became one of the main Russian shrines.
The relics of saints were valuable property, which sometimes served as a reason for conflict. For example, the remains of St. Mark, kept in Venice, were, according to church tradition, stolen by three Venetian merchants from Alexandria in the early Middle Ages. To transfer the relic to the ship, the traders resorted to a trick: the body of the evangelist was placed in a large basket and covered with pork carcasses, which the Saracens could not touch even during customs inspection. For greater reliability, the basket was hidden in the folds of the sail of one of the ships. The stories are similar to the transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas from the city of Myra to Bari in 1087 (in honor of the transfer, the Russian Orthodox Church established a celebration on May 22 (May 9, old style)) and St. Spyridon from Constantinople to the island of Corfu in 1456. The transfer of relics, like any relics, has an important sacred meaning in the Christian worldview - it marks the spread of holiness and thereby increases the status of the temple in which the relics are located.
In the Middle Ages and modern times, the location of especially revered relics was especially important for the distribution of the number of pilgrims crossing Europe from one end to another in order to worship shrines. Possession of a revered relic sharply increased the attractiveness of the monastery or cathedral that housed the shrine and increased its income from donations. The most powerful stream of people from all corners of the European continent rolled along the road of St. James, which led to Santiago de Compostela, where the apostle rested. Today this road and the cathedrals built along it are included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
The first discovery of relics in the history of the Russian Church was the discovery of the relics of Grand Duchess Olga, which were transferred to the Tithe Church by Prince Vladimir. Following this, under the Grand Duke Yaroslav in 1026, the bodies of Saints Boris and Gleb were removed from their graves and placed in the church; in 1071, their relics were solemnly transferred to a new church built by Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich in Vyshgorod, and in 1115 another the solemn transfer of their relics to the stone church built in their honor.
Holy Fathers on the veneration of relics
Liturgical meaning of the relics
The tradition of serving the liturgy at the tombs of martyrs has the same long tradition as the veneration of the remains themselves. In the East, after the end of the persecution of Christians, many churches were built directly over the tombs of saints. In the West, Pope Felix I decreed in 269 that, " according to ancient custom", the liturgy was celebrated no other way than on the relics of the martyrs. This resolution was also adopted in the East. The Fifth Council of Carthage, in its 10th canon, decreed that no temple should be built except on the relics of the martyr, which were placed under the altar. The veneration of holy relics was finally consolidated by the Seventh Ecumenical Council, which determined that a bishop who consecrates a temple without relics is subject to anathema (7th canon). The Council also ordered that the relics be placed in all existing churches that did not previously have them: “ may the position of the relics be performed in them with the usual prayer».
Forms of storage of relics
Shrine of Saint Brigid of Sweden
"Under the Hidden"- a form of storing relics in tightly sealed crayfish when they are not opened for worship. In ancient times, temples were built on relics “under cover.”
The relics were also placed in small objects of decorative and applied art: for example, some bishops had a piece of the relics of this or that saint embedded in a panagia, cross or ring. Holy relics enhanced the effectiveness of weapons in the eyes of medieval people. For example, the hilt of Durandali, the sword of the epic hero Roland, was also a relic. It contained, as the “Song of Roland” says, the blood of St. Basil, the imperishable tooth of St. Peter, the hair of Dionysius of Paris, a man of God, and a fragment of the robe of the Ever-Virgin Mary. After the knight died, his overlord threw the blade of the sword into the river so that no one else would get it, but he took the hilt with him.
The pious attitude towards the relics was expressed in the purely Russian tradition of their annual washing after the hours of Good Friday. This rite continued to be performed in the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin until the 1917 revolution. The rite of washing the relics consisted in the fact that all the relics available in the temple or monastery were taken out in advance to the middle of the temple; The water was consecrated and the relics were washed with it. After the end of the ritual, the water remaining from the washing of the relics was distributed to the clergy and nobles as a great shrine, and the believers present in the temple were sprinkled with it.
Division of relics
According to the teachings of the church, when a particle is separated from the relics, grace does not decrease and the particle is the same vessel of the Holy Spirit as whole relics. The division of the relics was initially caused by the need for their placement in new churches in order to perform the liturgy there. The practice of separating particles from relics was already developed by the 5th century.
John Chrysostom wrote this about dividing the relics into parts:
Piece of the relics of Saint Pusinna
However, the division of the relics led to the emergence of a large number of falsified relics. For example, the right hand of John the Baptist is shown immediately in Montenegro, Turkey and the Coptic monastery of St. Macarius.
