Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Holy Relics

Episode Date: July 21, 2025

Some of the most venerated objects in many different religions are holy relics.  Relics offer a tangible connection to significant figures in various religious traditions, and they are often highly prized and sought after. In the Middle Ages, relics became a big business, and if a church had the right relics, it could boost a local economy. It became such a big business that many people began to question their authenticity.  Learn more about relics, their authenticity, and the historical business surrounding them on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Get your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Jerry Compare quotes and coverages side-by-side from up to 50 top insurers at jerry.ai/daily American Scandal Follow American Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some of the most venerated objects in many different religions are holy relics. Relics offer a tangible connection to significant figures in various religious traditions, and they're often highly prized and sought after. In the Middle Ages, relics became a significant business, and possessing the right relics could substantially boost a local economy. It became such a good business than many people began to question their authenticity. Learn more about relics, their authenticity and the historical business surrounding them.

on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. When most people think of religious relics,

they probably think first of Christian relics and more specifically relics from the Middle Ages. While I'll get to the use of relics from that period, I should start by noting that relics are hardly a Christian phenomenon and have been used throughout history by most religions to one degree or another. In ancient Greece, the veneration of objects and remains was a widespread and culturally significant practice, which was deeply connected to religion, mythology, and civic identity. The bones of Arrestes were said to be crucial for Sparta's victory in the Peloponese war. According to Herodotus, they were exhumed and transferred to Sparta after the Oracle of Delphi revealed their significance. The remains of Theseus, the legendary Athenian hero, were recovered

and ceremoniously re-interned in Athens by Simmon in the 5th century BC, affirming These Thesias as a unifying national figure. These tombs often became shrines, and cults formed around them. The tomb could be seen as a power center and people might seek blessings or protection from whatever hero was interred there. Buddhism also has several important relics. According to tradition, after the Buddhist cremation in 483 BC, his disciple, Kama, removed his left canine from the funeral pyre. The tooth was eventually taken to Kalinga in present-day Eastern India, where rulers worshipped it as a symbol of divine legitimacy. In the 4th century, the tooth was smuggled to Sri Lanka. It was gifted to the king of Anaradapura, and from then on, possession of the tooth relic became intertwined with the

right to rule Sri Lanka. Over the centuries, the tooth relic moved with shifting capitals of the island, surviving invasions, wars, and colonial threats. And today it's housed in the Temple of the Tooth in the city of Candy. From April 18th to April 27th of 2025, the tooth was put on public display, where an estimated 1 million people saw it. However, the Buddhist tooth is just one example, as we'll see, of the problem of provenance in relics. Providence is a term that's often used in the art world, referring to the ability to verify the origins and chain of ownership of an object. The problem is, the temple in Sri Lanka is not the only one that claims to have a tooth from the Buddha. In fact, a paper published in 2023 found that 32 temples in the world claim to

have at least one tooth, which is more teeth than is possible. The veneration of relics gained prominence in early Christianity, particularly during the Roman persecutions. Christians began to honor the tombs of martyrs as sacred sites. Very early Christians in Rome would often gather in catacombs near the remains of early martyrs. The bodies of martyrs were believed to carry spiritual power due to their sacrifice and proximity to God. Stories of miracles at the tombs of martyrs reinforce this belief, and by the fourth century, the formal veneration of saints had developed.

One of the earliest documented examples is the martyrdom of Polycarp, who was burned at the stake in the year 155. Christians collected the ashes and bones of polycarp as they were, quote, more precious than gold. By the time of Constantine the Great in the early 4th century, the veneration of relics had become mainstream amongst Christians. It was during the reign of Constantine that one of the greatest relics in the history of Christendom appeared, the true cross. According to tradition, his mother, St. Helena, a devout Christian, is said to have traveled to the Holy Land around 326 to locate holy sites associated with the life and death of Jesus. In Jerusalem, Helena allegedly discovered

three crosses during an excavation near what was believed to be Golgatha. According to legend, a dying woman, or in other versions a dead man, was miraculously healed when touching one of the three crosses, confirming it as the true cross. The site later became the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, consecrated in 335, of which I've done a previous episode. A large portion of the cross was said to have remained in Jerusalem, while Helena sent other pieces to Constantinople and Rome. Over the following centuries, fragments of the cross were divided and sent to churches, monasteries, and even monarchs throughout Europe and the Byzantine Empire. By the time of the Crusades, particularly the First Crusade in 1099, possession of a fragment

of the true cross was a mark of prestige and divine favor. The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem housed what it claimed to be the main relic of the cross. It was even carried into battle, famously during the disastrous Battle of Hatton, where it was captured by Saladin's forces and then disappeared from history. Between the 9th and 16th centuries, the number of relics claiming to be part of the true cross increased significantly. Major cathedrals across Europe, including Notre Dame and Paris, Santa Croce and Rome, Cologne Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey, all claim to house pieces of the true cross. The possession of such relics boosted a church's status and made.

a pilgrimage destination. This proliferation led to skepticism even in the Middle Ages. The 16th century humorous Erasmus of Rotterdam famously joked that there were so many pieces of the true cross that they could fill a ship. Later, the Protestant reformer John Calvin mocked the relic industry, stating that if all the fragments of the true cross were gathered together, they could form a whole forest. Scholars and Catholic officials have acknowledged the problem of excess relics, especially since authentication methods in antiquity were based on tradition rather than forensic science.

