Resurrection NOW - Powered by my Lord and my God

Excelling in the Practice of Charity

2012-01-29T18:45:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,
In this message, I wish to share some recent insights that I have had about excelling in the practice of charity.

While I have heard all sorts of people tell me that we are to excel on our professional work, in my entire life, I have never heard one priest or clergyman or woman - tell me that we are to excel in the practice of our charity!
And yet, when we consider the life of Our Lord - He did exactly that. He did not just create average wine at the wedding feast of Cana - he created excellent wine!
Everything that Out Lord said and did was excellent and thorough. He always excelled at everything he did - no matter how difficult the problem that was presented to him. He didn't just administer flu shots, or cough medicine- nor did He merely prescribe "treatments" - No! - Our Lord really did cure lepers and the paralyzed and the possessed, and raise the dead - and He did all these acts of charity - with excellence.

That is precisely what we see in the charity if the Good Samaritan... It was excellent and thorough - and it really was conducted - upon a total stranger!
Our Lord makes it clear that there is no merit to loving those who love us back - even sinners do as much.
No! Our Lord wants us to practice charity that is excellent - upon strangers and enemies, and upon people who cannot repay our charity - and to give to all who ask of us - and NOT - to turn our brothers and sisters away!
That's what we see in the life of St. Paul, and in the lives of the other saints. Indeed, Paul speaks of this - when he says, "May Christ dwell in your hearts through Faith - and may Charity be the root and foundation of your life - that you may KNOW what is the height and depth and breadth of God's Love."
So many people in our world today - have no knowledge of God - or have convinced themselves that God is unknowable.
When I hear people say these sorts of things - my answer to them is clear.
If you wish to know the love that God has for you - then practice the acts of charity that Our Lord commanded us to do - so that the Love of God - becomes the foundation of your life - and not your own ego, and it's empty desires.
In life, we all get what we pay for. Excellent professional work is essential for succeeding in business, and for receiving promotions - but excellent charity - is essential for succeeding with God - and being promoted inside His Kingdom.
St Paul us right. It is charity that is the more excellent way.
And it is actually very simple to practice. It actually costs us emotionally - far less to practice charity that is excellent - than to do all sorts of empty things to shirk our responsibility to be charitable - just as it is actually easier to do our professional work - correctly - than to "work" in order to avoid work.
Life on this earth - could easily become much more joyful - by the commitment of the members if our general public - to practice the excellence of charity that Our Lord commands of us.
Peace in Christ,

Francis J. DeStefano

Cell: 914 500 3572

Clarifying the Mind

2012-01-21T02:25:00.000-05:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In today's message - I have come to learn that because truth is clear - the solution to every problem - is to increase the clarity of vision - inside a person - by continually empowering persons - to clarify and deepen how they see.

In my journey through life - I have come across astounding discoveries - of things that I could have never imagined that I would find.

One of the most extraordinary findings that I have made - on the ground - is how little attention that people are actually paying - to the historical artifacts surrounding the Jesus of history. While people spend vast amounts of money - doing historical and archeological work - on all sorts of mere human beings - people have largely ignored - learning more about the God-Man - Jesus of Nazareth - Crucified and Risen from the dead.

I shall remain astounded until the day I die that I have actually found that the Shroud of Turin - is at once, the world's most researched objects - and most neglected objects - today. Even very soon - I am obtaining a Duratrans image of another object - that wrapped the body of Our Lord, known as the Sudarium of Oviedo. It will be the first Duratrans image of the Sudarium - ever created inside a PhotoGlow frame.

When I have learned from the best Biblical scholars in the world - I have discovered from them - that the texts of the Bible - are actually very clear and direct. There is simply no need - in today's world - to endure a welter of opinions, and interpretations - pertaining to the meaning of these texts - when they can actually be understood very easily - once the real experts on the texts - explain and clarify what they say.

Toward Solutions

2012-01-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

In today's world, there are all sorts of problems. Some of them - are very large. But the good news - every problem - has a solution.

It's critical to call things by their names:

The death penalty - is not a solution.
Abortion - is not a solution.
Pornography - is not a solution.
Adultery - is not a solution.
Drug abuse - is not a solution.
Gambling - is not a solution.
Homosexual activitiy - is not a solution.
War - is not a solution.
Crime - is not a solution.
Nor is corporate greed - a solution.
Nor is slavery a solution.
Nor is euthanasia a solution.
Or artificial insemination.
Or anger. Or violence. Or suicide. Or fear. Or critcism, or blame or negativity.
Nor is keeping "god" - ouf of the public space - as Mayor Bloomberg did - a solution either!

Why are none of these things - SOLUTIONS?

Simple: because these activities raise all sorts of OBJECTIONS! What these sorts of things - really are - are mere "accommodations" or "compromises" - attempting to "resolve" a welter of PERCEPTIONS.

But they are NOT solutions! - they are illusions - out of teach with what is REAL. That's why people raise objections!

But SOLUTIONS to PROBLEMS - do not raise objections - they raise AFFIRMATIONS - that everyone in the public space - can SEE! YES - THAT IS THE ANSWER! - and there are no further objections - because a SOLUTION - is always the real deal.

For example, if I take my car to a mechanic - because there is a problem with it - once he diagnoses the problem - and finds a solution - and FIXES it - PROBLEM SOLVED - and there are NO objections.

That's a simple example - but there are innumerable others - that I can give. Like cutting a diamond for example. It may take months to calculate exactly how it is going to cleave... but if the job is done RIGHT - it's a SOLUTION... but if it's done WRONG - it will raise a welter of OBJECTIONS! - and just create MORE problems.

So in life, we must be part of the SOLUTION, and not part of the PROBLEM!

The principle is simple - no matter how large or complex the problem is - there IS a solution to every problem, and once the solution is FOUND - everyone can see - that it works!

That's why - in our post-modern era - inside our global village - we can, and indeed, we MUST - find new and creative ways - to find SOLUTIONS - to problems - and not just create more of them.

Our religious systems, and our legal systems - are archaic and inefficient modes - of finding solutions to problems - in our world - blessed with 21st century technology. They are Ptolemaic systems -that are actually DISABLING people - from getting at - what is simply true - and empowering them to DO - what simply WORKS.

It's not that we cannot FIND solutions to problems - indeed we CAN! Rather, we can use whole new methodologies - that have been proven to WORK.

For example, there is a website, known as TOPCODER - that challenges programmers throughout the world - to create the OPTIMAL solutions - to whatever software problem - is at hand.

The age is PAST - for allowing just a few people - to make decisions - that can have diastrous consequences for the world. Here are just a few examples - of such disasters:

1) The Dred Scot decision
2) The Roe vs Wade decision
3) Hitler, Stalin, Mobuto, and other dictators.
4) The iconoclastic controversy - that destroyed thousands of images.
5) The invasion of Constantinople, in 1204.
6) And of the very WORST - was that a small clique of very inept people - KILLED nearly 90 years of Shroud research, and denied access to billions of people - around the world - to knowledge and truth about the Shroud of Turin.

SO NO - we CANNOT ALLOW critical decisions - to rest in the hands of just a smal group of people anymore, because history has shown - time and time again - that this is a recipe for DISASTER!

We must find new ways to solve difficult questions and problems, and the good news is - there are already ways to DO THAT.

While people in the world - are filled with all sorts of opinions, religious beliefs, philosophies, and speculations - HISTORY IS REAL, GOOD SCIENCE IS REAL, EVIDENCE IS REAL - AND SOLUTIONS ARE REAL.

We can come up - with all SORTS of solutions - that beset our post-modern world - and do it - with extraordinary speed and swiftness! - like with all of the problems - that I have mentioned ABOVE - and many, many others! - including the very largest - and most dreaded problem of all:

THE DEATH PROBLEM.

OH YES! THERE IS EVEN A SOLUTION FOR THAT! ....:)

Here are the levels of empowerment - to arrive at SOLUTIONS:

Levels of POWER:

Get on with it
Find solutions
Own it
Acknowledge Reality

Levels of POWERLESSNESS:

Wait and hope
I can't excuses
Blame others
Unaware/unconscious

ON WE GO!

Surveying the Field

2012-01-16T00:39:00.000-05:00

ONCE MORE TO THE BREACH!

In my previous letter - you all could see that was innocent once - and got deeply corrupted - but slowly, through all the wounds - am becoming innocent again, which literally means, NOT HARMFUL - but knowing corruption - in my heart, as I have - I can "smell it out" - like a rat - in other things, because like calls to like - and deep calls to deep.

Recently, I was talking with Barbara Faccini, and we shared our love for Dante's Divinia Commedia... I never dreamed that my REAL LIFE - would be a Divine Comedy...

At the end of his life - Thomas Aquinas - thanked God, because he had "understood everything that he had ever read."   At the end of MY life - I resolve to thank God - because I have EXPERIENCED - everything I have ever read.

Getting back to corruption, and the Divinia Commedia - there are things that are particularly exquisite - pertaining to ITALIAN corruption... it's a breed - all its own... only an ITALIAN - like Dante - could come up with what he did... :)... and NOW - in the REAL WORLD - I discover the same corruption, surrounding the Shroud.... all, in the"high Roman fashion"....

Iit's worse than Caligula!

In the title of this message - I said that I was a hope-filled REALIST. I am really NOT angry, at heart, or cynical, or bitter - or negative. No...but I am a hope-filled realist - and what I have found - is that, lots of time - that means calling the "devils, by their names."

Once a spade - is really - called a spade - and the black bat of night - is exposed - for what it is - then the Light of God's Love - can start to work itself - into the system. That's what happened -with the sex abuse - here in the United States - and in other places... it didn't come up - because the members of the Church - were reforming themselves, from within .. . no, it came out - because people OUTSIDE - finally blew the whistle!

Are you sure that the papacy is REALLY as "authorative", as the Scriptures say? - when churches around the world - spend 2 Billion on sex abuse - and barely a NICKEL - on the Shroud? Does it really make much sense - that, even after Rohault DeFleury - published his book on the Personal Effects of Our Lord - back in 1870 - that NOBODY - even bothered to translate it - nevermind -digitize it?

Just recently, I acquired the CD collection for over one hundred, Vatican approved, Eucharistic miracles... I can almost guarantee it - that if I sent these CDs - to Timothea, in Manhattan - he would REFUSE to display them in St. Patty's - just like he turned down the Shroud!

Just recently, I ordered a duratrans image - of the Sudarium of Oviedo - from Barrie Schwortz... it's the first time that such an image - has ever been framed, inside a Photoglow frame.... and there is only ONE other duratrans image of the Sudarium - displayed - inside the entire United States? Isn't it amazing - that Pastor Brian Cray - couldn't even find ONE copy of the Titulus - so that he wound up - making one himself - and then selling them - for just $50?

It reminds me of Jesus - curing the ten lepers... with only one of them - coming back - to give thanks to him... in that case, Our Lord said, "Where are the other nine?" In the case of the things that I have mentioned above - WHERE WERE THE 193 American bishops - and all of their priests - and the like - nevermind all of these bastions of "Catholic' learning - in our country... how do we account - for such colossal oversight?

We know that the Veronica and the Manopello - are just paintings, as I said before.

I could go and on - for starters - I just wish that I had the "Maciel" touch - and wield that kind of charm - to rustle up all the cash - that he did... he beat even Aural Roberts - at his own game! Back in 1993 - I attended the canonization, of both Sister Giuseppina Bakhita, and Jose Maria Escriva. While Giussppina - was probably the "real deal" - we know now - that Jose Maria - was not... We know that his canonization - was "pushed through" - with well-heeled members - from Opus Dei - using their own "doctors' - to authenticate his purported "miracles",

The Knights of Columbus - are doing the very same thing - pushing through the cause of their own founder, Father McGivney. It's typical. The Congregation - is clogged with cases of people - who are founders of religious orders... one way or another - their followers - pony up CASH - so they can get to the "glory of the altars". The Archdiocese of New York - is doing the same thing - with Cardinal Cooke.... and now, people are trying to push Fulton Sheen's cause - because some fresh dough - have come into the till.

And all of these people - are supposed to be role-models FOR US?

Oh please!

Of course, too, we all know that the "incorrupt" body - of the "good Pope John Paul XXIII - was also doctored up! We are also aware of the fact that - even as Little Audrey Santo - deserves to be a saint - the Congregation of the Causes of Saints - wants a $1,000,000 - UPFRONT - even to begin - to process her cause... when I went to see the Shrine, and the grave - of the stigmatist - Rose Ferron - I discovered that her whole cause - is mired - in politics.

As I have said before, I have a report from two wonderful lay people - that clearly shows - that most of the religious instruction materials - used in the US -are just JUNK! So is all the "kitsch" - in all these "Catholic" gift-shops - that I have seen.

Meanwhile, here in Adams, Massachusetts - there is St. Stanislaus Church - the first church in the Western Hemisphere - that featured images of the Divine Mercy.... it should be an international place of devotion - to Our Lord. The parish - was built by very dedicated Polish people - and it was financially viable.... but the myopic bishop of Springfield - chose to close down that church - and keep a foundering church - nearby - open.

Every Monday evening - the Polacks - meet in their dark and gorgeous church - getting a stay from the Vatican - to keep it open.   They have been holding vigil there - for over a year now. The people there told me - that if they didn't hold vigil - that the diocese - WOULD STRIP THE CHURCH CLEAN!

A lady at the vigil - told me that the diocesan priest - drives a Mercedes - and lives a "chi-chi" life-style... and, as is typical for priests - who are supposed to be "available to everyone" - are in fact -- the most UNAVAILABLE - people, I know.... what do they do - with their lives... they have no kids, no responsibilites.... I know what they do... they go on "retreats" and "pilgrimages" - birds of a feather - flock together!

Around here - I cannot tell you how many "former" catholics - have bolted - and now go to Congregational Churches. Where else are they going to go - what else are they going to do?

Anyow, something similar happened - out in St. Louis, MO - where the former Archbishop Raymond Burke - tried to raid a Polish church - and it's trust fund - to pay off claims - of sexual abuse. In the archdiocese of Milwaukee - Erica John - the wife of Harry John - operators of the DeRance Foundation, donated $250 million dollars - to the archdiocese - only for the bishops there - to squander it all - on settling claims of sexual abuse.

In Jamaica, Vermont - there is a beautiful shrine in the mountains - that is a replica of the House of Ephesus, where Our Lady - lived with St. John's. The lay people there - have deliberately - kept it in private hands - so that the diocese doesn't liquidate it - to settle claims of sexual abuse.

In Bridgeport, CT - after Bishop Lori -- settled the cases of sexual abuse - the records were sealed... but finally the US Supreme Court - ordered them "opened up" - and the Connecticut Post reported - that what it found - was "stone-walling".

Now, in the Archdiocese of New York - I am going to have to write back to Timothea, and Ritchie - to do more "hand-holding" for them - with regard to the Shroud - to deal with their infantile understanding of the Object - and their profound lack of motivation - to learn anything more about it!

As you all know - the once magnificent Mount St. Alphonsus Retreat Center - in Esopus, New York - where the Holy Shroud Guild - once operated - upon over 400 acres of land - is now completely shuttered.... around here, I go to antique, and curiousity shops - and find all sorts of religious art - from churches, and seminaries - that have closed down.... here in Lee, Massachusetts - there is an abandoned Catholic Church - up for sale - while in nearby Pittsfield - there are two church compounds - also up for sale.

The Shrines that I have visited - up here - like one in Colebrook, New Hampshire - has just two priests staffing it now - and will probably close - in short order. As for the LaSalette Shrines - they are noted for their Christmas lights - but I recently learned - that the LaSalette Fathers - are just beginning to translate the definitive records - of the review - of the original appartions - that occurred on September 19, 1846.

There are many Lourdes Shrines around here - but NONE of them - has any text - to explain what they mean - if a Madonna - or a Britney Spears - or a California "valley girl" - ever saw any of them - they wouldn't know how - to make heads or tails - of them!

For centuiries - as I have mentioned earlier - the Stations of the Cross - have been passed down - in innumerable churches - only for me to find with others - that much in them - is historically inaccurate! In one church - I saw a crucifix - with Jesus's RIGHT FOOT - nailed over his LEFT - and then, ten feet away - ANOTHER crucifix - with His LEFT FOOT - nailed over HIS RIGHT!    Go figure!

This week - I was talking about the Bones of Peter.... we also have relics of the Bones of Andrew... the New Testament - says that they were brothers - but nobody has ever bothered to do any testing - upon their bones - to see if that is actually true. For myself - I have cataloged relics of St. Anne - and again, nobody has ever bothered to authenticate them - using 21st century technology.... the same holds true - for the extant relics - of the True Cross - both in Europe, and in America,

Recently, I proposed to Hershell Shanks - sending a team of archeologists - to go to the lake in Israel - where Jesus supposedly expelled demons, and let them enter a herd of swine... to my awareness, nobody has ever bothered to check that lake - to see if bones of swine - are actually there.

As you can see - this cesspool - clearly requires a massive filtration system - to filter out - and sort out - what is good - from what is bad.... clearly, things are just as Jesus -said that they would be... "The Kingdom of God - is like a dragnet - that fisherman cast into the sea - to find all sorts of things... and then, they sort out - the good from the bad - the true from the false.

The aim here - is to filter out the false and the bad - and, when I find what is GOOD - to build upon it! - and fit it together, and integrate it - with other good things - so that these GOOD THINGS - can BENEFIT - the general public.

Thomas Aquinas - was GOOD.... but the world of today - is vastly different - than his own.    So was St. Benedict, and St. Francis DeSales, and some other saints... but this is a brave new world. Newman's work - and the Vatican Council - were good too, as were Pope Leo's teachings on social justice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church - is also very good, building upon Father John Hardon's "Catholic Catechism". The Acting Person, and Theology of the Body - are GREAT - but profoundly neglected - and misunderstood - here in America. Meanwhile, Catholic lay people - like the Couples to Couples League - have done very good work - with Natural Family Planning... Janet Smtih - has done good work - on Humanae Vitae, while Bai MacFarland - has done real good work - on marriage laws.

Here in the greater New York area - it's amazing but true - that a middle class married man - by the name of Chris Slattery - has done more - to save human lives - than all of the bishops of America - combined. He has set up pregnancy centers - with ultra-sound equipment... some time ago, my friend, Joe Brady - pooh, poohed, the value of modern science, in relation to "faith" - unaware of the fact - that, when so many poor, and uneducated, and vulnerable - pregnant women - come to Chris Slattery's clinics - and SEE their babies - with the ultrasound machines - that MANY of them - change their minds -and bring their children -to term. That's is clearly SUCCESS - that we all BUILD UPON!

Meanwhile, I really like Tom Wright, and Richard Bauckham - not to mention all my Shroud research friends - as I have told you all.

Once again, my aim - is to filter out the bad - but when I find what is good - to distill it - and integrate it - with other good things - and then, build upon all of this - to face our "New Dark Ages" - and our "dictatorship of relativism".... and to face the depths of hell, with my candle "burning at both ends" - with a hope that a kindly light - will lead me to ANSWERS - to life's darkest and deepest questions... and USUALLY IT DOES!

Let's get REAL HERE... in our brave new world - religion is MOOT...the REAL BATTLE - in this desert of the REAL - is LIFE versus ANTI-LIFE!    As my dear sister in Christ, Maria Owen, the mother of fourteen children said - our post-modern world - is so ANTI-LIFE!

I know this - firsthand. Back last year - I worked at Habitat for Humanity - earning just $20 hour, while being billed out - at $53/hour.... I abruptly quit the job - and travelled to Albany - to hear a run-down about life issues there... sure enough Habitat for Humanity - believes that having fewer people - means that they don't have to build - as many houses... some time back - I was unjustly fired from March of Dimes - only to find that they too, are promoting and funding abortions.... so many organizations, and so much money - is being poured, into systematic murder of the unborn, throughtout the world, while the Catholic Church in America - remains largely SILENT - since the divines there - are so deeply in bed - with the Federal Government - so that they FEAR - losing their government funding - that would rather - fuel their lifeless "institutions" with dirty money - than DEFEND THE BEAUTY AND THE DIGNITY AND THE SACREDNESS OF EVERY HUMAN LIFE!

What's really at stake - is what really gives VALUE to human life! Where does that value come from? What is the BASIS of that VALUE? Somehow - that value - must be ABSOLUTE - in the very same way - that there are also MORAL absolutes. What are the REAL reasons - that LIFE itself - even though we are all - doomed to die - is simply WORTH LIVING? - that, even in the face of death - that it's all really GOING SOMEWHERE? - even though, for all appearancesa sake - it is "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying NOTHING?"

Our world - desperately needs answers to these questions - because here in the United States - ALONE - more people commit SUICIDE - than are murdered - every year. My suicidal ideation - made me profoundly CONSCIOUS - of all of this... I guess that's what suffering and corruption do.

Like a general - I am looking out - at the landscape, and the battlefield - in a similar manner, that the famous Shakesperians king - Henry V - once did.

Here is what he saw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRj01LShXN8

Like him - despite all the odds that appear to be working against us - WE CAN WIN!

With warm regards,

Francis J. DeStefano
Cell: (914) 500-3572

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Psychological Barriers People Put Up to the Shroud of Turin

2012-01-14T22:26:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

What I have found, in my eight years of research upon the Shroud of Turin - is that so many people - who are aware of the Shroud of Turin - and who should know better - are in fact - doing absolutely nothing to learn about the Shroud of Turin - or deepen our understanding of the Shroud of Turin - or advance public education -about the Shroud of Turin.

The Shroud of Turin - is, at once, the most valuable inanimate object upon earth - and the most neglected and underserved - at the same time.

Even the most advanced and sophisticated scientific endeavor to study the Shroud of Turin - created by the Shroud of Turin Research Project - actually received a very SMALL amount of funding - to conduct the finest American science - ever conducted- upon this object.

Here is a YouTube video - showing these American scientists - testifying to the actual dollar amounts that were spent - as part of the STURP project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hkJB8Wusog

In his book, Jesus of Nazareth, from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection - Pope Benedict XVI - only mentions the Shroud of Turin - in one bland sentence, even though he is the living pope - who owns the Shroud of Turin - and even though - he has a vast awareness of the object - and approved a public exhibition of the Shroud of Turin - back in 2010 - which he attended - and has seen the Shroud of Turin - for himself - on various occasions.

Even Pope Benedict XVI - is cautious about the Shroud of Turin. Why is that? Why should even HE - be afraid of the Shroud of Turin? - when there is NOTHING to fear - about the Shroud?

He has approved of a public exhibit of the Shroud of Turin - at the Notre Dame Center - in Jerusalem, operated by the Legionaries of Christ - and commissioned them - to get the word out about the Shroud - but even there - only a small percentage of Legionary priests - are actively involved - with education and research - about the Shroud of Turin.

Meanwhile, the Turinese custodians of the Shroud of Turin - consider the Shroud - to be a relic - and have done nothing to advance scientific research upon it. Except for being photographed - the Shroud of Turin - has remained in its case - ever since its 33 day - 2002 "restoration".

The Italian museum - devoted to the study of the Shroud - is actually rather disorganized.

In England, a great New Testament scholar, by the name of Thomas Wright - wrote a lengthy history - in which he considers whether Jesus Christ - actually rose from the dead. In his introduction - while he is aware of the Shroud of Turin - he does not consider it - in his historical work, in which he deeply investigates - whether Jesus Christ - rose from the dead.

Back in the United States - the leader of the American Catholic bishops - Archbishop Timothy Dolan - has just turned down a request - on my part - to feature an exhibit of the Shroud of Turin - inside St. Patrick's Cathedral - even though there is a substantial history of research upon the Shroud - right inside the Archdiocese of New York - and even though - I sent him documents - featuring a very successful exhibit devoted to the Shroud of Turin - held in both large Anglican and Catholic Churches - in England.

Father George Rutler, another very learned cleric, who runs the Church of Our Saviour - also in New York City - is also "not interested" in the Shroud of Turin.

In the Anglican world - another Shroud expert, Professor Robert Wright - is also "not interested" in the Shroud. He too - is awaiting new tests upon it - that may never happen.

The editor of Biblical Archeological Review - Hershell Shanks - considers the Shroud of Turin - to be a "medieval relic" - and chooses to find Jesus - through all sorts of other means - while ignoring the merits of the Shroud of Turin - or even bothering to learn about it.

Recently, I learned that John Walsh - who wrote one of the early books about the Shroud - now considers the Shroud of Turin - to be a "medieval forgery" - as well - and yet could provide me NO evidence - that this was actually the case.

Just today, after proposing that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association - host an exhibit about the Shroud of Turin - at their Billy Graham Center - in Charlotte, North Carolina - I received a letter, in which the Association "regretted" that they could not host such an exhibit - fearing that it would be "controversial".

Here in the United States - the once vibrant Holy Shroud Guild - is now defunct, and its materials - have been scattered. The large Redemptorist seminary - that once housed its materials - is now completely closed.

Some of these materials- have been transferred to photographer - Giorgio Bracaglia - in Honeoye Falls, New York. Today, he operates a website - www.holyshroudguild.org - through which he sells various images, and other materials - devoted to the Shroud of Turin.

Meanwhile, a large amount of materials - devoted to the Shroud of Turin - sit inside the home - still in their boxes - of Barrie Schwortz - the documenting photographer for the Shroud of Turin Research Project. Today, just this ONE MAN - not only operates the largest website in the world - about the Shroud of Turin: www.shroud.com - but has done MORE to install images of the Shroud of Turin - and create public exhibits - about the Shroud of Turin - than any other person - in the world - indeed MORE - than all the members of the Roman Catholic hiearchy - including Pope Benedict XVI - himself!

What I have found is that - if a person desires to obtain images of the Shroud of Turin - only these TWO men - in the entire United States - Giorgio Bracaglia, and Barrie Schwortz - can supply them.

Giorgio Bracaglia - operates as a SOLE PROPRIETOR - while Barrie Schwortz - has only recently established a non-profit organization, the Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association - or STERA, Inc.

Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Turin - sells replicas of the Shroud of Turin - upon its website.

Those are the only three suppliers - of images of the Shroud of Turin - in the entire world!

What I have found - is that all of these "major players" in the world - pertaining to the Person of Jesus - have chosen a position of IGNORANCE, DISINTEREST and FEAR - in reference to the Shroud of Turin - that I consider perhaps to be biggest MIND-JOB - ever foisted upon the general public!

And what I have also FOUND - is that many of these same people - have elected to take positions of IGNORANCE - on a variety of other difficult questions, as well, such as "creation-evolution", "same sex marriage", and the indissolubility of marriage. - among others -when we really do - have the means at hand - to settle them!

But perhaps the greatest position of IGNORANCE -that so many of these people - elect to take - is DEFENDING THE LIVES OF UNBORN CHILDREN - and the very right to life itself!

And yet, once again, the good news is - that the resources exist in the world - even to settle THAT question!

The good news is that Pope John Paul the Great - wasn't LIKE THAT! Not only was he very pro-Shroud - indeed, very interested and very open - to learning about the Shroud - he was also very PRO-LIFE!

I am convinced that - love for the Shroud of Turin - and love for LIFE itself - go hand in hand - and to me - what is far MORE important - isn't what the Shroud IS - but what the Shroud - continues to DO - in my life.

That's why I want images of the Shroud of Turin - installed inside St. Patrick's Cathedral - so that the Shroud of Turin - can DEFEND LIFE! - and BANISH FEAR!

BANISH FEAR! Because what the Shroud DOES - is reveal the truth of things! It reveals the emptiness of the Roe vs. Wade decision, and it reveals the emptiness - of the radio-carbon exercise - conducted upon tiny pieces of linen - from the Shroud - back in 1988 - for which we do not even know - the actual size!

What I have found - is that so members of our clergy - actually have very little training - in the sciences - and are unwilling, or not interested - to consider how the scientific disciplines - can draw us - closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen from the dead!

In fact - we can go further - if the authority of the Catholic Church, and the Papacy - is rooted upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead - and yet the members of the Catholic Church - cannot SHOW the public that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ - actually happened - then the Catholic Church - has no SURE grounds for its authority.

On the other hand - if the members of the Catholic Church - CAN SHOW the general public - beyond doubt - that Jesus Christ DID rise from the dead - then the Resurrection becomes universally known - which means that we don't need - any of the Churches anymore - because, then, the Resurrection - becomes a matter of PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.

Which means - that either way - it would be in the public interest - simply to tear all of the churches down.

Public Shroud Exhibits

2011-12-27T19:09:00.002-05:00

At the Site of the Former Wuenschel Collection

In Front of the Former Light-Box of the Shroud of Turin, featuring photographs of late STURP photographer, Vern Miller, and built by optical engineer, and longtime member of the Holy Shroud Guild, Kevin Moran - with Ray and Maria Downing, the co-producers of the History Channel Documentary - The Real Face of Jesus.

I am very pleased to announce that I have made still more progress in creating this public exhibit devoted to the Shroud of Turin, and related objects to the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Here is my latest update, as of Friday afternoon, January 9th, 2012:

At this moment, I have set up my expanded version of an exhbit - devoted to the Shroud of Turin, and related objects. This exhibit, feature information about the Shroud of Turin, and other instruments of the Passion, of Jesus in history, including drawings of the relics of the True Cross, and drawings and reconstructions of the Titulus, the Nails, the Crown of Thorns, the Scourging Posts, as well as the Sudarium of Oviedo, and other relics of Christ's Passion.

The exhibit also features information about the following private revelations:

Our Lady of Guadalupe
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Miraculous Medal
LaSalette Apparition
Knock Apparition
Fatima Apparition
Divine Mercy Apparition

I am resolving to obtain a statue, and explanatory information, about Lourdes, as well. The exhibit - includes an array of materials - relating to the Shroud of Turin, and also information, about the lives of saints - influenced by the Shroud, including:

St. Francis DeSales
St. Jane DeChantal
St. Vincent DePaul
St. Louise DeMarillac
St. Paul of the Cross
St. Therese of Lisieux
Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

Additionally, this exhibit will feature information about various stigmatists, like

St. Francis of Assisi
St. Rita of Cascia
Rose Ferron
Padre Pio

It will also feature information about over a hundred Eucharistic phenomena, including the bleeding hosts, in the diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts.

I am very pleased to announce that I made considerable progress in creating my first public exhibit, devoted to public education about the Shroud of Turin, and related objects, at Northwestern Community College, in Winsted, CT.

Here are some YouTube videos that present this exhibit, in greater depth:

Here is a link to a YouTube video, in which I present a status report for the exhibit:

Here is also a portrait image of Italian professional photographer, Giuseppie Enrie, who took some of the photographs of the Shroud - represented in my exhibit:

Here is a photograph of a block of wood, made to represent the total volume of all the relics of the True Cross that Charles Rohault DeFleury found - a cube measuring 6.2 inches, on each side:

Here is an image of that same block of wood - surrounded by images of relics of Christ's Passion.

This image of the Shroud of Turin - features a painting of butterflies - symbols of Christ's Resurrection from the Dead.

Here is a motive behind why I do - all the work that I do - with the Shroud of Turin... :)

IT'S MORE THAN A FEELING! ... :)

Here is text from Rohault DeFleury's Supporting Documents

DOCUMENTS
I.
ANCONA. - Mr. Le Barbier De Montault Canon sent me, with a figure below the copy of the authentic on the holy lance stored at Ancona:

"Johannes S. Octavius tituli Mariæ angelorum presbyter cardinalis Bufalini, miseratione episcopus Anconæ divina, & c., ac episcopus Humanae edible.

"Universe & singulis, ad quos nostrae hae Litterae pervenerint, testatum volumus argenteam lanceæ ACIEM vitta Serica rubra bis alligatum colors, parvoque Sigillo nostro in cera hispanica impresso munitam, tetigissi sacrosantum cuspidem lanceæ four salutis Humanae Reparatoris in cruce pendant latus apertum leaking existentem inter ceteras praeclara Reliquia quarum possessions ecclesia nostra cathedral of S. Cyriac insignita, fidelium pietatem Mirifice excite, fovet, ac ad is betrayed. In quorum fidem praesenti HAS Sigillo roboratus nostro, & a nobis vel a generali Vicario Nostro, vel ab infrascripto Canonico a nobis specialiter deputato subscriptions, expediri jussimus.

"Anconæ, ex Palatio nostrae residentiæ, hac die Martii 18 1771 ..."

II.

Andechs. - There is no nail to Andechs, but four branches of the crown of thorns, which has a 4 inches in length. They say they were transported from Paris to Andechs by the Queen of France, Agnes, daughter of the Duke Berchtold of Andechs, who died in 1201.

"There are also Andechs half of the reed of our Lord, 4 inches in length. The authentic relics no longer exists, but it can be replaced by the precious reliquaries, by continuing the tradition of the convent, as well as lists of the relics deposited in the convent, and which date from the earliest times. "

(From a note of the Baroness of Eichtal.)
III.

ANGERS. - Abbe Machefer, honorary canon in Angers

MR Rohault Fleury.

"... I am finally able to give you some details of the true cross & the holy thorn, which are in the church of Saint-Laud d'Angers:

"Ie True Cross. - Before the revolution of 1793, this relic was composed of four pieces of about 7 mm thick, which formed a cross in their meeting fairly regularly. Tradition says that three of these pieces were given during the Crusades by kings of Jerusalem, and the fourth by a king of Sicily.

"However this tradition, it is certain that Fulk V, King of Jerusalem, sent to Angers on the most important piece. This cross was known throughout France at the time of St. Louis, but it was especially during the reign of Louis XI that she became famous. Different feature of the life of this prince is proved with evidence. It was indeed this precious relic that swear by the Dukes of Brittany, Burgundy, & c., & c. For them to observe their vows. For this cause he made the move several times in Nantes, Paris, & c., & c. The chapter of Saint-Laud was the custodian, and his erection had no other reason. Each year at the time of the Passion & during the Easter holidays, the prodigious concourse of the faithful bore witness to the veneration that Christians had for this holy relic. More bubbles of the Popes, letters of several kings and the reports prepared at the request of Louis XI evidenced by many miracles that had taken place, or for those who prayed before the true cross, or against the perjured who had taken their oaths to witness, all genuine parts & recalling the facts stated above were enclosed with the true cross itself in a safe. At the time of the revolution, the chest was brought before the Revolutionary Committee, and the objects it contained were dispersed. Viger, goldsmith Angers defeated himself the true cross to the committee, and gets to bring two pieces to his aunt and his sister. These holy women entrust this precious treasure, one to the priest of St. Joseph of Angers, the other in the cure of Contigné (Maine & Loire). Disorders finished, and peace restored to the Church, these two pieces were placed in the hands of Bishop Etienne-Alexandre Bernier, Bishop of Orleans, former pastor of St. Laud. This prelate submitted with the minutes that followed them, the trial & the review of Bishop Joseph Spina, Archbishop of Corinth.

"His Excellency has recognized the authenticity of a writing dated December 4, 1801. However, for the avoidance of doubt, Bishop Bernier had divided these relics so as to make a cross, and he did add a piece of the true cross in Rome. After these precautions, he restored the church of Saint-Laud. Bishop Charles Montault Finally, Bishop of Angers authorized public exhibition of the holy relic March 2, 1804.