In the Western Church, the Eastern custom of dividing relics did not become widespread until the 8th century. The reason for its introduction into church life was to protect the relics from plunder by barbarians. So in Rome, for the first time, coffins with the relics of martyrs were opened and the relics were brought inside the city walls in 537 during the siege of the city by Vitiges.
It is worth noting that not all clergy agreed with the custom of dividing the relics: after the death of St. Francis of Assisi, his closest followers and Franciscan friends buried him in a crypt in the lower tier of the church at Assisi, walling up the entrance to prevent the division of their friend's body and the dissemination of his remains throughout Europe. This crypt was discovered only 400 years later, in 1818.
Criticism of the veneration of relics
The veneration of relics among Christians is denied by Protestants, Tolstoyans, and also by the disappeared sect of the Bogomils.
A significant number of relics were brought to Russia by the Greek clergy in the 17th century. Among them were fakes. In the Russian Church, the fact of the perishability of the relics was used as one of the arguments during the decanonization of Grand Duchess Anna Kashinskaya in 1677: upon inspection, it was established that the saint’s relics had decayed and collapsed in different places, and in her life it was written three times that they were not involved in corruption. However, despite this, her veneration as a saint was restored in 1909.
There is a point of view (characteristic, in particular, of supporters of materialism) that information about miracles performed by relics that could be false, or any reports of healings, etc., should be considered in the same line of criticism as all concept of religious cult.
Opening of relics in Russia
The opening of the relics was accompanied by photography and filming; in a number of cases there was gross blasphemy on the part of the commission members (during the opening of the relics of St. Savva of Zvenigorod, one of the commission members spat on the saint’s skull several times). Some reliquaries and shrines, after examination with the participation of church representatives, ended up in state museums; nothing more was known about the fate of many made of precious metals (for example, on March 29, 1922, a multi-pound silver shrine of St. Alexy of Moscow was dismantled and confiscated from the Donskoy Monastery) . The relics, as artifacts, were then placed under glass cases in various museums, usually museums of atheism or local history museums. And the relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod, seized in 1921, were sent to Moscow to the anatomical museum of the People's Commissariat of Health, to familiarize the population with the phenomenon of a body that had been perfectly preserved since the mid-18th century, which is explained by the climatic conditions of the place of his burial. In the period 1919-1920 alone, 63 autopsies of the relics of saints were performed; many of the remains of saints revered by the church were destroyed or seriously damaged.
During N. S. Khrushchev’s anti-religious campaign, the Soviet government also proposed more severe measures:
Scientists were also involved in opening the relics. The remains of the canonized princes (among other rulers of Russia) were of interest to the Soviet archaeologist and sculptor Mikhail Gerasimov, who created their sculptural portraits based on the skeletal remains. Thus, religious tradition contributed to historical science. For example, in 1988, an examination was carried out of the Venerable Ilya buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, considered the epic Ilya of Murom. Research has shown that the monk was an exceptionally strong man and had above average height for the Middle Ages. He was found to have signs of a spinal disease (the epic Elijah could not move from birth until the age of 33) and traces of numerous wounds. The approximate age of death was established and the appearance was restored.
see also
- Veneration and canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov
Footnotes and sources
- Island P. On the veneration of holy relics// Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. - 1997. - No. 1.
- Reverend Justin (Popovich). Holy relics. // Portal Word
- Relics // Fasmer M. Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language
- Popov I. V. On the veneration of holy relics// Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. - 1997. - No. 1.
- The Strugatsky brothers.
- Ogarkov V.V. Alexey Koltsov. His life and literary activity
- In relation to the remains of saints in liturgical texts, the word power used without epithets honest or the Saints.
- Acts collected in the libraries and archives of the Russian Empire by the archaeographic expedition of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. - St. Petersburg, 1836. - T. IV. - P. 156
- Tolstoy L. N. Study of dogmatic theology (chapter 17) // Complete works in 90 volumes, academic anniversary edition, volume 23, works 1879-1884. - pp. 60-303.
