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Concept
Reliquary
Summary
A reliquary (also referred to as a shrine, by the French term châsse, and historically including phylacteries) is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a fereter, and a chapel in which it is housed a feretory.
Relics may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures. The authenticity of any given relic is often a matter of debate; for that reason, some churches require documentation of the relic's provenance.
Relics have long been important to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and to followers of many other religions. In these cultures, reliquaries are often presented in shrines, churches, or temples to which the faithful make s to gain blessings.
The term is sometimes used loosely for containers for the body parts of non-religious figures; in particular, the Kings of France often specified that their hearts and sometimes other organs be buried in a different location from their main burial.
The use of reliquaries became an important part of Christian practices from at least the 4th century, initially in the Eastern Churches, which adopted the practice of moving and dividing the bodies of saints much earlier than the West, probably in part because the new capital of Constantinople, unlike Rome, lacked buried saints. Relics are venerated in the Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and some Anglican Churches. Reliquaries provide a means of protecting and displaying relics. While frequently taking the form of caskets, they range in size from simple pendants or rings to very elaborate ossuaries.
The relics were enshrined in containers crafted of or covered with gold, silver, gems, and enamel. Ivory was widely used in the Middle Ages for reliquaries; its pure white color is an indication of the holy status of its contents. These objects constituted a major form of artistic production across Europe and Byzantium throughout the Middle Ages.
Official source
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