Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, as well as the somewhat particular feast of the Veneration of the Chains (or manacles) of the Holy and Glorious Apostle Peter!

According to church tradition, the first century Christians saved and venerated as a relic the manacles with which the Apostle Peter was chained while in Jerusalem, as well as a different set of manacles that imprisoned him in Rome not long before his martyric death. We heard about the first set of chains in today’s second Epistle reading. Details about how theses relics were saved and about the history of their veneration can be found here: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/01/16/100202-veneration-of-the-pr….

Of course, these are not the only relics or holy objects that are venerated by the faithful. We Orthodox have a plethora of relics (things that are in some way tied to the earthly life of one saint or another, as well as the earthly remains of their bodies, be they incorrupt, just bones, or even small particles of bone). Even in our church we have relics. They are found inside the altar table, in the foundation of the church building, in the antimins (a silk handkerchief that is spread out on the altar table during the Liturgy), on the icon stand on the far left of the church, and in several icons. We also have a small icon of the guardian angel that used to belong to the New-Martyr Grand-Duchess Elisabeth, which we could also call a relic, in the same way that we consider a relic the chains of St. Peter.

To a modern person this veneration of relics by the Orthodox may seem odd. This opinion is not at all new. Already in the eighth century the iconoclasts were critical not only of the veneration of icons, but also of relics. In the West, the Protestant Reformation also made it a goal to stop the veneration of relics and other holy objects. In Russia the Communists, from the first years that they were in power, laboured to destroy the veneration of relics. Despite all of these efforts, the Church up until our own time piously venerates the relics of the saints, as well as those objects that were closely tied to the saints, the Most-Holy Theotokos, and the Saviour.

Holy Scripture itself witnesses to the miraculous qualities held within the objects of holy people. St. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, notes that handkerchiefs that had come into contact with the body of the Apostle Paul did miracles (19: 12). The works of the Church Fathers, from the first days of the Christian Church, also bear witness to the veneration of relics. For example, the Encyclical Epistle Concerning the Martyrdom of Polycarp states that his bones are “more precious than the most exquisite jewels, and more purified than gold.” Many of the saints, for example, Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, teach about the relics having Grace and healing power. Any person who regularly reads the lives of the saints must also come to the conclusion that the faithful have always venerated relics and that these relics have miraculous qualities. Today’s feastday, as well as the feast of the Elevation of the Cross, also witness to the general veneration of relics by the faithful.

The Holy New-Martyr John Popov says that there are three reasons for why we venerate the relics. First, it is because relics, the graves of the saints, and other holy objects dramatically witness to the sanctity of a person and strongly influence our personal spiritual lives by encouraging us to emulate this or that saint. Second, the Church is a union of the faithful here on earth and the saints, angels, and Christ Himself in the Heavens. This union is brightly manifest in common church prayer, especially in the Divine Liturgy. Relics are the visible manifestation of the invisible heavenly church here on earth. (It’s for this reason that the Liturgy is served on an altar table into which are placed the relics of the saints.) Third, relics contain within themselves divine power. During their earthly lives, the saints acquired the Grace of God. This Grace, through the prayers, words, and touch of the saints is passed on to others. The experience of the Church shows that even after the death of a holy person, Grace continues to be passed to others through their glorified bodies.

Having considered everything mentioned above, let us also venerate the relics of the saints and those holy objects that they have left here on earth. Of course, this does not mean to simply kiss them or to collect a huge quantity of them to have in our church. No, this means to emulate these saints in our own lives, to participate in the divine services, especially the Eucharist, so as to join ourselves in a mystical fashion to Christ and His saints and to acquire the Grace of God.

priest Alexis

P.S. If you are interested in this topic, there are to good articles here. Unfortunately, I could only find them in Russian: https://azbyka.ru/o-pochitanii-svyatyx-moshhej#1.