"On September 29, 1843, she was transferred from his reliquauire money in a gold reliquary by Mr. Joubert, vicar of Bishop William Lawrence Angebault Louis, bishop of Angers. Plenary indulgences were granted by Cardinal Caprara, by indult of 28, 29 February 1804 & April 15, 1807. The stick of the cross is 70mm in length & 8mm wide. The arms are separated & have each 20mm in length. The foot is covered in red silk with a length of 10mm, the thickness does not appear to exceed 3mm. Everything seems to consist of several pieces placed after each other. Some are larger, others smaller.

"Holy Thorn 20. - On March 20, 1801, Bishop Joseph Spina had also recognized the autheticité lar plot of a holy thorn that had the church of Saint-Laud. Bishop Charles Montault in authorized public display May 2, 1807. Plenary indulgences were granted by Cardinal Caprara April 15, 1807.

"This relic is very beautiful, it measures 13mm in length & 1 mm to 1 mm, 5 wide. His épaissuer is about 3mm. It dirant a fragment of bark on which two ribs are clearly visible.

"All the documents we have about these holy relics are: 10 in the presbytery of the Church of St. Laud, 20 in the archives of the Academy of Sciences & Arts d'Angers, 30 in the library of the city ..."

IV.
ENGLAND.

These documents relate: 10 relics of Lord Petre - those of Plowden 20 - 30 St. Mary Berghott - 40 St. Mary York - 50 St. George's Southwark - 60 of Slindon, 7 St. Downside-Gregoire.

Lord Petre. - Lady Douglas M. Rohault Fleury.

"Sir, I am pleased to send you, from my brother Lord Petre, two sketches of the two pieces of wood of the true cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you ask in your letter of 22 in March. I hope you will find everything you need. Lord Petre had been very ill, could not answer your letter earlier, and he asked me to write you now from him. Receive, sir ... "

Note attached to the above letter. - "This relic of the True Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ was given to Lord Petre by Bishop Francis Weld. The sketch shows the size of two pieces of wood, and the color (dark brown) and that the thickness. These pieces are of a very deep color & appear to be the nature of the old oak or ebony, hard and black.

"A relic of the true ature Crox of our Lord Jesus Christ is a part of a great song, says Pars stipitis crucis Salvatoris nostri, who was formerly with the crown jewels in the Tower of London. The song here is the sketch which was detached from this great song during the reign of Jacques I, King of England, and finally the year 1713 gave to Lady Petre, by the Father Provincial of the English Jesuits at Ghent. The sketch gives the length & width of the pieces with the idea of the color (dark blonde) & wood quality, which is just the thickness of half a franc. "

Plowden. - The R. P. A Downside to Mr. Morrall Rohault Fleury.

Bath College, May 6, 1868.
"I received the very canon révérnd Tobin, chaplain to Mr. Plowden of Plowden Hall, Salop, a facsimile of the relic of the true Crox which is kept in Plowden, with a copy of the authentic. He said that the color is brown & solid wood ... "

Authentic relic of Mr. Plowden, Attached to the letter of R. P. Morrall.

May 6, 1868.

"Joannes Baptist, & Apostolicae Sedis episcopus gandavensis gratia, & c. ... Notum facimus & attestamur tenore præsentium quod R. Pater Perseus Plowden, Rector collegii Soctis Jesu Anglicist nations in hac Civitate, nobis data dic harum exhibuerit partem insignem of vero ligno Sanctae crucis recognitam & appobatam ab ac IIImo RMO Domino Philippo Evardo Vander-Noott, prædecessore nostro, juxta litte data September 15, 1702 of four shared ligni Sanctae Crucis ad humilem dictated Patris Rectores supplicationem duas partes separavimus oblong, easque charta duriore vittulæ sericæ rubra colors formed up in device affiximus crucis, a tergo atque seu altera parte Sigillo nostro minority cera pariter rubræ impresso munivimus, cum optionally illas aliis Donand & exponendi loci in sacris vel oratoriis private, non tamen in hac Civitate do aliarum ecclesiarum in quibus hujusmodi reliquiæ coluntur, devotio minuature. Actum Gandavi in Palatio nostro Episcopal sub Sigillo nostris & signature, anno Domini Millesimo septingentesimo trigesimo nono, mens Octobers quinta die. JOANNES BAPTIST, episcopus gandavensis. Mandato III of mid & & Rmi Domini mei, episcopi præfati. D. BACHER LIERET.

"And ego alteram supradictis titular ex dono dedi amantissimo Nepoti Domino meo Plowden of Plowden in Gulielmo Comitatu salopnensi. Aug 12. 1740. PERSEUS Plowden. "

"Ego Joannes Tobin, canonicus salopnensis, Testor suprascriptas litteras in omnibus esse cum litteris originalibus line. Joannes Tobin, canonicus. Datum apud Plowden maii 1868 2 die. "

Berghott Ste Marie. - The Reverend Mother Marie Brennan

A M. de Fleury Rohault

Abbaye de Sainte-Marie Berghott East, April 16, 1868.

"Sir, herein the exact dimensions of the relic of the Holy Cross, and I painted this paper the color closest to that of the holy wood.

"Closing the glass reliquary fails to recognize the exact thickness of the wood, which seems thin. Later I hope to be able to send you the history of the entrenchment of this holy relic ...

"I wish you every success in your holy company."

Ste Marie York. - S. G. Bishop Cornthwaite, Bishop of Beverley

Springfield House, Mr. Rohault Fleury.

Little Woodhouse, Leeds, July 24, 1868.

"..... Enclosed you will find the information you want about the relic of the Holy Cross that we venerate in a convent in my diocese. I think you read them with interest, and they deserve a note in your book. "

OUR LETTER ATTACHED TO THE BISHOP. - "In the Convent of St. Mary of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin, in York, there is a significant relic of the True Cross. It's a cross of Jerusalem, and 5 inches in length, the arms of the cross are each 1 ½ inches long, and the width of the wood is around a third of an inch. The sacred grove there are three tracks of the official seal which was using the capitular vicar who administered the diocese of Saint-Omer, the year of the Lord from 1657 to 1662.

"The box containing the relic is made of silver gilt, the front opens completely, being formed of several pieces united by hinges. Around the outside of the box is engraved the following inscription:

"Reliquia SAME crucis D. N. Jesu Christi in theca hac argentea deaurata formae crucis "hierosolymitanæ included, Arnulphus Patriarcha hierosolymitanus dono dedit D. Shælæo "armigero, ut Praemium eximiæ ejus virtutis, quam in expugnatione SAME civitatis Ostend," a. D. 1099. Quas ut ipse maximum thesaurum suæ Familiae relic. "

"The cross of Jerusalem is considered very ancient, its ornamentation is that which was common in the tenth century. It is also obviously a cross that was made to be worn, with a ring at the top, and being in no respect a reliquary intended to be exposed. You can imagine it was the pectoral cross of the patriarch Arnulphe.

"Moreover, as reported dan history of the First Crusade, written by an eyewitness, the Crusaders found themselves in the holy city a significant relic of the Holy Cross, the patriarch Arnulphe (who had been clerk Robert , Duke of Normandy) was at the head of the Christian army at the siege of Ascalon, it seems likely that the relic and carried on this occasion was the same as that which has been so long possessed by the convent in York.

"We do not know how or when that precious relic was given to the community.

"There are, however, in the same convent, another relic of the true cross, authenticated by Valbelle Francis, Bishop of Saint-Omer, the last relic was given to the convent by the Rev. J. Lawson, S. J., in 1792.

"It has a ¼ inch wide, and is enclosed in a silver reliquary with the relics of St. Ignatius Loyola & St Francis Xavier. At the same time with this shrine, the Rev. J. Lawson consigned to the community in York, a statement reads: "This relic of the Holy Cross of our Savior Jesus Christ was given by Arnulphe," Patriarch of Jerusalem, an English knight, Shirley, as a reward for its value "in making the holy city, in the year 1099."

"From the state above instructions it follows that the smallest relic was taken on the most at one time, when the shrine of the latter was repaired, as there are visible traces and that the box was repaired & that a portion of the relic has been removed. "

Southwark - S. G. Bishop Grant, Bishop of Southwark, Mr. Rohault Fleury.

St. George Southwark, the September 7, 1868.

"Sir, your j'espèce scholarly research on relics of the Passion will be crowned with full success. I have two very small relics in pectoral crosses nearly this. There are others like it in private. Besides these, I have two, one with no seal, a brown-black and this measure precisely, and I can not know the weight or the timber thereof. Then the church of St. Richard, Slindon, Sussex, there is another. Here is the description.

"I have the honor to be ...  Thomas, Bishop of Southwark. "

Slindon - "The relic of Slindon. Long., 90mm, width., ½ 12mm thick. irreg., 7mm ½. Light brown. Men accustomed to working in the woods here say that the wood of the relic is nothing like the wood of this country. The carpenter said it was a very old wooden & overseas & think it is cedar. "

St Gregory Downside. - The R. P. Mr. Morrall Rohault Fleury.

Monastery & College of St. Gregory Downside-Bath, April 4, 1868.

"My dear sir, I have a lot of fun answering questions for your letter of March 22 ... I send you a sketch as accurate as I can take it, because the relic is enclosed in a reliquary the time of Charles I of England (circa 1646 aD), and the opening of which is now sealed. The golden rays date from an earlier time.

"The play was broken & uncut in another larger room, and the fibers are large, but they cut small parts. The surface is shiny with the appearance of a high hardness. The color is a bit dark, or rather a rich brown wood & English which it most resembles is a piece of old oak, but the transverse markings seen in the oak. The edges are not straight exacttment, the thickness is not the same everywhere.

"We know from tradition that our piece of the Holy Cross is the same as the King Alfred had received from the Pope and that he had given to the abbey of Glastenburg, and it was brought to London to the dissolution of the Abbey, after the execution of the abbot, but we do not have documents.

"What we do know is that she was in the chapel of Queen Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, and that John Feckenham, in the order of St. Benedict, who was the last abbot who had possession of Westminster Abbey & also the chaplain of the queen, was preserved from the desecration to the death of Mary, and she was in our possession since that date.

"In our convent of nuns at Stanbrook, Vorcester, there are two or three spines of the crown of our Lord who belonged to the abbey of Glastenburg before its dissolution."

V.

Arles. - Abbe Morel, Archpriest of St. Trophimus,

MR Rohault Fleury.

"Sir, I received with keen interest the letter you did me the honor to address & the design of the crown of thorns of our Lord. The book that you prepare can not fail to be welcomed with the greatest eagerness, and I ask you to kindly consider me from this day among your subscribers.

"The engraving you want & you will find herewith is a strikingly accurate, and I only regret that it has lost its freshness. It contains the precious relic is not the only one that has our city. Pope Clement XI had enriched insignia of two parcels of about 4 inches long, arranged in a cross enclosed in a gem & crystal mounted on a base of red & surrounded by perforations gold and silver the best taste, the former primatial chapter still has two significant pieces of the true cross, one of about 6 centimeters long and 1 inch in diameter, was embedded in the cross of silver-gilt altar, the other kept in the holy Ark which contained the body of Saint Trophimus, first bishop of Arles, and many other relics, the two pieces of the cross providentially saved with all the moral & material evidence were given to me, and by me to our holy church. So you see, sir, how we are rich in heritage that Jesus Christ left his Church, and hence all the interest that we must attach to your valuable work. "

VI.

Arras. - Mr. Abbot Proyart, Vicar General Arras, M. de Fleury Rohault.

Arras, August 26, 1866.

"Sir, the extraordinary events that have successively produced in our diocese for nearly six months are the cause of delay experienced by this response to your letter of June 17 on the relics of the True Cross & the holy thorn. I have the honor to send you the picture from the one we have here, not to mention the small image of the Virgin which is the main piece. It can be for you an indication of some importance.

"This is a very short notice of these relics.

"The holy thorn 10 included in a cross of gold was given to our ancient cathedral in 1556 by Antoine Pernot, Bishop of Arras, better known as the Cardinal Granville, who died Archbishop of Malines. 20 The wood of the true cross in three pieces from a canon of that cathedral provost, Mr. Delattre, who made a present of 1630. At the time of the Terror, the Abbe de Seyssel, Canon & provost of the cathedral, took these precious relics in exile: and it was not until 1820 they were expelled from Munster, by the executor , to Bishop de la Tour d'Auvergne, Bishop of Arras, who, after having recognized the authenticity, placed in other shrines: the holy thorn in a crystal tube adapted to two palms in gilded bronze attached to one foot of the same metal, pieces of wood of the true cross, which he closed with a glass of crystal. These relics are exhibited every year with great solemnity to the veneration of the faithful.

"You can judge by the drawing is correct, the color of the wood and the size of three pieces. Their thickness is 3mm. The nine points or spots that you notice are the holes through which these pieces were probably attached to the shrine which formerly contained. "

Arras, 6 October 1866,

"... I add here a third drawing, that of a relic of the true cross enclosed in a silver reliquary, including S. Em. Cardinal de la Tour d'Auvergne was present in his chapter. I do not know the source, but I have every confidence in its authenticity. The illustrious cardinal was, in fact, relics of a sometimes desperate accuracy.

"I composed a little work on our relics of the True Cross & the holy thorn, and I will tell you that the appearance of the engraving you have kindly sent me, I felt a great satisfaction seeing it was perfectly consistent with the description I gave of the cruel crown of our Lord. It was rather a heavy cap of thorns, a beam, a garland, as the thorns, there were, I think, of various species, some were very large, others were small, especially as the crown consisted of several branches: plectentes coronam. I see every day in a community where I say Mass, a branch of Palastine whose spines are of a size equal to that which I sent you the drawing.

"I am enclosing my letter certified by a clergyman, Mr. Bellart, educated man on the nature of the wood of our holy relics. I did not notice any vein. Again let me say that the cross of our Lord was made of various kinds of wood, and it is not surprising to notice a difference between a relic & another relic. The strongest portion of the wood of the cross that I have seen is that of St. Gudula of Brussels ...

"Bishop Lequette, our excellent Bishop, thank you for your kind remembrance."

VII.

Mount Athos. - Notes on the instruments of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is keeping at Mount Athos.

"In the monasteries of Mount Athos are & are revered the following instruments of the Passion of Jesus Christ:

"1. Convent of St. Athanasius of Athos. - A cross made with a piece of the cross of Christ, 4 werschok (about 180mm) long, one inch thick laid flat, that is to say, about 16mm, with two rails that are specified in Part long cross with a silver thread. This cross is placed in a silver chest like a book of Gospel & decorated with precious stones & pearls of four that are much larger than a walnut.

"2. A cross made of the same, the same size & thickness as the previous. It is lined with silver & gold. The cross belonged to St. Athanasius of Athos.

3. There is still a solid silver cross with three unequal cross, adorned with gold and enamel, in a shrine along werschok 4 (about 180mm). In this cross, which once belonged to a regular priest named David, are placed very high, a small piece of the cross of Jesus Christ, and a little lower, a piece of the tunic of Christ in the through the middle, right, part of the purple robe & Blood of Christ on the left part of the Cane & crown of thorns. In the longitudinal part of the cross at the bottom of the cross is placed a portion of the coat & hair of Christ. The plots of all these objects are closed with small silver doors, made-to-date, like a net, through these doors, a perfume escaped.

"II. Convent of St. Philothea. - 4. A cross of a finger length & thickness flat.

"III. Koutloumouchi convent. - 5. A cross (185mm), 4 werschok of length one inch thick (16mm) with two ties, in a chest of silver gilt.

"IV. Convent of St. Avronicétas. - 6. A plot of the cross of Jesus Christ.

"V. Convent of Pantocrator. - 7. A plot of the cross of Jesus Christ.

"VI. Watoped convent. - 8. Embedded in a cross of gold, silver & enamel, long werschok 4 (180mm) wide & thick finger, with two ties, in a chest of silver gilt. In the top rail, which is smaller, right, there is the hair of Christ on the left, a piece of his cross, regardless of the chunk. This cross once belonged to the despots of Servia, Stephen & Lazarus. The piece of the cross which it is made is not black, but black-purplish. It is cracked in several places, proof of high antiquity.

"9. A cross with a single cross, the same size & thickness as the previous one, except in a box. This cross is black-purple & cracked in several places. It is surrounded by twenty-six pieces of relics of various saints of Servia & Bulgaria. Throughout the length of this cross is extended cane that belonged also to the instruments of the Passion of Christ. A perfume escapes. The cane werschok 4 (180mm).

"10. A cross (the cross is not made with the true cross), with a single through the top, encased in silver, gold & enamel. In his cross was: a very small piece of the cross of Christ, and, in this plot, part of the tunic of Christ on the right, a small part of the mantle of Christ & the drops of his blood left , hair & a portion of the cane. Lower than the cross is made a part of the purple robe of Christ, and even lower in the towel with which the Jews carried to the mouth of Christ gall & vinegar.

"VII. Convent of Esphigmen. - 11. Two crosses made of pieces of the cross of the Lord. 12. One of those long cross is like a finger (80mm) & 16mm wide and has the thickness of a finger. (12mm) and the other is twice as long & the same width.

"VIII. Khilandar convent. - 13. A cross with two cross-350mm or less in length, thick & wide as a finger. This cross is a gift from Emperor John Vataces did to Sabbas, archbishop of Servia.

"IX. Zagrapho convent. - 14. Part of the true cross.

"X. Dokliari convent. - 15. A small cross with three pieces of the cross of Christ.

"XI. Xiropotamie convent. - 16. A cross made of the part of the cross where the Lord was nailed to the sacred feet of Jesus Christ, with a hole from a nail. This cross werschok 6 (266mm) or less in length, and half a finger thick. It weighs just under a pound and has a black-purple. Ties of the two believe that, one, the upper finger has a half in length, the other 160mm or so. This cross is a gift of the Greek emperor Roman Elder.

"17. A cross made of a piece of the cross of Christ and has a cross, is 180mm long (4 werschok) & off a finger and it weighs 26 solotnick (1 solotnick weighs 4gr, 266), a color Black. Around the cross, there are forty plots of the relics of the forty martyrs. This cross was given by the Holy Empress. Pulcheria, daughter of Emperor Theodosius the Great.

XII. Convent of St. Paul of Athos. - Sept. cross. 18. The first two ties, one of 145mm and one 130mm to 185mm, 4 werschok in length, a finger (16mm) wide & thick and is encased in silver gilt. This cross is a gift of the last despot of Servia, Georges Brancowitch, and his daughter Mary, wife of Sultan Murat II and mother of Mohammed. On the back side of the cross is engraved Slavo-Serbian language the following inscription:

"Jesus Christ Nika. The King of Glory. God the Holy.

"19. The second cross is like the first.

"20. The third is a bit smaller (not through).

"21. The fourth is even smaller, with only one crossing.

"22, 23. The fifth and sixth are even smaller & without ties.

"24. The seventh is very small, not through it.

"All these crosses are embedded in gold & silver."

(Bishop Porphyry attached to its letter a figure that I used to check the measurements.)

VIII.

AUTUN. - Description of a silver reliquary containing two spines of the holy crown of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Weight 425 grams. Height 320mm. Diameter of the circumference at work, 66mm. A circular beam of acanthus leaves is a crown of thorns engraved silver; more money inside a circle has two beads carved & grooved to receive a glass on each side, one of the two circles is double-hinged moving around a small sheet of silver. Inside the circle, the two ends of the strip of money are raised in a triangle & W serving as a support to the relic itself.

"We note first two small cylinders of gold, 7mm open to their point of support & more while offering two slots, each of which are subject to a gold wire spiral turned two thorns ; the right one must have 38mm, the left has a little smaller than 34mm.

"They are whitish in their majority-black & brown at the base, the point is well preserved. Both thorns with which the cylinders are arranged obliquely & enshrine their divergence is not in proportion to an angle of about 100. They are met (or rather cylinders) to the base by a Maltese cross of diamonds glued to a small section of a cylinder of gold that keeps the distance between the two hollow cylinders which are embedded thorns. At the top the two cylinders are secured & well maintained in their separation by a small golden crown flattened about 400mm total development.

"On one side the crown jewels in September this whole & two florets with five diamonds embedded.

"On the other side the red-purple-mail replaces the diamonds, the number of jewels is the same. The glass is frosted entirely correspond to the location to which the diamonds.

"The golden thread that secures the thorns in the groove formed by the open cylinder is passed through a strip of parchment white 40mm high by 10 to 12mm.

"This scroll is thus fixed between two thorns in the crown goes & stands 2 mm above the florets. Four words in red cursive Gothic of the twelfth or thirteenth century (as far as I know), read on parchment, two words on one line: two thorns Nres La Corona.

Authentic copy of the enclosed in the base of the shrine of the holy crown of thorns of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Fabien Sebastian Imberti, for God's mercy & grace of the Apostolic See, Bishop of Autun, Baron of the Empire, Member of the Legion of Honour, to all who see or hear these letters, hello : doing that:

"This day July 24, 1813, 10 hours of the morning, in our episcopal palace has appeared Pardevant & Dominique Reuillot master, priest vicar of the parish of Saint Lazarus of that city, who told us:

"That lady Louise Charlotte de Changy, former abbess of the royal abbey of Saint-Andoche-lès-Autun, left him dying in a holy relic of the crown of thorns, which was once exposed to the veneration of the faithful in the church of that abbey, and was given to him after the death of that lady abbess, by his heir, Master Adrien-Charles de Changy, his brother, a priest canon of our church & cathedral;

"Let all the old religious of the abbey, without exception, currently resident in Autun, certify before the Revolution they saw that relic in the church of their monastery, and that she was publicly venerated;

"Let the authentic having been lost during the Revolution, we humbly beg to be good enough to recognize & authenticate again;

"What we presented & lodged in our hands & a silver reliquary shaped crown of thorns with a needle opening & money. Also a growing silver & placed between two mirrors, two branches are mounted in gold, on each of which is attached a thorn with a golden thread that weaves & supports a scroll in which he rose & on which is written in red letters: Two thorns from the corona, the whole surmounted by a crown of gold enriched with diamonds, and collected from the bottom by a node as diamonds, and said master Dominique Reuillot that this relic was the one he begged us to kindly find the authenticity.

"What came master Adrien-Charles de Changy, priest, canon of this cathedral church, Lady Mary Drujon, known as Sister St. Suzanne, Lady Claudine Lagrand-beech, known as Sister St. Stephen, Lady Jane, Sister Bernard called holy Dove, Lady Jeanne Huguette Gaguereau of Saint Victor, known as Sister St. Justin, in Autun & resident of that ancient religious royal abbey of Saint-Andoche-lès-Autun, which told us to go ahead at the invitation which has was made by Master Dominique Reuillot described above. After they all took our hands oath to tell the truth, we presented the reliquary & relic above mentioned & described: and we have required to say whether they recognized that relic, whereby said master Adrian Charles de Changy recognize & said that it is the one he delivered after the death of that lady abbess, her sister, Dominique Reuillot master whom she had inherited, old religious ladies & all & individually, they recognized that relic, it is the same that was before the Revolution in the Church of Abbey of St. Andoche that this relic was exposed to the veneration of the faithful, courtesy of our predecessors Bishops & it is in the same condition & with the same inscription in 1790.

"From all the above we have drawn up these minutes, and said reading made masters of old ladies & Changy religious, they persisted in their statement under oath of their religion & signed with us & Master Dominique Reuillot"

The signatures follow & permission to display for the veneration of the faithful, & c., there mentionée.

Relics of the Holy Cross & the holy crown of the diocese of Autun (transcribed on a note of hand Bouange Bishop, Vicar General).

"There are several churches in the plots of the true cross, received almost all of Rome is in Paris. They are not significant, except the one in the chapel of Mr. Brunet at Chamirey, Parish of keys, and the one at the Visitation of Macon. The first ... once belonged to the Abbey of Clairvaux, who had received from St. Bernard who, during his stay in Rome, had received it if I remember rightly, of Pope Clement VI, living in Avignon, where the was taken from the treasure of the churches of this city ....

"As for the holy crown, Cluny had a thorn given to the abbey by St. Louis and is now in the church of Our Lady of the city. The cathedral of Autun has a considerable fragment of a thorn given at the beginning of this century & detached from the treasure of Paris. Visitation at Autun also a fragment large enough, from the same source, off the sixteenth century, and given by a nun belonging to a noble family that owned this August relic ...

"The cathedral church of St. Vincent de Chalons has a sizeable plot of the true cross, that of St. Peter of Chalons plot & also a thorn."

IX.

Avignon. - Archdiocese of Paris

"We, the Vicar General of S. E. The Cardinal de Belloy, Archbishop of Paris, declare & certify that:

"At the request that has been made by Mr. Michel Sparrow, parish priest of the parish of Saint-Nicholas-des-Champs in Paris to the effect that he has assured us be portions of the sacred wood of the true Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and, after verification, to make the division & distribution into several parts, and then be placed by us in various reliquaries he introduced us.

"Wanting to meet demand due Mr. Cure, we have required to produce securities or evidence sufficient to support his assertion, upon which he has exhibited the two following parts:

"The first record is a small folio, bound in parchment, containing, as the title is placed on the first page thereof, the history of the foundation & the progress of the royal house of the Sisters of Saint cords Marcel, order of St. Clair, in the handwriting of Sister Elizabeth Mérault, religious of that convent, and ended August 2, 1674, on page thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth register which it is said that a sister of Isabelle Compiegne, Sangath old lady, and who had visited religious audit monastery after the death of her husband & her children and who died there in 1331, gave him a cross of silver gilt, adorned with precious stones, to which, below the crucifix that was pure gold, was enshrines a piece of pure wood badge of the true cross, about six inches in height & one inch wide.

"The second is a certificate signed by Sister Françoise Jacob, religious of the Abbey of Ropes of the Faubourg Saint-Marceau, and sacristan of that community, the same as that spoken of above, by which it certifies having extracted 1793, a relic that was kept in the said monastery, and exposed to the veneration of the faithful, two large pieces of wood of the true cross, and that these two pieces were given to the last abbess of that convent, after each had received religious a portion of the grove, which composed the main shrine, the two sides locked in a box of money were handed to him by that last abbessse his death, with the condition to do his best to expose that precious relic to adoration of the faithful in a church. The last certificate is also supported by the testimony of three other religious writing of that monastery, stating thereon truthful & signed: Mary Magdalena O. Breman, S.-R. Rabadeau, M.-F. Gromaut. - Reading made such writings, and made opening the box above designated, we found the two pieces he just mentioned, with a similar inscription.

"A third piece of the same grove has been presented separately by the said Sieur priest, who testified that that piece had fallen to the portion of said sister Jacob, when sharing was done from that which formed the main relic.

"The very careful consideration, we recognize & acknowledge those three pieces of real wood for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and have declared the authentic & declare. We therefore conducted division said three pieces in various parts, to be embodied in several shrines. This splitting, we placed & set on a background of moire silk crimson, three of those pieces, taken from those who formed the portion of said last abbess, as has been said above, and the have locked in a cross of gold surmounted by a ring of the same metal, which we here subjoin the description ...

"After the parties contained in that sacred wood cross, we closed with a double thread of crimson silk passed in the aforesaid œllets, then tied at the end of that cross, and we have covered the extremities known seal of His Eminence, full of red sealing wax ...

"As a result of all the above, we have enabled & allow to expose said reliquary for veneration by the faithful in the diocese of Paris.

"Done & gives Paris, 20 January, eighteen hundred and four (29 Nivose, Year XII of the Republic) ...

"NOTE. - This relic is now in the hands of the Comte de Forbin Odon, she is part of the legacy of the mother, born of the Batie, who had it from his cousin Bishop Mons, signed the following authentic above, as Vicar General of S. E. Cardinal de Belloy, and died Archbishop of Avignon, and Madame de Forbin who established his heir. () "

X.

BAUGÉ. - Description of the precious relic of the True Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is venerated in the community of the Sacred Heart of Mary, serving the hospice for incurable Bauge, diocese of Angers, given by the sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary.

"This cross is approximately 270mm stem, 20 in width & thickness 130. It is entirely a wood exceedingly hard and heavy, which has not been altered. It is very veined, chestnut brown, with shades redder, brighter & darker. We notice a few knots & cracks caused by drought, but not rotten.

"The six ends covered in yellow tinted gold on which was inlaid on the width, thickness & after twelve pearls and five diamonds, which, for six ends, giving a total of seventy-two and thirty pearls diamonds .

"At the first cross brace is located on each side of the cross or a round shield, representing in relief on one side, a Columba, and on the other a lamb bearing a banner. These two patches are each surrounded by four pearls and four diamonds.

"A Christ is gold on each side of the cross dimensions are marked in blue pencil points designating the nails of the feet & Mian. The shape is very old, feet crossed one over the other.

"The narrower part, tinged with yellow and red, is a solid gold pin for entering a foot of silver gilt on which exposes the holy relic. He has more than the 10mm model.

"An arm of the first cross is shorter, here's why. After the revolutionary upheavals of 1793, the family of Miss Girouardière, founder of the community of the Sacred Heart of Mary, giving evidence of a deep reverence for the sacred wood of the true cross, the pious founder gave away the ornaments & saw the end of this traverse, to distribute some pieces of the True Cross to the various members of his family. It was here that the parish of Old-Bauge & Hospital Saint-Joseph de Bauge received a portion of the true cross, as evidenced by the reports drawn up by Bishop Montault, bishop of Angers. The last is dated June 27, 1803. At the bottom of the shaft we see two cuts, one made at the Abbey of La Boissiere in 1790 by a young man, guardian of the true cross, which, seeing that precious treasure slip from his hands, would at least keep a party, he made the first breach. The second is the work of a priest of the diocese at the beginning of this century, having been responsible for exposing the true cross, was the second break before asking the holy relic in its shrine; it since that time that Our Lords the bishops of Angers have given letters of religious prohibition against anyone who dares enter the precious deposit. Moreover, it is never given to the chaplain.

"The true cross, lined with its ornaments, not the foot of silver gilt, gives a weight of 450 grams."

Titles of the True Cross.

"1st Title Latin, on parchment. 1241. - For this reason, Thomas, bishop of Hierapetra & Arcadia, gives Jean d'Ali, Lord Cross, a portion of the true cross he received from Gervais, of blessed memory, Patriarch of Constantinople. It is this plot, he says, we know, Emmanuel, good memory, Emperor of Constantinople, was in the fight against the enemies of the cross.

"The gift of Thomas, bishop of Hierapetra, is supported in this charter on services rendered to him by John of Aleya, Lord of Castle & St. Kitts.

"It is dated from the island of Crete, in the town of Candia, the day of the feast of St. Hippolyte & his companions, the year of our Lord 1241.

"2nd Title Latin, on parchment. 1244. - The title is a charter by which John of Alleia, Lord of Castle & St. Kitts, recognizes that religious Abbot & Convent of La Boissiere, have satisfied 540 livres for a shrine consisting of a portion of the wood of the true cross he made from beyond the seas.

"It is dated May 1244.

"3rd Title Latin, on parchment. 1244. - For the second charter of Alleia Jean, Lord of Castle & St. Kitts, & gives grants, with the consent of Hugh his son to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the monks of La Boissiere, a charity Annual & ever to take on the income of its fairs of Saint-Christophe, 60 pence for the perpetual care, day & night, three lamps will burn before the true cross that has given them. He forces his heirs to provide this handout & the guarantee. Dated year 1244.

"Fourth French title, on parchment. 1379. - Receipt of Louis I, Duke of Anjou, by which he declares that a few days after his arrival in his new castle of angels (Angers), for the devotion he felt for the holy relic of the true Cross & also for its preservation, he summoned the prior of the convent of La Boissiere, Father was away, they bring him the holy relic he had a copy in a tabernacle in the chapel of his castle of Angers . He acknowledged he had no claim on this holy relic, and he agrees to go to the religious Boissière soon as they claim it. Dated chateau of Angers, the 28th day of March 1379.

"Title fifth french, on parchment. 1388. - Charter or certificate of Marie de Blois, widow of Louis I, Duke of Anjou, King of Jerusalem and Sicily, Count of Provence, Forcalquier, Maine, Piedmont, Roucas.

"Marie de Blois claims to have a healthy & full letter in which Louis, her husband, acknowledges that religious fear the enemy, have entrusted their relic of the True Cross to Dominicans, but that he, for safety & also for the his devotion to this relic, he did it again wear the chapel of his castle of Angers, but after having had the consent of the religious Boissiere.

"Then what, Marie de Blois says it approves the terms of her late husband, she claims to the precious deposit of the first claim of religious Boissiere, a token of what she has affixed his seal the day 22 of January 1388.

"Sixth French title, on parchment. 1407. - Charter of Louis II of Anjou. - By this charter, Louis II of Anjou said his father, Louis I, with great devotion to a significant portion of the true cross of Jesus Christ possessed by the monks of the Abbey of La Boissiere, wanted to be chief and brother of a merrymaking in honor of the Holy Cross in May, he indicated that he wanted to follow the devotion, good will and about his father, and moved with piety, he was this day ordered, drawn up, received in-Chief of that fraternity, in honor of the holy shrine of the holy true cross of the convent of Sainte-Marie de la Boissiere of the Cistercian order.

"From the castle of Angers, the 28th of June 1407.

"NOTE. = The literal transcription of the last three titles could not be more interesting for the character, style & spelling. They are a little long, these charters, we have transcribed, but we can not vouch for the complete accuracy because of the characters may be difficult to discover.

"7th Title Latin, on parchment. 1456. - It's a bubble of Calixtus III, in which he details the evils caused by forty years of war in the country where the monastery of Notre-Dame de la Boissiere of the Cistercian order, whose church was recommended by precious relics, especially the wood of the true cross. He states that in a fire, the monks have lost title to their foundations, that the enemy has devastated the country, which reduces them to abject poverty, he invites the faithful to help them with their alms to help repair their church ornaments & & fill the sacred vessels, and it grants ten years and ten quarantines of indulgences in the days of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin of the Nativity of Our Lord & Whit those who visit the Church & it will give alms according to their means.

"Calixtus III declared, among other things, it grants these indulgences at the request of a very dear son in Christ, René, King of Jerusalem and Sicily.

"Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the year of our Lord's thousand four hundred fifty-six, nine of the calends of May, the second year of his pontificate.

"Title 8th Latin, on parchment. 1476. - Nicolas, Bishop of Mutmen apostolic legate in France, after the details of the devotion of the faithful to the holy relic of the true cross preserved in the monastery of St. Mary of the Bossière of the Cistercian order, said that wishing that this grove is more revered, he gives one hundred days of indulgence to all who visit this holy relic on feast days of Holy Cross. Nicolas, a latere legate, granted the prayer of thanks to John Daillon, Lord of Lude, Duke of Maine, the governor of Dauphiné.

"Given at Tours, year 1476, the 15th of the calends of February, the sixth year of the pontificate of Sixtus IV.

"NOTE. - From the years 1476 to 1790, the monks of La Boissiere remained quiet possession of the true cross, no title was added to the former. But at the time of the Revolution, the abbey was for sale, the monks were expelled, and by a special design of Divine Providence, the greatest precautions were taken to ensure the authenticity of the true cross by the very people who had less respect for holy things.

"The recent titles are in French on paper simple, usually much longer than the former.

