Reliquaries

[Florianos]

God bless !!!

We orthodox christians should search for the pre-schism orthodox saints,where they lived and where their reliquies are kept!!
Many western orthodox Saints waiting for our veneration,like here in Austria many orthodox saints lived but nobody honors them!
I also discovered many true reliquies, for example in vienna are kept the reliquies of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, and the right hand of St. Anna the mother of the Theotokos, in Germany in aachen is the Chiton( her garment is completly intact )of the Theotokos kept,in köln the chiton of christ is kept!!
Once I was in france in paris , there in the Notre Dame cathedral christs crown of thorns are venerated every year at great lent!!

Does anybody has information of the shroud of the Theotokos in Georgia(Iberia)??

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

God bless !!!

We orthodox christians should search for the pre-schism orthodox saints,where they lived and where their reliquies are kept!!
Many western orthodox Saints waiting for our veneration,like here in Austria many orthodox saints lived but nobody honors them!
I also discovered many true reliquies, for example in vienna are kept the reliquies of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, and the right hand of St. Anna the mother of the Theotokos, in Germany in aachen is the Chiton( her garment is completly intact )of the Theotokos kept,in köln the chiton of christ is kept!!
Once I was in france in paris , there in the Notre Dame cathedral christs crown of thorns are venerated every year at great lent!!

Does anybody has information of the shroud of the Theotokos in Georgia(Iberia)??

Yes, there was a time not too many years ago when relics by the thousands were being given away.

Many Orthodox monasteries in North America now have these relics, all in the recognizable little metal cases with Latin abbreviations for the saint's names.

Amazingly from that time I was able to get through the mail through a certain cardinal in Rome in charge of this, relics of Sts Gregory the Theologian & Gregory of Nyssa. Both relics came with certificates in Latin vouching for their authenticity.

Actually there was quite a blessing in all of this as it's extremely difficult to get such relics from our own Orthodox sources .

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Florianos]

God bless!!

Oh great, perhaps you can remember me in your prayers in front of the reliquies!! I was very amazed when I was in germany once and heard that in Aachen every seven years the Garments of the Theotokos are opened for veneration!! They must be true because there exist a document with seal from the 7 cent. from the Patriarch of Jerusalem who gave the Garment to King Karl the great!! I only had known the Maphorion and the Belt of the Theotokos in Konstantinopel!The Maphorion is lost I think and the Holy Belt is still on Mount Athos( I have a blessed copy in my chapel), but that there is also the chiton I did not know!!
This amazed me so that I began to search for other reliquies!
Like I have posted, in Köln in germany they have the chiton of Christ!!
I was allowed to venerate the incorrupt right hand of Saint Anna in Vienna and the Crown of thorns in Paris!!
I have to confess that it is hard to see such precious things in heterodox hands!!
I am searching for informations of the Holy Buriel Shroud of the Theotokos in Georgia( an icon not made by hands is on it)
Also the pre-schism saints!In Austria are so many!
Martyr Maximilian died under numerius in the 2nd cent
Greatmartyr Florian of Lorch and 14 co Martyr
Saint Severin the Apostel of the Danube 4cent,
Saint Vitalis of Salzburg
Saint Virgilius of salzburg
Saint Rupert of Salzburg
Saint Kolumban
Saint Erentrudis
Saint Wolfgang the Hermit
Saint Hemma the Abbess
and so on.. alll orthodox saints!Please call upon them!
I also found some very old icons in rome, some of them it is said are painted by Saint Luke,
In rome they also have the holy manger of the nativity and the holy stairs of the prätorium.
There is also an Church its called Santa Croce founded by Saint Helena, where the Titulus is kept, I saw it, its amazing!!

In Christ

[Nina]

God bless !!!
We orthodox christians should search for the pre-schism orthodox saints,where they lived and where their reliquies are kept!!

This is a great idea because in a new place, I always wonder if there are relics of our Saints there.

If you ever go to Bari, there are the holy relics of St. Nicholas (basilica of Saint Nicholas). If you go to Corfu there are the holy relics of Saint Spyridon in the church dedicated to him (it is interesting that both Saint Nicholas and Saint Spyridon were friends and now their relics are in such geographical proximity).

If you go to the town of Amalfi there is the crypt and the body of St. Andreas the Apostle (in the Duomo of St. Andreas), however part of the cranium of Saint Andreas is in his church in Patras, Greece. In the cathedral of Amalfi they have in display many holy relics from saints and martyrs (some of the greatest). I felt so "greedy" when I saw all of the relics, that I asked one of the women guards from the RC church there, to give me some holy relics for my church :). Of course in Rome there are many relics.

