www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Where to find relics??

Glory be to Jesus Christ!,

In the RC tradition when someone wants to get/venerate the relic of a saint , he has to get in touch with the congregation of which the saint belonged( e.g. Teresa of Avila would be to get in touch with a Carmelite monastery ).

In the case of EO, where does the faithful goes if he would like to have/or venerate the relic of a saint like Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom or else. I know that E-Bay "sells" some reliquary but the origin of some relics can be questionable, and some source for relics are questionable.


So where does one find / obtain/venerate relics from Church Fathers?
In Christ!
F

Typically the relics are meant to be in a church in the home country of that Saint. Saint John Chrysostom's relics are in St. George Cathedral in the Phanar in Constantinople. Though some Saint's relics are in churches named after them, due to history and drama.... St. Nick's relics are in Bari, Italy even though he's from Myra, Turkey. Some relics are given to other churches as a gift.

I don't know why you want to obtain a relic of a Saint. A third-class relic sure, but a bone or object that belonged to a Saint should belong in churches. I'd be wary of getting a relic from EBAY too!

Obtaining first-class relics for personal veneration is possible but can be difficult nowadays.

The most likely source for 1st. class relics of Fathers of the Church would probably be the "Lipsanoteca", @ a monastery of cloistered Augustinian nuns in Rome. Apparently they prepare and distribute relics in the name of the Vicariate of Rome.

They will expect you to present a letter from your bishop (or vicar general of your diocese), stating that you are approved to obtain and posess the relic(-s) in question. They can also tell you if the relic you seek is available, as well as tell you the prices of the "thecas" (the little locket-like container for the relic). The relics are free of charge but an offering would be a good idea, as well as payment for the theca.

These nuns can be contacted at:

Lipsanoteca:
Monastero Agostiniano Santa Lucia
Via in Selci, 82
00184 Roma/ITALY

Slava Isusu Khrestu

Hello to All

I have one pet peeve that has come to me from the days I was taught by nuns.

They would be very upset if we in any way did not use the proper names of the saints ie St. John Chrysostom but simple referred to him as John Chrysostom.

I have even noticed in some of those small paper Roman Catholic missals that the very name of God when a pronoun is used in reference to Him, there is no upper case/capital letter. How often have I see "he or him " when I remembered using and seeing " He, Him". I think no wonder there is a lack of respect on the part of many young and others when the very church has no longer any regard for the respect for the very printed name of God. Yes, it could be the fault of the printers but I don't know.

My patron is Saint Nicholas the Wonder-worker and not " St. Nick"
and I become bothered when I see or hear it that way. Yes in popular Christmas music, you may hear " St. Nick" and I have little control over that.

That kind of familiarity bothers me but I have to speak up especially in this Christian forum.

To those who have already celebrated their name day on the 6th of December or to those who have yet to celebrate in the 19th of December, I say "Mnohaya Lita and Khronya Pola"

Unworthy
Kolya

Sileos iglesys,

Thanks very much for your post. It is very interesting!! This seems a very reliable source of relics, indeed!

Does this apply as well for third class relics? I guess the third class relics would be easier to obtain, right? Or is there another source for third class relics(e.g. pilgrimage centers)?

In Christ!
Francois

Garajotsi,

My apologies if I've omitted to write Saint before the name of our beloved Fathers St-John Chrysostom and St-Cyril of Alexandria. It's a typo on my part and not derogatory in nature....

Besides St-John Chrysostom and St-Cyril of Alexandria are my favorite saints.

In Christ!
Francois

chaldobyzantine's and sielos ilgesys' posts are related: the reason it's now so hard to get first- (flesh and bone) and second-class (things the saint touched/used) relics is the Web. I think eBay has stopped selling them but in the early years of the Web there was traffic in relics (including fraud) rivalling Chaucer's day.

I have a bone chip of St Augustine from those Augustinian nuns in Rome in the '80s before the Web changed this. I have it (the thecla) in a brass sunburst reliquary.

Third-class relics (piece of cloth that touched a first- or second-class relic and are usually on the backs of religious medallions) are very easy to get: religious-order houses and church-goods/gift shops have them.

To buy relics from ebay or from whichever other place/people is extremely forbidden: The code of Canon of the Oriental Churches says: 888 1. It is not permitted to sell sacred relics. I suppose the equivalent applies for the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Also if the relic don't came from a reliable sources, it is probable it is false.

The little church that I attend have had the honor to receive this year as a gift a very-small relic of a bone of Saint Nicholas of Myra, which was venerated on his feast (photo [acioc-milano.org])
The relic was given as a present by the treasure of the cathedral of Milan: this is the only way to get relics: to find the places that have true relics, and ask for a present: the custodian of the relics of the cathedral of Milan told us he receives many requests and where possible and justified he agrees, making no differences between Catholics or Orthodox.
In our little church we venerate at they feasts also a relic of Saint Ambrose and one of Saint John Chrysostom.

Right; that's why eBay stopped selling them. Enough Catholics complained.

Actually, if you visit eBay, you will still see first class relics -whether they're authentic or not- for sale.

It is rather sad, but in Europe it is possible to find old relics being sold in flea markets, especially around Christmas time in various city centers. The selling is the sin, if you buy a relic to prevent it from going to who knows what use, then it is like ransoming a hostage, as I understand. Not the best case, but if you can't shame a guy into giving it to you for free, then it is all that can be done.

I was also able to find a very nice medal of Pope Leo XIII at one such market. In the US, I suspect that much of the stuff on EBay comes from such sources, which in turn likely comes from estate sales.

Another option for 3rd Class relics is to visit the tomb of a saint and make your own. Or find a church that has a number of relics and get permission to touch a cloth or cross or something similar to their relics. Most older parishes and monastic communities have quite extensive collections.

My impression is that the Augustinian nuns I refer to in an earlier post distribute 1st. and 2nd. class relics only.

Yes, shrines of saints and beati tend to be generous toward people seeking 3rd. class relics. This is particularly so in the cases of beatified people. The people charged with promoting the causes want to make their candidate well-known, so that more people will invoke the beatified person and perhaps the miracle (usually) needed for canonization will be granted by the Lord.

In Canada, I know that the Sisters of St. Anne in Lachine, QC distribute 3rd. class relics of their Mother Foundress, Bl. Marie-Anne Blondin (a woman of great faith and love, whose troubling story is worth learning about); the Little Sisters of the Holy Family in Sherbrooke, QC gladly distribute 3rd. class relics of their Mother-Foundress, Bl. Marie-Leonie Paradis and the shrine of Bl. Bishop-Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky (Ukrainian Greek Catholic) in Winnipeg, MB also distributes such relics and will sometimes make available 2nd. class relics (from his shroud). Shrines of other Quebecker beati and the 3 canonized Canadian Saints - Quebeckers all - probably have similar policies. Contact them and check it out.

Be aware that 1st. class relics of recently deceased beatified/canonized people may not be available because these people sometimes have living relatives who have not given permission for the distribution of parts of their holy relatives' bodies. Two such cases come to mind: I understand there are no 1st. class relics available of St. Gianna Beretta Molla nor of the recently-beatified italian teenages, Bl. Chiara "Luce" Badano.

Blessed be Christ, who is wondrous in His Saints. On their constant intercession we rely for help.

To facilitate contact with the shrines of the Canadian beati I mentioned in an earlier post, here are websites for them:

Bl. Marie-Anne Blondin AKA Esther Blondin: http://ssacong.org/

Bl. Marie-Leonie Paradis: http://centremarie-leonieparadis.com/

Bl.Bishop-Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky: http://bvmartyrshrine.com/