Reliquary (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Our God . . . as the giver of all good things grant us through the prayers of those saints whose relics Thou granted to be deposited in this venerable church that in it we should offer Thee bloodless sacrifice without condemnation. —Byzantine Prayer on Consecrating an Altar By the 2nd century, Christians were preserving the remains, or “relics,” of saints in the belief that the saints could manifest their heavenly power on earth through their remains. This reliquary (container for relics) is modeled on Roman sarcophagi and resembles less ornate stone reliquaries found buried beneath the altars of Byzantine churches.
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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