Holy Nails
I have decided to do some posts about the history of Christianity and I might make a series of them, I will start by taking about the Holy Nails.
In the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the city of Constantinople was sacked and the true cross, which was brought from Jerusalem, was carved up by the bishops and given to the knights and they then gave it to the churches and monasteries when they returned home.
By the time the Middle Ages ended, many churches said that they possessed a piece of the True Cross and John Calvin said that there was enough wood of the True Cross to fill a ship:
There is no abbey so poor as not to have a specimen. In some places there are large fragments, as at the Holy Chapel in Paris, at Poictiers, and at Rome, where a good-sized crucifix is said to have been made of it. In brief, if all the pieces that could be found were collected together, they would make a big ship-load. Yet the Gospel testifies that a single man was able to carry it.
But it was said that the nails that were used to nail Christ to the Cross, were are also taken to Constantinople.
Theodoret wrote in his ''Ecclesiastical History, chapter xvii":
'The mother of the emperor, on learning the accomplishment of her desire, gave orders that a portion of the nails should be inserted in the royal helmet, in order that the head of her son might be preserved from the darts of his enemies. The other portion of the nails she ordered to be formed into the bridle of his horse, not only to ensure the safety of the emperor, but also to fulfil an ancient prophecy; for long before Zechariah, the prophet, had predicted that 'There shall be upon the bridles of the horses Holiness unto the Lord Almighty.'
The nails were said to have been used to help create the Iron Crown of Lombardy that is now housed in Cathedral at Monza near Milan. Could the ring still be considered a relic today?
Triclavianism believes that three nails were used to cruify Christ. The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that:
St. Ambrose informs us that St. Helen had one nail converted into a bridle for Constantine's horse (early commentators quote Zechariah 14:20, in this connection), and that an imperial diadem was made out of the other nail. Gregory of Tours speaks of a nail being thrown (deponi), or possibly dipped into the Adriatic to calm a storm. It is impossible to discuss these problems adequately in brief space, but the information derivable from the general archaeology of the punishment of crucifixion as known to the Romans does not in any way contradict the Christian tradition of four nails.
Who can see if the relics we hold in our hands are true pieces of the Cross or its nails, as many Medievel Churches would have claimed to hold a relic of Christ to become more popular and to attract more prigrims. But if they were not, what happened to the real Cross and could its story after Christ be considered a series of journey's and holy shrines or not?
In the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the city of Constantinople was sacked and the true cross, which was brought from Jerusalem, was carved up by the bishops and given to the knights and they then gave it to the churches and monasteries when they returned home.
By the time the Middle Ages ended, many churches said that they possessed a piece of the True Cross and John Calvin said that there was enough wood of the True Cross to fill a ship:
There is no abbey so poor as not to have a specimen. In some places there are large fragments, as at the Holy Chapel in Paris, at Poictiers, and at Rome, where a good-sized crucifix is said to have been made of it. In brief, if all the pieces that could be found were collected together, they would make a big ship-load. Yet the Gospel testifies that a single man was able to carry it.
But it was said that the nails that were used to nail Christ to the Cross, were are also taken to Constantinople.
Theodoret wrote in his ''Ecclesiastical History, chapter xvii":
'The mother of the emperor, on learning the accomplishment of her desire, gave orders that a portion of the nails should be inserted in the royal helmet, in order that the head of her son might be preserved from the darts of his enemies. The other portion of the nails she ordered to be formed into the bridle of his horse, not only to ensure the safety of the emperor, but also to fulfil an ancient prophecy; for long before Zechariah, the prophet, had predicted that 'There shall be upon the bridles of the horses Holiness unto the Lord Almighty.'
The nails were said to have been used to help create the Iron Crown of Lombardy that is now housed in Cathedral at Monza near Milan. Could the ring still be considered a relic today?
Triclavianism believes that three nails were used to cruify Christ. The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that:
St. Ambrose informs us that St. Helen had one nail converted into a bridle for Constantine's horse (early commentators quote Zechariah 14:20, in this connection), and that an imperial diadem was made out of the other nail. Gregory of Tours speaks of a nail being thrown (deponi), or possibly dipped into the Adriatic to calm a storm. It is impossible to discuss these problems adequately in brief space, but the information derivable from the general archaeology of the punishment of crucifixion as known to the Romans does not in any way contradict the Christian tradition of four nails.
Who can see if the relics we hold in our hands are true pieces of the Cross or its nails, as many Medievel Churches would have claimed to hold a relic of Christ to become more popular and to attract more prigrims. But if they were not, what happened to the real Cross and could its story after Christ be considered a series of journey's and holy shrines or not?
posted by David at 8:03 pm
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