There are many holy relics in Mount Athos and all over Greece and other Mediterranean countries. In Thessaloniki those who go to Holy Mountain can venerate the relics of St. Demetrios.


I also discovered many true reliquies, for example in vienna are kept the reliquies of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, and the right hand of St. Anna the mother of the Theotokos,I would guess St. Stephen's are in the famous church there, but where is the hand of St. Anna?


in Germany in aachen is the Chiton( her garment is completly intact )of the Theotokos keptName of church in Aachen? There is a friend there and we are invited to go so please if you know the name of the church tell us.


,in köln the chiton of christ is kept!!Name of church please?



Once I was in france in paris , there in the Notre Dame cathedral christs crown of thorns are venerated every year at great lent!!Is that on display there? Because I did not see, or read anything about it when I was there (recently).

Also here (http://orrologion.blogspot.com/2007/05/where-are-they-now.html)is a link with further information.

[Florianos]

God bless you Nina!!

I am happy that you are interested in!!
The incorrupt holy right hand of the Mother of the Theotokos and Grandmother of god are kept in St. Annas Church in the 1. District of Vienna, this district is called st. Annas district!!
The hand is for common veneration on the 26 July the catholic anna and joachims day opend! This reliquie comes from greece a rich greek had to flight to spain because of the turks ,there he had money problems and a habsburger got it.The Habsburger gave it to Queen Maria Theresia wich gave it as present to the capitol city of the austrian monarchy, since that it is kept there! ( I saw the hand once and touched it,the hand is completly intact)I rejoiced very much to touch the hands wich hold our Theotokos.

[Florianos]

God bless!!

The Holy Garment of the Theotokos in AAchen are kept in the Holy Shrine of the Church of the Theotokos!! This great and beautiful Tempel was build by King Karl the great in the 8cent. he want to copy a littlebit the byzantines so he also want to have great reliquies and he searched for!!
And the Patriarch of Jerusalem gave him the Chiton of the Theotokos!!
The documents with the Patriarchals seals are also kept there!This shrine is opened every seven year!This years it was open for veneration from 1. July to 14. the next opening is 2014!!
In this Shrine are kept swaddling clothes of christ, the veil of St. John the Baptist and the loins veil of christ!!
You can see fotos on the -- www.heiligtumsfahrt2007.de (http://www.heiligtumsfahrt2007.de) Hompage!!

In CHRIST

[Florianos]

God bless!!

In Austria we also have the Holy Lance from Longinus inside is a Holy Nail of the crucifixion in vienna!!

In Italy is a church build by St. Helena ,Holy Cross where the Titulus of the crucifixion is kept!!The inscription is written in the 3 lanuages mentioned in the gospel, in hebrew, latin, greek!! The inscription is written with reversed script!!

The crown of thorns came from mount sinai 1063 to constantinopel!
In the year 1238 the Emperor of constantinopel offered the crown of thorns to Loius King of France, who build the Sainte Chapel.The Holy relic remained there until the french revolution, during wich it was kept in French national liberary.In 1806 it was transferred to the Cathedral of Notre Dame where it still reamins.The crown is presented for veneration during lent on fridays, as well as the first Friday of each month!!

The Holy Stairs of the prätorium of pilate were brought to the Lateran church o St.John in Rome.This stairway has 28 steps and everyone can climb on his knees up.

The Holy Column where Christ was scourged remains in Rome in the church of St. Praxedes

The Relic of the Holy Blood of Christ in Belgium was stolen by the cruseaders in constantinopel where it was liqiud, when they brougth it to Belgium in has dried!

In Italy was a few years ago an icon discovered wich is not made by human hands!It is on a veil, imprinted the face of christ. It is called the icon of Manopello!!

In Rome they also have the icon of St. Abgar of edessa wich is shown once in year to the people, and it is said that the Veil of Veronica is kept in Rome and that it absolutly has the same anatomical details like the shroud of turin!!

In Rome it is said are 7 icons painted by luke!



I would know more details of the Holy Burial Shroud of the Theotokos wich is kept in Georgia , can anyone tell me about it and the icon not made by hands imprinted on it?

In CHRIST

[Mary]

I never was a touchy, feely, kissy person. But now I want to touch and feel and kiss all those relics! I almost wish I hadn't known about them, because all of a sudden, I feel very deprived! =(

Nina - time to organize a Veneration tour - how about we aim for 2014? During Lent, so we can catch the Crown of Thorns on a Friday...