In the 19th century, French archaeologist Charles de Fleury tried to estimate the total volume of all known claimed fragments of the true cross. He concluded that even including hundreds of pieces, the total volume would still be less than a single cross of the type used by the Romans. He estimated that a full-size cross would have required about 0.12 cubic meters of wood. His findings suggested that, although the number of fragments was high, the total mass did not necessarily exceed that of a realistic cross. The largest section of the True Cross, which is claimed today, is located at the Orthodox monastic community at Mount Athos in Greece. Pieces of the True Cross were not the only items that Helena supposedly found. She also supposedly found the Holy Nails that were used to crucify Jesus.

In the case of the holy nails, there is most definitely a problem. There are no fewer than 30 holy nails that have been claimed, and at most there could have been only four that were actually used. These aren't the only relics that claim a direct association with Jesus. The Crown of Thorns is claimed to be located in Paris, and the Holy Lance that pierced the side of Jesus is claimed to be kept in Vienna's Hofbard Palace. But perhaps the most famous is the Shrout of Turin,

which will be the subject of its own. own future episode. And I should note that all relics are not the same. There are, in fact, different categories of relics. First class relics are the physical remains of saints such as bones, blood, hair, and teeth. Second class relics are items that the saintly person may have used, such as clothing or books. And third class relics are objects that touched a first or second class relic. Items like the true cross are second-class relics. There has only been one alleged first-class relic of Jesus, the foreskin of Jesus.

It's based on a belief that Jesus being Jewish was circumstized according to the law of Moses on the eighth day after his birth. Since Catholic theology holds that Jesus ascended bodily into heaven, some theologians in the Middle Ages speculated that the foreskin was the only remaining physical part of Jesus left on earth, and therefore could be a uniquely sacred relic. And sure enough, soon after what began as a theoretical theological discussion, alleged Foreskin started appearing in Europe. Places that have claimed to have had it include the Sharo Abbey in France,

Santiago de Campesella in Spain, as well as Antwerp, Bruges, and Hildesheim in the Holy Roman Empire. The last known and most famous relic of the Holy Forskin was kept in the town of Calcutta, Italy, north of Rome. According to tradition, it was brought there in the 16th century and held in a reliquary in the local church. For centuries, it was paraded through the town during annual festivals on January 1st, drawing pilgrims and curiosity seekers. However, in the 1980s, the relic mysteriously just disappeared. It was reportedly stolen under unclear circumstances. And if you're interested in learning more about the subject, my friend and travel writer David Farley has written a book on the topic titled in a reverent curiosity.

Most relics and churches and cathedrals are actually first-class relics. Some of them, such as the bones of St. James and Santiago de Capistella, or the body of St. Mark in Venice, have dubious provenance. During the Middle Ages, relics were a big business. Some merchants specialized in selling relics, most of which were often fakes. However, at the time, there was no way to verify anything, and most churches that purchased relics had little incentive to verify anything. having popular relics meant more pilgrims and visitors to their church, which meant having more

money. However, most relics actually do have a very secure providence because they're the remains of saints that were not ancient and not that famous. They're often associated with a saint who was buried in the place where the remains are interred. While Christian relics are the most common, they're not the only religion that has them. Relics do not have as great of an importance in Islam, but they do exist. In particular, the greatest collection of Islamic relics is held at the Top Kappa Palace in Istanbul. The Top Kappa Palace was the home to the rulers of the Ottoman Empire,

who controlled at the time the holy cities of Islam for centuries. The palace features a collection of over 600 items related to the Prophet Muhammad, early caliphs, and Old Testament figures. The collection includes the Holy Mantle, which is a cloak believed to have been worn by the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's beard, which is a collection of individual hairs believed to have been collected from Muhammad's beard, the Prophet's sword and bow, a stone with an impression believed to be Muhammad's footprint, and one of several diplomatic letters Muhammad is said to have written in his own hand.

I'll close by noting that relics haven't gone away and have taken on a more secular modern form. We often use the phrase celebrity worship, and it's not meant to be taken literally, but part of that celebrity worship involves relics. Today, they're often just called collectibles. Just as pieces of cloth from the clothing of saints were once revered, today game-worn uniforms or even pieces of a uniform that's on a trading card can go for thousands and in some cases millions of dollars at auction. Autographs are a type of second-class relic,

something that a famous person created and touched with their own hand. There are even some cases of first-class relics from modern celebrities. In 2005, Neil Armstrong's barber was caught selling clippings of his hair for $3,000. Relics, whether holy or not, are a physical link to someone that people respect, worship, or venerate. Relics, in one form or another, have been around for thousands of years. And whether it's in the form of pieces of cloth, bone chips, locks of hair, or game-worn jerseys, they will likely be around for thousands more. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel.

The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. I want to give a big thanks to everyone who came out for the show's fifth anniversary celebration this weekend. I was amazed and honored that so many people came from so far away. In addition to people from Wisconsin, there were also people from Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, as well as a few who flew in from New Jersey and even California. Several completionist club members were in attendance, along with at least one double platinum member. The good folks at McFleshman Brewing Company made some of their specialty fifth anniversary hot sauce,

and of course we're serving up their award-winning beer. I want to thank Patricia Woodwind from the Tourist Office of Spain, who came up from Chicago. As longtime listeners know, the Tourist Office of Spain was the first ever and is the longest-running sponsor of this podcast. Special thanks to Alex Landa, the owner of Landis Popcorn Factory in Mackinaw City, Michigan, who drove down with multiple boxes of his famous caramel corn, with custom Everything Everywhere fifth anniversary packaging. And if you're interested in trying some of his caramel corn out for yourself, you can purchase his many different flavors at caramel corn.com. He has the domain name. I might organize additional meetups in other cities around the country and around the world in the

future, and when plans are more firm, I'll let you know. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostogram, you two can have it read on the show. Thank you.