"Title I, September 30, 1790. - It contains the minutes of the removal of the sacred vessels & relics of the Abbey of La Boissiere, Denez common in the parish church of Bauge, to be deposited in the hands of Mr. Bérault, prior pastor of that city, until the director orders otherwise. The eight previous titles & the holy relic that is the subject are specifically named in this long report prepared by the priests who made the translation, which was ordered by Bishop of Viviers de Couet Lorry, Bishop of Angers.

"It states that all objects were given by some religious still on the Boissiere.

"The second title, I October 1790. - Letter from Miss Anne-Renée Felix Hardouin Girouardière of MM. administrators of the department of Maine-&-Loire, to ask them the precious relic of the true cross removed from the Boissière by their order of September 14, 1790, and transported in the sacristy of the church of Bauge. She offers to pay to the fund of the district the sum of 400 pounds, which are valued ornaments of the true cross.

"The third title, October 2, 1790. - Letter of Bishop Michael Francis Viviers de Couet of Lorry, by which it grants to Miss Girouardière of the everlasting possession of the true cross & permission to do the show for the veneration of the faithful in the chapel of lock house, the condition offered by it to feed & maintain in perpetuity as a hospice two poor infirm of the town of Denez.

"Fourth title, October 2, 1790. - Extract from the deliberations of the Board of Maine & Loire. It is said in this room that, with the request of Miss Girouardiaire & Order of the bishop, it is conceded the precious relic of the true cross removed from the Boissiere, the sum of 400 pounds, gold prices & diamond & it is decorated to the condition given by that lady to feed & maintain in perpetuity two poor infirm of the town of Denez. Signed Labourdonnaye, Vice President Fillon, Druillon, Goffeau, CRÉTEAU, VILLERS, & c.

"Fifth title, October 6, 1790. - Order of Bishop of Viviers de Lorry, setting October 17, the translation of the true cross of the main church of Bauge in the chapel of the hospice for terminally ill, by which it sets out in detail about the ceremony. It allows exposure of the true cross, the second Friday of each month, the feast days of the cross, the anniversary of the translation of this precious relic, the days of Holy Week, Wednesday, Friday, Thursday, Finally, during the public calamities. Mr. Bérault, pastor prior of Bauge, is appointed for the translation.

"6th Title, October 17, 1790. - Minutes of the translation of the true cross, the parish church of Bauge in the chapel of incurable, which are analyzed all old titles.

"Many administrators, & secular clergy, have signed this piece, dated October 17, 1790.

"7th Title, September 2, 1862. - This is a brief of His Holiness the Pope Pius IX, granting, in ordinary conditions, a plenary indulgence to all the faithful who visit the chapel of the day of the incurable & Invention of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in four & other days of the year designated by the ordinary. But these days were given by Bishop Angebault, bishop of Angers, Io Sunday immediately following the seventeenth day of October, anniversary of the translation of the true cross; 2o on Passion Sunday, the feast of 3o Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the feast of 4o pain of the Blessed Virgin, the Friday after Passion Sunday.

"These six plenary indulgences are granted for ten years.

"The brief is dated St. Peter's in Rome under the fisherman's ring, 2 September 1862, the pontificate of Pius IX seventeenth year.

"(The title is latin & parchment.)

"These are the titles that ensure the authenticity of the precious relic of the true cross owned by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary of Bauge and is their richer as their most precious treasure. The community, which at the beginning of the Revolution there were only a few years, crossed this terrible time growing up, and strengthened himself in the shadow of the cross of Christ. Many of his persecutions were raised, and the home visits so frequent that it was never made to suffer discover what might have been compromised before the enemies of the cross.

"True Cross, whose magnificent translation had a great impact in the country, was probably highly sought after gold & diamonds that cover it. One day she would be discovered, a nun saved her by hiding in his clothes.

"All the above is merely a primitive security analysis & subordinated indebtedness; the transcript would be very long. People who study them are very interesting ... "

XI.

Bernay. - MGR DEVOUCOUX, BISHOP OF EVER.

"Certification of the true cross in the church of Holy Cross, at Bernay.

"The Bishop of Lisieux having gone in March 1649 in the town of Bernay, then part of his diocese, was brother of a minor's request to the cross, which belonged to the parish of St. Cross, which took place in front of reliable witnesses, and hastened with the approval of the bishop, who one way to extend the piety of the faithful. "

"Our Leonorius, sedis gratia Dei & Sanctae episcopus & edible Lexoviensis, singulis & universis ad quos attinet, salutem & Benedictionem in Domino. Cum Rev. P. Fr Benagensis Constantius, ordinis fratrum minorum capuccinorum, sibi allatum crucem Quae particles ex sanctissimæ crucis Christi, pro testibus omni ex Captione majoribus Probis compacta is ejusdem Ecclesiae Parochial Sanctae crucis urbis, cui ex tempore mandato nostro hoc Lenten divini verbi praeco existed Dari has dono summis precibus postulavit nobis; our piis ejusdem supplicationibus waiting & Redemptionis nostrae mysterium quibuslibet SIGNIS propagari ex animo cupientes, prædictam crucem .... testimoniis fide history worthy in dictæ Ecclesiae Sacrario Devote tutoque responses, not nec festi Inventiones tam, quam exaltationis Sanctae crucis populo venerandum exhiberi presentium tenore concedimus & ordinamus; INSUP prohibemus do quis sub poena excommunicationis aliquid præsumat ex ea ... in tantæ pietatis insignificant ... ad Dei gloriam omnipotent.

"Datum Lexoviis die Martis anni Redemptionis nostrae millesime sexcentesimi Quadragesima noni.

"LEONORIUS, episcopus lexoviensis. Of mandato Lexoviensis reverend, Piquot. "

XII.

BESANCON - S. MS. Cardinal Mathieu, Archbishop of Besancon.

"I am extremely grateful documents very interesting, and very accurate as you kindly send me on the Cross & the Crown of Thorns of Our Lord ...

"I send you some documents on the Shroud & the relics of the True Cross & the holy crown of thorns of the church of Besançon. I add the extract of the latin my presentation in Rome of the affairs of our holy shroud, in order to obtain the proper office, which I granted. Notice that in this passage, I am announcing the research begun by me to find the Shroud as running. I wrote this in 1862. Since then, research has been completed & brought nothing. We visited in depth more than four thousand cartons of archives of the empire for the time of the Revolution, and nothing was found. I wanted to research libraries in the city & the interior, and was told there was nothing there. But I think that if he had a library that remontât the legislative body at the time of the Convention, it might be found in this deposit the Shroud, since it was not decided on this relic, when to report the Convention, and it would be possible that he might have left in the folder. I would appreciate to inform you & tell me the results of your investigation ().

"I send you some ancient representations of the Shroud that had a lot of courses here before the Revolution.

"Please ..."

Historical notes on the Shroud that is venerated in Besançon, and the relics of the True Cross & the holy crown of thorns that had the church of Besançon.

"When the adorable Body of our Lord Jesus Christ was detached from the cross, wrapped in several cloths, and Joseph of Arimathea buried in a shroud brand new, before filing into the tomb. The day of resurrection, as St. Peter went to the tomb of the Saviour, he saw the linen cloths lying, but the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was separated from the shrouds, and folded in another place ().

"According to some of our historians, this precious relic was brought to Besançon in the fifth century, when Emperor Theodore's arm sent to St. Stephen Bishop Célidoine (), but this view is supported by evidence, and been rejected by our best critics. Wiley believes that the Shroud was brought from the East to Besancon after the fall of Constantinople in 1204. Indeed, several gentlemen of the county of Burgundy took part in this expedition, and we know that one of the sweetest rewards of their exploits was able to report some relics to their country, where they were a perpetual monument of their piety & their courage. Othon de la Roche was one of those illustrious warriors, and the Crusaders, for récompensar its value, let li, say the chronicles, one of the most beautiful relics that was in Constantinople. Otto sent him to his father, Ponce de la Roche, Lord of Saint-Hippolyte, who gave in 1206 to Amadeus of Tramelay, Archbishop of Besançon.

"The ancient chronicles do not say what this precious relic. But Dunod think that was one of the shrouds of Jesus Christ, that is to say one of these sacred images of the Divine Redeemer & adorable, that worshiped in Constantinople, where they were once united in a church care of the Emperor Constantine. Άρχιεροποιηταί they were called, because we do not believe man-made. Nevertheless, it is only since that time, that is to say, since the early years of the thirteenth century relic that is mentioned in the monuments of the province.

"The Holy Shroud () of Besançon was composed of two fabrics sewn very delicately. Authors who have seen and touched tell us that it was made of linen ground, common & sweet, like that of Egypt, and worked as the little Venice, but a book so old, it was unknown & unusual long time. He was 8 feet long 4 wide. And the body of Christ, says Wiley, there was painted a pale yellow, also printed on both sides, with no significant difference, with both hands crossed one over the other so you could see clearly the wounds of each hand, as well as on the side. The head of Christ had a beard & long hair: and the imprint of the body from the heels at the top of the head, was all of 5 feet 9 inches & geometric.

"The Holy Shroud, wrapped in a crimson satin, was placed in a small chest of silver gilt, adorned with jewels. This chest, placed in a cassette timber lined with a precious fabric, was closed by five different locks, the keys were in the hands of five canons (). The cloth of the Shroud, although extremely thin & folded several times, was perfectly preserved & no tear.

"This precious relic was kept in the cathedral of St. Stephen's until the time when, by order of Louis XIV, Vauban demolished the church to build the citadel. Then the Holy Shroud was solemnly brought to St. John, and deposited near the bell tower, in a vaulted room arranged to receive this venerable deposit (1674). In 1729, the chapter found that the tower was threatened with ruin, and February 25, after Mass canonical, we removed the holy relic of the place where it was guarded. The canons were barely out of the church tower fell with a horrible crash, and in its fall crushed the portal and a part of the vault. The vicar general Hugon, who was alone in the church, was transported to several not by the violence of the pressure on the air. A significant protection of Providence, no one died in this accident, and the hand of God seemed to have ensured a very special way to the conservation of the Shroud. Through the mediation of Cardinal Fleury, prime minister of Louis XV, the royal bounty soon came to the rescue of the Metropolitan Chapter, which received the revenues of the abbey of Luxeuil, for nine years to rebuild the current bell tower of the Cathedral & the chapel dedicated to the Shroud. This chapel, to the left of the main entrance and whose style contrasts with the rest of the building, is enriched with marble, gilding & precious paintings. It was completed in 1735, and the Shroud was solemnly filed to be shown to the people, according to ancient custom, to Easter & the Ascension (). He remained there until the French Revolution. In 1792, despite the fury of the wicked who had the power in hand, we had yet to Besançon the procession of Corpus Christi () & the Shroud was shown to the people on Easter Sunday. But soon the decrees of the Convention does no more freedom left to the Catholic faith. The temples were closed, and the precious shrines, statues of gold and silver crosses, sacred vessels were removed from churches & sent to the Mint, to be foudus. As known Shroud, it was not enough for the Jacobins to seize Besançon, it was still slander. They claimed to have found the archives of the Metropolitan Chapter, in a package entitled useless papers, a kind of skeleton in thick paper cut & artistically designed to portray the image of the Savior. This was immediately sanded or cut-out range, the Shroud, to the municipality. The Highlanders drew up a report of recognition by which they declared, in emphatic style grotesque & time, by applying the cut on the holy image she was perfectly consistent in all its details, and that that was "the board to the holy" shroud. () "

"They made a great noise of this discovery & asked that the precious machine was set on fire. This venerable relic was the same scope, March 19, 1794, at a meeting of the People's Society, and shown to the crowd by the Vice President Rambour, amid insults lavished a Catholic church.

"Nobody had the courage to speak out to avenge the chapter of Besançon, in these days when it was enough to have some images of the Shroud to be thrown in jail, awaiting the scaffold (). The calumnies of mountaineers recontrèrent therefore no opponent. But it is easy to understand that this whole thing was a juggling of the patriots, who had the greatest interest to pose odious accusations of clergy, to justify the violence they exercised against him. Indeed, to whom do we persuade the canons of Besançon were able to renew the Shroud, for centuries, without the fraud was discovered in a chapter if nombreaux and too often divided?

"On March 23, 1794, members of the board of the district decided that the shroud & the pumice would be sent to the National Convention. The venerable relic arrived in Paris on 24 May, and the Convention was warned in the session the same day, the citizen Vaud, MP Dijon (). The next day May 25, we read these words in a periodical of the time, the Journal de Paris: "The Convention ordered that it would be made lint" a cloth, formerly known as Holy Shroud, the administrators Besançon sent "in Paris ()." This order was executed, or not? Monitor & other newspapers of the time kept in this regard the most profound silence, and since that time, there is no mention made of the Shroud. It is assumed with some probability that the orders of the Convention have not been implemented, and that this venerated relic of our ancestors still exists. Research has been done in Paris, hospitals & archives, to find her. But this research has so far been unsuccessful, it still retains, as Archbishop of Besançon, the cassette timber which was contained in the chest which contained the red machine valuable.

"The cult of the Shroud has not entirely disappeared from our province. His office, introduced in the Breviary of Besançon by Bishop Ferdinand of Ryo, it still celebrates the July II, under the double rite of the second class. A Brotherhood of the Shroud for the burial of the dead, based in Saint-Jacques Hospital with the approval of Archbishop Pierre-Antoine de Grammont, was approved by a bull of Pope Innocent XII. This pious brotherhood still exists TODAY-hui & celebrates her birthday every year in the church of the hospital ().

Relics of the True Cross

"The cross of the Saviour sweet has been the object of great veneration for Christians.

"The diocese of Besançon has been fortunate to own several plots of these precious relics. The most significant are those that are still preserved in the Cathedral of St. John. One was offered in 1830 at the Cardinal de Rohan, by the Marquis de Moustiers Lionel, now ambassador to Berlin. This relic was given once at the Abbey of Saussaye in Normandy. When the monastery was suppressed, its revenues were collected at home, royal de Saint-Cyr, who was thus in possession of the piece of the true cross. This relic was exposed in the altar inside the cloister. When the French Revolution came to chase the ladies of St. Cyr their pious asylum, one of them, Madame Adelaide Charlotte de Moustiers, saved the Holy Relic & brought it to Versailles. The silver-gilt reliquary which was contained in a cross & over, the four extremities, with a fleur de lis. It contained seven pieces thin enough, in the shape of a cross.

"Madame de Moustiers was a private chapel where the relic was exposed. This lady ended his long career pious & March 10, 1820. Before dying, she bequeathed the reliquary of the True Cross to his nephew, the Marquis de Moustiers, as a token of her affection for him. In 1821, Bishop Louis Charrier de la Roche, Bishop of Versailles, was a genuine recognition of the precious relic, and said she deserved the same level of confidence, esteem & worship it enjoyed previous ously in St. Cyr.

"Until the year 1830, this sacred trust was treasured in the family of Moustiers. We never lost sight of him, there is nothing ever changed, and when family members were absent, it is contained carefully locked. The Marquis de Moustiers died at the age of fifty & one year January 5, 1830, leaving a blessed name of his family, loved and honored the Church of the Franche-Comte. Several times before his death, and even in his last illness, he had expressed the desire to give to the church of Besançon the relic of the cross, he left in the hands of sound eldest son, Lionel de Moustiers. It was for him a sacred duty to execute the last wishes of his father. On March 28, 1830, he gave himself the holy relic in the hands of the Cardinal de Rohan, Archbishop of Besançon, which prevailed in this city some time after.

"Mr. Lionel de Moustiers offered a shrine where the cross had to be filed which contained the sacred wood ().

"The Church of Besançon had before the Revolution, two thorns from the Holy Crown. They had been sent by Micheli Hughes, a native of Besançon & bishop of Paris in 1330. This prelate had for one of these relics to the chapter of St. John, the other to that of Sainte-Madeleine. This is to honor them that the office of the holy crown was first established in Besançon, and later in all parishes of the diocese. These relics disappeared in 1794, but today the city has two other relics of the Passion, obtained from Rome in 1829 through the efforts of the Cardinal de Rohan. One is a piece of the true cross placed in a reliquary in the shape of a cross, and exposed to public worship every Friday of Lent, the other consists of several parcels of the holy crown of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are enclosed in a reliquary in the shape of a crown of thorns, and the same day exposed to the veneration of the people. The commandments of Lent each year mention these two holy relics, inviting the faithful to go and meet in the chapel of the Holy Shroud.

"Another silver reliquary, also belonging to the cathedral, contains a plot of the true cross. This is the one that bears each year in the Rogation processions & the feast of St. Mark. The private chapel of S. E. The Cardinal Archbishop of Besançon is also enriched with a piece of the true cross.

"Other churches in the province once possessed or still possess relics of the Passion. Were kept in the abbey of Saint-Claude few pieces of the cross of our Lord ().

We also revered among the Capuchins of Lure, the nuns of Bellevaux, & c., & c. Gollut speaks of "one of the thorns from the crown of our Mediator," and of a cross made of wood of the true cross. "That is venerated in Rosières (). He mentions "the wood of the true cross at Dole, and three drops of blood of our Saviour in Monte ()." The church of Lisle-sur-le-Doubs keeps a relic of the True Cross badge, given by Lords of Neufchatel. It also retains a piece in the church of Saint-Maurice de Besançon. The parish of Pontarlier, and that of Baume, a thorn worship of the holy crown, which is exposed at certain festivals, the worship of the faithful. The church also has a Gray, which is deposited in a silver reliquary. A piece of the true cross was in great veneration Belevoir before the French Revolution. It was thought at first that this sacred treasure was lost during the days of persecution, but in 1833, Mr. Vuillemin, Belevoir priest, had the good fortune of finding this holy relic, and the diocesan authorities, after be recognized, once again allowed the exhibition. Many of these relics & others, that we omit, are coated with genuine, some of which are beyond question ...

"We can still count among the relics of our Lord, many precious objects & sacred that formerly kept in St. John in two small columns of silver, exposed to the veneration of the faithful. The first column, marked the sign I, contained the spine of the holy crown mentioned above, and about 3 inches long.

"It still contained a piece of the robe of Christ with the inscription: In fimbriis vestimenti Domini, ab archiepiscopo Ebrardo Palestina for example. JJ Chifflet mention this relic in the Vesontio, § 2, p. 256. In the second column of silver marked the sign II were contained, with some other relics, those indicated in the prose of St. Epiphanius as having been sent to Besançon with the arm of St. Stephen. It was part of the belt Savior of woolen cloth, purple & dark purplish. This piece was half a foot long & one inch wide. At the same shrine was a fragment of the robe of the Virgin, also wool & white. Both relics were accompanied by the inscription on parchment: From cingulo indumenti of Domini & B. Mariae Virginis. The two columns of silver were drilled to date & topped with crystals in three places, so as to show the relics contained therein. This treasure was lost like many others during the French Revolution ().

"Another valuable object that also enrich the Church of St. John was the Gospel which was given to this church to the thirteenth century. It was a book of a venerable antiquity, containing the texts of the Gospels, a canon is customary to refer to the chest to the solemn prayers. This book is called Sapphire, as I believe, because of various precious stones which he was decorated, or Sapphire, as gospel, because in Hebrew means notary Sapphire & Evangelist, from the root Saphar, which is like counting & write () . It was adorned with an ivory tablet embedded in the cover, representing Christ blessing the Roman emperor named Diogenes, and Eudoxia, his wife, on each side of the Saviour. This ancient book is now deposited in the Library of Besançon, but the tablet of ivory has been removed, and it can be seen in the Cluny Museum, where it is retained.

EXCERPT FROM STATEMENT MADE BY A BISHOP OF ROME BESANCON.

Die xi julii

In festo Sanctissima Sindoni D. N. J. C.

"Notissimum is in pristine ecclesiam bisuntinam temporibus maxim Shroud illo D. N. J. C. gloriari quod ab e Palestina asportatum Ottone of Rupe, suo Pontio patri datum has prædicto Pontio demum Tramelay of Amedeo, archiepiscopo bisuntino, Donatum is.

"Sacrum ISTUD linteum in capsa inaurata argentea, alter vetustissimæ ligneæ included sub triplici clave servabatur in Magnis solemnitatibus Paschæ & & & ascensionis necnon Sanctissima Sudarii populo frequentissimo ostendebatur ab ipso archiepiscopo, cum duobos canonici, in theatro quod erat immigrants ædificatum ante ædem Sancti sacram Stephani in Monte, and ex quo Aedes illa diruta is ending saeculo XVII, 'ostensio sudarii fiebat Ecclesiae Sancti Joannis ex Turri evangelistæ, in ubi sunt quartet lateribus latissimæ aperturæ Quae tapetibus exornabantur, and archiepiscopus tunc, adjuvantibus canonici, ex quartet successive apertures sanctissimum sudarium turbæ fidelium ostendebat.

"Tempore vero graviora perturbationis Galliæ, revolutionarii & impii homines omnis bonus religionisque expert, sudarium illud cum sua capsa sumpserunt & Parisios miserunt Conventum nationalem ad.

"Sudarii Parisios missio illuisque exhibitio Conventu nationalities in certa is ex registro præfecturæ alduæ Dubis (Archives of the Prefecture of Doubs) Shroud of sed quid sit factum, adhuc ignoratur.

"Quidam immigrants increbuerat rumor, sudarium fuisse Vesuntione igni traditum. Sed hoc mendosum exhibetur documented Certis quibus probatur sudarium Parisios missum & Conventui exhibitum nationalities, of quo nihil decrevit in 'session sua 7 Prairial. 11 (May 26, 1794) in four of transmisso Shroud dominus Veal, Collis regions Aurea deputatus Legislator (MP for the Gold Coast), narrationem habuit; Unde spes remanet quod non sudarium destructum fuer, sed alicubi lateat in chartophylaxiis.

"Sunt jam Plusquam 15 anni ex quo assiduam sudarii investigationem instituendam Duxi: nec tempori, expenses & perscrutationibus cujusvis peperci generis, ut vel quoddam illius vestigium detegerem. Denique nullimode officio meo ut deessem, a committee of Borde, archivio generali Imperil præposito, anno hoc ipso decurrimus quem (1862) obtinui ut mihi specialis ex omnibus archiviorum custodibus daretur that I dirigente & districtim præcipiente necnon & reward, exactissimam inquisitionem Denuo inciperet & perficeret. Custos ily history in a materiis appressed versatus determinatum me, consentiente D. committee of Borde, mandatum habet omnes omnino charts, documentation & absconditiores archiviorum recessus detegendi, invisendi, percurrendi & ad analysim traducendi, ut reperiatur if possibile sit, aliquis Sanctissima sudarii nostri notitia. Jam has sex mensibus Labor inchoatus is ille, and revolutionized usquedum omnia tempora & Servat Monumenta per ordinem examinentur, perseverabit scrutator, nec spe destitutus remaneo.

"Ergo Postulo ut vel saltem tanquam insignis istius lintei hucusque apud devotions celebrate adeo memoria. Sanctissima Sudarii nobis officium intactum remaneat, praesenti solamen & pignus future. "

XIII.

BONIFACIO. - THE T. R. P. SANTONI, Vicar General of the diocese and of the high seminary of Ajaccio, Rohault M. de Fleury.

Ajaccio December 12, 1866.

"Sir, I regret having taken so long to send you the information you kindly ask me. I have not been able to get them earlier.

"I am sending you a letter as a resident of Bonifacio wrote to his son, a student of our seminar on the origin of this relic of the True Cross.

"May these various details will be of use in the noble and holy work you have undertaken & on which I pray God to pour out his blessing ...

Bonifacio, December 7, 1866.

"My dear son, about the relic of the Holy Cross, he arrived in Bonifacio was the effect of a storm which forced a Spanish ship, which he was owner, to make a vow to make this gift precious relic to the first church that the boat would have noticed. In approaching the vicinity of Bonifacio, the church of St. Francis, currently owned by the Capuchin Fathers, was, by its topographic position, the first to be seen by the ship, which, having gained the harbor, hastened to execute his wish by making a submission to the church, then owned by the Franciscan Fathers Cordeliers. The council of elders (municipal body), given the importance of the subject, that such deliberations would be carried relic in the parish of St. Mary Major and that she would be embedded in the thick wall of the dome, the above the choir, closed two locks, one key was held by the priest and the other by the podesta (mayor). This precaution was taken by the reason that in that time, all the priests were almost always of the Genoese, which could detach a small plot. Also be aware that this huge relic was not accompanied by a title of authenticity that they are frequently almost miraculous effects made by it that forced the world to give them faith, really I who am in my sixty-eighth year, I can say that whenever she went out in procession on the occasion of a great storm, almost always two or three hours after the storm ceased. The municipal body was first decided that this relic would be out in procession every time there was a public or shortage or a big storm, and why there should have the consent of the podesta to be able to go out, then it have published four times a year on the holy altar to give the blessing to the people, that is to say, Christmas Day, Easter Day, the day of Pentecost & the Feast of the Epiphany. .. Martolaccio historian Bonifacio, making a narrative of the habits of the population in 1500 Bonifacio, Bonifacio said in particular that was possessing a finger of St. Peter Martyr, the Dominicans, and a huge piece of the true holy cross Greek form.

XIV.

BORDEAUX. - I. Concept of the relics of the holy thorn & the relics of the true cross owned by the church of Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux, by the Abbe Dupuy, former pastor retired priest & Auxiliary of Holy Cross, with the during the flight of the holy thorn, May 7, 1853.

"The church of Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux has a precious remains of the crown of thorns ... She at least 4 inches in length. She used part of the relics of the monastery of the Benedictines of Bordeaux. Daughter of a holy order, Griot's sister, who died centenary in 1851, and we saw several times, had been fortunate to save this precious relic in 1793 in the cleverly concealing the fury of the revolutionaries sacrilegious. She hastened, as soon as circumstances allowed him, to put it back in the hands of the Abbe de Bournareau, named after the revolutionary storm in the parish of Sainte-Croix. At certain times of the year, during the octave of the Invention & of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (May & September), the holy spine is exposed to the veneration of the faithful ... It is enclosed in a crystal tube very thick and a silver reliquary, a job & a remarkable value.

"On May 7, 1853, about two o'clock in the afternoon, a young man had been seen prowling in the interior of the church, climbed, with the rapidity of lightning, the steps of altar, removes the sacred object that was to deposit the Abbe Dupuy.

"A few hours later, the culprit is arrested, the spine was found, buried in the ground with one of the most beautiful oak trees of a wood near the cemetery in Valencia. At five o'clock, the bells of the church of Sainte-Croix, launched at random, announced, and the parish clergy celebrated, its songs of joy, with the liveliest joy, discovery of the divine treasure, which was carried triumphantly into the sanctuary. The relic, enclosed in a crystal tube, was separated from the reliquary. It had been broken & was found a few days later.

"The new shrine no longer contains, as before 1853. the relics of the True Cross, which are now in a special shrine is shaped silver monstrance. The relics of the True Cross, enclosed in the new shrine, are of a different date.

"One part comes from the Benedictine ..., enclosed in the shrine of the holy thorn, which is pulled in 1853 alone, the other part was given to Mr. Gignoux Berrouet by Bishop, Bishop of Beauvais.

"As for the genuine relics of these two, I think seeing them in the papers of Mr. Berrouet, several years ago, checking the various acts & shares he owned for many years. Still one more. "

II. - EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM THE ABBE DUPUY.

Bordeaux 27 October 1868.

"..... This holy thorn few scholars who have seen it, Juncus acutus call does it come from Paris or elsewhere? No one can say ... we have more authentic ...

"We also have the Brothers in Bordeaux, Saint-Charles, relics of the True Cross & a piece of the holy thorn. If you need information, I could give you. The authentic, I've seen are still perfectly preserved ... "

III. - THE ABBE DUPUY to Abbe Solomon, a professor at the College of Bosas in charge of liturgical information.

January 4, 1867.

"..... My statement was not exaggerated by giving at least 4 inches in length to the Holy Thorn St. Croix. I measured from the presence of Mr. Rodier 5 inches ... She ... 3mm in size to the base. It ends in a point like a large needle, like almost every point with long thorns of these plants found in abundance on the edge of the Ciron & Leyre, and commonly called Jaugu or gorse species of Juncus acutus, in the opinion of the late Mr. Timothy Lacombe. Aged by the time she now has the ashy color.

"As for the relic of the true cross, which our church is in possession since the beginning of the century, it has 35mm high. The transverse arm is a little longer, it has 40mm in length. Both are relics since 1853 in a separate reliquary. Before the flight of the holy thorn, part was in the same shrine of the holy thorn, which it was separated from 30 to 40mm. As for that which comes from Bishop of Beauvais (1853), it is somewhat similar to its predecessor, about 10mm thick.

"As for authentic, it is useless to ask Berrouet heirs, they have no ...

"..... The relics of the holy thorn & of the true cross owned by the Brothers of Bordeaux ... are very small. The holy thorn has 9mm in length similar in color to that of Holy Cross.

"The relic of the True Cross has about 5mm of length as the amount. Thickness of 1mm; chocolate color. The Brothers have the authentic, I read several times ... "

IV. - M. L'ABBE DUPUY.

"..... I also blessed with a relic of the True Cross ... It is a memory of a former prison chaplain of Bordeaux. I believe he had received this relic of the late Archbishop Cardinal Cheverus, archbishop of Bordeaux.

"..... Length 4mm, cross, 3 mm 1 / 2, dropping two fragments, about 2mm ... chocolate brown ...

"..... There are two other relics of the True Cross in the diocese: one in the chapel of the Jesuits, rue Margaux in Bordeaux, the other in a church in Libourne. "

XV.

Bourbon l'Archambault. - Bishop de Dreux-Breze, Bishop of Moulins, wrote to Mr. Rohault by sending the following information:

Abbe Dehosier to Abbe Clostre.

Bourbon, September 20, 1866.

"Father, I send you some information that's made me ask our Bishop relic of the True Cross. The notice of the author of Journey of the colorful old shrine is fairly accurate, but is not true either St. Louis that has brought the holy cross holy places. This is Baldwin, emperor of Constantinople, who donated it after he learned that the holy king had bought from the Venetians the crown of thorns. St. Louis gave to his son Robert, Sire de Bourbon, the fragment we have considerable blessed with, with a thorn detached from the holy crown.

"Yours, & c., & c. ..

"Dimensions of the precious relic of the Holy Cross given by St. Louis to his son Robert, lord of Bourbon:

"The lower part of the relic was 150mm in height at the top, 70mm, medium, 30mm, 250mm total height. Braces each have 70mm, the width of the relic is 30mm, and thickness of about 2 to 3 mm.

"The spine is 60mm long, 2mm thick at the base, and ends in needle point. The Holy Thorn is a bit dark. - The relic of the True Cross is, as stated by the author of the travel scenic Bourbonnais, a little red, polished on the exposed to the eyes, but rough underneath. - One sees a few spots in the wood; these spots, they said, were none other than blood stains, but after having carefully examined with a magnifying glass, I think I can ensure that it is a mistake. "

XVI.

BOURGES. - Bishop of La Tour d'Auvergne, Archbishop of Bourges,

MR Rohault Fleury.

Bourges, October 20, 1865.

Sir, no one has deprived me long enough until the honor to reply to your letter 4 current, and thank you for the facsimile that you have been kind enough to send me. Our poor lost treasure to the Revolution nearly all its wealth of old, we have no thorns or nails. It only remains for us a piece of the true cross, large enough to be sure, you get these days a reproduction. It measures approximately 80mm long by 15mm wide.

"The Cathedral of Arras has a piece of the true cross even greater, and a spine that looks good, in fact, its size, derived from acacia triacanthos. I give you this detail by the way, in the thought that perhaps the wealth of Artois in this kind you are not known.

"Accept, & c., & c. ..."

XVII.

BRUSSELS. - Mr. STINGLAMBERT, BRUSSELS, Rohault Mr. Fleury.

Notice sure the relic of Saint-Bon, preserved in the church of St. Gudula, Brussels.

"Among the many relics which the Archdukes Albert and Isabella enriched the church of Saint Michael & Gudula, the most notable is a large piece of the Holy Cross with 14 inches in height by half an inch thick, in 2 inches wide, and in the length of the piece which forms the cross, 7 inches.

"Florent III, Count of Holland, had in the time of the Crusades, received the precious treasure in the Holy Land, in the sequel, it belonged to various persons of distinction, until at last the vicar apostolic Vosmer, Archbishop of Philippi, gave it to LL. AA. Albert & Isabelle.

"On January 7, 1650, this precious relic was given by the Archbishop of Malines, Jacques Boonen, in terms of the church of St. Gudula, in execution of the will of the Infanta Isabella, the archbishop ordered to place before the cross a host consecrated to Jesus Christ was worshiped in the same wood on which he died for the salvation of men. It was in honor of this relic of pious foundations, the Archbishop granted indulgences & for over a century, we saw increased devotion to the Holy Cross in this church.

"But the Revolution, which broke out in France, came to its ravages in our country, and in the hideous plunder of the church of St. Gudula, in March 1793, the relic of the Holy Cross was stripped of its precious ornaments & broken into two pieces, one is fortunately managed to recover, and who, in May of that year, were recognized by the Apostolic Nuncio, on the testimony of Dean & other ecclesiastical to be the pieces that had been honored in that church. The shrine was rebuilt, the two parts of the holy cross linked by a thread of red silk, sealed with the seal of the Apostolic Nuncio, were given in this shrine. The return of the precious relic was solemnly celebrated September 29, 1793. The devotion of the faithful in the Holy Cross was soon interrupted again by a second invasion of the French in this country, and since that unhappy time, decreased so that the inhabitants of Brussels seemed not to know the treasure which their ancestors were fond of show their deep respect. To revive this laudable devotion, we shall celebrate solemnly the feast of the Holy Cross in the church of St. Gudula, and to expose every Friday of the year, the relic of the Holy Cross on the altar of the Holy Sacrament of miracle, from the first to the last mass. "

Brussels, December 10, 1866.

"Sir ... I have the exact measurements of the relic. We opened the reliquary for me, and I took measurements on the relic itself.

"The tree of the cross is one piece, it measures 470mm in height. It was broken during the Revolution, in 1793, both parties have been joined together by a ribbon & bears a stamp at both ends. Formed by breaking chips, however well adjusted they are, may need to be deducted because of light gaps, 5mm far I have just given.

"The cross is not one piece, as far as I could judge, having seen the cross only one side, I do not know if the cross from behind the tree is not solution of continuity. This ferry is 275mm, which should be inferred about 30mm, if it offers a solution of continuity, the tree has, indeed, about 30mm wide at this point.

"The tree, at both ends, like a cross, 65mm wide, it will, and the crosses, narrowing to the point of intersection. The thickness of the wood is 14mm.

"This relic goes to Brussels to the largest known. She was saved from pillage in which perished all the treasure of our cathedral through the low value of the material that makes up the shrine, it is copper.

"The color of the wood of old oak that are blackened, we find no highly visible veins, the fibers are very tight & leave see that these gaps, these pores would close in the oak.

"At the bottom of the tree is a hole large enough, the walls are torn. It is said that is where the nail was planted which pierced the feet of our Lord.

"At the same shrine is a thorn from the crown of Jesus Christ, perfectly preserved.

"At certain times of the year is placed on the relic of the true cross a consecrated host, and it offers the same Christ on the cross for the veneration of the faithful."

Brussels 25 March 1867.

"..... I can finally satisfy you about the relic of the true Corix owned our cathedral. I just left the chemist who was kind enough to lend itself to my desire.

