Why the Relics of the Holy Righteous Are Venerated
The relics of the holy righteous are venerated for the same reason for which the righteous themselves are venerated in general (this is discussed in detail in the following article: veneration of the saints), and they are venerated because of their participation in God, because of the action of God’s grace in them (man is the temple of God). The righteous person is venerated as a whole, not some separate part of him (the composition of human nature). Not only the soul is venerated, but also the body (2 Kin. 13:21), and even the personal belongings (Act. 19:12) and the image (Act. 5:15) of the righteous person, through which God grants His grace, working miracles and healings.
Since the saints are venerated because of their participation in God and the action of divine grace in them, and God grants His grace not only through the living bodies of the saints, but also through their dead bodies (2 Kin. 13:21), the bodies of the saints are venerated because of grace not only during their lifetime, but also after death (after the separation of the body from the soul).
God has no aversion to the bodily remains of His friends. God cares for the remains of the righteous (Ps. 34:19-20; John. 19:33,36) and continues to act through them (2 Kin. 13:21). The myrrh-bearing women had no aversion to remains: on the third day after the death of the Savior they went to open His tomb in order to anoint the dead body of Christ with fragrant oil (Mark. 16:1-3), even though the Law of Moses forbade anyone except relatives to touch the bodies of the dead (Lev. 21:1-4).
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Are Relics in a Church, and Not in the Ground
The church is a tomb for the remains of the righteous person. Relics are kept in the church in a sarcophagus (a reliquary, an ark). The words of God that man is earth and therefore will return to the earth (Gen. 3:19) mean that the human body, made from the earth[1], will become earth again, that is, it will decay and fall apart, becoming once more what it was originally — that is, earth.
Many righteous people were not literally buried in the ground. On the contrary, the righteous tried to bury the righteous in some special way, often choosing chambers for their burial.
Abraham buried his family in a cave purchased especially for this. Moreover, he looked for a burial place by turning to the inhabitants, and they offered him the choicest of their burial places (Gen. 23:2-6). In the end, Abraham asked for and bought the cave he had pointed out as his own property (Gen. 23:7-13,17-20), in order to bury his relatives there. In this same cave Abraham himself was buried (Gen. 25:9-10), and his wife Sarah (Gen. 23:19), Isaac and his wife Rebekah (Gen. 49:1,29-33), Jacob and his wife Leah (Gen. 49:1,29-33; Gen. 50:12-13);
The Lord Jesus Christ was buried in a special chamber in the rock, which a rich man — Joseph of Arimathea — had hewn out for himself (Matt. 27:57,60; Mark. 15:46; Luke. 23:50-53; John. 19:41). This is exactly how God Himself had determined it from the beginning, foretelling it through the prophet Isaiah: “And they made His grave with the wicked — but with the rich at His death” (Isa. 53:9);
The ancient Christians often buried the righteous in special chambers in the catacombs, where they celebrated divine services near the relics (example, in Russian);
When, 300 years later, in the 4th century, safe times came for Christianity, the remains of the saints began to be buried in churches, placing them in a sarcophagus like the righteous Joseph (Gen. 50:26, example, in Russian), or placing them in a special chamber (a crypt) under the main part of the church (the altar), or building special separate chambers (martyria) (example, in Russian).
Thus, from the most ancient times the righteous have buried the righteous in special chambers, and not in the ground. The same thing happens in the Church today: the remains of a righteous person are placed in a sarcophagus in a special chamber — a church, where divine services are celebrated.
Whichever way we act, the essence is the same:
to build a martyrium to house the sarcophagus with the remains of the saint, where the Church gathers to celebrate divine services,
or, the other way round, to build a church for celebrating divine services and place the sarcophagus with the remains of the saint there.
From its very earliest times the Church has built chambers to house the coffins of the saints, and celebrates divine services there.
Translation of Remains
The translation of the remains of the righteous took place in the Bible more than once, without any condemnation. For example, the patriarch Joseph was buried in a sarcophagus (a reliquary, an ark) in Egypt (Gen. 50:26), and later the prophet Moses and the people carried the remains of Joseph through the wilderness for more than 40 years, in order to bury them in the place Joseph himself had asked for. More below.