- Golubinsky E.E. Theological Bulletin, 1894. - T. 4. - No. 10. - P. 74
- Golubinsky E. E. . - M., 1903. - P. 35
- Golubinsky E. E. The history of the canonization of saints in the Russian Church. M., 1903. - pp. 297-298
- Collection of Russian chronicles. - T. VI. - P. 195
- Lisova N. N. Relics - from the word “power”// Neskuchny Garden, 10.30.2006. - No. 6 (23)
- Golubinsky E. E. History of the canonization of saints in the Russian Church // Theological Bulletin. - 1894. - T. 4. - No. 10. - P. 97
- Golubinsky E. E. History of the canonization of saints in the Russian Church // Theological Bulletin. - 1894. - T. 4. - No. 10. - P. 95
- Ilya Basin I. The myth of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov// Theology. Culture. Education. - M., 1997. - T. 2. - Issue. 3. - P. 385
- Archpriest Pyotr Ivanov (Doctor of History, Senior Researcher) To the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov // Moscow Diocesan Gazette, 2003. - No. 4-5
- Bulgakov S. V. Handbook for priests and clergy. - Kyiv, 1913. - P. 272
- Relics // V. M. Zhivov. Holiness. A brief dictionary of hagiographic terms
- Golubinsky E. E. History of the canonization of saints in the Russian Church // Theological Bulletin. - 1894. - T. 4. - No. 10. - P. 97-98
- Th. Ruinarti, monachi benedictini, Acta sanctorum sincera, 1, 48
- Life of Saint Boniface
- Petrenko V. I. Theology of icons. Protestant point of view. - St. Petersburg, 2000. - C. 46.
- Patristic anthology/ Comp. Archpriest Nikolai Blagorazumov. - M., 2001. - P. 58.
Among Orthodox shrines, the holy relics of the saints of God occupy a special place. Thanks to them, many miracles are performed, the hopelessly ill and demon-possessed are healed, everyday difficulties are resolved, and other grace-filled help is provided to believers. It happens, however, that the excitement around a sacred object goes beyond the bounds of prudence and takes on the features of a magical cult. We are going to talk about the correct veneration of the remains of the righteous in this article.
What are called relics in Orthodoxy?
In the Orthodox world, relics are the remains of saints that have been preserved in one form or another. They are given due veneration, and through the prayers of believers, miracles are often performed before them. Most often these are cases of healing from some illness or unusual intercession. This tradition also exists among Catholics.
After death, the body of God’s saints can be preserved in different forms: sometimes only bones remain, sometimes the skin is also preserved (the so-called “miracle of incorruption”), undergoing only some changes. Often an inexplicable fragrance emanates from holy relics; in some cases, a fragrant liquid is released - myrrh.
The honest remains are stored, as a rule, in a special ark, reminiscent of a decorated coffin. It is called cancer . Sometimes the body of a deceased ascetic may not be found, providentially hidden under a bushel, that is, underground. Then, at their supposed location, a special empty tomb is built, which is called cenotaph .
There is also the practice of dividing relics into particles to increase their number. Then they are placed in reliquary or into an icon. Each particle of the remains of saints has the same beneficial power; there is also the practice of adding them to paints for painting icons.
How is assistance provided?
The miraculous power of the relics is recognized by many people, and even not particularly believers. For example, when they see what happens to those possessed by an evil spirit when approaching holy remains. What force makes the possessed behave this way? It is obvious that this power is the grace of God, which acted in the saints during their lives. The name itself indicates the source of miracles; it comes from the word “power,” that is, “strength.”
Consequently, it is not the bones themselves, nor matter, that are the source of grace, they are only its conductor. The Lord Himself, through the holy relics belonging to His saints, sends this invisible help, grace-filled power. Ephraim the Syrian spoke about it this way:
And after death the saints act as if they were alive: they heal the sick, cast out demons, and by the power of the Lord they reflect every evil influence of their tormenting dominion. For holy relics are always characterized by the miraculous grace of the Holy Spirit.
Orthodox veneration of the shrine
The above is the explanation of the tradition of veneration of relics by the Orthodox. As in the case of icons, we do not worship the object itself, matter, but prayerfully turn to the righteous, honoring the gracious power of God that dwells in them. Professor A. I. Osipov says about the veneration of the remains of saints:
“And graciously venerating the holy relics of the saints, the Church honors the temples of the Holy Spirit, the temples of the living God, in which God lives by His grace even after the physical death of the saint, and in His wise good pleasure works miracles - from them and through them.”
Already in the Old Testament there is some evidence of a reverent attitude towards the bones of the dead righteous. This is the transfer by Moses from Egypt of the remains of the righteous Joseph (Exodus 13:19), and the resurrection of a person after touching the bones of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 13:21). However, the main reason for venerating holy relics is, of course, the fact of the Incarnation.
By His incarnation, the Lord exalted the human body to an unprecedented height, being taken with it even to Heaven and showing that the body, along with the soul, can be the receptacle of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, not only the body, but also clothing and objects belonging to the saint of God become a conductor of grace. Let us remember that healings took place even from the shadow of the Apostle Peter (Acts 5:15).
Already in the early period of Christianity, the bodies of murdered martyrs were honored among Orthodox shrines. First Eucharists ( agapes ) were performed on their graves. And today, an indispensable condition for celebrating the Liturgy is the presence of an antimension - a special plate into which a piece of holy relics is sewn.