"Seeing the size of the piece, he found it unnecessary to submit a plot under a microscope. He confined himself to the study through a magnifying glass powerful.

"The character of the wood resin of the family trees & pines. The chemist believes it is well to say that cedar wood and is based on the identity found between the wood and the coffins of some Egyptian mummies he had the opportunity to study, and that he be recognized in cedar ... "

XVIII.

CADOUIN. Dabert Bishop, Bishop of Périgueux, Mr. Fleury Rohault

Périgueux, September 30, 1866.

"Sir, I trust you will forgive me the delay which tested my answer to your interesting letter from the current 17, I received it in the middle of our pastoral retreat, and this long occupation was followed by a Another I'm not out yet.

"Your letter, sir, happened to me when I was surrounded by my priests, I have read a number of them, and we all thanked our Lord for the inspiration that you had given to write to the relics of the holy Passion & pain, and made unanimous wishes for completion & publication of your valuable work.

"I sincerely believe that our shroud of Cadouin deserves a place in the pages that you prepare. You will please may study its history, and I am persuaded that, according to this study, you will not hesitate to share my belief in this regard.

"I have no time to absolutely go into any details, I'll do better. We learned in our two very distinguished Périgord, who have & are still at the present moment of profound studies on the Shroud of Cadouin. I would be happy that you wished you to contact them ...

"These honorable gentlemen will give you, sir, all the information you could want on our Shroud. One of them, Mr. Delpit, was willing to, at my request, the detailed account of this great festival this month in five Cadouin and is in press, and I am pleased to send a copy, and my pastoral letter & more circular.

"Mr. the Vte de Gourgues prepares his side a solid & strong work, in which he develops all the titles of veneration to the Holy Shroud universalle.

"In addition to the shroud, we have yet to Cadouin a thin piece of the sacred banner, and, on the silk underwear which this parcel is still attached, very visible footprint of a long party that has disappeared.

"Thank you again for sending your two boards & details which you have accompanied them, and I beg you to accept the assurance of my respectful Sentimir.

JOSEPH, Bishop of Périgueux" & Sarlat."

XIX.

CARPENTRAS. - Historical Notice of the holy Emperor Constantine jaws preserved in the church of St. Siffrein in Carpentras, by Father Ricard (). We read in the general dictionary Moreri, Article CROSS: "Calvin, faïsses a review on the number of nails of our Lord, in fourteen or fifteen, to show that there is superstition or falsehood . He says the Milanese boast of having one that was put to the jaw of the horse of Constantine that the inhabitants of Carpentras claim to have the same nail, there was an end in Rome in the Church of St. Helena & c., & c. (Page 9).

"..... Saint Charles Borromeo, who applied a common nail against the precious relic of the saint is venerated as the nail in the metropolitan church of Milan, gave it to King Philip II of Spain, and received it with great reverence. In Rome, the Basilica of the Holy Cross, one gives as relics nails exactly consistent with that found in the church and who have touched. After that, it is permitted to worship on a par with the original (page 12).

"..... In 553 during the General Council of Constantinople, the Emperor Justinian I and bishops who composed this assembly, resolved to force the pope to condemn Virgil plainly heretical writings known as the three chapters, he prescribed a formula oath, in which the holy jaws is specifically expressed. The formula in full, as Baluze gives in his Supplement to the councils of the P. Labbe (page 26):

"Blessed Pope Vigilius swore at most pious emperor, in the presence of us," Theodore, Bishop de'Césarée in Cappadocia, and Cathegus, patrician, by virtue of the holy nails "with which our Lord was crucified, and by the four holy Gospels, and especially "by virtue of the brake sacred, that unites mind & heart to the pious congregation, for the" conviction & the curse of the three chapters, that say, the writings of Theodore of "Mopsuestia, the letter attributed to EBAS & Théordoret works against faith" against the Orthodox & said twelve chapters of Cyril. "

"Mr. of Bournareau, Vicar General Mgr & official of Vignoli, bishop of Carpentras, in 1780, said in formal terms, in the book because the archives of the chapter: "The Saint" nail in Carpentras was brought by a soldier of the country under the reign of Bishop Andreas "(1200-1209) ()."

"It was at that time (the fall of Constantinople in 1204) that various churches enriched relics that were brought from the capital of the Eastern Empire. King Philippe-Auguste then acquired a piece of the true cross, hair & diapers for the baby Jesus, a thorn from the crown of the Lord, a piece of his purple robe, with a tooth & one side of the Apostle Philip. These relics were sent him by Baldwin, Count of Flanders, elected emperor of Constantinople, after the capture of that city. He had learned from the palace chapel Bucoleon. Garnier, bishop of Troyes, enriched the church of St Helen & chief part of that of St. Philip. Braid Sarton, Canon of Piquigny, endowed the church of Amiens the head of John the Baptist. The churches of Soissons, Beauvais, Langres, Chartres were then provided with several relics that the Crusaders brought them back from luer shipping. However, since the translation of the holy jaws dates from the same time, the mere fact of its origin among us as he not a good presumptive evidence of its authenticity?

"Cottier, in the assessment he gives of this venerated relic, said:" Since it is "certain that the holy jaws no longer sees himself in Constantinople, and that of all the holy nails" that are currently exposed to public veneration in various places of the Christian world, "there is that of Carpentras, which has the shape of a jaw, it is natural to conclude that" the holy nails which is kept in Carpentras is the same as that the emperor "Constantine was making a bit, and who was honored in Constantinople ()."

"The authenticity of the Holy highlight of Trier, said the Abbe de Saint-Veran, usually" recognized. Browers & Mansenius cite a graduate of Pope St. Sylvester, in the year 327, where "it is said that St. Helena was the relic of this as well as several other" to the city of Trier, his homeland. "

"Conservation of the holy nail in the church of St. Siffrein at Carpentras.

"..... In 1793, Father Bertot is constituted owner of the relic, to avoid the desecration of the ungodly, and hides in a secret place in his country house. It is the sum of the exhibit. He gets the drop in the museum of the public library in his care as a substitute. The minutes included in the documentation # 3 is proof that this is the bit that was in the sacristy of the erstwhile parish of St. Siffrein. In 1795 he was entrusted for a time in the hands of Mr. Justiniani, priest, to be exposed to the veneration of the faithful. It provides a further report to ascertain the identity of the relic's new translation dan & the Church of St. Siffrein. Shortly after (November 24, 1802), with a letter from Mr. Cabanis, mayor of Carpentras, in which it requests the Abbot John, librarian of the city, to the delivery of that relic of M. Justiniani the priest, it receives it, in fact discharge the librarian mentioned above, and places it in the same cabinet where it was enclosed before 1793.

"Authors who recognize the holy nail Carpentras for the holy jaws.

"Father Browers, in his annals of Trier ": ... Carpentras in Gaul venerated with "great devotion nail another saint of our Lord."

"Godeau, Bishop of Vence, History of the Church.

"Richard Simon, largest dictionary of the Bible, Cross Section. Fontanini, Dissertatio ferrea corona.

"Baillet, Vie des Saints," The nail that had been forged brake horse of Constantine, "Saint Gregory of Tours shows you the time & retained its attributed to him" under a lot of ... We do not know at what time or by whom this check was made of "Constantinople in the West, but it seems to be the one we honor in Carpentras ()."

"Travel writing two Benedictine ()" Carpentras also claims to have a nail "that our Lord was crucified, and the very one that the Emperor Constantine began to brake" of his horse. There are five hundred years that the seal of the chapter uses this nail is "shaped horse bit ()."

XX.

CHABLIS. - THOMAS M. L'ABBE, senior priest in Chablis,

A M. de Fleury Rohault

"Chablis, 19 August 1866.

"Sir, I am pleased to send you the design you ask for the precious relic of the holy crown I want Dom Dieuze, treasurer of the Abbey of St. Denis, who himself had detached the crown at the time of removal of relics Treasure (1793). This relic is very similar to that of Notre Dame, so it rushes. You can still find the rod in the Ladies of Calvary & in PP. Jesuit Vaugirard. You must know the record of historical relics of the Passion, by M. Gosselin, and gives explanations about this very plausible.

"There is a church of the canton of a thorn perfectly authentic Chablis can have two inches in length, its color is white.

"The treasure of Sens also has a plot, remains a thorn given by King St. Louis, its color is that of the spine described above ..."

XXI.

CHALET. - "In that church Chalette in Gâtinais, finds himself a thorn from the crown of our Lord, the length of a finger, and very hard, which was brought in the said church by Isabeau, Chalette lady when her husband Ancelot of Machau, Grand Chamberlain of King Philip the Fair, traveled to the city of Tunis, in Barbary (). "

XXII.

CHALINARGUES. - THE ABBE LAMOUROUX Rohault M. de Fleury, June 10, 1867.

"The Church of Chalinargues, diocese of Saint-Flour, has a plot of the true cross, having approximately the height & size of a finger of the hand. It is dark brown, and the grain appears to be that of cedar, it is quite late & united, although the humidity is a little tarnished color. There is one side of the plot a growth of wood like a bud ready to bloom in a darker color. Looks like a peg driven into the relic.

"... It comes from the treasury of the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Baldwin emperor of Constantinople, made a present to Philip Augustus, who gave it to the abbey of Saint-Denis, where she was distracted at the time of the Revolution from 89 to 93, by the Abbe Gregoire, ex -conventional, constitutional bishop of Blois, when the melting is converted into money & all the sacred vessels and all the shrines. The Abbe Gregoire, dying, left this piece of the true cross to Father Labouderie, his friend, the vicar of Paris, from Chalinargues with the record evidencing the authenticity & the origin of this relic. Mr. Labouderie, before dying, confided this precious souvenir to Mr. Delloc, a lawyer in Paris, his countryman, with orders to send it to Chalinargues, their church & home parish.

"This is the way, sir, we have this important relic since 1854 ... The parcel to Mr. Delloc was almost double, but he had sold half of kindness to the Baroness Mounier, wife of the former peer of France, in the presence of M. Marmier, Senior Counsel to the Crown & Supreme Court, who shall certify in writing & the safest way.

"Baroness Mounier has examined the relic by the Archbishop of Paris, and that the minutes signed by the Abbe Gregoire ... It was declared authentic by Bishop & certified Sibour, his vicar general secretary Egle & Lagarde ... The bishop of Saint-Flour examined all the parts & declared them an incontestable truth ... "

XXIII.

Chatillon-sur-Loing. - "A Chatillon-sur-Loing, five leagues from Montargis, the wood of the Holy Cross in a head money expanded several other relics ()."

XXIV.

CHELLES. - Note given by the Abbe Denis, canon of Meaux. "From the inventory of the relics of the royal abbey of Notre-Dame de Chelles (former diocese of Paris).

- The inventory is the beginning of a manuscript history preserved in the major seminary of Meaux.

"A thorn from the crown of our Lord, - the true cross - the blood miracle" - the cords of the whip which he was beaten - the column where he was scourged, - links "with his holy hands were linked - his clothes, - the shroud in which he was buried, "- the sponge - his tomb ..."

XXV.

CYPRUS. - In July 1727 Basil Barsky being in Cyprus visited the monastery of Sainte-Croix very high on a mountain in four hours' walk from the city of Larnaca. He found a piece of sacred wood. It traces the construction of the monastery to St. Helena, who made a great cross arsheens 3 (2m 15) & y put a significant portion of the true cross.

In 1736, the same pilgrim returning to Cyprus Leskapia lives near the monastery, a magnificent temple, owner of a large plot of the true cross from St Helena yet.

In 1735 he had seen in the same island, Oliodous, a part of the rope that tied our Lord, we do not know its origin.

In 1743, for the fourth time going to the island of Chios visit a famous monastery built by Constantine in the eleventh century, he found a significant piece of the True Cross ().

We read in the Weekly Bulletin of the work of the Propagation of the Faith (), letters on the island of Cyprus:

"Relic of the Good Thief. - The Chapel of Holy Cross is on the top neighbor. We are surprised, after climbing painfully fast path that leads, not to meet a humble sanctuary that seems recent & has absolutely nothing remarkable. The interior is arranged according to the Greek rite, and the fathers of St. Barbara is from time to time to say mass. It shows the pilgrims they claim to be a relic of the wood of the true cross. But the size of this fragment, the carelessness with which it is kept in a hole in the wall, wrapped in a cloth bad, abandonment where the sanctuary owner of this relic, cast doubt on its authenticity.

"The current tradition is that Cypriots schismatic St. Helena, after the invention of the Holy Cross, embarked with his treasure, and released in Cyprus. Charmed by the wonderful situation of Mount Olympus, the pile is determined to transform the Princess Mecca of Venus in a sanctuary of prayers and Christian virtues. She built a large monastery where she placed some of the true cross, or to make this place more venerable, or to tame the demons & chain that still had a strange power in Cyprus. That's where Mount Olympus took the name of Holy Cross. Shapeless ruins which cover the top of the mountain, the sections of wall of enormous thickness, show that there was much construction is going back to a true antique, and nothing is refused to attribute the origin or reconstruction to St. Helena.

"Under the rule of Lusignan, the Christians, probably better informed than those of today did not believe, while admitting that the monastery of the Holy Cross was founded by St. Helena, that the relic to be preserved was a fragment of the True Cross. Here's what we read in the relations of Oger, lord of Anglure, who visited Cyprus in 1395: "On this mountain Saincte Cross, holy cross which Helena sent the" good thief hanging on the fust Destre of our Lord Jesu-Crist. Thereof holy cross is "virtues and moult grant is wonderful thing to veoir. Thereof know that holy cross "which the good thief was hanged, Ms. holy Helena, Constantine's mother, brought & mist" in the most haulte mountain the whole kingdom of Cyprus, where mountain, for "truth, is wort haulte & pénable to address. "

"So if we do not find the true cross on this mountain of Cyprus, the relic was venerated there, however, a great price, especially now that the piety of many faithful likes to honor specially Dichmas saint, the good thief. .. "

Rohault DeFleury - Memoire Sur Les Instruments De La Passion - Book 2

2011-12-22T18:53:00.001-05:00

BOOK II

CHAPTER I

SAINTS NAILS

The main instrument of death of our Lord & his remains have been described in the preceding book, the nails, which are virtually part of the cross, will be currently the subject of our studies. We saw how they were employed, we still have to know their number, shape, and to examine in detail their relics, which Christians believe they are blessed with in various cities, and in various forms. In describing these relics, we will seek their relationship with the nails of Calvary.

1.
NUMBER OF NAILS.

The first question that arises is that of numbers. Unfortunately, on this subject, the authors & artists have used the same freedom qui'ils were given for the shape of the cross have one assumes four, only three others.

The secular authors who have occupied the crucifixion are always talking about four nails. Plautus did tell one of his characters, sending a slave to the cross Affigantur bis pedes, bis manuscript. Ulpian and translated a passage from Demosthenes: be attached to the cross with nails.

The latest excavations, which were discovered in the foundations of the paintings of St. Clement, showed a crucifix, feet apart.

All Greek paintings represent our Lord attached to the cross with four nails. In this respect we must have confidence in a people who so faithfully preserves everything that is traditional material, such as leavened bread, shape due baptism, & tc. Instead the Albigensians, who all corrupt, representing the Virgin with one eye, and our Lord crucified with three nails.

"A picture of a crucifix of cedar wood, attributed to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, hidden disciple of our Lord crowned, wearing a long sleeved dress, stockings & feet apart. Another crucifix of cedar wood, attributed to St. Luke, the companion of St. Paul, kept at Sirola, near Ancona, shows both feet nailed separately. A third, the time of Pope John VIII (706), was executed in mosaic in the interior of the old basilica of St. Peter, and also has four nails. A fourth silver, preserved in the treasury of St. Peter, given by Charlesmagne to Leo III (815), at the coronation of the emperor in Rome, has four nails. The misfortunes of the times have forced Julius III, in 551, to melt the crucifix to use it to pious uses, we did, before destroying it, a plaster cast, which is preserved in the treasury of the temple round St. Andrew's, currently known as the St. Mary of the fevers.

"A very gradual former St. Gregory, on parchment, of the eleventh century, representing the crucifixion in his miniature with four nails. It is the same in a very ancient mosaic bearing the image of Jesus Christ. There was in Alexandria, Egypt, a silver crucifix, with four nails. It is kept current in Rome. "

Gretz, Justus Lipsius, Ricci, St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, martyred in 249, Rufinus, Doctor of the Church in the fourth century, Theodoret, bishop of Cyrus in Syria, who flourished at the beginning of the fifth century St. Augustine to 430, Innocent XIV (1200), Cardinal Baronius, Cardinal Tolet the sixteenth century, vote all of this.

Saint Gregory of Tours, in his book on the glory of martyrs, says: "Two nails are driven into the hands, two in the feet. One wonders what for those feet, in the cross of our Lord seem to hang rather than build. But it is clear that the amount there is a hole, that hole in the bottom of a small table has been inserted, and finally the feet of Jesus Christ have been set on the shelf. "

The Abbe Martigny says that Cimabue & Margaritone are the first to be given the license, in their large painted crucifix that still exist in the Holy Cross in Florence, to place one foot on each other & to fix them with a single nail. So to the thirteenth century that Italy has adopted this usage, while that which prevailed in France & Spain, like in the earliest paintings to separate the feet of the crucifix. Rocca said that this practice is neither reasonable nor old, and is due at the caprice of artists.

Among the authors, according to Rocca, the poet Nonnus & St. Gregory Nazianzen are alone in this opinion.

"The first reason to use two nails attached to the foot is in the facility had to seek the executioners. Can we in fact rely on the patience of the victim who should make an effort to remove the foot from below while the other one pierced, and the nail based on something soft & without resistance, would he not escape the blows of the hammer? "

That is the view of doctors I consulted and who believe more that in such a system, it was impossible not to break bones. We know that the bones of our Lord should not be broken. A painter trying to paint a crucifix, as usual modern Italian, had tried to be a model by attaching the feet of one another, he told me he had never been able to fix it in a position suitable. The legs move apart, the load becomes enormous hands, the belly moves forward, so that the body would have to attach a strap to the amount of the cross.

The large number of nails regarded as relics of the Passion of Our Lord was seeking if we did not use more than four during the crucifixion. The authors said there were fourteen & have sought to; are found in the assemblies of the cross. I do not think so. The iron was then a rare metal, which is does not provide more in Judea and Rome or in Gaul, we must therefore use only the nails are strictly necessary to secure the cross members, and perhaps from very small to attach the title. The good thief's cross that we see in Rome, Holy Cross of Jerusalem, that ankle has to attach the cross to the amount. The small model of a cross made of wood sanctified, and preserved at St. Peter's in Rome from great antiquity, is attached to the ankles. The support should be assembled in a similar way. The carpenter who had made probably did not have acted otherwise than for the trave rse: and we know that all the old structures were pegged. Let us recall once again the text of St. Gregory of Tours, quoted earlier, and well aware that the assembly of this media entering a hole in the amount.

Nails should be very large to support the weight of the body & to wound large enough that our Lord could say to St. Thomas to put his finger. The reason here is, as always, agree with the Fathers.

II.

INVENTION OF THE NAILS.

Saint Gregory of Tours speaks of the invention and nails "nails of the cross of the Lord had blessed maintained its members were discovered by Queen Helena after the invention of the cross itself." Socrates said also that the nails that had fastened the hands of Christ were found with the cross. Bosio, according to Socrates & Nicephorus Callistus in the history of the Church, says that St. Helen found them in the tomb, as is the custom to confine convicts with the instruments of their torture. It is known that among the Jews, their bodies could not be placed in public graves.

By removing our Lord, the nails had to be pulled out before the deposition, because the head could not get through nails in the flesh. Some authors have claimed that they had been placed in the holes, but what plausible reason can be given of such an operation? The nails were probably thrown to the ground, as the progress of the deposition, and the crown and the title. Now all that came of our Lord was so precious that those who had laid him collect these relics easy to carry, which they later joined the Shroud linen & countless who have served in the burial of the divine victim. These are all things that St. Helena received, or in pious faithful who had received from their fathers, or even in the tomb. She took care of the first principal of the cross, and then, after she was found, post inventionem, she sought the objects incidental, it is easily procured by means of large sums of money that she had brought with her to this destination.

The story does not specify the invention of the title, crown and other relics, it does for the nails, as the only necessary complement of punishment, and as the most nails, as the only necessary complement of punishment, & as the greatest treasure after the cross. It was useless to do so have it all, and it succeeded because the relics that we still are from the same source, of Constantinople.

III.

HISTORY OF THE NAILS.

Saint Helena together with the precious remains of the instruments of the Passion & disposed of the cross, as we have seen, used a nail to the jaw of the horse of his son, another for the helmet, and threw a third the sea to calm a storm. Saint Gregory of Tours says that the fourth was fixed at the head of the statue of Constantine, Sozomen Theodoret, Ambrose, see this as a duplicate, and merge it with the helmet. St. Ambrose speaks only of two nails: De uno clavo frænos fieri præcepit of Altero-intexuit diadema, ad unum decorum, alterum ad devotionem green ... These two nails, according to Socrates, were used to tie the hands.

It is difficult at first to realize the reason that St. Helena has committed to use a nail from the cross of our Lord to make a horse bit. St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Ambrose, Theodoret, Gregory of Tours to recognize the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah (ch. XIV, V. 20): "What is put on the brake horse pleases the Lord. "

St. Helena will probably not put nails in the whole helmet, or in the jaws of the horse of Constantine & diving into the sea on the fourth, it will present to the fact that water, so that the touch calmed the fury of the waves. The story does not say if she left him.

The holy nails were stored at Constantinople until 550, the holy jaws until the thirteenth century. No doubt some in the West was transported by St. Gregory the Great, legate of the Holy See to Constantinople, whence he returned to Rome in 585, with very valuable relics, among which there were some few of the Passion of Our Lord.

IV.

RELICS OF THE NAILS.

To explain the large number of nails scattered throughout the world, claimed that all the assemblies of the cross had been held with nails, there were the crosses of the cross, medium, title, & c. We said what we thought of these opinions without foundation. How can we suppose, moreover, in the rush of the testimony, that they had removed? It would have been a long & difficult operation for the disciples to unseal the cross, which had to remain in place, the faithful n'enlevèrent what did not, as the nails need to remove the torn bodies, registration, crown, sponge, & c.

It is more reasonable to believe that their multiplicity () is that quelquesuns were combined with some of the actual filings, and () a small amount of one of them, inserted into one common nail, just to replace the image to the real nail. In addition, it has manufactured models that hit the real relics, and which in the last days have been taken for the relic itself. It is known, among other things, that St. Charles Borromeo sent one of these nails Phillippe II, King of Spain.

Niquet speaks only of those of Saint-Denis, Carpentras, Rome, Trier, Vienna, Milan.

According to the indication of Richa, I looked & saw in Florence, at the Convent degli Angioli, a nail, according to the inscription that accompanies it, was one of twelve built with one of those Our Lord & a mixture of iron Estrange.

If this information is accurate, these twelve nails & what remained of the real, as the jaws of Carpentras, could suffice for a whole ten relics & seven or eight authentic fragments (ch. XIII, 5).

Just post here Fontanini, places where we venerated the holy nails:

1o Aix la-Chapelle. 13o Nuremberg, Church of the Blessed Virgin.

2o Ancona, in the cathedral. 14o Paris.

3o Bamberg. 15o Rome, nails:

Holy Cross in Jerusalem.

Santa Maria in Campitelli-.

4o in Bavaria dAndechsen convent. 16o Siena, Hospital Sainte-Marie-de-l'Echelle.

5o Carpentras, the holy jaws. 17o Spoleto.

6o Catania in Sicily. 18o Torcello, near Venice, Saint-Antoine.

7o Colle in Tuscany. 19o Torno, on Lake Como, Milan.

8o Cologne. 20o Toul.

9o Escurial in Spain. 21o Trier

10o Milan. 22o Venice, three nails.

11o Monza. 23o Vienna, Austria

12o Naples, Monastery of St. Patrick.

To these towns it is advisable to add other Fontanini omitted.

1o Arras, according to Mr. Linas expensive. 4o Florence.

2o Compiegne, a point. 5o Lagny.

3o Krakow, Poland (after) Gosselin). 6o Troyes.

Twenty-nine cities have at least then, or think they have real nails of the crucifixion of our Lord, making thirty-two, counting two to three Rome & Venice. It is not surprising that much if we go back to what we have said above, and if we think that the nature of these relics suitable for a large division, each, Strictly speaking, the model that remains, could have a piece of the real.

We have seen a large number of nails were revered as having one of those who were used to crucify our Lord. It should not be attached to such relics of the same mind as those of the true cross. In the nomenclature of the plots of the latter, we have, by collecting all carefully demonstrated their identity with sacred wood & truthfulness, according to the thinness of the parcels that could increase without the need of the distortion .

For nails, the devotion of the peoples proceeded differently. Certainly we did not fully to their original condition & all of our Lord. The ease that gave their material to multiply, by including in each model a plot of the true relic, has significantly increased, and what should surprise us in these circumstances is not to see more.

Some, or at least some fragments, we can be reached without having been tampered with. In shape, the authenticity of their history, we used to try to discern those who are either imitations with insertion of iron sacred, or only desw models that would touch that.

ARRAS. - We worship in this house that I drew a nail from a burning due to the kindness of Mr. Dear Linas. (Plate XVI.)

Bamberg in Bavaria owns half of a holy nail.

CARPENTRAS. - We have seen that St. Helena had been making a bit for Constantine's horse with a nail that she had found. Some say she spent two and is more likely than it took the contrary part in the brake, completing the sacred iron with ordinary iron.

After Constantine, the relic had to be placed in the treasury of the emperors with others. The story does not mention that two centuries later and does not say that his heirs would be used, however the branches are worn by the friction rings. In 553 during the fifth general council of Constantinople & the Second, Pope Vigilius take an oath in which it is stated: "The

Plate XVI

NAILS

Nails the best known are shown on this print. The Coroner's iron Monza has about 16 centimeters in diameter and is a very thin blade of iron, A, attached to the inside of a crown of pure gold adorned with twenty-two precious stones of different colors . This remarkable relic was formerly used at the coronation of the emperors of the West.

The jaws of Carpentras saint was brought to this city from 1204 to 1226 it was the jaw of the horse of Constantine, that St. Helena was build by mixing the nail of the true cross.

The highlight of Trier was given by St. Helena herself, her art is stored at Toul.

The highlight of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem to Rome.

The highlight of Notre-Dame de Paris.

Finally the board is completed by nails or nail fragments, in Arras, in Santa Maria in Campitelli, Rome, Colle (it is shown smaller than life).

Blessed Pope Vigilius swore at most pious emperor, in our presence, that is to say, we Theodore of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Cethegus us, patrician, by virtue of the holy nails with which our Lord was crucified, and the four Gospels, and in particular by virtue of the brake of the four sacred & holy Gospels, that they will unite heart and mind of this pious congregation. "

The highlight of Carpentras, I drew on the spot with great care, is a real horse bit, similar to those which the Romans were accustomed to use. We can see patterns in the Museum of Artillery in Paris and the Imperial Library. The inner part, called the cannon or Eperonniers mouth is 17 centimeters long. The jaw is wide: it is a net into two parts which penetrate, forming a sort of hinge. One of the loops is welded, the other is closed hot & not welded, the cannon attached two branches, each with 160mm long & 11mm in diameter. We notice at each end a sheath of silver gilt 50mm long, at the end of the mouth, that is to say, the mid-branches, hanging & two rings wide enough for two different sizes. The forging of this piece is a difficult fit with the appendix of the branches, it is neat & apparent we do not see a trace of lime. The whole jaw weighs 350 grams.

"It wrongly attributed to St. Siffrein the honor of having enriched his church a precious relic, as the holy nail was in Constantinople in 553 at the Council, and in 576 when the employed in the healing of the emperor Justin, yet Siffrein saint, bishop, 536 died in 576.

"What seems most likely is that he was captured during the Crusades, taut with other relics. It has been stolen, to be delivered be returned to Carpentras. This origin explains the secrecy that has surrounded it, the seller & buyer with the same interest in keeping it.

"The first authentic monuments of the possession of the holy jaws back to the time of the fourth crusade (1204). We find a degree in chartier of the bishopric, dating from the year 1226, beneath which we see a lead seal bearing the effigy of the saint nail. It is also an instrument of the Town Hall of 1250. An inventory of the relics mentioned in 1322. It is found during the stay of the Popes in Avignon, that is to say from 1309 to 1379. Nicolas V in 1451 granted indulgences on it.

"The misfortunes of the times, which Carpentras was more exposed than others, explains very well the lack of authenticity. Possession five centuries, under the conditions where it took place, may very well replace (1). "(Pl. XVI).

GLUE. - Tradition says that at about the ninth century, a French cardinal, returning from Rome, had received a gift of the Pope a real highlight for the return to his homeland, and his return to France he fell ill Viterbo, where he died. He had with him a priest Bibbiano two miles distant from the adhesive, and gave him the relic placed in a tube of reed enclosed in a small box. After the death of the prelate, the priest took with him the sacred trust, which he kept religiously, until, feeling his end approach, he called his mother who was a widow and told him: "You give it a sacred nail Glue the land or that of San Gimignano, whether you like the most either. You are from San Gimignano, and my late father was your husband Colle. "He added:" To remove any uncertainty, please notify the two municipalities at the same time, by announcing the gift you want them, and that most eager to become owner of the relic. "

As soon as we had received this notice in Colle, brothers of the company of the Red Cross met in the parish del Piano, went in procession to Bibbiano before the arrival of those from San Gimignano, and received the precious treasure.

In 1355 the pious bequests were made to the work of the Holy Relic. These bequests & donations have continued to this day. In 1465 the council ordered a beautiful Colle marble tabernacle, and in 1618 he made a richer silver reliquary, in the fifteenth century there was no evidence with the permission of the council: and the respect that he made was such he was not allowed even to touch models do nails (2).

How the nail was given by a pope recalls the gift of St. Charles Borromeo the King of Spain, which will be discussed further, and suggests that it could be a model that would have affected the real highlight of Rome, as we still distributes today.

As an exception, that of Colle, which I could not get the exact size has not been figured in its demension real, it has been copied to Catena (Pl. XVI).

COLOGNE. - I saw a fragment of Cologne nail set in a silver tube, 40mm in length, which should inspire confidence in the smallness of its size & the antiquity of the church.

KRAKOW. - The church of Krakow in Poland, it is said, has one that was given to King Ladislas by Cardinal Orsini (1).

ESCURIAL. - The Church of St. Lawrence to the El Escorial near Madrid retains said Corriere, a nail made with some pieces of real nails. No. Would it not rather one that would have sent St. Charles Borromeo to Philip II and that he had hit the nail in Milan?

FLORENCE. - Rich in the description of the churches of Florence (2), note a relic of a very strong interest in that it competed to explain the large number of nails revered in the world. It is kept in the church of the convent belonging to the Camaldolese Degli Angioli. Its authentic recalled in an inscription on the foot of the reliquary & tells us that one of the twelve nails that Constantine did make, by mixing a few of those fragments, which were used to crucify our Lord. Giamboni in his Diario sacro (3), describes it, noting, as Richa, the inscription which marks the origin.

After trying in vain to see this relic during previous trips to Florence, I had the good fortune to examine carefully the last. It was at the moment, very sad & very solemn, where religious Camaldolese were shamefully driven from their convent (October 1868). The Reverend Father Prior, an admirable serenity despite its serious concern, was kind enough to show me the sacred iron & allowing me to draw it. It is enclosed in a reliquary of the simplest walnut box & silver bearing the date 1585. He found there three small pieces of wood of the true cross, the sponge, the spine, & c. On the side of the shrine reads: VNVS. EX. XLL. CLAVIS.

PLATE XVII

NAILS

The highlight from the Convent degli Angioli in Florence, accompanied by a notice indicating that it is one made by order of Constantine with parcels of real nail & multiplicity explains the authenticity of such relics.

The same plate shows the highlight of Milan, few authors have wrongly confused with that of Carpentras, on the one side of Venice, and that of Siena, all in their natural size.

VAIT the coronation of the emperors. St. Ambrose, alluding to the crown, saying that a sacred nail had surrounded the head of the Emperor which he was the funeral oration. Just Fontanini, who described this as proof of its authenticity the very name given to him. The main crown is pure gold adorned with stones most precious and yet it is called the iron crown, to show that the iron in this circumstance is more precious than gold despite its low weight.

The golden crown is too small to enter the head, it can not cover the top and is open three fingers high, without rays, branches or twigs, which proves its antiquity.

The iron blade attached inside a 13mm in height, approximately 514mm development, its thickness, 1mm 16, calculated from its weight, which is 3 ounces, and its volume of about 9.000 mm (1).

PARIS. - Notre-Dame. - The highlight of Notre Dame, 90mm in length, has no head, its tip flat is intact. The forge is rough. One is two months before our visit to the July 12, 1865, an accident happened to the reliquary made to break the ice. The highlight was left bare, and in this state that I could apply it on a sheet of paper, follow the contours with a pencil &, using the four projections obtained, modeling a faithful copy.

He was formerly at St. Denis (2). "He just Charlesmagne, who received the Emperor Constantine V with several other holy relics that put him in the beautiful church built by him in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Aix-la-Chapelle, of where the Emperor Charles the Bald, his grand-son, was transferred to France & honorable place in the church of Saint-Denis. "

Bosio, who wrote in Latin, and cites a passage in French Grandes Chroniques de France, the great king Charlesmagne by Nicole Gilles:

"Returning from Jerusalem dict Charlemagne passed through Constantinople, and his fist on dict Constantine, Emperor, presents & offer great treasures of gold, silver & precious stones. But dict Charlemagne who had his work & work no compensation time, and voulet did not take anything, but he asked the Emperor dict none relics of the Passion of Jesu Christ & his saints. In this cause, saith the emperor of Constantinople gave him ung nails what our Lord Jesu Christ was crucified in his crown of thorns, which miraculeusment florist in his presence, and much of the fust of the true cross. "

William of Nangis, a contemporary of St. Louis, Reconta in the life of the king, February 17, 1232, we showed the people the holy nail, which fell from his shrine & was lost in the crowd. The king and the queen mother had a deep sorrow, and St. Louis said he would have preferred to have lost one of its largest cities. The mourning was general throughout the population, it was announced in all the places in Paris that would give a reward to whoever would bring. Finally, on 1 April, it was fortunately discovered in a mass of metal which had thrown the wife of a blacksmith, having picked up in the church as an object of little value. We exhibited again on Good Friday (1).

In 1370, Charles V gave the pope a small part.

In 1384. Clement gave this land to the Duke of Berri, who tied an iron nail embedded in the ordinary and a rich reliquary crystal.

In 1397, Charles VI made a shrine to the price of 2,000 crowns (2).

In 1445, this nail & spine, transferred to Bourges by Charles VII to avoid the English, were reported in Paris, and the third day, went to Saint-Denis.

On 1 March 1672, he was brought to Saint-Germain en Laye to do touch a king's daughter who was ill.

During the Revolution, he was introduced to the arts commission temporarily. Mr. Lelievre, from member of the Institute & Inspector General of Mines, a member of the committee, obtained permission to take this holy nail as an object of mineralogy he wanted to examine & analyze. He gave it in 1827 as Archbishop of Paris, with an oath by ensuring that it was truly the holy nail out of the treasury of the Abbey of St. Denis & saved from desecration in 1793.