Division of Relics
From the most ancient times, the remains of the holy righteous came to the Church after the cruelest tortures (being cut to pieces, burned), not whole and not all the parts at once (Matt. 14:11; Mark. 6:28). And God afterwards acted through the remains of the righteous, regardless of whether they were gathered together or not. The Church herself, if the remains of a righteous person have been preserved whole, keeps them whole in special coffins (sarcophagi, reliquaries) placed in churches. Divisions could happen out of necessity, saving the remains during natural disasters and enemy attacks. Sometimes, for the veneration of a righteous person in another place, a very small particle, a crumb, is taken from the remains.
God’s Attitude Toward Human Remains
God Preserves the Remains of the Righteous
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken” (Ps. 34:19-20)
“But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs <…>. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken’” (John. 19:33,36)
In this one can see the attitude of God Himself toward the remains of the saints. Nevertheless, God sometimes permits (but does not desire) the torture of the righteous, even beheading, as happened with the prophet John the Baptist (Matt. 14:11; Mark. 6:28). But God grants grace through the divided remains of the saints as well.
God Gives the Remains of Sinners Over to Dishonor
“God has scattered the bones of men-pleasers; they were put to shame, for God has despised them” (Ps. 52:5 LXX) (translated from the Greek: ὁ θεὸς διεσκόρπισεν ὀστᾶ ἀνθρωπαρέσκων)
God Continues to Act Through the Dead Body of a Righteous Person
From touching the remains of the prophet Elisha a dead man came to life, although no prayer is seen being said nearby:
“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” (2 Kin. 13:21)
God Continues to Act Through Things the Righteous Person Wore
Healing from the clothing of the apostle:
“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” (Act. 19:12)
God Acts Through the Image of a Righteous Person
Healing from the image of the apostle:
“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. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed” (Act. 5:15-16)
Bowing to a Saint
The second commandment of the Decalogue (Ex. 20:2-3; Deut. 5:6-7) forbids the worship of false gods (idols). False gods, besides being false, do not exist.
The saints, however, do exist; they are friends of God, and they are not worshiped as gods. Bowing to the saints and to their remains is an expression of respect for them as friends of God. Such bows to angels, people and objects are found in the Bible and are not idolatry, because idolatry is the worship of false gods. The righteous constantly bow to people, to various objects, to angels; other people bow to prophets.
Bowing to God in the Form of Angels
“So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground” (Gen. 18:2)
Bowing to an Angel
“So He said, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His servant?’” (Josh. 5:14)
Bowing to a Prophet
“Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him” (2 Kin. 2:15)
Bowing to the Temple
“But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; in fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple” (Ps. 5:7) (Greek: προσκυνήσω πρὸς ναὸν ἅγιόν σου — “I will bow down toward Your holy temple”)
Bowing to God’s Footstool
“Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool (pedestal, a stand for the feet — note) — He is holy” (Ps. 99:5) (Greek: προσκυνεῖτε τῷ ὑποποδίῳ τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ — “bow down to the footstool of His feet”)
“Let us go into His tabernacle; let us worship at His footstool” (Ps. 132:7)
Bowing Before the Ark
“Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads” (Josh. 7:6)
Bowing to a Staff
To a staff: “Then he said, ‘Swear to me.’ And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed” (Gen. 47:31). In the LXX translation — to the staff (Greek: προσεκύνησεν Ισραηλ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον τῆς ῥάβδου αὐτοῦ — “Israel bowed down upon the top of his staff”; also Heb. 11:21)
More examples: https://bibleox.com/ru/ru/w/поклоны (in Russian)
Episodes About Remains from the Bible
On the Third Day After the Burial the Myrrh-Bearing Women Went to Open the Tomb and Touch the Holy Body of the Lord Jesus Christ
“Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’” (Mark. 16:1-3)
“Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared” (Luke. 24:1)
“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb” (Matt. 28:1)
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb” (John. 20:1)
Translation of Remains
Joseph
Joseph (the son of Jacob) asks that his remains later be carried from Egypt to the land that God had promised to give:
“And Joseph said to his brethren, ‘I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here’” (Gen. 50:24-25)
Joseph dies; he is buried in Egypt, placed in a sarcophagus (a reliquary, an ark):
“So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt” (Gen. 50:26) (Greek: καὶ ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν καὶ ἔθηκαν ἐν τῇ σορῷ — “and they buried him and placed him in the coffin (sarcophagus)”)
The prophet Moses fulfills Joseph’s request:
“So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you’” (Ex. 13:18-19)
The prophet Moses and the people of Israel traveled across the Sinai Peninsula for more than 40 years together with the remains of Joseph. Later, Joshua the son of Nun would bury the remains of Joseph in Shechem (Josh. 24:32).
