InChristianity, thetranslation ofrelics is the ceremonial removal of holy objects from one place to another (usually a higher-status location). Usually only the movement of the remains of asaint's body would be treated so formally, withsecondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony. Translations could be accompanied by many acts, including all-nightvigils and processions, often involving entire communities.
The solemn translation (inLatin,translatio) of relics is not treated as the outward recognition of sanctity. Rather, miracles confirmed a saint's sanctity, as evinced by the fact that when thepapacy attempted to makecanonization an official process in the twelfth century, many collections of miracles were written in the hope of providing proof of the saint-in-question's status. In the early Middle Ages, the solemn translation marked the moment at which, the saint's miracles having been recognized, the relic was moved by a bishop or abbot to a prominent position within the church. Local veneration was then permitted. This process is known aslocal canonization.[1]
The date of a translation of a saint's relics was often celebrated as afeast day in its own right. For example, onJanuary 27 is celebrated the translation of the relics ofSt. John Chrysostom from theArmenian village ofComana (where he died in exile in 407) to Constantinople.[2] The most commonly celebrated feast days are thedies natales (the day on which the saint died, not the modern idea of birthday).
Relics sometimes travelled very far. The relics ofSaint Thyrsus atSozopolis, Pisidia, inAsia Minor, were brought toConstantinople and then toSpain. His cult became popular in theIberian Peninsula, where he is known as San Tirso or Santo Tirso.[3] Some of his relics were brought toFrance: Thyrsus is thus the titular saint of thecathedral of Sisteron in theBasses Alpes,[4] the Cathédrale Notre Dame et Saint Thyrse. Thyrsus is thus thepatron saint of Sisteron.[5]Liborius of Le Mans became patron saint ofPaderborn, in Germany, after his relics were transferred there in 836.[6]
In the early church, the disturbance, let alone the division, of the remains of martyrs and other saints, was not of concern or interest, much less practised. It was assumed that they would remain permanently in their often-unidentified resting places in cemeteries and thecatacombs of Rome (but always outside the walls of the city, continuing a pagan taboo). Then,martyriums began to be built over the site of the burial of saints. It came to be considered beneficial to the soul to be buried close to saintly remains, and as such, several large "funerary halls" were built over the sites of martyr's graves, the primary example being theOld Saint Peter's Basilica.
The earliest recorded removal of saintly remains was that ofSaint Babylas atAntioch in 354. Perhaps partly because Constantinople lacked the many saintly graves of Rome, translations soon became common in the Eastern Empire, even though it was still prohibited in the West. The Eastern capital was able to acquire the remains of SaintsTimothy,Andrew andLuke.[how?] The division of bodies also began; the 5th-century theologianTheodoretus declaring that "Grace remains entire with every part". An altar slab dated 357, found in North Africa but now in theLouvre, records the deposit beneath it of relics from several prominent saints.
Non-anatomical relics, above all that of theTrue Cross, were divided and widely distributed from the 4th century. In the West a decree ofTheodosius I only allowed the moving of a wholesarcophagus with its contents, but the upheavals of the barbarian invasions relaxed the rules, as remains needed to be relocated to safer places.[7]
In the 4th century,Basil the Great requested of the ruler ofScythia Minor, Junius Soranus (Saran), that he should send him therelics of saints of that region. Saran sent the relics ofSabbas the Goth to him inCaesarea,Cappadocia, in 373 or 374 accompanied by a letter, the "Epistle of the Church of God in Gothia to the Church of God located in Cappadocia and to all the Local Churches of the Holy Universal Church".[8] The sending of Sabbas' relics and the writing of the actual letter has been attributed toBretannio. This letter is the oldest known writing to be composed on Romanian soil and was written inGreek.[citation needed]
The spread of relics all over Europe from the 8th century onward is explained by the fact that after 787, all new Christian churches had to possess a relic before they could be properlyconsecrated. New churches, situated in areas newly converted to Christianity, needed relics and this encouraged the translation of relics to far-off places. Relics became collectible items, and owning them became a symbol of prestige for cities, kingdoms, and monarchs,Relics were also desirable as they generated income from pilgrims traveling to venerate them. According to one legend concerningSaint Paternian, the inhabitants ofFano competed with those ofCervia for possession of his relics. Cervia was left with a finger, while Fano took the rest.[9]
The translation of relics was a solemn and important event. In 1261, therelics ofLucian of Beauvais and his two companions were placed in a newreliquary by William of Grès (Guillaume de Grès), thebishop of Beauvais. The translation took place in the presence ofSt. Louis IX, theking of France, andTheobald II, theking of Navarre, as well as much of the French nobility. The memory of this translation was formerly celebrated in the abbey of Beauvais as thefête des Corps Saints.[10]
Sometimes the translation was the result of an agreement between the original and the new possessors or was arranged by a superior authority, but other times the relic was acquired against the will of the previous holder.The new owners published accounts of their success and associated miracles to legitimate thesefurta sacra ("holy thefts") as consented by the saint.
