Reliquary theca with relic of St. Macarios of Pelekete, Abbot & defender of icons

Oval glass-fronted brass reliquary theca housing first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relic of ​Saint Macarios of Pelekete. The relic is affixed to a red silk ground surrounded by silver wire and gilt paperolle ornamentation and identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as S. Macarii Abb. (Saint Macarios, Abbot). On the back, under the protective cap, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of a coat of arms of Fr. Vitale Giuseppe de’ Buoi (†1787), Bishop of Faenza, Italy.

Saint Macarios of Pelekete (†850) was a Byzantine abbot and iconodule. He became a monk at Pelekete Monastery, adopting the name Macarius, and was later elected abbot. Renowned as a wonder-worker for his healing miracles, he attracted crowds seeking cures. A staunch defender of icons during the Iconoclast controversy, he opposed imperial edicts to destroy them, enduring exile under Emperors Leo V and Michael II. Banished to Aphusia Island in Bithynia, he died there after years of persecution. He is venerated in both the Latin and Eastern Orthodox Church, and his Feast Day is commemorated on April 1.