Veneration of Relics
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Worship v. Veneration
Worship v. Veneration
Worship is different than Veneration
In english sometimes seen as synonyms
In Greek…two different words
WORSHIP: to completely give oneself to the service of God
VENERATION: to treat something with reverence, respect and honor
God receives both Worship and Veneration BUT saints/relics only receive veneration
What is a Relic
What is a Relic
It is an earthly remain of a saint.
piece of the Body of the saint
clothing/vestments
possessions of the saints
Why do we venerate relics?
Why do we venerate relics?
QUESTION: Why do you think we venerate relics in the church?
ANSWER:
revolves around our belief of salvation.
Salvation is the end of a process called “theosis” or “deification”....Becoming like God
To become like God we must be partakers of the divine.
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Humanity became a partaker in the divine through the incarnation
humanity united with divinity in the person of Christ
The body and the Holy Spirit
We are intimately united with the Holy Spirit and so we are partakers of the divine.
1 cor 3.16
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
The outside of a temple is a reflection of the inner beauty.
When sowing to the spirit the body exudes a real grace or power
The saints, through their practices continually partook of the divine and as a result, grace/power come from their body or possessions.
Our veneration of Relics focuses on the grace and power of God working through their body.
Apart from the the Grace/power there is nothing significant about the relic
Biblical Support for the Veneration of Relics
Biblical Support for the Veneration of Relics
Old Testament
Ark of the Covenant…What were its contents
Manna, Rod of Aaron, Ten Commandments
The bones of Elisha bringing the dead man back to life
21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
New Testament
Peter’s shadow
15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.
Paul’s handkerchiefs
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
Woman with a flow of blood
21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”
In these examples, we physical matter, sharing in the life of God. This gives us another way to experience the life of God.
The veneration of relics is not a focus on death, but rather a partaking in the life of God that overcomes death.
St. Barnabas
St. Barnabas