On February 14, 1277, while work was being done at the church of St. John the Baptist (Johanniterkirche) inCologne, the body ofSaint Cordula, one of the companions ofSaint Ursula, was discovered.[11] Her relics were found tobe fragrant and on the forehead of the saint herself were written the words, "Cordula, Queen and Virgin". WhenAlbert the Great, who had been residing in Cologne in his old age, had listened to the account of the finding of the relics,
he wept, praised God from the depth of his soul, and requested the bystanders to sing theTe Deum. Then vesting himself in his episcopal robes, he removed the relics from under the earth, and solemnly translated them into the church of the monks of St. John. After singing Mass, he deposited the holy body in a suitable place, which God has since made illustrious by many miracles.[12]
Some relics were translated from place to place, buffeted by the tides of wars and conflicts. The relics ofSaint Leocadia were moved fromToledo to Oviedo during the reign ofAbd ar-Rahman II, and from Oviedo they were brought toSaint-Ghislain (in present-dayBelgium). Her relics were venerated there byPhilip the Handsome andJoanna of Castile, who recovered for Toledo atibia of the saint.Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba attempted unsuccessfully to rescue the rest of her relics.[13] Finally, a Spanish Jesuit, after many travels, brought the rest of the saint's relics toRome in 1586. From Rome they were brought toValencia by sea, and then finally brought to Toledo fromCuenca.Philip II of Spain presided over a solemn ceremony commemorating the final translation of her relics to Toledo, in April 1587.[13]
Idesbald's relics were moved from their resting-place at the abbey of Ten Duinen after theGeuzen ("Sea Beggars") plundered the abbey in 1577; his relics were translated again toBruges in 1796 to avoid having them destroyed byRevolutionary troops.[14]
The translation of the relics continued into modern times. On December 4, 1796, as a result of theFrench Revolution, therelics ofSaint Lutgardis were carried toIttre fromAwirs. Her relics remain in Ittre.[15]
Among the most famous translations is that ofSaint Benedict of Nursia, author of the "Regula S. Benedicti", fromCassino toFleury, whichAdrevald memorialized. In England, the lengthy travels ofSt Cuthbert's remains to escape theVikings, and then his less respectful treatment after theEnglish Reformation, have been much studied, ashis coffin,gospel book and other items buried with him are now very rare representatives ofAnglo-Saxon art.[citation needed]
Some well-known translations of relics include the removal of the body ofSaint Nicholas fromMyra inAsia Minor toBari,Italy in 1087. Tradesmen of Bari visited the relics of Saint Nicholas in 1087 after finding out their resting-place from themonks who guarded them. According to one account, the monks showed the resting-place but then became immediately suspicious: "Why you men, do you make such a request? You haven't planned to carry off the remains of the holy saint from here? You don't intend to remove it to your own region? If that is your purpose, then let it be clearly known to you that you parley with unyielding men, even if it mean our death."[16] The tradesmen tried different tactics, including force, and manage to take hold of the relics. An anonymous chronicler writes about what happened when the inhabitants of Myra found out:
Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the city learned of all that had happened from the monks who had been set free. Therefore, they proceeded in a body, a multitude of men and women, to the wharves, all of them filled and heavy with affliction. And they wept for themselves and their children, that they had been left bereft of so great a blessing ... Then they added tears upon tears and wailing and unassuageable lamentation to their groans, saying: "Give us our patron and our champion, who with all consideration protected us from our enemies visible and invisible. And if we are entirely unworthy, do not leave us without a share, of at least some small portion of him."
— Anonymous, Greek account of the transfer of the Body of Saint Nicholas, 13th century[16]
Professor Nevzat Cevik, the Director of Archaeological Excavations in Demre (Myra), has recently recommended that the Turkish government should request the repatriation of Saint Nicholas' relics, alleging that it had always been the saint's intention to be buried in Myra.[17] The Venetians, who also claimed to have some parts of Saint Nicholas, had another story: The Venetians brought the remains back to Venice, but on the way they left an arm of Saint Nicholas at Bari (The Morosini Codex 49A).
In 828,Venetian merchants acquired the supposed relics ofSaint Mark the Evangelist fromAlexandria, Egypt. These are housed inSt Mark's Basilica; in 1968, a small fragment of bone was donated to the Coptic Church in Alexandria.
A famous and recent example is the return of the relics ofJohn Chrysostom andGregory of Nazianzus to theSee of Constantinople (Greek Orthodox Church) byPope John Paul II in November 2004.[18][19]
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