Top 10 Relics of Jesus Christ

Eagle1984 October 17, 2012

There are many Holy relics associated with the life of Jesus Christ. Many were discovered
centuries ago and on display. Some are not on display, but still well known. Enjoy this
fascinating list and be sure to mention any others you know of in the comments.

10
The Seamless Robe of Christ
The Holy Robe, Holy Tunic, Holy Coat of Thieves, and Holy Coat of Trier

The Holy Tunic of Christ is said to have been worn by Jesus during or shortly before his
Crucifixion. It is preserved at the Cathedral of Trier in Germany. In the Gospel of John, the
soldiers cast lots on who would receive the tunic because it was woven in one single piece.
Hence the name, the Seamless Robe.

“Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments (ta himatia) and divided
them into four parts, to every soldier a part, and the coat (kai ton chitona). Now the coat was
without seam, woven whole from the top down. Therefore, they said among themselves, let us
not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it will become. Thus the saying in Scripture was fulfilled:
they divided My raiment (ta imatia) among them, and upon My vesture (epi ton himatismon) did
they cast lots” (John 19:23-24; quoting the Septuagint version of Psalm 21 [22]:18-19).
According to legend, Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the seamless robe in
the Holy Land in the year 327 or 328 along with several other relics, including the True Cross.
According to different versions of the story, she either bequeathed it or sent it to the city of Trier,
where Constantine had lived for some years before becoming emperor. (The monk Altmann of
Hautvillers wrote in the 9th century that Helena was born in that city, though this report is
strongly disputed by most modern historians.)

The history of the Trier robe is certain only from the 12th century. On May 1, 1196, Archbishop
Johann I of Trier consecrated an altar in which the seamless robe was contained. It is no longer
possible to determine the exact historical path that the robe took to arrive there, so many hold it
to be a medieval forgery. The various attempts at preservation and restoration through the
centuries have made it difficult to determine how much of the relic (if genuine) actually stems
from the time of Jesus. A scientific examination of the specimen has not been conducted. The
stigmatist Therese Neumann of Konnersreuth declared that the Trier robe was authentic.

9
The Holy Lance

The Holy Lance (also known as the Spear of Destiny, Holy Spear, Lance of Longinus, Spear of
Longinus or Spear of Christ) is the name given to the lance that pierced Jesus’ side as he hung on
the cross in John’s account of the Crucifixion.

The lance (Greek: λογχη, longche) is mentioned only in the Gospel of John (19:31–37) and not
in any of the Synoptic Gospels. The gospel states that the Romans planned to break Jesus’ legs, a
practice known as crurifragium, which was a method of hastening death during a crucifixion.
Just before they did so, they realized that Jesus was already dead and that there was no reason to
break his legs. To make sure that he was dead, a Roman soldier (named in extra-Biblical
tradition as Longinus) stabbed him in the side. … but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a
lance (λογχη), and immediately there came out blood and water. —John 19:34

8
Crown of Thorns

Saint John tells that, in the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Roman soldiers
mocked Christ and his Sovereignty by placing a thorny crown on his head (John 19:12). The
crown housed in the Paris cathedral is a circle of canes bundled together and held by gold
threads. The thorns were attached to this braided circle, which measures 21 centimeters in
diameter. The thorns were divided up over the centuries by the Byzantine emperors and the
Kings of France. There are seventy, all of the same type, which have been confirmed as the
original thorns. The relics of the Passion presented at Notre-Dame de Paris include a piece of the
Cross, which had been kept in Rome and delivered by Saint Helen, the mother of Emperor
Constantine, a nail of the Passion and the Holy Crown of Thorns. Of these relics, the Crown of
Thorns is without a doubt the most precious and the most revered. Despite numerous studies and
historical and scientific research efforts, its authenticity cannot be certified. It has been the object
of more than sixteen centuries of fervent Christian prayer.

7
The True Cross

In the Christian tradition, the True Cross refers to the actual cross used in the Crucifixion of
Jesus. Today, many fragments of wood are claimed as True Cross relics, but in most cases it is
hard to establish their authenticity. The spread of the story of the fourth century discovery of the
True Cross was partly due to its inclusion in 1260 in Jacopo de Voragine’s very popular book
The Golden Legend, which also included other tales such as Saint George and the Dragon.
Pieces of the purported True Cross, including the half of the INRI inscription tablet, are
preserved at the ancient basilica Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. Very small pieces or
particles of the True Cross are reportedly preserved in hundreds of other churches in Europe and
inside crucifixes. Their authenticity is not accepted universally by those of the Christian faith and
the accuracy of the reports surrounding the discovery of the True Cross is questioned by many
Christians.

