Editing Relic (section)

===History===
One of the earliest sources that purports to show the efficacy of relics is found in 2 Kings 13:20–21:
{{blockquote|And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites used to invade the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. <ref>{{Bibleverse|2|Kings|13:20–21|HE}}</ref>}}

Also cited is the veneration of relics from the martyr and bishop [[Saint Polycarp of Smyrna]] recorded in the ''[[Martyrdom of Polycarp]]'', written sometime from 150 to 160 AD.<ref name=head>[http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/hagiography/cult.htm Head, Thomas. "The Cult of the Saints and Their Relics", The On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies (the ORB), College of Staten Island, City University of New York] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717041711/http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/hagiography/cult.htm |date=July 17, 2012 }}</ref> With regard to relics that are objects, an often cited passage is [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 19:11–12, which says that [[Paul the Apostle]]'s handkerchiefs were imbued by God with healing power. In the [[gospel]] accounts of [[Jesus healing the bleeding woman]] and again in the [[Gospel of Mark]] 6:56, those who touched Jesus' garment were healed.

The practice of venerating relics seems to have been taken for granted by writers like [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], St. [[Ambrose]], [[Gregory of Nyssa]], St. [[Chrysostom]], and St. [[Gregory Nazianzen]]. Dom Bernardo Cignitti, O.S.B., wrote, "[T]he remains of certain dead are surrounded with special care and veneration. This is because the mortal remains of the deceased are associated in some manner with the holiness of their souls which await reunion with their bodies in the [[Resurrection of the Dead|resurrection]]."<ref name=mangan>[http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0331.html Mangan, Charles. "Church Teaching on Relics", Catholic Education Resource Center]</ref> [[Thomas Aquinas]] (d. 1274) pointed out that it was natural that people should treasure what is associated with the dead, much like the personal effects of a relative.<ref name=odonnell/> In an interview with [[Catholic News Service]], Fr. Mario Conte, executive editor of the Messenger of St. Anthony magazine in [[Padua]], [[Italy]], said, "Saints' relics help people overcome the abstract and make a connection with the holy ... Saints do not perform miracles. Only God performs miracles, but saints are intercessors."<ref name=griffin>{{cite web|url=http://www.americancatholic.org/news/report.aspx?id=4106|title=Catholic News - Saints' Relics Help People Make Connection to the Holy |website=American Catholic}}</ref>

[[File:Reliekschrijnbinnen.jpg|thumb|A relic from the shrine of [[Saint Boniface|Saint Boniface of Dokkum]] in the [[hermit|hermit-church]] of [[Warfhuizen]]: the bone fragment in middle is from [[Saint Boniface]]; the folded papers on the left and right contain bone fragments of Saint [[Benedict of Nursia]] and [[Bernard of Clairvaux]].]]

In the early Church the disturbance of the remains of martyrs and other saints was not practiced. They were allowed to remain in their often unidentified resting places such as in cemeteries and the [[catacombs of Rome]].  These places were always outside the walls of the city, but [[martyrium (architecture)|martyrium]]s began to be built over the site of the burial.  Since it was considered beneficial to the soul to be buried close to the remains of saints, several large "funerary halls" were built over the sites of martyr's graves, including [[Old Saint Peter's Basilica]]. These were initially not regular churches, but "covered cemeteries" crammed with graves, wherein was celebrated funerary and memorial services. It may have been thought that when the souls of the martyrs went to heaven on resurrection day they would be accompanied by those interred nearby, who would thus gain favour with God.<ref name=Thurston/>

Some early Christians attributed [[traditional medicine|healing powers]] to the [[Hanānā|dust from graves]] of saints, including [[Gregory of Tours]]. The cult of [[Martin of Tours]] was very popular in [[Merovingian]] [[Gaul]], and centered at a great church built just outside the walls of Tours. When Saint Martin died on November 8, 397, at a village halfway between [[Tours]] and [[Poitiers]], the inhabitants of these cities were ready to fight for his body, which the people of Tours managed to secure by stealth. Tours became the chief point of [[Christian pilgrimage]] in Gaul, a place for the healing of the sick.<ref name=sourcebook/> 