Gosselin (3) in 1828 said there was two nails at Notre Dame, one from the abbey of Saint-Denis, which we just discussed, one of the abbey of Saint-Germain des Prés . It was bequeathed to the abbey in 1684 by the Princess Palatine. I made sure that there is no more than the treasury of Notre Dame. (PL XX.)

ROME. - Holy Cross in Jerusalem. - The nail that one sees in this basilica was 120mm long ½ 8mm in size to its larger size, and his head is covered with a kind of hollow in the bottom of which hat he is riveted as seen in a few nails ancient, for example those of the Library of Vaticaan (see the figure against).

Under this provision, would it not one of the twelve representations made by Constantine, which I mentioned earlier in the article on the growth of nails, and the hat would it not the symbol or the image of the Asian crown? It does not seem, indeed, willing to serve, for the slightest blow on the head fake, it would be detached.

Collin de Plancy, who doubts the authenticity of nearly all the nails, no doubt about it. We must bring back the original St. Helena. This kind of contradiction between the favorable opinion of an author skeptic and the form of the relic can be explained by making up, as I said before, the way to Constantine.

TROYES.

VENICE.

V.

CHAPTER II

THE TITLE OF THE CROSS

() 'Istory of the Passion tells us that a title (titulus) was placed at the top of the cross of Christ. It was a sign to publicize the reasons for the conviction of the convicted brought forward or attached to his neck, he was sometimes replaced by a proclamation from the town crier announcing the name of stopping crime & justice. ( ) It was prepared when our Lord left the courtroom, to precede the long route of the Via Dolorosa. The title did not at the cross, to which he was attached with nails on Calvary. Pilatus in capite ligni clavis tabulum cum nomine regis Judaeorum confixit ().

I.

TITLE OF INVENTION

Rufinus, in his Ecclesiastical History () at the end of the fourth century that he was found by St. Helena in a location other than the cross (), but at the same time (). We do not say what she did. There is no doubt however that it is not surrounded by as much veneration as the same wood of the cross (). We have been retained, at least in significant part & it's a great joy for Christians can still read this inscription, which is like the seal of our sacred history ().

II.

TITLE IN ROME

Some think that a holy woman brought the title to Rome and put him in the Basilica of St. Cross in Jerusalem, while others with more probability think that St. Helen gave it to the Eternal City, with the Cross & a host of sacred objects, including this amount of land of holy places, that the spread in the city could be called a new Jerusalem, and the magnificent church at least it was well founded in Jerusalem ().

One hundred years later, Placidius Valentinian III, son of Constantius Caesar, nephew of the emperor Arcadius & Honorius by their sister Galla Placidia, daughter of the great Theodosius, adorned with mosaics where St. Helena had put. Valentinian had, say, hidden in a wall to escape the depredations of the Huns & Goths who threatened the West, as did the Venetians themselves in similar circumstances (). More likely, we shall see just now, that was the highlight. But time has greatly altered the mosaic that marked the place, we lost the memory, lor the misfortunes of an era so disastrous to Rome (). This oversight saved him for ten centuries until this relic should return to light.

PLATE XVIII

THE TITLE OF THE CROSS IN ROME

One of the most important relics and the most authentic of the Passion of Our Lord is certainly the way of the cross, preserved in the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. It is, so to speak, a relic talking. She was sent to Rome by St. Helena, and placed in the key of the great arch of the church, which was forgotten until 1492.

This is a board of 235 mm in width, height of 130, with Greek & Latin characters, and fragments of other characters. We read up written backwards:

H A Z A P E C I И 8,

& Below: И A Z A R I S R E V И

It was argued with reasonable likelihood that the three lines were written in Latin characters with three different species (cum litteris graeca, latinas & Hebraica). These characters are hollow. The wood of the board, although heavily damaged by worms, has retained its rectangular shape. It seems that the bottom of the letters more than 30 mm could easily be read to 2m, 60 in height.

III.

DISCOVERY OF RELIC OF TITLE.

Witnesses contemporary Petronius Laelius, Paul de Mestre, Etienne Infessura, editors of a memorial of the former city of Rome, and tell the circumstances under which the relic was found in the title ().

"On the first of February 1492, we learned the great news of the victory of Granada won by the King of Spain, and the capture of the city he was besieging a long time. On the same day Rome witnessed a miracle.

"Bishop Peter Consalvi to Mendosa, Cardinal of the Holy Cross, repairing & clear his church, when the workers reached the top of the arch in the middle of the basilica near the roof, where we still see two columns, He felt a certain void, and it found a niche in which was a lead box with two palms, although close, and over a marble tablet which were engraved the words: catch is titulus vera crucis. Were found in this box a board of a palm and a half long gnawed on one side by the time, and bearing in bold letters engraved intaglio & colored red, the following inscription: Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judœrum. But the word Judœrum was not over, the last syllable rum stopped at the R, um the last two letters being dropped as a result of aging. The first line was written in Latin characters, the second in Greek characters, and the third in Hebrew characters.

"The whole town came to see him: and three days after Pope Innocent also came, and ordered to keep the relic in the box by covering a glass slide. Everyone remained convinced that we had before his eyes the inscription that Pilate put on the cross & over the head of the Saviour, and that St. Helena, mother of Constantine, the church had put in at the time of its construction. "

The top of the arch of the basilica was shown to me on the spot by the priest who reminded me of this ancient tradition. It was a place very apparent & more convenient to venerate a relic as to conceal it.

When in 1492, we examined the title & the box, we will recognize the seal of Cardinal Gerard Caccianemici, corresponding to the year 1143, which shows that the relic had been visited at that time ().

IV.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELIC

We saw in the newspaper of Rome that we are dealing with a lid & a relic. These two precious monuments have been preserved.

The cover is a clay brick 320mm on 210mm, larger than the title and can therefore be hiding the niche in which was imprisoned for a thousand years the box that contained lead. On this brick we read these words engraved with a chisel: titulus CRVCIS. Ancient literature of 50mm in height are a beautiful day (Pl. XIX).

The fragment of the title which is preserved under glass in a silver reliquary quite poor, is a small plate of 235mm wide by 130mm high, furrowed wormholes & pretend fall pouriture (Pl. XVIII).

It shows very distinctly the remains of two Greek inscriptions & Roman, and at the top, the end of a few curved lines which appear to be those of a third entry ().

The second inscription reads: NAZARPECN8I: and the third NAZARINVS RE.

The letters are slightly recessed, as if they had been drawn with this particular tool that carpenters use today to mark the wood, or simply with a small gouge. They have 28mm to 30mm. Painted in red on a white background, that I no longer noticed, they should be at the height trèsvisibles Pontius Pilate had them placed. The words are written from right to left, in the order of the Hebrew title, and the letters are reversed as if they were seen in a mirror. I drew carefully the relic of the Holy Cross & correcting on-site etching prior accurate enough.

V.

NATURE OF WOOD.

Some authors have claimed that the title was written on papyrus. It is certain that the relic is not papyrus, also too thin to be attached with nails on the cross or dug a gouge. It is unfortunate that it can be removed from the shrine to examine under the microscope, only effective way to determine exactly the nature. Anyway, I do not think either fir or other softwood in veins alternately hard & soft. It takes a solid wood like oak, sycamore and poplar, so that the hoof knife or chisel to dig the canal of the letter to so small a scale.

VI.

INTEGRITY OF THE RELIC

The description I just gave is not quite agree with that of the newspaper or memorial of Rome of 1492. According to the newspaper, the title was larger than today Should we see it has been successively reduced, as is clear from the findings in the sixteenth & seventeenth century?

In 1564 we visited this precious monument & with reference to the description of 1492, or thought he saw that ever since he had been left down the side where the word was JVDÆRVM, but he had remained intact to the right, finally 1648, during a re-examination, we noticed that the right side, where was the word JESVS, was also away, so there were only the middle of the inscription primitive NAZARENVS RE ().

This is what historians tell scholars & serious, but attached little importance to the scrupulous accuracy of measurements, at a time when it was content with less in the description of monuments.

Seek to bring out the truth.

Laelius Petronius, in 1492, thought he saw a marble tablet. It is clay. He read: HIC EST TITVLVS CRVCIS VERA. I have read & copied: TITVLVS CRVCIS only.

Let us pause a moment on this monument of clay, which is the same in 1492 & 1869. The fidelity with which these relics are kept we first present a sure guarantee of identity. We can not say that it dates from the Middle Ages, for it carries within itself an undeniable proof of the time he was running. The beautiful letters which he is covered have certainly been traced in the ancient times.

As for the successive decreases observed just slightly to the title in 1564 & in 1648, they have no reality is that the story, which says so carefully successive abductions made a relic of the True Cross to Saint Peter's in Rome, was silent on the kidnappings of the first contemporary, and far more important in respect of a relic whose integrity was no longer necessary to maintain than wood pieces already so divided?

We will find a new proof of the authenticity of the brick used as a cover & the relic itself in their comparative study, which show that they are just made for each other, and can thus be used each of control.

The niche prepared to receive the title in the key of the great arch of the ancient basilica was to be surrounded by a groove in which is placed the brick used as part or lid. Supposens this rebate, as in similar circumstances we would see today is 20mm wide, the niche would have been back and forth twice a 20mm or 40mm less than its cover. Recall that the measures were the cover of 320mm 210mm, 280mm recess will be over 170mm.

There was a niche in the lead box, necessarily smaller & may lead 10mm game all around. Deducting this game the size of the niche, we will have to remove double 10mm, that is to say on both 20mm & 170mm 280mm dimensions, and we find for the measurement outside of the box on 260mm 150mm.

But the tablet bearing the title could not exactly fill the box, she had herself a certain thickness. 10mm to assess what it would take around to the thickness of lead & the clearance between the inside of the lead & the relic, or 20mm on each side, remove from 260mm to 150mm on the shelf should be about 240mm 130mm . It is precisely the dimensions of the sacred grove. Brick & title are perfectly related.

An indication of the extent of Rome of 1492 Log seems to contradict what I have advanced. The paper gives a width under a palm and a half. But the Roman palm being 222mm, 333mm measurement corresponds to, while we did find that 240mm.

Assuming for a moment that the measurement of 333mm is true, the words NAZARENVS RE occupant 210mm, Jesus Nazarenus Rex registration Juæor, such as the newspaper's suppose, should have occupied the double of the square is 420mm, plus a space each end, which is far from its 333mm. So he made a mistake or the extent, or the text. I think he was wrong on both.

But why is it that twice in a century apart, we did not see the relic as it really is? Is that man in general is prone to see things as he wishes.

In 1492, in the joy of having found a monument, as it were speaking of the sacrifice of Corix, one does not look very closely, it is believed to have the full title, complete the imagination. Laelius Petronius remarks, it is true that the last word ends in R, no doubt for him, with notes taken at the net with alacrity, the last R jvdæorum, and no not the first letter of REX word.

In 1564 we approach the truth, but we do still considering one side, and we recognize that the word JVDÆORUM entièrment missing at the end of registration it was the greatest effort of critical one does not think to see if the beginning is like the newspaper of Rome described.

In 1648 archaeological criticism is more advanced, and we see the relic just as we sighted today.

If the title had been made entirely in Rome, how could it be possible that we possess in various churches & in particular the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, where the P. Durand, shortly after the time of St. Louis, saw the tablet bearing the inscription as a whole: Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum ().

Jerusalem was also the testimony of Antonin monk, traveling in the Holy Land before the country had been ravaged by the barbarians. "The religious, by the count of the holy relics that he worshiped in Jerusalem, reports an interesting, previously ignored by all the authors who have written on the title of the true cross, is that in the Basilica of Constantine built on the Holy Sepulchre, he was shown the title that had been placed on the head of the Saviour, and where it was written: JESUS NAZARENVS Judaeorum REX. I held my hands, he said, and kissed him (). "The monk Antony, seeing a portion of the badge under the cross, said he saw the title, as we say again: the title of the Cross in Rome.

Rome, we have seen, was not aware of his holy treasure, so it's not just a relic of Paris would come, but rather to Constantinople. St. Helena has probably shared the relic into three parts as it did for the cross she had to give a party in Jerusalem, where the monk saw Antonin, another to Constantinople where she came to Paris, & the third Rome, providentially saved from the oblivion that protected it for ten centuries.

______________

The first two fragments have spread to Rome in the churches of St. Cross in Jerusalem, of St. John Lateran, Saint-Marc, and in that of Anagni near Rome - finally in Toulouse, where Church of the exposed Daurade May 3 & 14 September a title also found there is more.

______________

Summarize this discussion in order to draw the faithful expression of the truth we seek.

We find ourselves today as a relic of a cover & terracotta perfectly made for each other. Letters on clay are necessarily old & do not belong in the Middle Ages.

Errors in the approximate measurements, taken without care what brings modern criticism, are further proof of the perfect match for the title & cover. It could not in any way off, or reduce its scope, so we have integrity in the primitive relic given to Rome by St. Helena.

PLATE XIX

COVER AND RESTORATION OF TITLE

It is still venerated in Holy Cross of Jerusalem, in Rome, a very precious relic as a control for the title. It is a clay tablet of 320 millimeters in length and 210 mm high, found (1492) in front of the niche where the true cross was locked in the key of the great arch of the church.

If we compare these relics, we have regard to the lead box which contained the first, or empty the game around the same as & of the box, we find they are in a perfect relationship, and that therefore the fragment from the beginning of the title was exactly the size now.

The clay tablet is represented on the board to half its size. The characters are Titulus crucis of an era undoubtedly Roman.

We see at the bottom of the board, a quarter of its size, the restoration of the title attempted by Mr. Drach & I modeled in Sainte-Croix-de-Jerusalem.

(Page 190).

VII.

PRIMITIVE STATE TITLE.

After describing the debris, we have to look what was the figure of the full title, as Pilate did write. We will report the grammatical objections were made, and the answers Gretz (1616), Niquet (1670), Montfaucon (1708), Gosselin (1828), and others.

Texts of the Gospels. According to the Gospel he was in three scripts: Hebrew, Greek & Latin.

Matthew wrote: HIC JESVS REX IS JVDÆORUM

St. Mark: REX JVDÆORUM

Luke: HIC JESVS REX IS JVDÆORUM

St. John: JESVS NAZARENVS REX JVDÆORUM

He was crucified because he is king of the Jews, Rex Judaeorum. Never mind the omission of the name of Jesus by St. Mark and by St. Luke? All the people knew the name. The words catch is added by St. Matthew and by St. Luke, they are the same as improperly added by Laelius Petronius the inclusion of brick that covered the relic, they are not the style of the inscriptions, they are useless; they have not been written. Simply, as reported Niquet, that all authors are in agreement on this point, the title was composed only of words donated by St. John.

Saint John is the only one who uses the word Nazarenus, to complement what others had said: and, by a singular circumstance, it is almost the only word we have kept the relic of the title, as if to confirm the text of St. John, the only one who has not left our Lord one moment during his passion. He saw literally reported what others have given mind. If we would have liked to tamper with the relic, one would have looked, I think, be more adroit in the component to meet the four versions.

VIII.

OBJECTIONS grammar.

It has long been disputed the authenticity of the relic of the Holy Cross by critics of the characters that compose it, it was said that the Romans nor the Greeks wrote from right to left, could not be admitted to η ε or ο for ɣ; ɣ that the sign is not found in previous entries in the seventh century & c., & c.

Let's start with the meaning of writing. Gretzer reported examples of Roman & Greek inscriptions written from right to left. The letters are reversed ellesmêmes when registration is reversed. The first example is taken from Pausanias describes an inscription at the bottom of the statue of Agamemnon, and say that the Greeks were in the habit of writing alternately from left to right and from right to left, changing with each line, as in these two lines:

THN ΔE TH KEΔPOΥ AAPNAKA

ΣOMEL NEKHΘ ΎOΛEΨΎK OT

They call this mode of writing βονρτροφήδον in retracing his steps as the oxen plow & turn over every furrow. The use of Hebrew writing from right to left was not unknown to the Greeks ().

The same author speaks of a table of brass found in Umbria; Golzius & quotes for a currency of Sidon which states KAIΣAP following our use and ΣOTΣΥΟΓΥA (ανγονστος) according to the Hebrew usage ().

He has seen many Monnais on which the Latin inscriptions are from right to left.

I read myself in the bell tower of Pisa, and on vases in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, returned several Latin inscriptions. Finally, this practice has continued into recent times, as can be seen in the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, deposited in the library of the Institute in Paris.

Come to the second objection. According to Gretz, was an ancient custom often use ε to η. Plato does in many words. Golzius bed on Monnais ζενπν for ζηνων, Аθενα for Аθηνα, Gruter, in ancient inscriptions, shows Аνρελιος for Аνρηλιος, μετρι for μητρι ().

The termination of the line Ɣς Greek has been criticized by those who would like the word being registered should end in ος. Gretz, with his profound scholarship, cites examples of substituted Ɣ often omicron, but I will not stop this objection to the views that fall tends to be seen a Latin word ().

The objection that is regarded as the most serious as it was represented to me today by distinguished scholars, seems to me perfectly refuted by Montfaucon.

It is claimed that the sign 8, short for ον diphthong, was unknown before the seventh century, which at that time or defer to a later period the manufacture of the board of Holy Cross. - Montfaucon responds by citing four medals from the third century where the sign 8: and his testimony is all the more valuable, it is independent of the issue & has one goal entirely theoretical.

He saw four medals in the cabinet of M. Foucault, the famous antiquary of the eighteenth century. Are engraved on the first heads Mamaea (235) & Héliogobale of opposite, with an inscription that does not relate to our subject. On the reverse type of Fortune is a cornucopia & rudder, with the following inscription:

dasdfasdasdfasdfas

we must complete as well:

asdfasdfasdfasdf

what it means:

Sub Julio Antonio Seleuco Marcianopolitarum.

Note that ... is written ...

Another currency is on the side the head of Alexander Sev age 5) & on the reverse a woman wearing a dress & holding a cup in his right hand & a spear in his left hand. It reads:

Fsdfsdfgdsf

Dsfgsdfgsdfg

Præside Terebentino - Marcianopolitarum,

where in the word ... The first ... 8 is written.

Among Monnais of Volusin (253) there were two ον where the diphthong is plotted in this usual form 8. One is on the back:

Dsfasdf

(Sub Praetor Claudio Colophoniorum Callisto).

The other is:

Sdfsdf

(Sub Praetor Aurelio Athenæo Colophoniorum).

I do not believe that after such testimony one can still doubt, but continue the review of our title.

The Bollandists, the first of May, justify the form of naked Greek in this respect, resembles an H. They write HIKOΛΑ, Nicolas - CΥMEΩH, Simon - HIHTA, Nicetas.

It is singular that of all the objections against the authenticity of the title, we did not notice that the word NAZARENUS E was replaced by an I. This lack of criticism is no doubt that the authors have reproduced the title believed to see an E in the relic, while there is an I, and that copies of it inaccurate, such as those that found in Niquet, Bosio, Mozzoni, & c., that the discussion has established, to answer this objection, if it were to be born, just open the dictionary of Christian antiquities of Father Martigny Article inscription. It lirant that E is sometimes replaced by I, and that the same are found quite often I for E on the marbles of the earliest period: Cavia for CAVEAS, NI NE, PONTIFIX to Pontifex, & c.

It was said also that the arched shape for sigma & epsilon was used as the eighth century, but the P. Lupi, beautifully summarizing the work of the most learned paleographers as Buonarotti, Boldetti, Mabillon, Montfaucon, & c., proves that this form date of commencement of the Empire and even probably the time of the Republic ().

Gosselin addresses this issue & the summary so I do not think I can do better than transcribe his findings:

"It is clear from these observations that the authenticity of the title of the cross can not be firmly challenged by the difficulties of criticism which we have spoken. Indeed, this is the opinion of the famous antiquarian we have quoted above (Montfaucon), and whose authority is even greater on this point, the Academy of Inscriptions & Belles Lettres looks rightly as one of its most distinguished members. Supported by a respectable witness, we will not be afraid to add that we could go further, and show that the title of the cross, as it exists today, carries with it intrinsic evidence of its authenticity . How, in fact, assume that a forger would have been awkward enough to make it as an afterthought as we have today is to say, to substitute, against ordinary usage, the ε 's η, and the diphthong ον to Nαζαρεν8ς ο in the word, and especially to substitute the word Nαζαρεν8ς Nαζωραιος the word employed by St. John, the only Evangelisti that pays full registration? The implausibility of these assumptions away naturally, as it seems, all the suspicions might be brought against the authenticity of the decision of the Cross established elsewhere, as we have seen, by testimony & monuments so respectable. "

XI.

Translation of title

Having established the authenticity of the sacred document that the ages have left us, we have to give the translation of the title in its entirety, that is to say the tests that have been made to get pout. The late Mr. Lehir of scholarly & holy memory, giving me about this valuable information, telling me that he had been ten times unsuccessfully.

So far we wanted to read three inscriptions, Latin, Greek, Syriac. This is given what Mr. Drach party in the restaurant he tried and that I gave in my boards, because of the place of honor it occupies next to the relic of St. Cross-in-Jerusalem, and despite all the serious criticism that it was the object.

If, instead of seeing three different languages, we read the same written language with characters hébreaux, Greek and Latin, cum litteris Hebraica, graeca & Latin, it seems to me that many objections vanish. This subject has been treated carefully by the Abbe Sionnet in the Catholic Auxiliary 1845. Transcribe everything said by the author on the subject and which seems conclusive.

"This reading, he said, I must admit, is far from being accepted at first, it gives the part a Hebrew Latin text, while the entire tradition are we talking about a title in three languages; & indeed, it seems it should be so, since the purpose of this inscription was to inform those in Jerusalem, spoke Syro-Chaldaic, Greek or Latin, the reason for the condemnation of Jesus. However, this goal could it be achieved by a simple transcription? To these considerations do not lack strength, I oppose that I seem to have even more value. Nothing is arbitrary when reading jesuis happened: the letters are those used in the time of our Lord, and they agree with the traces remained on the wood, so they could be replaced by d other. The Greek line, very readable in what remains, also gives the simple transcription of the word Nazarenus. The following letter word, completely stopped at the bottom, can not be one iota, but is certainly a rho, the first element of the word Rex. Items are missing completely, from which I conclude that the line in Hebrew characters, contains only the Latin title, it's probably easier to read this as it was written from right to left, as well as Greek transcription. The Jews have retained this use, and nothing so common among them as books Arabic, Syriac, German, Spanish simply transcribed into Hebrew letters. "

Rufinus, wrote after the invention of the title & the information collected by the author in Jerusalem itself, speaks of the inscription was found next to the cross as such in Hebrew letters, Greek & Latin.

Abbe Sionnet found in the traces above the beginning of the word than the word Jesus Nazarenus, & according to him reading the entire Hebrew title would be: ISCHOUNTSRNOUS, which he gives restitution in ancient characters, in a board attached to its discussion.

What the Abbe Sionnet does not say, and which seems very important to support his opinion is that the Latin word translates nazarenus nazarenous, and written with Greek characters, shows a Roman seeking to pronounce by the Greeks or the u pronounced like the Romans. Niquet (), which suggests to me that reflection, give good reasons to prove that such was their pronunciation.

Finally the Abbe Martigny (), the word's dictionary entry, adds a new weight in favor of this view, reporting, according to the Chevalier de Rossi, examples of Latin inscriptions written in Greek characters , Latin & Greek epitaphs. "The custom of writing inscriptions of various kinds in Greek letters already received among the ancient Romans. An example of the cemetery Priscilla:

BAΔEPIA BIKTΏPIA.

ΦHKI ΦEI COΥAI EIA.

BEITΛEHNH.

which amounts to feci Valeria Victoria (for Fecit) Filiæ Suæ Vitalianæ.

Sometimes Greek letters are interspersed with Latin and in others all the words are Greek, one is Latin, but also in Greek.

Everything was wrong & monstrous in the trial & sentencing of Jesus Christ.

X.

Chapter III.
Crown of Thorns
Crown of Thorns According to the authors
Until now we did not determine with precision the shape and the nature of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ, one assumes in the reeds which they seek to trouyer thorns, others say that 'she was rhamnus. It is singular that men like Benedict XIV considerable, Baronius, Mamachus, Joseph Averianus, Jean Muller, Gretz, & tc., Have been so little agreement on an also easy to see that the nature of the crown of thorns, which we have important relics.
The sacred writers speak of rhamnus & rushes, & well observed the relics show us the ring & the rhamnus. One of the old hymns of the Roman Breviary contains these remarkable words: Junco palustris scepter transferor. So much for the rush. As for Rhamnus, Saint Gregory of Nyssa applied to the crown the Psalmist's words: Priusquam intelligerent spinae vestræ rhamnum

It is interesting to know if the various opinions that have occurred among men seeking truth, discussing texts carefully, but neglecting the observations that were used with less than this method.

Benedict XIV, in his book De Dominicis festi (), reports the opinion of some authors who think that the crown was in rush sea, where the spines are at the ends of the rods. He cites the testimony of P. Durand, who died in 1333, one of the oldest that have examined the suburbs of Paris and who says she was in rush sailor. This is certain, he said, is that the crown was not just a band encircling the forehead & temples, but a kind of cap (pileus), covering the whole head & part top of the head. Our Lord was crucified with a crown of thorns, and even admitting that she was abducted when he was stripped of his garments, no doubt it was given to him on the head, as a complement insignia insignificant of royalty recalled by the title. Origen believed that the crown on the head once was not removed (). Philippe Diez called the crown of the helmet Son of God. John Eck compared with a cap that covers the whole head.

Lampergius said to be composed of spines long, acute, sharp & arranged so as to injure both the top of the head that the temples surrounding it in a word, like a cap: ad modum pilei () .

St. Vincent () says: And capita ejus imposuerunt coronam Quae eum Septuagint duobos loci crudeliter vulneraverit, nam erat ad modum pilei, ita quod undique caput tegeret & tangeret.

Bartholin admits the white thorn in the crown, which could not be rush sailor whose points had not been strong enough nor sufficiently numerous to injure the head.

According to Baronius, the soldiers did not have to use sea rushes growing near Jerusalem, but rather rhamnus, shrub land found near the town.

Del Rio has often seen the bulk of the crown of thorns in Paris & Spain at the monastery of the Spina, in Leuven, & tc., Which have nothing in common with the sea rushes, but more like the rhamnus or paliurus. So there was then in Paris thorns we have over there.

Baillet (), on the basis of Guillaume Durand, and without looking at himself, admits that the crown of Paris is in rush sailor, but he finds it to do violence to the Scriptures, and according to this seems to doubt the authenticity of the relic. It would have been reassured if he had seen as we not rush the sea, but the most ordinary rod and the most harmless.

Gretzer discusses the views of those who wish it was done in rush sailor, agrees with the opinion of Bellonius agree with St. Jerome & St. Gregory of Nyssa & said she was in Rhamnus, a plant common in Judea , and the Italians call Spina sancta. He adds (): Quot Spinas corona is spinea habuerit incerum; licet al dicant Septuagint fuisse duets, multi alii, pauciores al.

St. Augustine, St. Jerome, Cassiodorus dissent that rhamnus a cruel thorns, a nice flower, a fruit very thorny shrub is so thorny that it retains everything it touches, it hurts that he retained & expands in the blood of the slain.

Dioscorides describes it thus: "The rhamnus grows in hedges, with straight branches & spikes in the form of sharp thorns small leaves oblong, a little fat, tender () .... "

The P. Lamy believes it was rhamnus.

Calmet also speak () from Rhamnus, a sort of thorn bush or nervous called nar-prune plums, or goat-thorn. The name Rhamnus is in three parts of the Vulgate:

Dixeruntque omnia rhamnum lineage. ()

Egrediatur rhamno of ignis. ()

And finally:

Priusquam intelligerent spinae vestræ rhamnum, sicut live in will sic absorbet eos ().

"Before they can find their spines have reached the strength of a shrub, it will swallow them up alive into his anger."

The Hebrew reads: "Before your pots have felt the heat of your burning thorns, the wrath of God like a whirlwind the reverse."

Gosselin () came closest to the truth. It begins by developing its sentimnet on the diversity of opinions of the authors, and said: "It seems indeed that this question can not now be decided by the testimony of ancient writers, or even Likelihood based inspection the holy crown ... It seems quite natural, he says in closing, to think that the soldiers made use of a cane or marine herb to bind & keep the thorns they wanted to form the crown of Jesus Christ.

"Many of these spines, which are worshiped in different churches, are of a very different matter from marine rush. These are real thorn wood, very long, and very acute, sometimes even small wood branches that seem to announce a thorny species of buckthorn (Rhamnus), as one can judge by the drawings, which are thereby in the literature we have cited ... A thorn that we have before us has been recognized as the spine as Linnaeus, botanists with the old Apelles Rhamnus spina Christi, and modern botanists: Zizyphus spina Christi. "

"Let us add, however, with many learned authors, we should not judge facilemnet the nature of the holy crown on the nature of the holy thorn that is worshiped in different churches, unless there is d Moreover some evidence of their authenticity, because the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining the holy crown of thorns has sometimes hired to do the same, as well as other instruments of the Passion of Jesus Christ, to meet the devotion of the people. "

We are, I believe, being able to say that the wisdom of it Gosselin has hinted, though still remaining in doubt, which no other author has released to date. To agree the story & the monuments, it was closer, as I was fortunate to be able to do so, the relic of rushes to Paris and that of Zizyphus in Pisa. Consider the first, which is unique, we will find the second with others of a similar nature.

II.

RELIC OF A STRING OF NOTRE DAME DE PARIS

This relic, perhaps the most remarkable of those possessed by Christians, because of its relative integrity, undoubtedly comes from St.

PLATE XX

CROWN OF THORNS IN PARIS

St. Louis, which identifies the relic that Baldwin had given as security to the Venetians, brought the crown of thorns from Sens to Paris (1239) & made him the best king that reliquary can offer such a treasure: it raised the Sainte-Chapelle.

The crown consists of a ring of small rods in a bundle. The inner diameter of 21 centimeters.

We see the bottom of the board a fragment size of nature over a reed grown under the microscope, and at the top, the reliquary containing the crown entire quarter of its size.

It was engraved on the same sheet both sides of the nail held at Notre-Dame de Paris.

It remains thorn in Paris.

(See the frontispiece.)

Louis, and is preserved in the treasury of the cathedral of Paris. Like other remains of the instruments of the Passion, she remained hidden during the first four centuries. In 409 St. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, assuming the existence as a notorious fact, St. Gregory of Tours seems to be the first who has spoken explicitly, the patriarch of Jerusalem, about the year 800, sent Charlesmagne a nail spines & a considerable chunk of the cross. Charles the Bald gave the relics to Abbey of St. Denis. A twelfth-century inscription placed on his grave reminder of this donation.

At the time of the First Crusade, to engage the Latins to seize Constantinople, Alexius Comnenus in 1100 wrote to Robert, Count of Flanders, which are kept many relics in Constantinople ().

The emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II, had borrowed a sum of the Venetians hyperpères corresponding to 156.900 13.075 pounds of our money. Unable to free himself, he spoke in 1238 the King of France, who paid the debt & became possessed of the relics that the emperor had entered as a pledge in the hands of its lenders ().

"Saint Louis, having obtained this concession, sent two monks to Constantinople domincains, André & Jacques, one of which, having been prior to a convent in that city, had seen more than once the holy crown of thorns, which granted as part of the relics, and was well acquainted with all that concerned. Baldwin, then at St. Germain, was accompanied by one of his officers with letters patent by which he ordered the lords to deliver the holy relic to the envoys of the king. Before leaving Constantinople, they took all precautions to ascertain the authenticity & the preservation of this sacred object. The box was sealed, which contained the seals of the French lords (). Having escaped the dangers of the sea, seriously this time of year because we had sailed around Christmas, the holy crown went to Venice, where it was deposited in the treasury of the chapel of St. Mark, until that all market conditions with the Venetians were met. The ambassadors of the king, having recognized the seals, took the road to France. St. Louis, accompanied by the queen mother, the princes his brothers, several prelates & lords of the court, went to meet them & met the holy crown in Villeneuve-l'Archevêque, five leagues from Sens, the August 10, 1239. It first opened the wooden box which contained the holy relic & the seals should be checked with the acts that establish authenticity. We then opened the reliquary of silver and the golden bowl which contained the holy crown, and it showed in the King & all assistants ...

"The next day the king left for Paris, which was eight days after the formal reception of the holy relic ()."

"... Some years after the translation that we have just reported, St. Louis, who received the Emperor Baldwin a significant portion of the true cross with other relics, erected on site of the former chapel of the palace that we see Today, this building began around the year 1241 & ended in 1248, cost the pious monarch about 40,000 books in his time commonly assessed 800.000 pounds of our money (). "

In the same time, by a singular coincidence, the Pisans spent a shrine similar to another portion of the crown of thorns. And the Santa Maria della Spina of Pisa, as the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, an architectural marvel, it was here that kept both sides of the crown, sufficient to make us familiar with this horrible instrument of torture of our Lord. And by another coincidence which clearly the instability of human things, neither one nor the other shrine of marble or stone has so far kept his relic, but the two relics are whole, and the shrines restored could still receive them.

These were not the only relics of this kind that Paris posssédât; to say Gretz (), the city had obtained much earlier. Justinian, Emperor (527), gave to St. Germain, bishop of Paris (), the holy crown of thorns and placed it with great veneration in the church of Sainte-Croix.

Charlemagne had obtained of Constantine, Emperor of Constantinople. We transcribe here again an important passage of the great annals of France:

"Upon returning from Jerusalem, Charlemagne dict passed through Constantinople, and fist him, the Emperor Constantine dict, offrh great gifts & treasures of gold, silver & precious stones. But dict Charlemagne, who had influence on travel dict the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, would take nothing, but he asked the Emperor dict none relics of the Passion of Jesus Christ, and of his saints. In this case, the dict Emperor of Constantinople gave him one of the highlights of what our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, his crown of thorns, which miraculously florist in his presence, and much of the fust of the true cross () . "

Jacques Bosio, according to Bartholin (), in Paris has seen many spines attached to a branch It is known that regardless of the ring of reeds which is las crown of Our Lady, St. Louis had become thorns.

All these relics were religiously preserved in rich shrines to the Sainte-Chapelle until the revolution. The occupation of Paris by the English did not interfere with the use where it was to worship.

Since the founding of the Sainte-Chapelle in 1656 until the keys were kept by the king himself or by a delegate who could not master the sand lend the king's command ().

The shrine of Our Lady recalls the memorable story of the relic which St. Louis had enriched the eldest daughter of the Church. We read about his first face: "The Holy Crown of Our Lord Jesus Christ, conquered by Baldwin in the fall of Constantinople in 1204, committed to the Venetians in 1238, was received with great piety by St. Louis Villeneuve, near Sens , August 10, 1239. "

On the second side: "Transferred to the Sainte-Chapelle in the abbey of Saint-Denis, France, in order of Louis XVI in 1791, recorded in Paris in 1793, stripped of the hotel & Monnais brought to the Library National in 1794, it was finally returned to the Church of Our Lady, by order of government, October 26, 1804. "

The third face: "Recognized October 15, 1805 by P. Dienz & C. N. Warenflot, Vicar General of Coutances, charged in 1791 to take a parcel to Port Royal, she was transferred solemnly at Notre Dame J. B. Cardinal de Belloy, Archbishop of Paris, August 10, 1806. "

The crown is enclosed in a ring of six crystal attachments by three gilt bronze clasps & son with red silk, through holes drilled in the sharp edges of the crystal, and forming a kind of stitching to hold the seals.