Or we could pray real hard that all these folks who have these relics would have mercy on us and bring those relics on a tour to the US!

Mary

[Anthony]

Dear Alexander,

Thank you for all this information. I live in Germany and am interested in visiting more of the holy places of Orthodox Germany in what should be my last year here. I don't have much time right now, but here are a couple more from central Germany where I live:

Corvey - relics of St Vitus (mostly lost in the 30 Years' War, but some remain)
Quedlinburg - St Mathilde (and her husband, the Emperor Otto)
Fulda - St Boniface, the Apostle of Germany
Bamberg - St Henry II and his wife, St Cunigunde

St Henry was the last of the Liudolfing (Ottonian) dynasty. I recently visited Grona, where he died, though there is nothing much there any more. The end of the Ottonians co-incides I think roughly with the schism - their successors, the Salians, were the sponsors of the Hildebrandine reformation of the Papacy. (St Henry and Cunigunde were not canonized until after the schism.)

[Paul Cowan]

Nina - time to organize a Veneration tour - how about we aim for 2014? During Lent, so we can catch the Crown of Thorns on a Friday...

oooh, Mary, poor choice of words. That may prove to be a very painful day. ;)

Paul

[Mary]

oooh, Mary, poor choice of words. That may prove to be a very painful day. ;)

Paul

LOL =)

But after thinking about it for half a minute, I think it might be safer for me to attempt to catch it after all, since attempting to kiss it might result in two blinded eyes, pierced lips, and so on...

Mary

[Paul Cowan]

I have a full sized representation of the crown of thorns in our living room. If I can find our camera, I will post a picture of it. I have (embarassingly) tried it on even though it is fastened to a solid back board. Lord help me if I am ever tortured. Those thorns are nothing to squack at. They are long, hard and very SHARP.

Paul

[Florianos]

God bless!!

There is no problem to kiss the crown of thorns in paris.It is in very old and precious reliquary with glass so noone will be hurt!!

But Paul I know this copies from the holy Land- and its true the thorns are very long and can hurt extrem!
How much pain Christ must suffered , when they put it on his head!!

In CHRIST

[Nina]

How much pain Christ must suffered , when they put it on his head!!

In CHRIST

What about all the tortures, humiliation, mocking, the lifting of the Cross, thirst?

What about the nails piercing His Body, the spear piercing His side?

What about the asphyxia, lungs with water and many other things we do not know because there is a difference between experiencing it and reading about it? It is so painful, heavy and excruciating just to think for one second about it.

P.S Thank you all for the further information about relics. If others know more it will be very helpful to add.

And Mary, there are pieces of relics here in US also. Contact and ask the priest of the church you visit, or plan to visit.

Also when a church and the altar are built there are relics placed in the foundations, therefore there are always pieces of relics in a church although not accessible (that means that the foundations of our Church are built upon the martyrdom, sacrifice, witness, blood of our Saints/Martyrs; and the Cornerstone is always Christ). My grandmothers always touched and kissed the outside of the church walls while making the sign of the cross and whispering prayers and also walked all around the external of the church, and they would kiss and make prostrations and say prayers especially on the outside of the area where the Holy Altar stands. In byzantine architecture that place is very prominent and very easy to find, and reach - just the arched part (or the larger arch) that faces east. But in some orthodox churches, that have been converted from temples and other buildings with different architecture, the area of the altar is either very high up (one floor from the ground), or simply unreachable because of all the other buildings, or fencing etc.

[Paul Cowan]

What about all the tortures, humiliation, mocking, the lifting of the Cross, thirst?

What about the nails piercing His Body, the spear piercing His side?

What about the asphyxia, lungs with water and many other things we do not know because there is a difference between experiencing it and reading about it? It is so painful, heavy and excruciating just to think for one second about it.


Reading the lives of the saints gives an academic understanding of these. But as you say, it is nothing to experiencing them. I have at times tried to put myself at least on the scene trying to imagine all the above. I just can't. Even Hollywood cannot properly depict this for us. I never saw the Passion of the Christ. But I hear this was pretty close.

When the time does come for the anti-Christ's return, I am sure we will again experience these events first hand. God help us.

Paul

[Nina]

. Even Hollywood cannot properly depict this for us. I never saw the Passion of the Christ. But I hear this was pretty close.
Paul

I did. And oh, I can not even describe to you dear Paul the pain when watching that movie (and not only that version). However, I still think that pain experienced physically is incomparably deeper. There is another dimension. Add to that that He was Pure, and Innocent, and Sinless... and above everything, He humbled Himself so much and took our nature when being our God.