[[Gregory of Tours]] travelled to the shrine when he had contracted a serious illness. Later, as bishop of Tours, Gregory wrote extensively about miracles attributed to the intercession of St Martin.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E00570|title=Gregory of Tours, Glory of the Martyrs 49|journal=Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity|first=Marta|last=Tycner|publisher=[[University of Oxford]], [[University of Warsaw]], [[University of Reading]], [[European Research Council]]|access-date=5 October 2022}}</ref> [[Nestorian Christianity]] utilized the ''hanānā''–a mixture made with the dust of [[Thomas the Apostle]]'s tomb–for healing. Within the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], it is consumed by a couple getting married in the [[Mystery of Crowning]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/III-2-F-c-30/V-2/page-hr/0412.html.en|title=The Book of Ser Marco Polo the Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East|author=[[Henry Yule|Yule, Henry]]|location=[[London]]|publisher=John Murray|date=1903|volume=2|page=356|via=National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project, Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.malankaralibrary.com/ImageUpload/8cbe709334d186a0f272183699f0a27f.pdf|title=East Syriac Theology: An Introduction|chapter=Theology of 'Rāzē: The Mysteries of the Church in the East Syriac Tradition|first=Jose|last=Kochuparampil|editor-first=Pauly|editor-last=Maniyattu|publisher=Ephrem's Publications|date=2007|location=[[Madhya Pradesh|MP]], [[India]]|page=264, 267|access-date=5 October 2022|via=Malankara Library}}</ref>

The [[Second Council of Nicaea]] in 787 drew on the teaching of St. [[John Damascene]]<ref name=butterfield/> that homage or respect is not really paid to an inanimate object, but to the holy person, the veneration of a holy person is itself honour paid to God.<ref name=odonnell>{{cite web|url=http://carmelite.org/index.php?nuc=content&id=127|title=Relics|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301045514/http://carmelite.org/index.php?nuc=content&id=127|archive-date=2016-03-01}}</ref> The Council decreed that every [[altar]] should contain a relic, making it clear that this was already the norm, as it remains to the present day in [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] churches. The veneration of the relics of the saints reflects a belief that the saints in heaven [[Intercession|intercede]] for those on earth. A number of cures and miracles have been attributed to relics, not because of their own power, but because of the holiness of the saint they represent.<ref name=bc>[http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Being-Catholic/Content.aspx?id=11478 "Relics of Saints"], ''Boston Catholic'', Archdiocese of Boston</ref>

Many tales of [[miracle]]s and other marvels were attributed to relics beginning in the early centuries of the church. These became popular during the [[Middle Ages]]. They were collected in books of [[hagiography]] such as the ''[[Golden Legend]]'' or the works of [[Caesarius of Heisterbach]]. These miracle tales made relics much sought-after during the period. By the Late Middle Ages, the collecting of, and dealing in, relics had reached enormous proportions, and had spread from the church to royalty, and then to the nobility and merchant classes.

The [[Council of Trent]] of 1563 enjoined bishops to instruct their flocks that "the holy bodies of holy martyrs ... are to be venerated by the faithful, for through these [bodies] many benefits are bestowed by God on men". The Council further insisted that "in the invocation of saints, the veneration of relics and the sacred use of images, every superstition shall be removed and all filthy lucre abolished."<ref name=Thurston>Thurston, Herbert. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12734a.htm "Relics"]. ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 March 2014</ref> There are also many [[relics associated with Jesus]].

[[File:Reliquary of St. Francis Xavier's humerus.jpg|thumb|upright|St. [[Francis Xavier]]'s [[humerus]], [[St. Joseph's Seminary and Church|St. Joseph's Church]], [[Macau]]]]

In his introduction to Gregory's ''History of the Franks'', [[Ernest Brehaut]] analyzed the Romano-Christian concepts that gave relics such a powerful draw. He distinguished Gregory's constant usage of ''sanctus'' and ''[[virtus (virtue)|virtus]]'',  the first with its familiar meaning of "sacred" or "holy", and the second as "the mystic potency emanating from the person or thing that is sacred... In a practical way the second word ''[virtus]'' ... describes the uncanny, mysterious power emanating from the supernatural and affecting the natural... These points of contact and yielding are the miracles we continually hear of."<ref name=sourcebook>Medieval Sourcebook, Gregory of Tours (539–594), ''History of the Franks'', Books I–X, [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html#brehaut Introduction by Earnest Brehaut (from his 1916 translation), pp. ix–xxv] [Note: Many of Brehaut's opinions and prejudices would not be upheld by modern historians. Students should not rely on this ''Introduction'' as a guide.]</ref>