It consists of a small ring of reeds bound together. The inside diameter of the ring is 210mm, the Section 15mm in diameter. The rods are connected by fasteners 15 or 16 rods similar. A golden thread runs to mid-ties, to consolidate these precious remains. The diameter of the rods, which are very fine, ranging from 1 mm to 1 mm ½. Some are bent & do see that the plant is hollow surface, examined under the microscope, is furrowed with small ribs.

Regardless of the authenticity of the story ensures that the relic of Our Lady, the sort of implausibility that surrounds the first aspect, and which ceases soon after a careful examination, proves that it was really the crown of our Lord. If we had wanted to compose a crown, after the idea was a natural one to worry, and that painters have followed without reflection, we could not simulate a ring of rods instead of thorns, & it would not have done elsewhere too large for the head.

I did found no trace of division into three parts mentioned by Gosselin, and which was made at the time of the revolution. If you look carefully the bundle of rods to see that it is intact except for a few strands that could remove him, but that the division would lead a full dispersal of its parts.

III.

NATURE OF PLANTS OF THE CROWN

The Jardin des Plantes in Paris cultivates a rush called Juncus balticus, native to warm climates and which seems exactly like the relic of Our Lady. The Juncus maritimus is larger, the Juncus acutus could also fill quelquesunes of these conditions, but it is more united. We see in the countryside of Pisa of the ring similar to that of Notre Dame. As for thorns, no doubt, from the very careful inspection made in Pisa by Professor Pietro Savi, that is net of Rhamnus, generic name of three plants that are similar in quite the spine of Pisa, and that Linnaeus applied to the thorns that grow in the East.

I found living in the School of Botany & the Pisa marruca Ziziphus vulgaris, both of the genus Rhamnus, & Botanical Gardens in Rome such plants & other Ziziphus spina Christi said, including the gardener me a given branch.

The Ziziphus of Rome, with very small spines, was more frail, but in a more advanced vegetation. This advancement is that the winter 1865-1866, was very dry in Rome, was more favorable to plants in Syria. The leaves had begun to grow before the find in March, while we did see any of the other rhamnus.

The spines of Ziziphus vulgaris, native to Rome, are larger than those of the spina Christi, which appear to be reproducing in miniature the former are 20mm in length, the latter usually 10mm, but in a warmer climate, in its part This plant must have thorns larger & stronger than in Europe. The spines of these gardens are smaller than most of those of our relics. I expressed my amazement to Mr. Edward Prilleux, learned botanist of Paris, who said that Ziziphus spina Christi in its climate spines longer than the Ziziphus vulgaris. He added that information the Ziziphus spina Christi was grown in the garden of Botany, School of Medicine now destroyed, because of the embellishments of Luxembourg, and was sent to Naples, where it is still likely to find it grown in the botanical garden.

IV.

FORM OF THE CROWN

The branches of jujube Ziziphus spina Christi, or broken or bent in the middle to take the form of a cap, pileus, were set by each end, or within, or outside the circle of rushes, one that undoubtedly we have in Paris. It was necessary that the circle was larger than the turn of the head in order to bring him there, despite the narrowing caused by the introduction of the branches: and indeed found that the crown of Our Lady placed only on the head would fall on the shoulders. We did not even need new connections for connecting to the circle of reeds, twigs & passed alternately above & below should be sufficient to maintain them. It is this process that the authors have called braiding. The soldiers probably avoided to touch these horrible thorns, each sharper than the claw of the Lion is the blood flow in abundance.

Let us imagine, after that, what should be a punishment where the soldiers began to sink with a stick these sharp darts!

Hopefully, by examining the frontispiece of Plauche of memory, that doubt will cease, and that instead of a single band for barely touching the temples, we see a dreadful instrument of torture inflicted on each point of the head the most cruel pain. This punishment was so horrified the first Christians that they do not represent in all its reality & not expressed as emblems. Thus, in a tomb in the Lateran museum, we see the soldier respectfully ask a wreath of roses & laurel on the head of our Lord beardless. (See the label attached.)

With these data it becomes easy to reconstruct the crown of our Lord, but do not be swayed by the opinions of commentators and artists, we have already reported and who interpreted the texts with ideas made in advance & without any study of the monuments. It was assumed a real braid like a mat or on Ziziphus could lend itself to such an operation. We took a plant flexible army inncentes few thorns, and we made the models are distributed in Jerusalem, and the painters, and particularly the guide in his famous head of Christ, have consistently reproduced.

Let πλέξχντες that word in the Gospel of John, is the Latin plectentes, just πλέχω expressing a more general idea that the braiding of a mat & Alexander in his dictionary translates plaiting, interlacing, embrace, build , consist of different things, combine, mix.

V.

RELICS OF THE CROWN.

The relics of the rods separated from the holy crown are extremely rare, because the circle appears over Notre Dame, and we have been able to wrest many plots. We do know that a very small piece to the Carmelites of the Avenue de Saxe in Paris, one in Arras, a Lyon & others to Chablis.

The spines are much more common, and here those indicated by Gosselin ():

10 The abbey of Saint-Denis received from Charles the Bald in the ninth century, a portion of the holy crown (), and Philippe-Auguste in 1205 a thorn from Baldwin I, emperor of Constantinople.

Around 20 960 Emperor Otto I made a similar gift to the king of England Ethelstan, which gives a party to the church of Malmesbury.

30 St. Helen Trier sends a branch of thorns.

40 The electoral palace in Munich, Bavaria has a branch with five points appears to be a species of Rhamnus.

50 Several churches in Cologne keep such a treasure.

60 Holy Cross of Jerusalem in Rome shows two long spines sent by St. Helena.

70 The church of the Confraternity of Charity in Venice has a branch of thorns with four points.

80 The church of St. Dominic in Bologna, and that of the Carthusians (), are custodians of each spine.

90 We see a very long time to Citta di Castello, Duchy of Urbino.

100 A Tarraga, in the diocese of Solsona in Catalonia, two spines were recognized in 1604 authentic by Pope Clement VIII.

Most of the churches which had just spoken these spines before the translation of the crown in Paris. Those that follow have been obtained:

110 Saint Louis gives to Bernard, bishop of Puy, the day he received the holy crown of Meaning.

120 It still gives in terms of Valencia, Spain

Chapter 130 of Toledo,

140 of the Blessed Bartholomew Brégance, bishop of Vicenza in the State of Venice

150 A Abbey Middle Bourg-de Blois,

Clee 160 A St. Eloi near Arras,

170 In the Cordeliers of Seez.

180 King John I () provides in the Emperor Charles IV, who made the feast set (1637) by Pope Innocent VI.

190 is the crown of the Sainte-Chapelle that the thorns are kept at Saint-Eustache in Paris

200 A Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois,

210 In the Holy Innocents,

220 A St. Bartholomew,

To Mathurin 230,

240 In the Carmelites of the Place Maubert,

250 Port-Royal des Champs,

260 Port-Royal in the city, which was the last.

At the time of the Reformation, Calvin listed forty (). These lists are incomplete & the information I collected made me recognize that there are a lot more. Are they all genuine? It is doubtful, we must carefully consider their nature, I think I have sufficiently demonstrated, and their origin. However, their number is not enough to reject them a priori, for we have just seen what prodigious number of spines could contain the mass of thorny branches joined by a circle of reeds on the head of our Lord.

We will have to consider two kinds of relics, the ring & the thorns. Those of the ring are extremely rare & their history shows them out of the suburbs of Paris. We will first inventory, then move to the cities that have whole branches where it is easy to recognize the plant, and finally to those who have retained only parts of thorns.

VI.

RELICS rushes.

ARRAS (Pl. XXI.) - The rush of Arras is placed in a glass tube adapted to two palms in gilded bronze. Its length is 55mm, from the drawing sent to me by His Grace Bishop Lequette, Bishop of Arras, and by means of the Abbe Proyart, his vicar general. It was given to the old cathedral (1556) by Antoine Ternot, Bishop of Arras, better known as the Cardinal de Granvelle, who died Archbishop of Malines. Carried away in exile, she returned in 1820 with the song of the true cross.

AUTUN. Autun Cathedral has a fragment of which I will rush away with the other spines of the city (Pl. XXI).

CHABLIS (Pl. XXI). - The relic of rushes Chablis seems to be the largest after that of Notre-Dame de Paris. Abbe Thomas, pastor Dean Chablis sending the drawing, wrote: "I would like to donate Dienz, treasurer of the Abbey of St. Denis, who himself had detached from the crown, time of removal of the reliquary of the Treasury in 1793. This relic is very similar to that of Notre Dame, so it rushes. You can still find the rod in the women of Calvary & Jesuits in Vaugirard. "

LILLE. - The church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille and that of Saint-Pierre in Lille have obtained a few years ago, a fragment of the crown of Paris, which had belonged to Bishop Quelen, archbishop of Paris.

LYON. - At the Cathedral of Lyon, Saint-Jean, there is a ring of about 60mm, just like that of Notre-Dame de Paris. It is located in a beautiful reliquary Louis XIV, which had belonged to Pope Pius VII and that is found in an antique dealer.

This ring was given to Bishop de Bonald, then bishop of Puy, by Bishop Quelen during the transfer of the remains of St. Francis de Sales (1826). The Archbishop of Paris hoped to have something more than the other bishops who had brought nothing, no one gave him anything more, so he left a beautiful ornament of the chapel he had promised, and kept to himself the portion the ring of the crown he had to give.

Mr. Canon Chapot went to Paris in 1826 at the time of the transfer of the relics of the holy thorn in a most beautiful shrine. Naturally & more unfortunately, when we discover a relic, each wants plots, & Bishop Quelen gave fragments of the ring of the crown to each of the nine canons present to Mr. & Book.

M. Cahier, goldsmith, responsible for a reliquary, shared her piece of 18mm with Mr. Chapot who got 9mm. As they were ten, we must conclude that the ring of Bishop Quelen must have been about 180mm in length. I bine in the opinion of the venerable canon of Lyons, the divisions of relics diminish their prestige, and suppress pilgrimages that have more reason to worship in the distance what was close at hand.

VAUGIRARD. - The Jesuits keep the rod from the crown necessarily in Paris. (Pl. XXI).

VII.

RELICS OF BRANCHES ZIZIPHUS

Andechs in Bavaria has been in custody four branches of thorns which has a length of 110mm ().

MUNICH. - "We keep a relic like this in the church of the electoral palace in Munich, Bavaria. A learned botanist today, which saw an exact drawing of this branch of thorns, believe it comes from a species of buckthorn (Rhamnus). Benedict XIV tells us that this branch is filled with five points, and that Pope Innocent XI allowed (1681) to the church in Munich to celebrate an annual festival in honor of this precious relic of the i lund of the week Passion (). "A note to me communicates Baroness Eichtahl added to a drawing too little to be reproduced exactly, but many accusing the nature of the plant indicated by Gosselin. The tips are a dark red, the stem is yellowish.

PISA. - A branch of thorns reported by the Pisans in the thirteenth century motivated the construction of the beautiful church of the Spina, a celebrity art of Italy. The relic was enclosed in a metal casket by the admirable work in this area. Thieves introduced by having a low cross in the chapel, took the top of the shrine, leaving behind the spine & the bottom held in place by strong iron bars. We then brought the relic to the hospital served by the Capuchin Fathers, where S. E. Cardinal Corsi allowed me to see her.

It is since 1824 in a reliquary in gilded bronze, hidden by a curtain of red silk & enclosed in a cabinet modest. I have drawn on several of its faces. It is a branch of 80mm in height with six spines worn once, but only three are intact. Some are straight, the other shorter & curved at the bottom of the first they accompany.

The overall color, especially of thorns, is a black-brown very shiny.

VENICE.
VII.
ANGERS.

AUTUN.
BESANCON.

BORDEAU

CARPENTRAS.
CHELLES.
GLUE.

FLORENCE.
St. Lawrence.
P.

LIBOURNE.

Longpont.

MILAN.

CHAPTER IV

THE SHROUD
Evangelists are, wanting to show us the importance of cloths that were used to wrap the body of Jesus, speak several times, when Joseph & Nicodemus bury him according to the custom of

Jews & when the apostles returned to the sepulcher. The faithful have kept these precious relics with love & abundance. As the cross, this abundance may become a pretext to deny

their authenticity, I sought to show that Jewish burial employed prodigious amounts of tissue. Unfortunately we still have some reseignements directly from Hebrew, but we have to complete a people with whom they were long & often mixed, they took a lot of uses, and whose history & monuments after forty centuries have revealed the details of these uses the most detailed. D. Langella & scholars who have dealt with that have addressed these issues, based on the Bible agree that Jews imitated very closely the ceremonies of the Egyptians to bury their dead. So by studying them we learn what was done first. This is the purpose of the studies that follow I shall be pardoned and whose developments because of the seriousness of the subject.
I.
BURIAL AMONG THE JEWS AND THE HEBREWS Chezz.

GENESIS. The oldest document is provided by Genesis (ch. L, v. 2-3-25) "... Joseph commanded the physicians he had in his service to embalm the body of his father. They executed the order he had given them, which lasted forty days, because it was the habit of using that time to embalm dead bodies ... Joseph died aged one hundred and ten years old, and his body was embalmed was placed in a coffin in Egypt. "

We see that about Egypt inspired the author confirms the approximation that I have mentioned: and telling the embalming of Jacob & Joseph by that of Joseph himself, he seems to tell a enbaumement Egypt.

SAINT JOHN (). - When did John see Lazarus, who had been dead from the grave bound feet and hands with bandages, and his face wrapped in a shroud, shows us he's not a mummy with linen & its strips?

So we can confidently follow the authors who described the Egyptian burials to find Jewish customs.

Herodotus. - The oldest of all, Herodotus, after telling them to enter the family-dialects & embalmers, continues:

"Embalming First Class. - First with a curved iron, they extract the brain through the nostrils, at least the most part, and the remainder by the injection of substances dissolving. Then, with a sharp Ethiopian stone, they tend the side, make out all the intestines from the abdomen, the wash with palm wine, sprinkle the crushed perfumes & sew finally, after filling of pure crushed myrrh, cinnamon & other incense fragrances which alone is excluded. These things done, they dry the body in natron & leave it there immersed for seventy days.

"At the end of these seventy days they wash the body wrap & the whole strip of finest linen, coated with gum, which the Egyptians made great use instead of glue. The parents then take the body, the wooden box containing dansun in human form, and deposit standing in the burial chamber.

"Class 2. - After filling their syringes with cedar oil, the oil they inject into the abdomen of the dead without opening it or remove the entrails, and they are careful to retain the liquid so that it can not s' escape. Then they dip the body in natron & leave it there the prescribed time, then they leave high cavities cedar oil that initially they were introduced, yet it has enough strength to take with her intestines & viscera, and has just liquefied.

"Externally natron has dried flesh, and it only remains of the dead than the skin & bones.

Enbaumement third, - the use of the poor class.

"The embalmers are in the intestines injected with horseradish & they dried the body in natron for seventy days.

"They avoid to use Greek customs, and to be honest, any of those of other men."

Diodorus Siculus. - Diodorus of Sicily, who live four centuries after Herodotus, under Julius Caesar & under Augustus, the full description & add some details:

"When an Egyptian dies, parents & friends of the deceased, after having covered their heads with mud, run through the city every day lamenting until the body is deposited in his tomb.

"There are three ways for the funeral:

"The First I talent costs money ();

"The second, 20 mines ();

"The third is very little.

"He called the scribe mark a line on the left hip of the body lying on the ground how it should be open. The scoring done with a conteau stone of Ethiopia, an incision the size determined by the law, and fled, pursued with stones by the assistants, who abhor those who desecrate the dead. The embalmers, however, have a high regard, as acolytes of priests. Gathered around the body, one of them, bringing his hand through the opening on the body, enters the thorax & derives all that is contained therein, except the heart and kidneys. Another cleans the viscera with palm wine dives & perfumes. Finally, after coating, for more than thirty days, cedar oil & drugs of different species, the entire body, and then having the scent of myrrh, of Cinnamomum & other spices that contribute not only the keeping, but still give a pleasant smell, they make the parents to death. The body is then prepared so perfectly that each member is in all its integrity, to the point that the hair of the eyebrows and lashes of the eyelids are kept, that the appearance of the body is not altered, and that one can easily recognize the character of the figure (). "

ABD-Allat, medical & Arab historian (1161-1231). In a description of Egypt (), for the curious time when it was written, speaking Graves, said the bodies were wrapped in shrouds of hemp cloth. There which was used over a thousand yards of cloth. Whatever the extent reflected by the word yardstick, the author wanted to express a considerable amount.

CAILLAUD. - We come to contemporary writers, and among the descriptions of mummies, very numerous these days, I will choose those that will relate more closely to my subject.

It is in the journey to Meroe Caillaud the description of a mummy Pétéménon said Ammonius, who died at twenty-one years, 2 June 116 AD, which was stripped September 30, 1823:

"Here's what's on cloths that covered:

"A painted canvas with rich details of forming the outer envelope.

"With the mummy envelopes weighed 106 kg. The head circumference was 1m, 38. They began by place the strips on the body which set the painted canvas. They found then papyrus, various pieces of coarse cloth, and then other a thinner fabric, a sort of tie with a knot tied around the neck.

"We continued to remove a lot of tight cloths with narrow strips, including three small cloth towels that seemed to be still new, tapered at both ends shaped & fringes similar to those that are still in use in the country.

"Third envelope as the previous consisting of five towels & long pieces of cloth folded in several double, used to swell the coast, all set by long strips.

"The fourth shell, surrounded by larger bands in coarse old linen, contained four Egyptian tunics or shirts without sleeves and partly disconnected from the sides. These coats have 3 p. 8. p. wide (1m, 20), and the seams are made artistically; some are repaired, mended, with parts being well.

"Above these tunics, three species of shrouds strongly impregnated with bitumen completely enveloped the mummy.

"Fifth envelope: rolled strips, each in length, from head to foot, the other transversely, which held four large pieces of canvas & fine enough different pieces of fine linen, among whom were three towels in the piece, it is to say, yet united by their ends, that small battens & interruption of the frame are recognized. "

Then appeared a new layer of asphalt. All these paintings were in perfect preservation, one of them served long towel to the author.

"These bodies so well preserved, we have three long scarves distinguq a fissure quite nice, though somewhat large, fringed, frayed by each end.

"After removing a lot of strips and fifteen cloths imbued with a yellow bitumen, we discovered in the seventh & last seven or eight other envelope coated with a bitumen black and tenacious trèsfortement adhering to the skin.

"Nearly three hours had passed in this operation, we place 380 meters from strips 2 and 3 inches wide, and 250 to 300 square meters (about 2.800 square feet) of various paintings."

The body of the mummy of a 1m male, 73 (5 p. 3 p. 9 fig.). Members were enveloped by a large crust of balm, it took off with a chisel & hammer to get to the mummy.

PASSALAQUA. - Shortly after Cailluad, Passalaqua published in 1826 a catalog of antiquities discovered in Egypt. It discusses the opinion of Herodotus that he fought in some detail, and always speaks of a "thick strips of cloth &." Sometimes the members are individually wrapped, sometimes they come together, and always ultimately covered by enormous masses of linen. - The Greek mummies differ from Egyptian mummies by the outward forms of the boxes, the gilding and by a particular provision of linen wrapped around the fingers separately.

SAMUEL BIRCH. - A few years later, before 1850, Samuel Birch, describing the opening of the mummy of a queen to English scientists (), finds several layers of cardboard formed by a large amount of linen cloth stacked & tied by a substance viscous globules or crystals of a beautiful gum or other substances, leather straps crossing the chest, papyrus with hieratic characters, and always considerable quantities of ling.

The same author in Florence in 1855, present at the opening of another mummy, he is covered with an envelope in the first full length, and several series of envelopes, small bandages regularly placed to form squares around the head, & c.

DOCTOR Broca. - What dominates in all these descriptions is the use of prodigious amounts of laundry. An experiment in the eyes of all Paris during the Universal Exhibition of 1867, and described by Dr. Broca, confirms this testimony.

The mummy is wrapped in a canvas shroud first rose, maintained by narrow strips whose nodes are to meet in front of the same point. She has a thread on the chest in blue beads. Six figures of the goddess Patsch, cardboard golden on one side, hang from the head to the net. The carton is formed by pieces of fabric glued together. Under the napkin rose begins winding strips, their width is 8 to 10 centimeters, and their length of 5 to 6 meters. Together at least 250 to 300 meters.

Their plans are interrupted several times by shrouds that envelop the entire subject. After reeling over two hours, we finally arrived to the strips that wrap around the arms & legs.

The canvas shrouds & strips, woven very remarkably, is five or six different grades. The best are called Horus, but among unmarked packs there are parts coarse, patched clothes.

WILKINSON. - We find in an English work of Mr. Wilkinson, entitled Manners & customs () interesting information that I believe not to omit:

The manufacture of textiles, said it was known in Egypt, which exported to foreign nations, Solomon bought a lot.

The woolen garments were worn mostly by the lower classes, sometimes by the wealthy classes, but never by the priests. The cotton was worn by all.

Microscopic experiments of Dr. Ure, Bauer, Thompson & others show that flax fibers are cylindrical, transparent, hinged & united like a reed. The rows of cotton as a flat ribbon with an edge to each board. It can not be mistaken, except for cotton has not reached its full maturity. While the flatness of the center is less apparent. The same, experiments made on cloths of mummies have consistently shown no flax mixture, even cotton.

ITALY. - I have seen in Torino Egyptian Museum & the Vatican mummies similar, with slight variations, the Louvre & those which we have just read the description.

This custom of wrapping the dead dates back to ancient times, remains among the Egyptians under Greek & Roman domination, and finds himself still in the early centuries of the Christian era. But the Christians could not take it that the Jews themselves, followers of the Egyptians. As in Rome, led by Mr. Dear Rossi in the catacombs of St. Callistus, I saw two bodies covered with cloths. One seems wrapped in a single canvas, where there are large on the front seams that the closed and the other embalmed in the Egyptian manner, it is a real mummy. One is gray, the latter almost black. So if there are provisions of linen similar to those described previously in the I & the second century in Egypt and even in Rome, much less should we not admit that this practice was in full effect at the time of Our Seignuer was buried?

So far we have considered the cloths of mummies in terms of the amount of linen, are currently looking to complete these studies, what were the quality and the nature of these tissues.

FABRICS mummies. - The obligation of Mr. intervention. the curators of the Louvre's Egyptian Museum & the Museum of Natural History allowed me to do, with the help of one of the first manufacturers of Paris, close observation of samples they kindly put at my disposal . I have weighed in order to deduce the weight of the fabric by the meter superficial, I counted the son of the frame & chain, and chose the main draw to the table below, where there are classes according to their weights, starting with the lightest, which are usually the best.

The towns of Alencon, Armentieres, Bapaume, Cambrai, Lille, Le Mans & Mortagne have special productions, well known to people who use these materials. They will provide terms of comparison between the Holy Shroud, the linen mummy & our linen. I added some trade prices, which are still a relative measure of appreciation.

TABLE

OR SAMPLES ARE RANKED LINEN mummies.

NUMBERS

according to their weight. WEIGHT

THE METER

surface in grams. NUMBER

son of

to the chain. NUMBER

son of

to the frame. DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLES

MODERN AND SIMILAR CLOTHS.

1 42 62 32 Assimilated to the finest Indian muslin, which, at one time, sold up to 50 fr. the meter.

February 55 52 31 Batiste of Cambray.

March 76 30 20 Big batiste.

April 88 46 20 Batiste Bapaume.

May 88 32 16 Id much more common.

6100 24 18 Big lawn.

7109 32 17 4 would be fr. meter surface.

8153 30 14 Good linen cretonne.

October 20 9166 Belle web to stick paper, fabric very loose.

10 171 28 16 Canvas Armentieres.

11,172 to Web Oct. 24 cloths, fine quality.

12 200 40 14 Canvas Armentieres, very nice & good stuff. I would en. 12 meter superficial.

13 219 40 20 Good cloth like cream Armentieres, would I. fr. 20.

14,230 at December 20 canvas cloths, like Alençon, c. 80 meter surface.

15 236 28 14 Web of Lille.

16237 December 24 Toile de Mortagne, more twisted wire, c. 95 superficeil meter.

17250 November 28 Genre cream Armentieres, I fr. 15 meter surface.

18 262 36 14 Very beautiful canvas, grains, pearls, like Le Mans, I fr. 50 to I fr. 60 meter surface.

19,343 on September 20 beautiful strap manufacturing, 50 mill. wide, 2 & 3 son.

Strap 20 375 August 16 id. By 2 & 2 son son, 38 mill. in width.

21 387 24 14 Very good canvas of Le Mans, I fr. 75 meter surface.

22390 December 28 Canvas with blue border linked finer kind Mortagne.

23 420 24 16 Web imperial 2 & 2 very fine son, approaches the grain of the canvas itself braided.

It is clear from this table that by inch chain has almost always twice as son as the frame, but by cons, the son of the frame are much stronger, which is close to a avantaguese proportion to the strength . Saying in the table with our 17 & 18: two & three son means son of the two chains are rising at the same time to get two & three current son together in the same shuttle. In modern fabrics made mechanically, the number of son to the frame & chain are nearly the same. The average price of cloth is similar current I fr. to I fr. 20 meter surface. The color samples observed is similar to that of India nankeen.

In summary, having thus shown that the Bible, tradition, all authors & the most careful observations agree to recognize up to 200 and 300 square yards of linen cloths on a single mummy, we will return to the burial of our Lord: and by studying the relics of saints Suares we shall not be surprised that we find in so many different places.

II.

BURIAL OF OUR LORD.

Based on the foregoing, it is undeniable that many cloths had to be employed at the burial of the Savior. The respect shown by the gospel extravagance in the use of herbs proves that we did not have to save more & linen strips, also needed to maintain them. In addition, it is likely to be kept all that was sanctified by the touch of his divine body.

Saint John, saying that Jesus Christ was buried according to the custom of Hébreaux, which wrapped the bodies in shrouds from head to foot, ruled that the Romans burned the body & keep the ashes in urns. He was wrapped in myrrh & aloes whose very bitter juices have the ability to preserve the body from putrefaction, and whose weight was one hundred pounds, while four or five pounds would have sufficed in a pinch. This large amount of aromatics have shown that it is not only coated, but immersed in the scents, to speed up the operation, and avoid touching the body. It was not because men used to work vulgar, but men of high rank & Noble, it was Joseph of Arimathea, a rich & decurion, who asked Pilate the body of Jesus was Nicodemus Prince of the Jews, who had bought the spices. Although they still regarded as a prophet & a truly admirable man they wanted, however, says St. John Chrysostom, give, by this profusion worthy of Mary Magdalene, a witness of their love and faith of lur.

The shroud to be used by Joseph of Arimathea was a decent body wrap to carry to the grave, independently of other linens necessary for embalming. We have seen, according to St. John, several towels & a shroud that had been on his head. Jesus Christ had remained in the grave all Saturday. The evening of that day, Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Jacques, and Salome, returned with spices & perfume, wanting to add even honoring the men whose devotion had preceded out to continue the operation of the embalming, which usually lasted forty days.

We hear no more of these sacred objects so that, three centuries later, St. Helena found the relics then spread worldwide. I'll try to track wherever they exist & to tell the story of each.

III.

RELICS OF THE SHROUD.

Among the cloths that were used in the burial of our Lord and which have been preserved, there were five famous, revered as the Holy Shroud, in Besançon, Cadouin, Cahors, Compiègne & Tours.

BESANCON. - An inventory of the holy relics of Besancon in 1353 mentions a Shroud which there was no question in a previous inventory of 1051. It is in this range, that is to say towards the thirteenth century, in 1253 according to R. P. Langella, he was brought in this city. Dunod think the best critics, he came to Besançon after the fall of Constantinople in 1204. Indeed, several gentlemen of the county of Burgundy took part in this expedition, and we know that one of the sweetest reward of their exploits was able to report some relics to their country, where they became a perpetual monument to their high Facts and their courage.

Othon de la Roche was one of those illustrious warriors, and the Crusaders, as the price of its value, let him say the chronicles, one of the most beautiful relics that were in Constantinople. Otto sent him to his father who gave it in 1206 to Amadeus of Trameley, Archbishop of Besançon (). The relic has been preserved, but the authentic perished in a fire set by lightning in 1349. The authors who have seen it say it was affected & cloth linen ground, common, sweet as that of Egypt, soft & woven with designs such as damask linen. Its length was 2m, 60, a width of 1m, 30.

S. E. The Cardinal Mathieu, Archbishop of Besançon, which I took the liberty to speak, was kind enough to answer me, and proves, by the details in which he agreed to come, its faith in the authenticity of this relic. Unfortunately the church of Besançon lost during the Revolution badges relics of the Passion of Our Lord she had. They were all burned or taken dispersed. As for the Shroud, he was not burned, as was believed until recently. Very anxious to find her, my lord has done all the research that the most minute.

Less archives of the prefecture of Doubs retain the letter of transmittal in Paris, and the original receipt. At the Convention the report was done in the spirit of the time of the member Vau, Côte-d'Or, which placed the relic on the desktop, then it is not said in the meeting what made it. The issue of the Journal de Paris the next day said although it was sent to hospitals to make lint, but no real decision not located in the Monitor, His Eminence has searched the archives and all the libraries of Paris without any result.

All that remains in Besançon affiliations of the Holy Shroud is the wooden box in which was contained in the gilt containing the Shroud. This set is a scented wood, worked poorly, with arabesques of Oriental origin.

One can read in the Lives of the Saints of the Franche-Comte, by professors of the college of Saint-François-Xavier de Besançon, in 1856, a very interesting history of the Shroud of Besançon, his arrival in France, his worship, miracles attributed to him. His Eminence sent me a copy, there joined the Latin extract of the statement he had made in Rome in 1862, the affairs of the Holy Shroud, in order to obtain the proper office, which was granted.

CADOUIN. - All the Shroud did not have the same fate. The Church of Cadouin, in the diocese of Périgueux, which has a Dabert Bishop presented the cult in honor, by publishing a beautiful & long pastoral letter in which it establishes its authenticity, and summoned the clergy and the faithful a solemn translation was held September 5, 1866. The Shroud of Cadouin was given in the twelfth century to Adhemar, bishop of Puy, who had followed the First Crusade as legate of the Holy See; the hands of this great prelate surprised by the plague in Antioch, passed in the sacred deposit of Discrete & other pious hands who brought us.

Mr. Vte de Gourgues, who kindly help me as its scholarly research, wrote in 1867: "I just had knowledge of a text Alberic of Trois-Fontaines which states a fact that none of those who have written on the Shroud had mentioned. All repeat this same general indication: the Shroud was found at Antioch by Adhemar, bishop of Puy, in e taking of that city in 1098. This text sets out the circumstances of the discovery. The Shroud could not be found after the siege of Antioch by the Crusaders, but during the siege, which a few months after, was taken by the Saracens, under the command of Sultan Mosul. "

In 1644, Jean de Lingendes, Bishop of Sarlat, is a survey of the holy relic & this is what he wrote: "The R. P. dom Étienne Guichard, the prior, we exhibited a very large number of bubbles, letters patent, records, securities & other documents by which the truth of this lovely relic of our God & Savior & received as such powerful evidence, we do not believe it is in all the Christian relic proved better, as this does not holier & more valuable. "

The history of the Shroud is connected with the lamentable story of three centuries old occupation of the most beautiful provinces of France by the English, then the wars of religion. To take cover so many causes of destruction, it took Cadouin during the war of the Albigenses (1370), to put it safely in Toulouse, there remained seventy years, and was secretly removed from the hands of Toulouse, who did not want to relinquish this holy treasure. "At the time of Luther's revolt in 1517 Cadouin having fallen into the hands of sectarian, religious had to flee, but they placed the Shroud in the castle of Montferrand where he remained hidden until the end of the storm."

During the great French Revolution, two pious Christians saved him again. He was then in all its nakedness, stripped of the rich relics which he had hitherto been confined.

This relic was constantly the object of veneration of the people & the Kings, including quoting Philippe de Valois, Charles VI, Charles VII, Louis XI, Charles VIII and Louis XII. Bishop says the pious pilgrimages Lingendes & brought it back deep in religion, the many miracles & indulgences which she was the object. Finally NTORS century too pronounced, see bloom again the cult of the Shroud in the holy feast of his translation, by Mr. Delpit recontée.

At the request of Bishop Dabert, Mr. Vte de Gourgues sent me the following description of the Shroud of Cadouin.

"The length of the Shroud is 2m, 81, width 1m, 13. The play is full of stuff, with an edge on both sides wide, and a colored edge on both long sides. The ornamentation is well prepared: the first end to a colored band is the distance of 170mm filled with the substance of the tissue. The width of the first band is 25mm. Of the first strip to the second interval is 105mm at the bottom of fabric. The second colored band has a width of 65mm, then comes the bottom of the fabric, on the other hand, the order is the same. - The second tape or inner band (the middle of the Shroud) has this provision: in the middle of a 20mm wide bead contains a series of cut flowers, laid flat, tangent to one another, separated only by a framework of eight leaflets also cut & laid two to two opposing them.

"On either side of the cord, one cord narrower contains a series of open flowers, placed on a rod & stands out against a black background with a lower figure is very irregular. Finally both sides of the two cords reigns a sort of yellow stripe rust, in which a black lead very elegantly describes the S reversed. Each of these strings is separated from its neighbor by a horizontal black line. The two cords around the middle have a series of vertical bars separating each of the flowers. The entire border thus presents a set of five bands combined. As for the outer edge, there is only one band, which is the exact repetition of the middle band in the inner border. The color is white, weathered, but the color that resulted unrelated to the color ecru general in all the paintings that were used for burial in ancient Egypt.

"There may be approximately ten to twelve per centimeter son. We see the windows of the Louvre paintings with Egyptian ornaments like the Shroud of Cadouin.

"Mr. Longperrier of writing: "If the history of this tissue can be traced back to the first century it is not his appearance would constitute an obstacle or a means of reversal, but it is not only on this aspect should be based an award of age without other guarantor (). "

III.

CAHORS. - Mr. Philippe Maury, pastor of the Cathedral of Cahors, gave me the holy city of this cap a note which I extract the following:

".... The cathedral of Cahors has a very precious relic honored as the Holy Shroud of cap or the head of our Lord. It is a machine consisting of three doubles in fine linen of Egypt bunk (Champollion, after having carefully examined said that this machine, according to its structure, was back in the days of our Lord). The double exterior & interior is a very light gauze, the holy cap takes the form of a headband, which clasping under the chin with a buttonhole for a rather large head. It is stained with more blood spots, two in particular that cross all doubles. No. According to a tradition interrupted, though vague in its origin, this relic was given by Charlesmagne or some person in his family to the church of Cahors, one of the oldest of the Gauls. Pope Calixtus II, in 1119, came to visit & spend itself the altar of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, and the high altar of the cathedral.

"Until the revolution of '89, there was every year a vast concourse of pilgrims to Cahors, the feast of Pentecost, to come to venerate the relic.

"The hard times had brought down this cult that continues still in the diocese, which has a particular office of the holy cap, approved by the Holy See."

IV.

CARCASSONNE. - A Bridge Hospital in the city of Carcassonne, the holy cabouin (cap) of our Lord is the subject of a popular cult ().

V.

COMPIEGNE. - Is kept in the church of St. Corneille at Compiegne, a white shroud called the Shroud of Jesus Christ, and many other bands that were thought to come from the same origin. He appears to have been made in 877 by Charles the Bald, of Aix-la-Chapelle who was the munificence of Charlemagne. It was then enclosed in a box of ivory in the shape of a church. He was then placed in a shrine in 1092 adorned with beautiful stones most precious & given by Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, by an act of Foucault Bonneval with the seal of Philip of France.

The shrine was opened in 1516 & August 15, 1628. The minutes of the second opening indicates that the shroud was folded rolls enclosed in two envelopes double silk fastened with cords of silk color. Having removed these envelopes, they saw the Shroud in which the fabric is old it could only with great difficulty distinguishing quality. It is coffinée & several folds. Liqueurs & aromatic ointments which it has been soaked & make it thicker to prevent us discern its color. In general most of the assistants thought it was a fabric of cotton or fine linen damask shapes. Its length is 2m, 1m over 40, 20 in width. The inventory, which the manuscript is still in the hands of the Abbe Bourgeois, was erected in 1666, and tested eleven times by the men most seriously until October 27, 1684. Langelle Dom () confirms all the details & apply to this relic an epigraph taken from Tertullian:

Mea is possessio, olim possideo, prius possideo, habeo origins firmas ab IPSIS autoribus quorum leaking res.

Since the Revolution there is none trace. It is said that this valuable material, fell into the hands of Temma ignorant, had been used for secular purposes until, reduced to a rag, it has ceased to exist ().

VI.

TURIN. - Bailey, who also often needs to be controlled, says a lot of development with the history of the Shroud of Turin.

Read the canons of Champagne, three leagues from Troyes, received this relic of Godfrey de Charny, a gentleman of Burgundy, governor of Picardy, who had it placed in the church he founded for this purpose, 20 June 1353. He said to have conquered in the war against the infidels, and received Ugon IV, king of Cyprus, to whom he had rendered great services.

When she was exposed, it attracted to read a great crowd of faithful. However, the'évêque of Troyes, Henri de Poitiers, not seeing enough of authenticity, forbade the canons of the exhibit. We carried him out of the diocese in a place where she remained for nearly twenty-four. Around the year 1378, Godefroy de Charny the Younger, son of the founder of the church, received the legate of Clement VII at Avignon, for permission to place the Shroud in égliste, without having to take the consent of his bishop. The bishop of Troyes, Pierre d'Arcier, defended the exhibition, under pain of excommunication, until the Pope has ordered. Godfrey obtained a defense against the order of King Charles VI to afford. On the claim of the bishop, the revoked permission August 4, 1389. Godefroy de Charny himself went to Avignon to appeal to Clement VII, who confirmed the permission given by the legate. The bishop then sent a request to the Pope, showed that what was thought to be an impression of the body of Jesus Christ on the canvas was a painting made with hands, that, according to the common opinion, we were convinced that it never used to shroud Jesus Christ, his public exposure shocked the good people & all people of good sense, and she wore the little people to superstition. Clement, traveling to the reasons presented by the bishop, settled the question and gave a brief of January 6, 1390 in which he helped to expose the sheet without ornaments or candles, with a sign indicating that it was not the real shroud Our Lord, but a simple representation as other charts. The canons gave up ().

Chifflet confirms the opinion of Baillet, by simply reporting that Clement VII forbidden to show the relic in public for not hiring a people ignorant and rude in vain demonstrations religius, and continues its history without regard to these objections. Dom Langella says it does not matter that many will be declared against the worship of the sacred cloth, since they oppose a large cardinal, St. Charles Borromeo, and others; & more bubbles of the Pope, the miracles & consent of the authors of the sixteenth & seventeenth century.

The Holy Shroud and remained shut until 1418, civil war induced the canons to depose with other relics in the Castle of Humbert, Count de la Roche, Lord of Villers-Seyssel, who had married Marguerite de Charny, a small daughter & heir of their founder. The count gave the canons an act of recognition dated July 6, 1418. After his death, Margaret was condemned by decree of parliament of Dole, in Franche-Comte, to make the filing read. She went into effect the relics & the jewels of the church, retaining only the Holy Shroud, claiming that it was an acquisition made in the war by his grandfather, Godfrey, and which belonged to him as an heir.

Another case of the same Parliament of 8 May 1443 allowed him to keep him another three years, a sum of money she had to pay to the church to read. Marguerite United States various times, until, having gone to Chambery in 1452, she left him to the Duchess of Savoy, Anne de Lusignan Cyprus, and made him a gift by a document executed on March 22. The following year, the Duke of Savoy was beaten back with medals which was represented the Holy Shroud, held by a kneeling woman, & began to worship it public in Chambéry. The canons of reading, having known what Marguerite had done, he brought an new trial, and obtained the official Besançon a sentence of excommunication against him in 1457, still unable to draw any reason.

After his death, they took during the trip that made the Duke of Savoy in Paris in 1464 to ask for justice, and claim the Shroud, but instead to return the relic, he gave them 50 francs (four from the small weight) Gold perpetual annuity, payable the day of Saint Andrew.

The Duke senior, his files, built for the Shroud, in the castle of Chambery, a chapel was erected in collegiate church by a bull of Paul II. The Shroud was then taken to Vercelli, then to Nice, where a street bears the name of the Holy Shroud, and again in Vercelli, and finally returned to Chambéry in 1563. Emmanuel Philibert was brought to Turin in 1578 to save a pilgrimage walk to St. Charles Borromeo & kept it there, despite promises to return it to Chambery (). This relic was in the sixteenth century, the object of such veneration, in 1516, following a vow, Francis I came on foot from Lyon to Chambéry for the visit.

To this day she never left the sanctuary that the rich rulers of Piedmont him high, and the last memory associated with it is all completely contemporary. At the wedding of Victor Emmanuel in Turin, and on this occasion, the Holy Shroud was transferred from the chapel where it is stored in the Palais Madame an eyewitness, as enlightened as credible, Jeancart Bishop, Bishop of Porcelain, who attended this imposing ceremony, and given the respect that the relic was surrounded, was kind enough to tell me the details, and to attach the following description: "This is a piece of cloth 4 meters about length, linen, a little yellowed by time & striped like dimity. Large patches, some of which certainly indicates the position of the head, can not be attributed only divine blood which was decorated with the Holy Shroud. Time has holes in the fabric imperceptible, some of which were repaired by the princesses. "

VARIOUS Shroud. - There is talk of other sacred linens wrongly designated by that name, and include a Shroud, which was released by St. Louis Beaudoin, Aix-la-Chapelle, perhaps the same one that was brought to Compiegne At St. John Lateran (), St. Mary Major, Saint-François to Ripa, at Santa Maria in Trastevere, St. Mark's in Rome. A Jaen, a city of Andalusia is a veil of Veronica which will be discussed below. In religious Enxobregas near Lisbon, with body painting of Our Lord. In Toulouse. And Mainz. Dom Morin reports a fragment at the Abbey of Ferrieres.

I saw a piece of Lyon Shroud from the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, 26mm long and 18mm wide. There are nineteen son of this width. It is a linen cloth all united, tissue very carefully, and for the fine, comparable to what is called the big Cambrai.

There is nothing extraordinary in the fact that we find a large quantity of pieces of linen, which may be fragments of strips. If it were full of shrouds, we would not have failed to show me in Rome, when I was looking so carefully all the relics of the Passion.
ROME. Holy Cross in Jerusalem.

P.

IX.

CHAPTER V.

The Veronese. - THE HOLY ROBES.

shrouds we are naturally led to other fabrics also sanctified by the divine touch of our Lord & first in those where it is believed that his holy face has been printed.

I.

The Veronese.

Veronique Vatican. - Saint Luke says that our Lord was accompanied at Calvary by a large crowd, and mostly by women in tears which he said: "Weep for you & your son, and not on me." Tradition says that one of 'They presented him with a veil to wipe it, and that the veil is folded in three, the image of Jesus Christ is represented three times. It is believed that the holy woman who wiped the face of Our Lord called Berenice or Venice where, corruptly, it would have Veronica, true image, applying to those who wore the veil name printed portrait in it ( ). Were retained, they say, these images, one of which would be in Spain, the other was in Jerusalem & the third is in Rome.

Celli it, given the time of Tiberius, would have contributed to a recovery of the emperor. Constantine would have placed in the basilica of St. Peter, where ten times a year on the watch to the pope, the cardinals & the faithful kneeling on the floor of the nave.

An inscription, copied by Mr. Barber of the canon Montault in the diaconate of St. Mary of the Martyrs, which is kept carefully at the altar of the Crucifix worm-eaten remains of a wooden box that was used to transport the holy relic, tells us how, by the hands of St. Veronica, the veil of the holy face came from Palestine to Rome. Area sacrum in four immigrants has sudarium diva Veronica delatum Romam ex hac Palästina Basilica in annis restituit centum.

This qui'ly certain is that John VII made him a shrine in 705.

On November 23, 1011, Pope Sergius wrote an altar in the church of St. Peter in the Vatican.

In 1200, Innocent III was mentioned in the sermon the first Sunday after Epiphany.

In 1298, Boniface VIII took the relic to the church of the Holy Spirit, where she was then, and reported to the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles.

In the fifteenth century, we establish a votive Mass of St. Veronica or sacred representation of Jesus Christ.

In 1606, Paul V placed it in the new basilica of St. Peter.

In Rome, Cardinal Baronius, St. Charles Borromeo in Milan, did hide titles liturgical celebration of St. Veronica and replace it with that of the Holy Face of Our Lord, Benedict XIV, who had in great reverence, and Urban VIII, said, "Let the name Veronica is a woman or that of the relic itself, it is certain that this relic is honored for many centuries in the basilica of the Vatican."

Here, I think, the place to recall what the scientist said so wisely Dom Mabillon, "Where is the immemorial tradition & identity established, possession of worship is a solid title that could not be destroyed by evidence that certain & obvious ... The presumption is in favor of the relics which enjoy the benefit, because we did not set out initially without having well considered. The ancient canons prescribed ... It is therefore fair to judge for possession, unless there is good reason to doubt it, but specific reasons & not vague and general. "Rome was distributed engravings of a very clear picture of our Lord. It is rather an indication that a copy of the relic, where the image is very erased. The canons of St. Peter alone have the privilege to see that this relic, which is hidden even to the Cardinals. The meeting of the bishop in Rome for the Immaculate Conception commissioned a happy exception to this rule, and allowed the Abbe Barber of Montault, which began under the leadership of one of them, to see closely, and to tell and his visit to the Archaeological Journal.

"On December 8, 1854, we sent down this relic on the altar of the Blessed Sacrament from the holy lance & the wood of the true cross. The Holy Face is enclosed in a silver gilt in places & square, severe appearance, and some decorated with ornaments. The simplicity of the relief is more resort within the table, that protects a thick crystal. Unfortunately, these customs Parnas too common in Italy, a metal blade inside covers & leaves clear that the figure which it delineates. To these contours frankly accused is suspected of long hair that fall on the shoulders, and a short beard which bifurcates into two strands just provided. The rest of the lines is so vaguely drawn, or rather so completely cleared, it took me the best will in the world to see the trace of the eyes & nose. Which further increases the confusion is a net mesh spacing, placed there in order to prevent the machine from falling apart. In short we do not see the bottom of the stuff hidden by an unnecessary application of metal, and at the place of the footprint it sees only a black area & not giving a human face (). "

VÉRONIQUE from Jaén (Spain). - Monescillo Bishop, Bishop of Jaen, has sent a representative photopraphie the veil of Veronica which is preserved in the cathedral of that city and that I reproduced in a vignette to the end of this chapter.

LAON. - It is a saint venerated in Laon face up to the religious of Montreuil by Jacque de Troyes, chaplain of Pope Innocent IV in 1243.

IMAGE of Edessa. - It is said qu'Abgarus, king of Edessa in Mesopotamia, had sent a painter to paint the portrait of Jesus Christ, but that, dazzled by the brightness that shone supernatural in his person, he could not succeed, and that Our Lord then, taking a napkin, wiped his face that remained appeared on the cloth. This image was already famous in the sixth century in Edessa, and she remained there until the eleventh century, when she went to Constantinople and then Rome, where it is venerated in Saint-Sylvestre-in-Capita. A crowd of pious and learned doctors, Greek and Latin, during many centuries, have believed in the miraculous delivery of this image.

GENOA also believed to possess the Shroud of Edessa, who was raised from this city to Constantinople by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in 944. John Paleologus, the mid-fourteenth century, gave the picture to Leonardo Montaldo who made a present to the church of St. Bartholomew of Genoa, served today by the Barnabites.

Portraits of Our Lord. - These are the images of Our Lord "called acheiropoietos is to say that pass that are believed to have been made without the participation of the mian rights." Whatever their authenticity can not be used to give the features of the Saviour, because they are so obliterated that it is impossible, despite what Chifflet, about the Shroud of Turin, to find traits arrested for a human figure. Other monuments they would give us the face of God more accurately, in a word "Christians of the first age they had portraits of authentic, contemporary images of the Redeemer? Despite the immense interest & curiosity, self-attaching to such a question, science is unable to give a satisfactory solution.

"The famous controversy which arose from the second century, about the beauty or laiduer of our Savior, even seems to exclude any idea of a type known as primitive & two hundred years before St. Augustine, St. Irenaeus had already stated positively that such was not anywhere ...

"It is certain however, that a type as such, convention, admitted stopped early enough. Was already fixed in the time of Constantine? All we can say, on the testimony of Eusebius, is that there are in the portraits of Christ and that Constancia, sister of the Emperor, asked the bishop of Caesarea get him one. "

We see, however, the cemetery of Saint-Calixte an image that should go in the second century and which "appears to be the starting point of the hieratic form that has passed through all the ages ... The Savior ... it shows the face oval. Slightly elongated, serious countenance, sweet and melancholy, short beard & rare, terminating in a point, the hair parted in the middle of the front & falling over the shoulders in two long curly masses. "

In other ancient monuments "Our Lord is usually depicted young & beardless, in allusion to his divine nature which is not subject to the vagaries of time ... It seems especially so when it operates some miracle, because that's when he demonstrated divinity, by being master of nature, and when, on the contrary, he taught his apostles, it is shown in the maturity of the age, with beards, which is suitable for possessing the fullness of true and communicates it to others. "

This is how Cardinal Barromée () is expressed on the subject: "His face was full of life & of rare beauty, her size 7 palms (about 1 m, 89), and his soft blonde hair (subflava) , wavy, slightly arched black eyebrows, his brown eyes had a look of sweet with a wonderful & penetrating, long nose, the beard and a little long: he wore his hair very long, never scissors n ' had penetrated, and the hand of his mother alone in her tender age had touched his head slightly inclined as to reduce the height of its size. The color of his face resembled that of a wheat a little red. "

I.

THE HOLY ROBES.

Among the most distinguished relics of Our Lord there were his clothes, which were coarse. He had to carry, according to Jewish custom, a tunic, a kind of shirt without sewing a dress on top, like the cassock of the clergy, and finally a coat as outer clothing removed easily & which does not keep in indoor. The Jews had no clothes separate body, thighs and legs ().

It is certain that Herod had covered Jesus in a white robe as a sign of derision, that the white dress was a sign of royalty, the kings did not allow for other than their parents to bring , that the defendants were usually dressed in a black tunic. Herod unwittingly pays tribute to his innocence (Baronius).

Our Lord could have two tunics and dresses, without contradicting what he had taught, that we should not have two tunics, meaning that we should not have alternative ().

In his passion he appears with a single robe, as seamless as the soldiers cast lots, that dress was coarse, similar to Galilèeens. Perhaps he was stripped of the outer robe or dress of honor, like Joseph, who was the image of Jesus Christ, was robbed before being thrown into the cistern.

The plurality of clothes of our Lord, Mr. Guérin (p. 87), says: "Is it possible to find a sharper text & more decisive than these words of St. Mark tells the story of the hemorrhage, "Jesus, he said, knowing in" self-virtue, which had left him, turned to the crowd and said: Who is "what touched my clothes? Quis tetigit vestimenta mea? "For the Evangelist uses the plural here, do we not that Jesus Christ had more of a garment? We could, certainly, we stick to the sacred text, but listen to some commentators on this passage from Job: Their wealth they burn my clothes & & m'environment shake me like a tunic top. On this other place of St. John: Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, put on his coat, for he was naked, and he threw himself into the sea, Dr. Allioli gives this explanation: "That that he was almost naked. He had the habit of that below, a che-bet (or tunic) of this suit below, promptly put the dress top, dress, and he tied with a belt ... "

FORM OF TUNIC. - The tunic was the primary under-garment of the Greeks and Romans, it approaches its strong use of the shirt and by the shape of the modern blouse. The tunic of ordinary men in Greece & Rome was merely a flannel shirt tied at the waist & knee-length or nearly so, with two short sleeves that covered only the deltoid muscle, that is to say the upper arm up to the armpit, and do not even fell to the elbow. The industrious part of the population, while it was busy work day, the other wore no clothes.

According Theophylactus, the coats of the Jews were formed of two pieces joined together by seams. Salmazius said that the tunic of our Lord would have been woven with a needle, like a shirt without cleft side, and not as regular coats that attach with staples. Ferrari Salmazius refutes what he said that the dress was sewn inconsutilis (seek medical). Cornelius & P. Lamy assume she was knitting (). Braunius claims that it has not been attached as St. Chrysostom, or knitted Ferrari as claimed, but executed by a weaver. We'll see during the visit to Argenteuil solution by the Abbe Davin who seems closest to the truth.

ORIGIN OF THE TUNIC. - According to a widely held belief enough, the Blessed Virgin would weave the tunic of our Lord as a child, and she had grown with him, but he had never changed. There is no doubt that, as usual, the Blessed Virgin has not woven itself, but the miracle of the increase in that dress, no need to demonstrate authenticity, seems contrary to life that our hidden Seigner wanted to conduct its mission. Is answered it is true, that the Blessed Virgin could only know. But this was too obvious for his cousins & other relatives who saw it were continually do not notice. It is undisputed, however, that the mission of our Lord does not manifest itself first of all for his own. Luke says: Maria Auten conservabat omnia haec verba, suo conferences in rope.

The miracle of the wedding at Cana was the first who showed his glory to his disciples. Saint John (ch. II, v. 11) does not he say: Hoc fecit initium signorum Jesus in Cana Galilœœ, and manifestavit gloriam suam, and crediderunt in eum discipuli ejus? Only when his public life as those of Nazareth, who were amazed at his miracles, said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

RELICS.

The cities of Trier & Argenteuil each have a coat that is said to have belonged to our Lord, and each thought he had used the seamless robe, putting in the minds of a regrettable confusion, but recent studies have demonstrated that both may be true relics. Certainly, the long robe & maintained honored in Trier is different from that of Argenteuil.

We will take first that of Treves, which seems to be the first to arrive in Europe.

The coat of Trier. - Saint Helena sent the robe of Our Lord Agritius, Bishop of Trier, who was one of the first cities of the empire, capital of Gaul, residence of the emperors of the West until the late fourth century, and homeland the empress, who bestowed the gift of this rich, adding other relics of the Passion. It is likely that it was kept in Jerusalem during the first three centuries until the invention of the true cross & then offered to St. Helena, which could give a great price.

Tradition & written material, which unfortunately do not go back much before the twelfth century, but reminiscent of ancient traditions, agree on the authenticity of the relic. Professor Marx at the invitation of the Archbishop, issued a large fine & work () on a history of the coat of Trier, he explains the lack of ancient documents by the fact that in the former documents the fact that in ancient times to the Western Church, we were not in these turbulent times is carefully concealed such treasures. He speaks of an ivory diptych, a work of Roman decadence, which is the introduction of the relics in the city of Trier & receipt by St. Helena.

In 1196, Archbishop John, by working at the Cathedral, found the casket containing the sacred robe. She remained, from that time until 1512, under the altar without being exposed, and after many vicissitudes, from 1512 to 1810, she returned to Trier, where she had been away for a century.

The box containing the holy robe was placed in the chamber of relics. Was found in the interior one second box, covered with leather, closed as the first with three locks, and a third surrounded by cotton and wrapped in a cloth. The cloth having been removed, we saw that the box was lined with a red lace & twenty-five seals intact, as was the first minutes and two locks. There is a layer of cotton & silk successive three envelopes, one blue, one red, and the third white. Finally we saw the holy dress preserved itself in all its length, but folded in the direction of the width. It was taken with white taffeta & spread on the altar of the chapel.

On the front it looked like peeling, and it was noted that previously, to better conserve the clothing we had applied a very thin material which had separated from the effect of time and fell into pieces. Many of these pieces were picked up by the assistants. They were often referred to as plots of the holy robe, but they are not included: any piece of the holy robe was separated. The antiquity of the garment is obvious. It is more brown on the inside and outside, white in a few places, gray in the rest. It was thought only to find no trace of sewing, but the back was covered with gauze, because undoing the fabric in many places and that the son hung. The son are so fine they are barely distinguishable to the naked eye, the matter appears to be filaments of nettles.

The length is 1m from the front, behind 55 & 1m, 62, the width under the sleeve is 0m, & 73 at the bottom of 1m, 16, the sleeve length is 0 m, a width of 50 & 0m, 32.

When the relic was publicly exposed in 1810, over two hundred thousand pilgrims aflluèrunt. At the last exhibition in 1844, their number exceeded one million.

Dress Argenteuil. - This is what is known about the relic of Argenteuil in the sixth century Gregory of Tours says quie bought the tunic was worn by the faithful to a city of Galatia, a province of Asia Minor. This city is one hundred and fifty miles from Constantinople. The relic was kept there in a basilica dedicated under the name of the Holy Archangels & secret in a vault, where it lay in Foud a wooden box from the city, the holy tunic was carried out Zaphat to Jaffa, to be immune to the attacks of the 'king of the Persians, who made an incursion into Armenia around the year 590, and qui'y destroyed all the churches. These details were given to Gregory by a bishop named Simeon, who came to Tours in 591, the sixteenth year of King Childebert, and the thirtieth of that of King Guntram. The coat did not stay in Jaffa. To 595, it was solemnly carried to Jerusalem by three Patriarch Gregory of Antioch, Jerusalem Thomas, John of Constantinople & a crowd of people (). Twenty years after the translation, she was taken to Persia with the True Cross by Chosroes II (614). Heraclius took it, and in the 627 moved to Constantinople, and brought it to Jerusalem, and fearing a new profanity, finally gave it to Constantinople.

The Empress Irene, sending rich presents to Charlemagne, including the seamless tunic of our Lord Jesus Christ. Charlemagne had a sister named Gisele, who lived for some time a monastery in Argenteuil, depending on the famous abbey of Saint-Denis. Théodrade, Gisele's niece, and a daughter of Charlemagne, wishing to devote himself to God, expressed a wish to enter this holy asylum, the emperor asked Father & the Sisters of Saint-Denis permission to 'to place his daughter as abbess, which was granted. But this princess is very fond, and he wanted to enrich his monastery's most precious treasure sent from the East. So he made the solemn translation of the holy tunic to 13 August 800, and laid her in the convent of Argenteuil. Charlesmagne, who had received the relics of Irene, Haroun al Rashid, the Azan was not gullible about it, because more than once in its Chapter members, it is the defense of worshiping bodies of the martyrs & saints whose relics are questionable.

In 857, following the invasion of the Normans, under Charles the Bald, the monastery was ruined, and the nuns forced to flee, having taken the precaution of hiding the relic in a wall, where it remained hidden & forgotten the faithful who believed lost. This fact is often represented on the occasion of the relics.

In 1156, she was found by a monk of the Order of St. Benedict, which had been established. A charter from authentic Hugues, archbishop of Rouen, says that King Louis VII, the clergy, the court, the faithful vérifièrent, as well as written stating its authenticity & telling his story.

In 1435, Sicille, herald of Alfonso V, King of Aragon, wrote: "I have seeing the abillement in Argenteuil near Paris, about three miles."

In 1529, the holy tunic was the subject of a solemn ceremony described by Dom Michel Felibien.

In 1529, the Huguenots set fire to the church, carried the shrine & fortunately left the relic, which is kept in a wooden chest.

Louis XIII went there three times to his devotions & would not be the Tirat trunk to kiss him bare. He said he was not to see & believe.

In 1680, Marie de Lorraine, known as Mademoiselle de Guise, gave a magnificent silver-gilt reliquary, enriched with jewels.

"In 1790, the Revolution broke out ... The shrine given by the Duchess of Guise was taken. As for the tunic, it is hid him from the fury of the revolutionaries, until the time when Cardinal Caprara gave it in honor of a deed.

"For the care & the zeal of the Abbe of Abbe Gaidechen, then parish priest, was sent to the legate of the Holy See a statement dated April 29, 1804, where we recall the facts on which is supported the ancient possession of the holy tunic, and titles that demonstrate, from century to century, this possession. It concluded by asking the restoration of the worship that we went to this monument of our salvation, in the conventual priory suppressed, and its transfer to the main church of Argenteuil, with the same grace of the Church which he enjoyed time immemorial ().

In 1851, Donoso Cortes came to the honor, making the pilgrimage on foot. "

In 1854, at the request of His Holiness Pius IX, Father Millet, pastor of Argenteuil, brought to Rome in a portion of about 0m, 15.

Less favored than the relict of Trier which was not affected, that of Argenteuil was divided at the time of the Revolution by the priest, whose indiscreet zeal hoped to save by distributing fragments to his parishioners, so that the shape of the garment is now to recognize difficulties (Marx).

Abbe Davin, in a speech in the new church of Argenteuil () June 5, 1865, adds details on this very interesting relic. The fabric is camel hair loose, and looks like the end of the canvas whose son would be very crooked. This is what I saw myself from a piece that has posted to show close to the faithful. This small piece of 19mm & 24mm has one to thirty-six son of twenty-four, about 2 mm for three son. Abbe Millet said further that the bottom of the dress is lined as a hem, is a kind of edge whose son is tighter to increase the réistance. It is woven from the top to its full extent (erat autem tunica inconsutilis desuper Contexta per totum) Seamless & made needle on the simplest of jobs, such as a receiving pad on both the chain & the FAES frame.

It was a garment down to below the knees, near the feet, with two handles that could cover only half the arms. Thus to have the oldest inhabitants of Argenteuil before she had been so unhappily divided. Dom Manceau, who spent fifty-five years with her, she attests 1m 45 in height & 1m, 15 wide.

TRIER & ARGENTEUIL. - It seems demonstrated by the foregoing that Trier has the robe of fine linen woven top, decorated with drawings, & c., & Argenteuil tunic shorter, seamless, coarsely woven from one thread camel hair . The first was sent by St. Helena St. Agrice, the second reported in the East by St. Gregory of Tours, came to Argenteuil by way of Charlemagne. Both were carried by our Lord. The second one was on him when he went up to Calvary.

MOSCOW. - In 1790, it was believed Moscow had the seamless robe of our Lord. This is probably another fabric, perhaps from Jesus Christ, but it could neither be part of the coat of Trier, which is still full, or that of Argenteuil, even during the entire Revolution .

It seems that it was only a fragment of the coat is the coat. Mr. Prilejaëff, who was kind enough to give me this information, told me that the Greek Church retains about it a legend that dates back to apostolic times. The soldier to whom the lot came out of retained all his life, and it is said, was touched by grace. He bequeathed to a sister who survived him, and in the tomb where it was placed. - A tree rose on the grave & was the subject of several miracles. They wanted to seek the cause in its roots, and there discovered the holy coat, & c.

Several other churches show the relics of the tunic of our Lord, for instance, in Ste-Praxède & Saint-Roch.

Ughelli (Italia Sacra) said that there is in the Cathedral of Cortona a piece of the robe of our Lord given by Jacques Vagnucci of Cortona, formerly bishop of Perugia, who said to have received partriarche of Constantine, with several other relics . He gives also a different version, taken from a Greek inscription which is the translation: "I, Gregory, by divine mercy Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, Ecumenical & partriarche I gave Nicolas V, ruler Pontiff, part of the dress of our Lord Jesus Christ, then he gave Jacques, Bishop of Perugia. "

VENICE. - We show in Venice a very fine fabric like cambric, 300mm on 40mm, which is believed to come from the white robe of our Lord.

II.

The purple robe.

And exuentes eum, chlamydem coccineam circumdederunt ei (), and having stripped, they wrapped a scarlet cloak. - We do not know if Christ after the flagellation, took his clothes, he was stripped again to receive the purple robe, or if he received this coat immediately.

St Mark & St John chlamydem purpuream say, purple robe Ambrose believes that these are two different coats, St. Augustine, Eutymius, Tolet, Barradius Gretz & others think with reason that there was only one and that they were confused because the scarlet color is very similar to the color purple.

The red dress was that of kings. Claudius, speaking of death, said:

Sub killed purpurei vestigia reges drawback.

Cassiodorus: purpura, color regnatum discern dum conspicuum facit not possible to aspectu principis Errare ().

The purple robe was a military coat, as seen in the epigrams of Martial:

Roma magis fusca vestiture, Galla rufis

Petition and catch pueris militibusque color.

We show the relics of purple cloak in many churches, and especially in Rome at St. Francis to Ripa in Agnan, in St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, in Venice, a piece of rather coarse linen, 55mm on 70mm, given by Cardinal Bessarion.

III.

BELT - THE VEIL - THE Nordic Boots. - The swaddling clothes.

The belt of our Lord, leather, is preserved at Aix-la-Chapelle. The ends are met & sealed with the seal of Constantine.

It seems certain that our Lord was tied completely naked on the cross. Use of the Latins, however, is to place a veil around his waist small area. That of the Greeks, which seems more suitable, is to put a dress down kidney knee. Until the twelfth century, the crucifix was completely covered with a tunic.

Our Lord had to wear shoes. Saint John the Baptist suggests saying, "I am not worthy to untie the cords of his shoes."

It is believed to Rome possédor fragments in swaddling clothes of Jesus Christ, Saint-François to Ripa & at Anagni.

N. B.

X.

Chapter VI.

OTHER RELICS OF THE PASSION

a cross was enough to fill the first book of this memory. Nails, - title, - the crown of thorns, - the Holy Shroud - the holy robes & the veronicas have been the first five chapters of the second.

I still have to have completed the course I'm drawn to study in this final chapter the instruments of the Passion of lesser importance, such as the thirty pieces of silver, - the column - the scala sancta, - the spear , & c., adding some documents on other famous relics, although they are less directly related to the Passion of Jesus Christ, but who still recall the memories of his divine person: what are the Sagro Catino, - nursery & the supper table.

The thirty pieces of silver, or rather the thirty pieces of silver were the price of Judas' betrayal, lead me to report the feelings of the archaeologists on Monnais Hebrew. On the occasion of the column that was used to attach our Lord when he was scourged, I will seek what was the punishment the Romans & the Jews, then I will describe the relic. I gave the measurements of the scala santa preserved in Rome near St. John Lateran & ridden by Jesus Christ by going to appear before Pilate. I found little to say about the grass, vinegar, myrrh & sponge that will form the fourth, fifth & sixth paragraphs. The seventh will be dedicated to the lance that pierced the side of the crucified God.

I.

The previous thirty.

The previous thirty. - Has unlimited triginta argenteos formed ei (). What those thirty pieces of silver? Ambrose said it was the last, bringing the price of the betrayal of Judah in the tenth that of Mary Magdalene by nard poured on the head of Jesus Christ. Maldonatus Périer & others imply that they are shekels, that is to say, or 54f, 48f and 70, 60, as the performers, and represents the price at which the Exodus sets the fine to pay if the 'we killed a slave.

But how have bought a field for this sum, even assuming he was in a worthless, covered with stones outside the city, which can not be cultivated? Judea with a population very close, the land would be very expensive, especially to receive the bodies of many foreigners who died in Jerusalem.

If 30 had enough shekels to buy a public cemetery, how would he Abraham paid 400 shekels for the location of the tomb of Sara? Should be, which is unlikely to be the chief priests had supplemented their treasury.

This difficulty has led the Cardinal Baronius to say argenteus, which expresses the prophets selagh or a shekel, can be taken for litrim or book that would be 30 pounds of silver to the price of the betrayal of Judas. Value more in line with the price of a field destined to a cemetery ().

Bosio s'étand a very interesting way on the value of silver coins & Baronius follows the feeling of the books that makes money. Despite the avarice of the Jews, we had a lot of money to hire the traitor selling his master. Always remember that was the price of a public cemetery that existed in the time of St. Jerome ().

Paucton, in his learned treatise on the steps of Monnais & 1780 (p. 357), said that 30 Argyris, who were the prices were great and mines Argyris & Talmudic worth 1562f, 50. He cites William Philander, who in his comments on Vitruvius (Book I, ch. IV), by replacing argenteos άφγύφια, Argyris, he estimated at a mine or 100 drachmas.

Saigey skillfully taking advantage of the work of his predecessors, Paucton, Rome de l'Isle, and especially of Mr. Letronne, and thus having more guarantees exactititude, sets the Roman pound to 324 grams.

So to thirty times that weight, or 9k, 720g, worth 1944 francs, at 200 francs per kilogram, it would evaluate the price of the betrayal of Judas.

From all this it follows that the sum was to be significant, but it is clear from the difficulties. Bosio proves that in this sum he could find shekels of money, both of Jerusalem as elsewhere. He cites Rhodes, whose Monnais, prevalent in Judea & throughout the Roman Empire, were from the same batch, the same type as the currencies held in Paris, Holy Cross of Jerusalem and even in Malta.

II.

Column of the Flagellation

a whipping was a punishment in use among the Romans, and especially among Jews. The Talmud (ch. III, v. 12) describes it thus: "The hands of the convicted are attached to the column, so the public executioner takes off his clothes, he is torn, it is in the body in order to find the chest. A stone is then placed behind the patient. On this rock the lictor is standing, holding a whip or leather straps folded to form two belts that rise & collapse into the ordered (). "

Following the Roman custom, a single lictor was attendant to this torture:

"I, lictor, collate manuscripts, caput obnubito, virga, cædito ()."

The number of strokes could not exceed forty (). The whip made of knotted cords had to be used for our Lord. The yards were reserved for free men, and Jesus Christ was treated as a vile slave (). The whip was more painful than the yards & above the stick. Many martyrs lost their lives in this instrument of torture, which, instead of just bruising the flesh, removing fragments ().

The torture of crucifixion was usually preceded by scourging, that being in the interior, tying the condemned to a column or column. We read in Plautus:

"Abducite hunc intro atque adstringite ad columnam fortiter ()."

Eusebius, speaking of the martyrs, said they were tied to pillars, face to face (vultibus adverse inter se). The princes of the Apostles St. Peter & St. Paul, and related, were flogged before losing life.

PLATE XXII

COLUMN A Santa Prassede IN ROME

Is kept in this church a kind of pedestal or terminal black marble with white veins reported from Jerusalem, and is believed to have been used for flogging our Lord. This form seems most suitable for this kind of punishment, and a fresco of St. Praxedes reproduced here gives the idea perfectly.

Was found at the bottom of the board of the relics of the column, reed, the sponge & the Shroud drawn from nature, to Santa Maria in Trastevere, the dome of Florence, and at St. Mark's in Rome .

(Page 264)

St. Gregory Nazianzen reminds fighting Julien, the faithful, as they were beaten with rods, kissed their hands columns flooded with blood that proves that they were attached to the columns in front, so as to embrace them, and present back to the blows of the executioners. Cyril said, "Dominus tergum dedit verberantibus."

The poet Prudentius refers to this custom in a poem about Christ:

Vinctus in history Dominus Stetit ædibus, atque columnæ

Annexus tergum dedit, servile C, flagella.

Saint Jerome says that in his day, the column of our Lord was still in Jerusalem. Was shown to St. Paul, in his view, the column supporting the portico of the church, and still stained with the blood of our Lord which had been attached.

Prudentius:

Perstat adhuc templumque Gerit Veneranda columna.

St Paulinus is mentioned. At the time of the Venerable Bede marble column found himself in the middle of the church. Nicephorus says she was placed in the temple built by Saint Helena on Mount Zion. An author who wrote the time of Constantine tells that amount to the temple we see the column where Jesus was scourged ().

There were two columns, one of which is held in Rome, and the other dependent on a porch in Jerusalem? This is possible because our Lord, who according to St. Matthew was scourged at Pilate, could also be attached to be hit in the high priest. Cornelius a Lapide (), contrary to the opinion of St. John Chrysostom believed that there was only one flogging ().

Nevertheless, Rome preserved the monument in a state of almost perfect preservation.

Santa Prassede column. - The column that is venerated at Santa Prassede is a kind of pedestal or terminal 0m70 in height, on top of which was sealed an iron ring. It seems that when it was brought to Rome by Cardinal John Colonna, about the year 1223, under Pope Honorius, was left in Jerusalem at the bottom that was used to fix the floor. It has therefore no foundation. The base diameter is 0m45. It is in black marble with white veins. Its shape is reminiscent of architectural profiles Greco-Roman in use at that time in Judea, where the winners had already introduced their architecture (Plate XXII).

The authenticity of this relic is recognized by inscriptions placed at the entrance of the ancient chapel where it is stored ().

The terminal, which we have before us, is more suitable for the kind of punishment to which it was intended that a column with a building. How to tie it in front of one of the other two people who regardnet adverse vultibus? While the column or terminal Santa Prassede, whatever you call it, seems made on purpose. In Rome it was fully felt by painting in the nave of the church a mural that I copied and which justifies the form of our relic. Bosio & Cornelius a Lapide are of the same sentiment. (Pl. XXII).

Column in Jerusalem. - Bishop Mislin, in his Voyage to the Holy Places, p. 65, saw a column on the altar of the chapel itself: the column Improperia. It is believed, he said, that the column of Rome was in the house of Caiaphas and that of Jerusalem in the courtroom.

Various relics of the column. - We see fragments of the column was entering in many, including in Rome: St. John Lateran, St. Maria in Trastevere, Saint-Marc in Anagni, in Florence in Church of Saint Laurent, Capuchin monastery at Santa Maria Verdiana, Santa Anna-al-Prato, Ogni-Santi at the Dome.

The Flagellum. - The relic of the flagellum with which our Lord was struck is the residue of a whip in strips. It is in the Abbey of St. Benoit, near Subiaco, Italy.

According to Rich, the flagellum was done with a large number of knotted cords twisted & as many branches of a polyp that are designated by the same name. It was used mainly to punish slaves. Although the word is a diminutive of flagrum, this whip was actually much harder, the diminutive, indeed, applies only to the fineness of the fibers composing it, but even increased the pain finesse shots. It is therefore characterized by the epithet horribile. In some cases he gave death. The wounds are still doing it by words that indicate the action of cutting, thus: cœdere, secare, scindere, as opposed to those that accompany the flagrum and which express the action of hitting heavily or violently, as pinsere or rumpere.

Column of Constantine. - It is said that Constantine Rome has received twelve columns that he had ordered in Greece. Eight are placed below the pendentives of the dome of St. Peter, and another, on which it is claimed that our Lord was based, is seen through a grid in a small chapel in front of that of St. Nicholas where we venerated the relics of the True Cross ().

III.

LA SCALA SANCTA

Rome. - The staircase of the palace of Pilate was taken to Rome by St. Helena in 326 & deposited in St. John Lateran.

St. Leo IV in 850 established the devotion to get on their knees.

In 1100, Pascal III was renewed.

Pius VII has attached indulgences applicable to the souls in purgatory.

Though it can get on their knees, the steps were so worn that it took the cover liners walnut. These liners are recessed from the front so as to show the relic, which consists of twenty-eight steps of white marble, whose veins are slightly gray in the direction of the length of the steps. There is no molding on the front. The first eight steps, which I measured myself at Rome, have 3m, 30 in length, twenty others have only 2m, about 50. Their bosom seemed to be 0m, 50, and the height is measured directly 0m, 175. Here is what Cornelius a Lapide: "In loco which dicitur Lithostrotos, Hebraica autem Gabbatha, that is to say high. We went up to Gabbatha by a large number of degrees of marble, transported to Rome near the Basilica of the Lateran, are attended with a great religion by the faithful are called & Scala Santa. "

JERUSALEM - on the street vis-à-vis the palace of Pilate in Jerusalem in 1696 Villaumont saw a flight of earth instead of the marble in which we rode past. Those, he says that led to Rome and seen the Scala Santa, which is St. John Lateran, easily judge that the marble steps therein were removed from the entrance to the palace of Pilate & transported to Rome for the match & What proportion of those stairs to each other & there are as many degrees in one of the other (). "

IV.

CANE AND REED.

Jesus Christ is still in the palace of Pilate when soldiers make him ridiculous honors. Posuerunt ... arundinem in dextera ejus. Rich () and translated the word arundo "Rush or cane, a plant commonly used by the ancients for the production of several objects which particularly appropriate form long, light, elastic & tapered stem."

The relic of the cane, of which a fragment is deposited in the dome of Florence, I designed & reproduced (Pl. XXII), fits this description, and well remember the reeds so common that we see in Provence and in Italy. That is half of a node of the cane. The diameter is about 27mm, and the length 15 to 18mm.

To the convent of Andechs, Bavaria, half a stick of 110mm in length is placed in a small shrine ().

To the convent of Mount Athos Watoped there are two reeds or canes, one 180mm in length, the other in a plain wooden cross, with few other plots relic.

V.

WINE. - MYRRH. - FEEL.

Jesus came to Calvary, they gave him wine mingled with myrrh was given by the Jews, according to their custom, before the crucifixion () to hasten death or make the prisoner insensitive to pain (). Beverage This is not the same as that spoken of St. Luke & St. John, and which was given to Christ when he cried: Sitio, nor even that the soldiers gave him then the offensive (). The first, discussed here, was given before the crucifixion was simply & wine, the second vinegar. St. Mark called this drink wine mingled with gall (). Baronius is the only one that says () that the wine was myrrhatum an aromatic wine, but at the end of Volume X, it retracts & joins other performers ().

VI.

Hyssop - VINEGAR - SPONGE.

And immediately one of them took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, then put it on a stick of hyssop (). What do we see in this passage? Sponge, vinegar & a stick of hyssop. No difficulty on the sponge & vinegar.

Vinegar, which was near the place of execution, was intended or to be mixed with water that was used by soldiers, to temper the harshness or to increase the suffering of the crucified. It is unclear whether the drink was offered to our Lord by Roman soldiers, or one of the Jews who attended the execution.

As for the sponge, its use is known, and it has been preserved, but as with most instruments of the Passion, it is unclear by what means, they say, having only been found in Jerusalem when the city was taken & plundered by the Persians (614), it was brought to Constantinople September 14 of that year. Saint Gregory of Tours, a few years earlier (539-593), speaks of it as a relic that is publicly venerated in Jerusalem, with the spear, the reed, the crown of thorns & the column, without marking the place where it is kept (). Time of the Venerable Bede, it was in Jerusalem in the chalice of our Lord (), silver chalice was believed to have served at the Last Supper. There existed in France a part acquired by St. Louis. Many churches, including Saint-Jacques de Compiègne (), have small plots, in Rome we see in Saint-Sylvestre-in-Capita, in Saint John Lateran, St. Mary Major Santa Maria in Trastevere, St. Mark & St. Mary-in-Campitelli.

The question of hyssop is more difficult. There are indeed, says Benedict XIV, two species of hyssop, one parasitic plant that attaches to the walls, the other, which grows in the fields. & Is up to 2 meters high. We do not know if the juice of this plant was mixed with vinegar or if the rod was used as support for approaching the sponge, or if its flexible branches have made a small cart in which was the towel and finally if its stem was able to draw a stick that did not need more than 60-65 cm in length to reach the head of the crucified ().

Father Lamy fails hyssop in the text of the agreement of the Gospels, but he speaks in his notes (), after discussing the various opinions, it is related to the view that takes a hyssop stick. This allowed me to translate as I did dy verse 25 of Chapter XIV preliminaries.

It suffices to compare carefully the texts of the three evangelists who relate this memory:

Matthew said Spongiam implevit aceto, and imposuit arundina (). It puts the sponge on a stick, or the end of the stick.

St. Mark's ... Implen spongiam & Aceto, circumponensque, calamo. He puts the towel on the stick, it brings the end of the stick in the towel around him.

There is no doubt that in both evangelists arundo & calamus are made in the same sense it is a sponge on a stick.

St. John uses words almost identical to those of St. Mark, by applying them to the hyssop: Spongiam plenam aceto hyssopo circumponentes (). The connection between St. Mark & St. John is by word circumponere, there is difference between them that the words or calamus Hyssopus made for each other.

The three evangelists have therefore expressed the same thought using the word arundo, calamus & Hyssopus. However, arundo is a reed or cane, calamus, according to Pliny, is a fragrant cane of India & the Arcadia & Hyssopus the word, which expresses the plant can be taken for its stem. St. Matthew, St. Mark & St. John, therefore said the same thing, only St. John, who was present, instead of using the general term staff, uses the particular word hyssop.

VII.

THE LANCE.

n Rich reads: "The spear (lancea, λόγχη) long with a head light & wide & flat serving both of Spades & line, was employed by the usual Greek cavalry and by hunters. She had a leather strap attached to the wood. It is strange that we do not have good representation & undeniable that weapon ... Hasta (έγχος) launches used as a spear to pierce, and as a trait to be thrown by hand, consisted of three parts: the head (cusps αίχμή & έπιδόρχτις) bronze or iron. Wood (hastile, δόρν) or other ash wood, and a metal point at the end (Spiculum, or οανρωτήρ βτνράξ) which was used to secure it vertically into the soil, and who became an offensive weapon when the head was broken. "

We wondered if it was a jumper or a soldier who had opened the side of the crucified. John, indeed, called launch this weapon of the cavalry, however Suetonius gives this name to the weapon of the infantry. He spoke of Claude who was being kept at feasts by infantry called spiculatores: neque Convivia INIR ausus is nisi ut cum spiculatores lanceis circumstarent, vice militesque ministrorum fungerentur ().

The soldiers who crucified our Lord & four were on foot. The Romans kept the condemned by infantry carrying a spear, hasta, sidearm that can easily reach the side of the crucified on the cross, low ().

Most authors, and the most reliable, believe that the right side was pierced. Only poets have said in a hyperbolic language that both sides were also drilled, the water came out of one, and the blood of the other (). The old paintings represent the wound on the right side. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the chalice is placed to the right of the priest, to show which way the blood has been shed on the cross. In the solemn mass in which the Pope officiates, when communicating on his throne, for the same reason the wine brought him to the right & left the sacred host. Benedict XIV () cites in support of this view: in Bede Regum libros, Ayala in Pictor Christiano, Chifflet & Gretz.

Cornelius a Lapide agrees. It adds to the reasons I have to report a prediction of Ezekiel (ch. XLVII) (): ecce and aqua redeuntes a latere dextro cum egrederetur virtual ad orientem. St. Francis receiving the stigmata, was drilled in the right side, feet & hands. The wound of our Lord seems to have gone through the whole body, entering from the right, the blade pierced the heart and the tip came out to the left under the breast (). St. Augustine & St. Bonaventure said the soldier who pierced the right side of our Lord was called Longinus, he embraced Christianity & was martyred in Cappadocia, where he preached the faith. Other () claim that Longinus was the centurion & not the soldier who struck him, and finally () that Longinus was the name of the spear and that the word comes from the Greek word λόγχη corruption.

RELICS OF THE LANCE. - It was believed that the spear was found at the same time & at the same place as the crown of thorns & the cross. Andrew of Crete, who relates this tradition, says it's unlikely, for it was the property of the soldier who pierced the side of Our Lord ().

Time of Bede, from 672 to 735, the spear was enclosed in a wooden cross, under the portico of the Martyr, church built by Constantine. Arculphe, French bishop in the late seventh century saw. His spear is broken in two, while Jerusalem was often revered & kiss. Saint Gregory of Tours says that after being kept in Jerusalem until the capture of the city by the Persians, Heraclius had it taken to Constantinople. In 1092 or 1097, the Crusaders found it to Antioch, the Church of the Prince of the Apostles. In 1243, Baldwin gave the tip in St. Louis, with other relics he had pledged to the Venetians ().

Part of the spear was sent in 1492 by Bajazet, emperor of the Turks, to Innocent VIII, who placed it in St. Peter's in Rome, where she is in great veneration (). Bajazet sent word to the Pope that the tip was in France. Mention is made of these circumstances in the Journal of Rome, written by Petronius Laelius, Paul & Stephen Infessura Master ().

The lance was kept in old basilica of St. Peter, the Volto Santo, until falling in ruins, this church was replaced by the new basilica received the relic ().

Benedict XIV, who brought from Paris an exact drawing of the point & having confronted with the iron of Saint Peter in Rome, acknowledged they adapted well together. Benzonius () said that, canon of St. Peter, he saw the spear very great, though lacked the cutting edge. This quantity is related to that of the wound of our Lord, as St. Thomas was able to get hold.

I could not see myself the relic of Saint-Pierre and I can not find on this subject that the information not consistent: 10 Dom Calmet gives an engraving that does not look like what we learn from the ancient monuments of the weapon that our Lord was pierced. 20 Bosio's design seems to have been taken by the relic itself. 30 representation in the underground of St. Peter, Bishop Gallot was kind enough to model for me, is no more satisfactory. 40 That of his annotator Palæotti & Mallon, of which I give a sketch, more likely, in that it approaches the ancient spear preserved in our museums.

The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris still had the edge in 1793. Then she was brought to the National Library where the abbot Coterel saw in 1796. He said it was a piece of iron very long about 3 or 4 inches, ending in a point at one end (). I made sure that it is more or Notre Dame or the Library.

The city of Ancona is also believed to have the tip of the spear.

VIII.

THE Sagro Catino

The Sagro Catino (Pl. XXIII). - In Genoa visist the remains of the true cross, I have seen and measured a relic called Sagro Catino (sacred pond), and who would be most interesting if it was the same certainty as for the True Cross and is the vessel in which, for the first time, our Lord would have to drink his blood to his disciples. It has two handles, a hexagonal emerald glass. The diameter of the circumscribed circle to the top edge is 326mm. There are some bubbles in its composition, its form is elegant. The vase was broken, it was set with gilded bronze to assemble the pieces, one no longer exists.

Here's what you read about it in the Journal of Archaeology 1845:

Notes taken from the portfolio of an archaeologist: - the Sagro Catino of Genoa.

"The name I have just transcribed is that of a hexagonal vase looked for centuries as a relic for no treasure could not pay. In challenging his other merits, we can not refuse to recognize in him a monument of great antiquity.

"It is a beautiful emerald, a form of pleasant corners are sliced, loops, taken in the matter, are well placed, the ornaments, which consist only of rows of hollow points are good taste, and the bubbles are small. It is easy to see that after being cast as a whole has been cleverly repaired reel.

"We did not doubt, for a long series of generations, he had served the last meal that Jesus Christ has done with his apostles.

"When taking Caesarea by the Crusaders in 1101, it passed into the hands of the Genoese, as being the portion of the booty which they had to say. Brought to Genoa, he was kept with great care, placed in a niche in the wall that separates the nave of a two sacristy of the church Saint-Laurent, it was offered to the gaze of the crowd that Once a year, lor the most solemn holiday, yet we did not see that far, a prelate showed the top of a podium, holding in his hands with a cord, and he himself was monitored by Knights specifically responsible for ensuring the conservation of this gem. They were called clavigeri. The keys to the cabinet which contained the Catino remained in their power, and they were forbidden to ever confide in anyone. The clavigeri were chosen from the leading citizens of the Republic. Fines of 100 to 1000 ducats, and in certain circumstances the death penalty was pronounced against anyone who dared to touch the vase with gold, silver, stone, coral or other hard material; stringent measures confirms that an Act of May 24, 1476 ... For years no one came to fight the opinion that this vessel looked as an emerald of a gigantic size, but in the eighteenth century there was no lack of observers who claimed that it was the glass and nothing more.

"The victory put for a while Catino the power of the French went out of his inaccessible retreat, and, surprised to see the big day, he was transported to Paris, the director of cabinet of antiquities, Gosselin, asked that a committee of the Institute was responsible for the review, resulting in a report which decided that the matter of Catino was only colored glass. In 1816 he returned to Genoa, but these trips were fatal to him, he was broken on arrival. Today, though stripped of much veneration he had inspired, although no longer subject to special laws & tough, it is always, and rightly regarded as an antique of a very large price.

"The arrival in Europe of this famous relic is reported in a legend recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century and which shows the importance that is attached to the vase carved, it was said, in an emerald, and which was said to have been presented to King Solomon by the Queen of Sheba.

"All the heroes of the round table, despite the impact their exploits qu'obtinrent & their adventures, are overshadowed by the son of a poor widow, hidden away from danger by it, like the young Achilles at the court of Lycomedes, and whose instincts warriors explode at the first sight of a knight in armor. This child so anxious mother called Perceval the yoke, and the trials that await him & he would be successful must have for reward in this world, after seven years of a glorious reign, the honor of being offered guard the Holy Grail ...

"So, this holy grail, a miraculous vision had shown a Breton hermit in the eighth century, was identically the same vessel which our Saviour had used to celebrate the Lord's Supper with his disciples, and in which Joseph of Arimathea had collected the blood from his wounds while he was on the cross (). "

It was thought, from what that says Baronius, that the sacred pool was revered in the eighth century in Jerusalem.

"We must say that the cup in which Jesus Christ our Lord spent the most holy Eucharist, as precious monument of such a fact has been removed from common usage & preserved with great care. He was seen in Jerusalem in the time of Venerable Bede, who reported that there was a room where this chalice enclosed in a case could be affected by a hole in the box reserved. It is silver, with two opposing handles, the ability of a sponge containing & Sextia who served drinks to our Lord. "

The vase is not mentioned by Baronius the venerated in Genoa. This author assigns a capacity of 7 liters Sextia equivalent to 44, while that of Sagro Catino is only 3-liter volume already considerable for a drinking vessel; more Quaresmius () says: "The vessel in which occurred the Passover is kept in Genoa, the Eucharist indicated by B, that St. Arculphe lives in Jerusalem, and which is made of silver, is currently in Valencia, Spain. "

PLATE XXIII

THE carved cross, the Sacro Catino

These are the only three crosses carved, which is revered as from the wood of the true cross. The first, kept in the baptistery of Florence, is tinder wood color, without streaks, it is a crucifix surrounded by mitered roughly carved ornaments like the crucifix.

The second, in the sacristy of St. Peter's, known only since 1527, appears in oak and is covered with figures having more style than that of Florence.

The third, at Santa Maria in Trastevere, much smaller, is exactly the same work as the previous one. Its authenticity was in Pius VII.

The church of St. Lawrence in Genoa retains a large glass bowl with a remarkable job of casting, green emerald. Broken when it was brought to Paris, she returned in 1815. The general belief is that this ancient & vase was used to our Lord for the Last Supper, and it was conquered by the Genoese in the decision of Caesarea in 1101.

IX.

THE NURSERY.

The nursery. - I had intended to speak only of the relics of the Passion, but the importance of another relic of our Lord & of the place where the can induce me to make an exception for the nursery that the seen at St. Mary Major and that the Abbe Millochau, chaplain of the French Embassy in Rome, described in a note which I extract the following;

"The main relics that the Church has preserved our Lord connected with his birth on his death. We have little or nothing of his life ...

"It seems at first more difficulties than the relics of the Saviour's birth may have come to us ... God had put them under guard. Marie knew the dignity of the one she had to give birth, and the purpose of his coming into this world ... The early Christians received it from his hands ... this is what attracted him to the East the great doctor of the West ... Jerome spent his life near the cave of Bethlehem there was founded near the monastery that led St. Paul. This bitter genius, this austere virtue & rude needed to soften the graces of the Holy Childhood of Jesus. About the same time, the Empress Eudoxia & Pulcheria got the Patriarch of Jerusalem a few diapers of Christ & the belt of his mother, and shared between the three most famous basilicas of Constantinople.

"With the approach of the Muslim invasion, the Emperor Heraclius takes holy city of the cross there was reported as a result of his triumph over the Persians, and transports it to Constantinople. The historians of the time tell us nothing of the measures taken to secure the relics da birth of the Savior, but precisely at this time the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore a new title to those under which it was already known, and is designated as the Santa Maria de la Crèche, she never left. The name change came during the pontificate of Pope Theodore (642-649). Theodore, son of a bishop of Jerusalem, had maintained a special relationship with the Palastine ...

"Therefore, the devotion of the people are attracted to this shrine as before to Bethlehem. All the saints who have gone to Rome ... liked Santa Maria de la Crèche. We find, as St. Thomas Aquinas, from Christmas Eve whole in prayer before the cradle of the Saviour, or, as St. Philip Neri, pray before dawn in the portico of the basilica in waiting to be in opening doors ...

"These relics consist of: I0 stone parts of the cave of Bethlehem. The stable where Joseph & Mary had withdrawn was dug in the rock, the manner of the East, use found quite often in Italy. The wall on which rested the crib was subsequently covered with a plaster & decorated with paintings, of which we still see the marks on the pieces that were made in Rome, is the stable proper, Latin Praesepe, presepio Italians. The name often extends to all this set of relics from the primitive sanctuary.

"20 From the cradle of our Lord, sacra culla Italians, Latin incunabulum. This is the manger in which the Blessed Virgin placed it after the Avior wrapped in swaddling clothes.

"30 In his swaddling clothes, strips which subjects, and St. Joseph's coat which he was covered.

"From 40 foint which the Virgin had filled the manger before placing his son ...

"In a beautiful silver reliquary & crystal usually kept in the chapel of the Crucifix, we see the boards that formed the nativity scene that served as the cradle to the Savior. There remain five with a length of about 65 0m on 0m, 0m at 16, 18 wide, and a tenth smaller. Can still be seen on one of them a Greek inscription that recalls the golden ornaments which she was clothed. This, united with diapers, bears, in old titles, the name of Puerperium Domini.

Relics. - We see in Rome the relics of the crib in various churches. St. Francis to Ripa, St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St. Mary in Trastevere, the Holy Apostles, St. Mark, St. Maria in Campitelli at Anagni.

X.

TABLE OF SUPPER.

TABLE OF SUPPER. - The table of the Last Supper is in St. John Lateran. It is made of cedar wood in two panels each with 0m, 1m 60 wide, 20 long. It seems that she was once entirely covered in silver. Mr. Barber of the canon Montault mentioned in the inventory of the relics of the liturgical year in Rome, 1862.

There are plots in St. Maria in Trastevere, the Holy Apostles, St. Maria in Campitelli at Anagni.

XI.

The Via Dolorosa. - THE CALVARY - the Holy Sepulchre.

'Ve tried so far to restore the instruments of the Passion according to their relics scattered around the world: but I could not take care of a relic much larger, much more important and which summarized all, it is the very ground trodden by the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, sprinkled with his blood during his Passion.

It would be a nice problem solved to find the way to Jerusalem he has traveled; to follow the same painful way, stopping at Calvary & completed by the Holy Sepulchre. Unfortunately traditions on this path are almost modern, that is to say that the stations were designated today finalized the Middle Ages. The only fixed points are the courtroom, which was probably located in the tower Antonia, Calvary & the tomb, everything else is speculative.

& Deep transformations experienced successive q'a the holy city make it almost impossible to recognize exactly the line traveled; you get lost in a maze of modern buildings that prevent the deal. From the standpoint of faith approximation is quite sufficient: and what causes the error is the archaeologists' desire to specify the location of each event: a real tradition as a whole ceases to be in the small details . The traditions relating to sentencing, the floggings & exposure of our Lord are true, in that sense, only 100 meters, the events have made the place where no, can not further specify (). "

This view of a Hummer that saw skilled and well seen, instead of diverting more research should encourage them to continue, especially since the criticism today just severely, no longer content of about that met our fathers in the restoration of ancient monuments. Can not therefore make restitution exact Via Dolorosa, I Rappard, as information, what we learn from distinguished men who saw the scene, and which unfortunately do not always agree.

Intelligence is the most venerable way of the cross, the name given by the Catholic liturgy in various parts of the Via Dolorosa divided into fourteen stations based mainly on local traditions, but is still present great difficulties. Each () should not tell them the full report, that Christians were not always in Jerusalem since the time of the Passion to us, that all people are now strangers, they change often held, and that therefore they can not keep the old traditions.

".... There is a gap, says Father Gagarin, and when you come to think of all the physical disturbances that had to bring about the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus & rebuilding by Adrian, when you consider that for nearly sixty years there was only a heap of ruins, one can not deny that it sounds a little break the chain of tradition from the Apostles & the Empress Helena. () "

Others seem, however, attach great authority. Here's how this subject is expressed in M. Sauley of his journey to Jerusalem:

"First of all, say it is not possible, when the Jewish crowd the earth, to ignore the value of oral tradition. As long as we want to see the good, the holy scriptures by hand, it was not long before the respecter as we respect an authentic book, for in the full extent of this land, it is recognized at every step , the memories are lasting biblical. Is nothing that goes with it does not change, nothing is forgotten, not even unn name: and it is the human events whose memory is often lost. Thus the terrible disasters which Jerusalem was successively drama have almost disappeared from the memory of men, but is it a fact, even high school, on the early history of the Hebrew people, this seems recent, As is clear & vivid tradition that was collected from age to age (). "

To fix the mind in this study, I present here beside the path of the cross with his Fourteen stations & a plot of approximately the Via Dolorosa from the plan Pierotti, the corrections indicated by the R. P. Hornung & the plan of Mr. Cte Melchior de Vogue.

PLAN ON THE WAY THE PAINFUL WAY OF THE CROSS.

First Station - Jesus is condemned to death.

II - The flogging.

III - Jesus falls under the weight of the cross.

IV - Jesus meets his most holy mother.

Fri - Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry his cross.

Life - a pious woman wipes the face of Jesus Christ.

VII - Jesus falls to the ground for the second time.

VIII - Jesus consoles the women of Israel who follow him.

IX - Jesus falls the third time.

X - Jesus is stripped of his clothes.

XII - Jesus dies on the cross.

XIII - Jesus is taken down from the cross & handed over to his mother.

XIV - Jesus is laid in the tomb.

Note. Stations X, XI, XII, XII and XIV are all present in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, and indicated by the letter A. == The letters B, C, D, E, F apply to correspondence from R. P. Hornung, which can be found in documents (Jerusalem).

G. Location of the invention of the cross.

K. Door court.

H. Tour by which Titu began the attack on the city walls.

H. L. Existing wall time of our Lord.

Where in the Middle Ages were determined Stations of the Cross, we had to follow the then existing streets, in relation to certain points of the facts that had occurred to the nearest places. Thus it is likely that the procession of the cross had to avoid the streets of the city, necessarily narrow, and choose the street that ran along the wall and which should be large enough for military service. From this the Via Dolorosa, alongside the wall in a straight line from east to west to the corner tower H (), would have returned there at right angles to the wall, continuing to follow from north to south to the gate of Ephraim, or Judicial, and finally out of the city, would have mounted the hill to Calvary.

The first station of the Via Dolorosa & the Chapel of the Flagellation are indicated by Z Pierotti north-east. Assume the same, but without any motit that the courtroom door still exists, what passes for a gate is an arrangement of arabesques (), without any track record in these buildings open. This is called is too far from the tower of Antonia to believe that it belonged to the same palace. It is more reasonable to relate it to the west side of the tower, marked ML on the attached plan.

Arch of the Ecce Homo. - The Via Dolorosa is currently under an arch partly occupied by the north wall of the street. It was believed that this arc was that of Ecce Homo. Mr. Cte de Vogue combat the idea of seeing a building witnessed the Passion of Our Lord. One of his arguments is based on the configuration of the ground. The bow attached to a wall, he said, would be only the counterscarp of the ditch, while the wall is to be traced in L. H. He said the following in this regard:

"The only ancient monument that contains the arc Bezetha is known for Ecce Homo arch. It is a Roman triumphal arch with three arches ... It offers a great analogy with the monuments named Kabyle, and high in such large numbers in the Hauran during the first & second centuries AD. The characters of the building & profile moldings belong to an age quite low. Among voissoirs are two carved stones in the ruins of an earlier monument and which are fragments of Greek inscriptions. On one we read: AΥP ...

On the other: - EΛΛ ... N. ..

ΦO1 ...

"There is nothing to be learned, as defined, also fragments of incomplete form of letters & Aurelius the presence of the word indicates a time after the founding of Aelia Capitolina, necessarily lower the age of construction of the arc. The tradition attached to these ruins is true, in that the tower Antonia is the home of the Roman procurator, the scenes of the scourging of the Ecce Homo & had to pass close to the tower, and probably the locations indicated by the tradition. But the arc itself is subsequent to the death of Christ, and could not play any part in the bloody events of His Passion. As the pious belief that places the top of the central arch of the painful exposure of the Savior Is comparatively very modern we find no trace in the previous pilgrimages to the sixteenth century. In the fourteenth & fifteenth, two stones were venerated built at the base of the arc, and that tradition connected either at the scene of the trial of Jesus is at lithostrotos, or even the behavior of the cross. "

The scientist P. Hornung, who has long lived in Jerusalem & visited the new excavations of the monastery of Our Lady of Sion, near the Arch of Ecce Homo, still believe the true tradition that connects the arc to the scenes of the Passion .

In view of these conflicting opinions professed by men considerable, that I could bring, leave time for further research & care to give a final solution on this important issue.

Continue our walk down the Via Dolorosa. The three resorts (III, IV, V) fairly close between alles, and at 130 meters of the first, are relative to the first fall of our Lord, in his encounter with the Blessed Virgin, and that of Simon of Cyrene . Can we not see here the three parts of a scene? After traveling 130 meters, our Lord sinks under his burden that he can not bear, and his holy mother, who follows him, lost control of her pain, she faints, and the soldiers to take up the cross , from a stop. Other () think it is only at the door Judiciary (K VII) is that he met Simon. Matthew said, in effect, that is coming out, which can only be understood in the town and not the courtroom, as the city's condammés had to wear their crosses.

After the first fall, the path which had been down, gets up to climb Mount Acra. Then a holy woman wipes the face due Divine Savior (VI). The second fall (VII) is placed out of the city by the Gate of Judgement. The ruins attributed to the gate are not great authenticity, and that by which our Lord came out of Jerusalem seems to be better determined by N. the Cte de Vogue.

We arrive at the foot of Calvary, and, turning north, we pass by the station of the three Mary, who serves as a milestone in this direction, west of Calvary, and then continuing to turn south, we arrive at the entrance to the church of the Holy Sepulchre, which, probably in obedience to a tradition, is where the procession of Our Lord went to Calvary, 15 meters from the place where the crosses were planted, and they had to be first placed on the ground, the foot to the north, head south, instead of the crucifixion marked F on the plan, 5 or 6 feet from the point of exaltation marked E, to be set on the edge the rock, hence they could be seen from below, so that, although very low above the ground, they were however very high above the passers-by. The area of the platform between the input & the cross was necessary & sufficient for the preparation of execution.

After the completion of the sacrifice, Joseph of Arimathea & Nicodemus lay the body of the cross of Jesus Christ & wear it to new tomb, placed in a garden belonging to Joseph. All these places are close to each other, and it can not be otherwise, as the mountain rises quickly beyond, and it is in its side, 45 meters from the place of crucifixion, the tomb was widened. The remains of this monument, preserved by the construction of the great church of the Holy Sepulchre, are one of the strongest guarantees of authenticity ().

An area of about 2 meters deep, was carved in the rock tombs & laterally placed themselves around this area in its vertical walls. Found in the Gospel itself a confirmation of this provision, when Peter & the women went to the tomb, they looked down, that is to say, in the area. The tomb of our Lord was isolated according to the law because it was forbidden to place the corpses of executed criminals in common graves, and he had to be buried with the instruments of their execution (). The discovery of numerous Jewish tombs, imitated by the Christians in the catacombs, completed what the ruins were known Jewish.

In Rome, he was in Saint-François to Ripa, St. Mary Major, St. Maria in Trastevere, St. Roch, St. Marc.

At Anagni.

In Florence, Santa Maria di Porta-San Biagio, which were three pieces of the size of an almond enclosed in a tabernacle key, which is open only on Holy Saturday. They were brought from Jerusalem in 1088 by Pazzo de Pazzi, commander of the militia of Tuscany, and who planted the Christian flag on the walls of Jerusalem. We still saw the monastery degli Angioli, Saint-Jacques-sur-l'Arno at St. John-in-Via-lata, at St. Mary of the Flowers, and the church of Santi-Ogni . (RICHA.)

Many other churches have a few pieces of the stone of the Holy Sepulchre, but these plots are very small. Like all the relics of the Passion of Our Lord, they were very popular, very popular. We are surprised that a thing is that, drawing as it were in a career, we do not have won more.

____________________

Reached the end of my task, I was fortunate enough to reach, at least in part, the goal I intended? The reader will judge. I searched if material evidence of the execution of our Lord were able to reach us, and if the authenticity of each was indisputable, despite their dispersion & the destruction of many, caused by the greed of the wicked Dangerous & the riches they have always been surrounded. Finally I tried using the current methods of archeology, to reconstruct the instruments of torture. Taking advantage of the leisure Providence has given to the decline of my career, there have spared no j'e: persevering efforts, long study, travel, correspondence extended facilitated by the highest benevolence, and above all constant search for truth. The Church does not fear the event: and great was my joy in Recontras once again confirmed its traditions & my expectations.

My work, I know, are incomplete, imperfect, probably my restaurants, but I would be consoled by the thought that they serve as levels to other workers for, perhaps, to rise one day to above the clouds that cover even the mysterious debris. But if the knowledge of all these pious secrets should not be given us on earth, is it not possible for the soul of an artist & a Christian to hope that at the time of the triumph of the cross, it will come out dust where I sought, and will come to our worship as it revived, reformed in its original state, and scope, with other instruments of torture, among the celestial concerts by the angers that had appeared the imagination of the Orgagna & Buonarotti.

FIN.