6
The Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin is the best-known relic of Jesus and one of, if not the, most studied artifacts
in human history. Believers contend that the shroud is the cloth placed on the body of Jesus
Christ at the time of his burial, and that the face image is the Holy Face of Jesus. Detractors
contend that the artifact postdates the Crucifixion of Jesus by more than a millennium. Both sides
of the argument use science and historical documents to make their case. The striking negative
image was first observed on the evening of May 28, 1898, on the reverse photographic plate of
amateur photographer Secondo Pia, who was allowed to photograph it while it was being
exhibited in the Turin Cathedral. The Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed or rejected
the shroud, but in 1958 Pope Pius XII approved of the image in association with the Roman
Catholic devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.

5
Iron Crown of Lombardy
The Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of
Europe. The crown became one of the symbols of the Kingdom of Lombards and later of the
medieval Kingdom of Italy. It is kept in the Cathedral of Monza, in the suburbs of Milan. The
Iron Crown is so called from a narrow band of iron about one centimeter (three-eighths of an
inch) within it, said to be beaten out of one of the nails used at the crucifixion. The outer circlet
of the crown is of six segments of beaten gold partly enameled, joined together by hinges and set
with twenty-two gemstones that stand out in relief, in the form of crosses and flowers. Its small
size and hinged construction have suggested to some that it was originally a large armlet or
perhaps a votive crown; for others, the small size of the present crown was caused by a
readjustment after the loss of two segments, as described in historical documents.

4
Veil of Veronica
The Veil of Veronica, which according to legend was used to wipe the sweat from Jesus’ brow as
he carried the cross is also said to bear the likeness of the Face of Christ. Today, several images
claim to be the Veil of Veronica. There is an image kept in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome which
purports to be the same Veronica as was revered in the Middle Ages. Very few inspections are
recorded in modern times and there are no detailed photographs. The most detailed recorded
inspection of the 20th century occurred in 1907 when Jesuit art historian Joseph Wilpert was
allowed to remove two plates of glass to inspect the image.

3
Scala Sancta
The Scala Sancta (English: Holy Stairs) are, according to the Christian tradition, the steps that
led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his
Passion on his way to trial. The stairs were, reputedly, brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th
Century. For centuries, the Scala Santa has attracted Christian pilgrims who wished to honor the
Passion of Jesus. It consists of twenty-eight white marble steps, now encased by wooden steps,
located in a building which incorporates part of the old Lateran Palace, located opposite the
Basilica of Saint John Lateran. They are located next to a church which was built on ground
brought from Mount Calvary. The stairs lead to the Sancta Sanctorum (English: Holy of Holies),
the personal chapel of the early Popes in the Lateran palace, known as the chapel of St.
Lawrence.

2
The Mandylion
The Image of Edessa, as known as the Mandylion, was allegedly sent by Jesus himself to King
Abgar V of Edessa to cure him of leprosy, with a letter declining an invitation to visit the king.
The story of this image is the product of centuries of development during which the image was
lost and reappeared several times. Today two images claim to be the Mandylion, one is the Holy
Face of Genoa at the Church of St Bartholomew of The Armenians in Genoa, the other the Holy
Face of San Silvestro, kept in the Church of San Silvestro in Capite in Rome up to 1870 now in
the Matilda Chapel of the Vatican Palace, The theory that the object venerated as the Mandylion
from the sixth to the thirteenth centuries was in fact the Shroud of Turin has been the subject of
debate, but is now mostly rejected as a hypothesis.

1
The Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often
identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess
miraculous powers. The connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail legend dates from
Robert de Boron’s Joseph d’Arimathie (late 12th century) in which Joseph receives the Grail
from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Great Britain; building upon this
theme, later writers recounted how Joseph used the Grail to catch Christ’s blood while interring
him and that in Britain he founded a line of guardians to keep it safe. The quest for the Holy
Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by
Chrétien de Troyes. The legend may combine Christian lore with a Celtic myth of a cauldron
endowed with special powers. The Grail legend’s development has been traced in detail by
cultural historians: It is a legend which first came together in the form of written romances,
deriving perhaps from some pre-Christian folklore hints, in the later 12th and early 13th
centuries. The early Grail romances centered on Percival and were woven into the more general
Arthurian fabric. Some of the Grail legend is interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice. The
work of Leonardo da vinci presents the Holy Grail as derivative of sang real literally meaning
holy blood, i.e blood lineage of Jesus with his alleged wife Mary Magdalene which has been kept
hidden to date