If we take into account that the 40-year journey through the Sinai wilderness, that is, Israel’s movement from Egyptian slavery to the promised land, is a prefiguration of the life of the New Testament Church, which leads people out of slavery to sin and into the Heavenly Kingdom promised by God, then throughout this whole period of the Church’s life the people of God always had with them the relics of a righteous man. The Old Testament image of the Church always had with it the relics of a righteous man before it reached its kingdom.
Saul
Saul was killed by the Philistines, and the inhabitants of Jabesh burned the bodies and buried the bones under a tree of their city:
“Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days” (1 Sam. 31:10-13) (1 Chr. 10:12)
David translates the remains of Saul to the land of Benjamin and buries them together with the remains of Saul’s father:
“Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead <…>. So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God heeded the prayer for the land” (2 Sam. 21:12-14)
A Case of Delayed Burial
Jacob was committed to burial after more than 77 days:
“Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. <...> ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’ <...> Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father” (Gen. 50:1-3,5,10)
A Prophet Asks to Be Buried Together with the Remains of Another Prophet
“And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, saying, ‘Alas, my brother!’ So it was, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, ‘When I am dead, then bury me in the tomb where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones’” (1 Kin. 13:29-31)
Jacob Honors the Remains of His Wife
“So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day” (Gen. 35:19-20)
King Josiah Honors the Remains of a Prophet
It is said of Josiah that there was no king like him before him or after him, because he turned to God with all his heart, soul and might (2 Kin. 23:25). The Judean king Josiah was obedient to God from childhood, and having reached a mature age, he began to cleanse his state of paganism. He destroyed pagan statues, altars, pagan high places for burning incense, sacred pagan groves, forbade the service of the idolatrous priests, wiped out the sorcerers and those who called up the dead, cleansed the temple of God in Jerusalem of pagan objects and repaired it, found the book of Holy Scripture, which was read to the people, and the people were brought into the Covenant with God. Josiah not only destroyed the pagan shrines, but also sought to defile them by scattering human bones:
“Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men” (2 Kin. 23:13-14)
Josiah destroyed the old idol of Jeroboam, defiling the burials there:
“Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words” (2 Kin. 23:15-16)
However, when he comes across a monument and learns that it is the grave of the prophet who foretold these events, he treats his remains with reverence. Moreover, the very existence of the monument testifies to the earlier veneration of the prophet:
“Then he said, ‘What gravestone is this that I see?’ So the men of the city told him, ‘It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.’ And he said, ‘Let him alone; let no one move his bones.’ So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria” (2 Kin. 23:17-18)
This same man of God had foretold earlier that this would happen:
“Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, ‘O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: “Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you”’” (1 Kin. 13:2)
Simon Honors the Remains of His Family
The high priest Jonathan (1 Macc. 10:20; 1 Macc. 11:57) was buried in Baskama. Later, his brother the high priest Simon (1 Macc. 13:36,42) translates his remains to the city of their ancestors — Modein, where Judas had been buried before (1 Macc. 9:19). Simon erects a large structure, seeking by this to honor the remains of his family:
“When he approached Baskama, he killed Jonathan, and he was buried there. <...> Simon sent and took the bones of his brother Jonathan, and buried him in Modein, the city of his ancestors. All Israel bewailed him with great lamentation, and mourned for him many days. And Simon built a monument over the tomb of his father and his brothers; he made it high so that it might be seen, with polished stone at the front and back. He also erected seven pyramids, opposite one another, for his father and mother and four brothers. For the pyramids he devised an elaborate setting, erecting about them great columns, and on the columns he put suits of armor for a permanent memorial, and beside the suits of armor he carved ships, so that they could be seen by all who sail the sea. This is the tomb that he built in Modein; it remains to this day” (1 Macc. 13:23,25-30)