RELICS OF THE CRUCIFIXION.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 142, 16 June 1888, Page 3 (Supplement)

RELICS OF THE CRUCIFIXION.

Where the Cross, Lance, Sponge, Nails and the Others are.

The relics of the crucifixion are objects dear to every Christian, but few know of their history ahd present location. To the Pious Helena, the mother of Constantine, the1 World owes much for fche discovery of the cross. She visited Palestine in the year 326, and, razing to the ground the temple that had been erected to Venus over the tomb of the Saviour, began a search for the precious relic. After much excavatory proceedings the workmen came upon the sepulchre, near by which were discovered three crosses. The inscription, '1.KR.1.,' was detached and lying convenient. Which was the cross of the Saviour was ascertained by the working of a miracle, and was soon after enshrined in a silver case, with the exception of two pieces, one of which was sent to Rome and the other to Constantinople. /;.:',: > ■ %.; ; j Jerusalem was captured by the Persians in 614 and the cross was convoyed to Per?ia. Heracliiis Vanquished the Persians in 628, and one of the conditions of the peace sued for by the Persians was the return of the cross. ■ When the Arabs took Jerusalem they endeavoured to obtain possession of the portion of the cross recovered by Herac]ius, but the Christians divided ifc into small pieces, which they sent to various places. Trine it was that so many different churches obtained relics of the true cross, the largest portions being in the Basilica of the Holy Cioss of Jerusalem, at Rome, and in the Cathedral of Paris.

The tablet ou which is the well-known inscription I. N. R. I. (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews), is preserved in the Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, at Rome, whicll was especially built to enshrine the relics forwarded to Rome by Helena. As to whether there werei'three or four nails to the cross found by Helena, there is much doubt. History says that one was thrown by Helena into the sea to calm a storm. In the Church of the Holy Cross is a portion of a nail which is said to have been presented by St. Helena; It is believed that the missing part was cut off and placed in the crown of Constantine, which is now'known as the celebrated Iron Crown of the Kings of Italy. This is made of gold, lined on the inside with a very thin plate of iron, forged from the missing portion of the sacred nail. The third nail is in the Church of Notre Datn6, iri Paris, and at Monza, near Milan, is another nail whose authenticicy Benedict XIV. is said to have established. . . ;

The body of the lance that pierced the side of Christ is at Rome and the point is at Paris. The sponge is at Rome in the Basilica of St. John of Lateran. The principal part of the crown of thorns is preserved ill the Cliurch of Notre Dame, in Paris, but it is devoid of thorns, pieces of which have been granted to a great many churches. The relic, with a fragment of the cross, is borne in triumph by twelve canons or cures of Paris in the.sdlemn procession which is held at 8 o'clock, Good Friday night, in Notre Dame. The upper part of the pillar of the scourging is in Rome, in the Church of St. Praxedes, since 1223. The other part is in Jerusalem, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The city of Turin rejoices in the possession of the shroud, or winding sheet, in which' Joseph "of Arimathea enveloped the body of our Saviour. According to tradition, it was brought thither from Jerusa-. lem, and a feast instituted by Pope Julius 111. in 1506, is celebrated in its honour on the llth of May. This precious i;e!ic is preserved in a chapel called the" " Holy Shroud.1' There is even a confraternity bearing the same title. Lisbon and other places also claim to be in possession of the Holy Shroud. It is probable that they have only fragments of ifc, or cloth that merely touched it. The Catholic Church treasures in Rome the towel of Veronica, bearing the imprint of the face of Jesus. The story runs that the Emperor Tiberius was afflicted, with leprosy, and hearing; from Pontius Pilate of the niany .wonders wrought by Jesus in Judea, sent ambassadors to him to obtain a cure ; but when they arrived.afc Jerusalem Jesus had been crucified. Having made inquiries into the circumstances of His life arid death, they learned, amongst other things, that He had left the impression of His face to a holy woman afterward kridwn as Veronica, and that many persons had been-- cured -of various maladies by its means. Veronica was visited by the ambassadors. She acknowledged that she possessed the sacred i-elic, and offered to accompany them to Rome, affirming that at sight of ifc the Emperor would be cured. Her ofier was accepted, and the event justified her prophecy : for Tiberius did actually obtain his cure after heholding the impression of the divine countenance.

The Society of the Holy Face has branches in many cities. One of its historians says : ' Veronica placed the towel which bore the imprint of the sacred countenance of Our Lord in the hand of St. Clement, St Peter's coadjutor, and afterward his third successor ; and it thus became the heritage of the Church, and has remained in the possession of Rome ever since. At the present day it is in the Vatican Basilica, where it is treasured as one of the most precious relics in the whole world. The Sovereign Pontiffs have always watched over it with jealotis care, reserving to themselves exclusively the right to allow it to be inspected.' The largest memento of the crucifixion is the Scalae Sanctae or holy stairs which, it is popularly supposed, Christ ascended while being brought into Pilate's presence. The memento is composed of twenty-eight marble steps, and is located in the Church of the Passionists, beyond the walls of Rome. One of the visitors to the Papal Jubilee thus writes of these stairs: 'No one is allowed to go up them except on the knees, a task arduous and painful, for the climb is a steep one. The pilgrims, however, undertook the duty with celerity and devotion. From step to step they proceeded, halting at intervals to recite aloud prayers and invocations. When the Summit was touched, some of them could not use their legs for a while because of the pain consequent upon the novel mode of locomotion. The chapel on the landing at the top was in its day a private one for the Popes, and had stored in it many relics of the Passion of the Redeemer, which fact gave rise to the inscription over the altar in Latin, 'There is nob in the whole world a holier place than this.' The descent is by. easy passages on both sides of the Holy Stairs, each terminating at base with striking pieces of statuary. One of these represonts the betrayal of Jesuß. The expression of the thick, puckered lips of Judus, in the act of kissing the cheek of his Master, is admirably carved. The outer group is a renowned ' Ecce Homo,' with Pilate presenting Christ bound with ropes to the populace.

These stairs were taken to Rome in the year 326 by order of Empress Helena. They are protected by a covering of wood from the wear to which they would be subjected were not such precautions taken. They are five feet long, and are treasured as relics beyond price.