The veneration of the remains of God's saints was established as obligatory in the 8th century. Seventh Ecumenical Council . His ruling reads:
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the relics of the saints as a saving source, pouring out various blessings on the weak. Therefore, those who dared to reject the relics of the martyr: if bishops, let them be deposed, if monks and laity, let them be deprived of communion.
Is the incorruption of remains necessary for their veneration?
A fairly common occurrence that happens with the remains of saints is their complete or partial preservation after death. This miracle is called incorruption. Most often, in the case of incorruption, the skin of the saint of God dries out somewhat and acquires a brown tint, while the body itself does not decompose. Usually, at the same time, a pleasant, incomparable fragrance emanates from the deceased.
You need to understand that all this happens without any external influences or interventions, and has nothing to do with mummification or embalming. It is scientifically impossible to explain such a phenomenon, despite numerous attempts, which is why it is classified as miraculous. The body temperature of the righteous man who died in God also corresponds to the temperature of a living body.
The incorruption of holy relics, at the same time, is not a prerequisite for their veneration. This erroneous idea came to us in the 18th century, apparently under the influence of the Catholic Church. Let us remember that the honest remains of many martyrs were separate fragments, or even not preserved at all, for example, when burned. However, due to the fact that only a skeleton remained from the remains of St. Seraphim of Sarov, while the body of Alexander of Svirsky was preserved almost as if alive, it cannot be concluded that one righteous man is “holier” than the other.
The main material that is usually perceived as a shrine is bone. In addition, different traditions and climatic conditions should be taken into account. On Mount Athos, for example, there is a completely different idea from the Russian tradition about the incorruption of holy relics.
The custom of burying monks on Mount Athos
Athonite custom prescribes the following practice for burying monks from among the brethren. The body of the deceased is not washed or re-clothed, it is sewn into a robe, and a kukol (monastic headdress) is placed on the head. It is customary to bury immediately, preferably on the same day. As a rule, honest remains are lowered into a pre-prepared grave and covered with soil.
After this, all the brethren earnestly pray for the deceased for three years, remembering him daily at the proskomedia, and... dig up the bones. If the skin has completely decayed, then they are transferred; if not, then they are buried back - it means that “the earth did not accept them” due to some sins. They intensify the prayer, praying until the skin completely decays.
The remains of saints and monks who pleased God are identified by the color of their bones and skulls. The yellowish tint (and often the fragrance) of the skull testifies to the righteous life of its owner, the white color indicates that the monk labored honestly, thanks to which he was saved, but the dark bones expose the sinful soul of the deceased.
Next, the following ritual is performed with the remains: they are washed in water and wine and placed in ossuary . This is a special crypt that looks like a chapel, where the skulls of monks are laid out in rows on shelves, and bones are laid out along the wall. The turtles are usually marked with the name of the monk and the date of death. The grave in which the brother’s body was located is used to bury the next deceased from among the monastery brethren.
As you can see, the tradition of venerating the relics on Mount Athos is somewhat different from our practice. Many of the remains that are revered among us, according to the ideas of the Athonites, should have belonged to sinful people, since for them incorruption is a sign of an unpleasing life. But such differences in the practice of identifying the remains of saints are explained only by the climatic characteristics of the continent and nothing more.
How to properly venerate a shrine
Like any shrine, a shrine or reliquary should be approached, first of all, consciously and reverently. If we want to receive gracious help from the saint of God, then it would not be superfluous to take an interest in his life in advance.
Unfortunately, it very often happens that people, seeing a long line at a church, go there “just in case” or “for company,” without even knowing whose holy relics they are approaching and why. “What if it helps!” Such “standing,” of course, cannot bring any benefit. We cannot perceive a shrine as some kind of external means independent of us, as magic.
You need to approach an Orthodox shrine calmly, unhurriedly, without embarrassing or pushing anyone, praying to yourself. If the queue turns out to be long, then it can be perceived as a kind of religious procession, then there will be great benefit from the worshipers being together in the temple. You can ask a righteous person for something in your own words, you can also learn a troparion or magnification to him. In case of a long line, it is better to cross yourself in front of the relics in advance, so as not to delay others.
You need to venerate the remains of saints in the following way. At the reliquary, you need to kiss the glass in the place where the particle itself is located. If there is a crayfish in front of us, then they kiss the head (forehead) and feet (or just the head). At the same time, we should not have any lipstick on our lips. When there is no queue in front of the shrine, then in front of it we make two prostrations or bows from the waist, then we kiss it, move away and make another bow.
You should not approach the honest remains several times - this is a sign of lack of faith. We must remember that all miracles are performed according to our faith and according to God’s amazing plan for us, only for good.
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