The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by the Church tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, traveled to the Holy Land in 326–28, where she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to be used at the crucifixion of Jesus and of two thieves, St. Dismas and Gestas, executed with him, and a miracle revealed which of the three was the True Cross. Fragments of the Cross were broken up, and the pieces were widely distributed; in 348, in one of his Catecheses, Cyril of Jerusalem remarked that the "whole earth is full of the relics of the Cross of Christ." Most of the very small relics of the True Cross in Europe came from Constantinople after the city was captured and sacked in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. They were carved up by the present bishops and divided with other very precious relics among the knights; who, after their return to the homeland, donated them to churches and monasteries.
Spectacular early 20th-century French metal cruciform reliquary profusely decorated with micromosaic housing particles from the wood from the True Cross of Jesus Christ. The relics are housed in the round glass-fronted central cavity, displayed in the cruciform shape on the ground of red silk surrounded by an elaborate gilt paperolle ornamentation. They are identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as SS Crucis [D.N.J.C.] (the Most Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ). On the back, behind the protective cap, the reliquary is secured by an undisturbed seal of red Spanish wax with a clear imprint of a coat of arms of Fr. Jean-Marie Bourchany (†1931), Auxiliary Bishop of Lyon, France (1914-124). Comes with an original Letter of Testimony written in French, signed and sealed with a seal of a parish of Notre Dame de Beaune, France, stating the following:
"I, Henri Voissard, vicar at Notre Dame de Beaune, attest that the fragments of sacred wood, placed in the shape of a cross, in a reliquary in the shape of a cross, decorated with mosaics, offered to our parish by Abbé Grumble, chaplain of the Rochers school, come from pieces of the True Cross. The relic was recognized as authentic and sealed by our bishop Boucharny, auxiliary to Monsignor Maurin. This fragment of the True Cross was placed in this reliquary on April 17, 1914. In all faith, I have signed this document on the 29th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1915."
This item is appropriate for private and public veneration.
Additional Info
- ID#: 05-RSGA-2
- Size: 9 x 5 1/4 inches (23 x 13.5 cm)
- Age: ca. 1915
- Origin: Lyon, France
- Materials: metal, mosaic tesserae, glass, paper, silk, Spanish wax
- Price: SOLD!
-
Media
Additional Images of this Item
Level 60 Trading Co,, LLC
1089 Commonwealth Ave #314,
Boston, MA 02215, USA
Tel: (+1) 786-206-9894
Our local time is
Online Store & Services
Information
Quick Link
Поменять язык на русский
Level 60 Trading Co,, LLC
1089 Commonwealth Ave #314,
Boston, MA 02215, USA
Tel: (+1) 786-206-9894
Our local time is
Online Store & Services
Information
Quick Link
SAVE 5% from your first purchase when you subscribe to receive our infrequent mailings with updates on new arrivals, exclusive offers, and fascinating stories on relevant subjects.
