Relics

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Relics

Christianity

The word is applied to material remains of a saint after death, and to sacred objects associated with Christ or with saints. In the W. Church the cult of relics increased enormously, especially during the Crusades when quantities of spurious relics were brought to Europe. They were kept in reliquaries (often elaborate, decorated vessels of formalized shape), carried in procession, and believed to have miraculous powers. Relics of martyrs were placed under the altar stones of all Roman Catholic churches until 1969.

Buddhism

The earliest Buddhist relic (śarīra) was the bo tree (of enlightenment): trees grown from cuttings or seeds (taken from the original tree under which Gotāma achieved enlightenment) became objects of veneration. This reverence involves circumambulation (indicating the centre of one's life) and the offering of flowers or water. The development of the stūpa included the placing of relics.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions