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Most Udmurt living in the Bashkortostan Republic and in the Perm' region of the Russian Federation are followers of a traditional ethnic religion. In their spiritual life, a huge place is occupied by sanctuaries and other places in which their ritual practices take place, such as the worship of deities, spirits and ancestors. We can identify different types of such places in this Udmurt regional group: the sanctuary dedicated to the cult of the clan protector deities, groves dedicated to the god Lud, places dedicated to personal and family cults, sacred places of agrarian sacrifices, territories where funerary and commemorative rituals take place, places dedicated to the propitiation of evil spirits. Depending on their social status, the sanctuaries are regional or general and can be related to a family, clan, village, or multiple villages. In this article, which relies on the authors' ethnographic fieldwork and published sources, we analyse the present state of the sacred places. We show that the transformation of cultural patterns has led some types of sanctuary to cease functioning, while others have remained as relics and the places of agrarian sacrifices have undergone an active revitalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of the art and the textual evidence surrounding the cult of Saint Demetrios in Thessaloniki reveals that early Byzantine veneration of Demetrios prioritized the sense of vision as a means of engaging with the saint and emphasized the human ability to perceive the divine with the spiritual senses. Thessalonian clerical and administrative elites, needing to articulate alternative ways to attain closeness with their saint when his bodily relics could not be accessed, promoted views of matter and the senses exemplified in the mosaics of Hagios Demetrios. With the appearance of myron (a combination of perfumed oil and blood) at Demetrios's shrine in the middle Byzantine era, possibly prompted by competition from rival saints, the cult rapidly refocused veneration toward this bodily relic and desire for physical contact with it. The dramatic change of emphasis from the visual and immaterial to the tactile and material as the basis for communicating with the saint is expressed in the design of reliquaries made to house this myron, which assert that vision is no longer sufficient to gain communion with the saint. The two groups of artworks—the early mosaics and the later reliquaries—provide differing sensory paradigms that guide their beholders and users toward the correct way to experience the divine. Through an analysis of the cult of Demetrios, this article seeks to nuance our understanding of the role of art, relics, and the senses in medieval saints' cults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a revisionist account of the early circulation of copies of the Madonna of Santa Maria Maggiore, known since the nineteenth century as the Salus Populi Romani. Traditionally, the propulsion of the image into global circulation has been attributed variously to Pius V or Francisco Borja, the third Superior General of the Society of Jesus. The article argues that the circulation of the Saint Luke Madonna, as it was known at the time, was closely tied to the martyr's cult that grew up around the Jesuit missionary Inácio de Azevedo and the so-called Brazil Martyrs, a group of Jesuits murdered by Calvinist corsairs off the Canary Islands in 1570. Azevedo had intended to carry a copy of the Roman icon to Brazil, a copy that perished at sea with Azevedo and the party of Jesuit missionaries. The article suggests that the popularity of the image among Jesuits in Europe and the overseas missions was fueled by the nascent martyr's cult that followed Azevedo's death. Painted copies of the Saint Luke Madonna came to function, together with relics of the Eleven Thousand Virgins of Cologne, as proxies for the missing material remains of the martyred Jesuits. The article argues that while the distribution of the image was globally extensive, circulation was restricted to an internal Jesuit martyr's cult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the western cult of two saints, Cyrus and John, which was founded in Egypt – where Sophronios of Jerusalem composed the anargyroi 's hagiographic dossier in the seventh century – and quickly spread to Italy. The analysis of the manuscripts containing the Latin translations of Sophronios's texts allows us to trace the diffusion of this hagiographic corpus in Rome, and to link its transfer and first reception in Italy to a broad Mediterranean migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Ancient East, the temples were considered houses of the gods and that is why they were also identified with the noun bitu (house); in addition to this term, the term qds, mqds (sanctuary) was also found at Ugarit. At the royal palaces belonging to the ancient peoples of the Cannean space there were also chapels, where especially the deified ancestors were worshipped, and in these places there were also cult images, made of precious metals, but which - in general - were not preserved as historical relics, these being over the centuries the object of robberies, for their value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the battle of Mohács, the new king Ferdinand of Habsburg had the relics of the Saint John the Merciful (Almsgiver) placed in the St. Martin‘s Cathedral in Bratislava. The city became the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and, between 1563 and 1830, the place where members of the Habsburg dynasty were crowned Hungarian kings. The relics served not only for religious purposes but also for the specific needs of the dynasty or the ruler in the context of the time – political, power or propaganda. The paper will try to approach the fate of the relics and the cult of St. John the Merciful in Bratislava and related questions: what role did the saint‘s relics play in legitimizing the rule of the new Habsburg dynasty in the Kingdom of Hungary, or how did they contribute to the formation and establishment of its identity in the Central European space? Were they influential in shaping the identity of Bratislava as the capital of the Habsburg monarchy, with St. Martin‘s Cathedral as the main coronation church of the Habsburgs?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Passionist religiosity was gradually established from the 12th and 13th centuries onwards, encouraged by the Franciscan ideals of imitation, meditation, and devotion to Christ, with St. Francis becoming the very image of sorrowful humanity as he received the stigmata of Christ. The medieval cult of the Passion, reiterated in the Council of Trent, continued into the Modern Age, and is preserved today in manifestations of spirituality and popular devotion, experienced through artistic images of the Passion of Christ, as well as the veneration of relics of Vera Cruz, the shroud, among others. The liturgy and devotion have used and still use these images in religious solemnities, of which the Holy Week ceremonies stand out, as well as in theatrical performances in which the image serves as a vehicle mediating between two worlds, the earthly and the celestial, following the itineraries of the Stations of the Cross which, from the 15th century onwards, allow us to relive the final stages of Christ's earthly life in the Holy Land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First Plantagenêt kings' veneration of saints and their relics constitutes a part of their politics to construct the «empire» and to strengthen their territorial power basis. First, interest for certain cults fits in with the search for dynastic legitimisation by celestial patronage, while Thomas Becket has become the kingdom's new saint patron. Some relic affairs reflect symbolic of power's translation (Edward the Confessor, Edmund, Martial and Valerie, the elevation of relics at Fécamp, the discovery of Arthur and Guinevere's tombs at Glastonbury). Kings' presence at significant translation ceremonials or their visits to shrines are linked to their territorial politics (St. Michel's Mount, Rocamadour, Grandmont, and the translation of St. Frithswyth at Oxford). At last, relics played an essential role in Richard the Lionheart's crusade expedition. The link between politics and relics cult can be explained by the belief in the virtus materially present in relics; in which their possession and exalting by the cult had to grant celestial protection of the kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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On the wave of the so‑called II iconoclasm, which encompassed northern Europe, similar movements, or rather local iconoclastic actions, were revealed in the Polish Republic in the modern period (16th–18th century), wherever the voice of the dissenters was more intense, especially those representing more radical fractions of Protestant circles. Examples of iconoclastic acts from various regions of the former Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth resemble occurrences known from the period of Byzantine iconoclasm although these parallels are more clearly visible in the literary aspect, as the political‑religious freedom in the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth allowed for the publication of even openly anti ‑ ‑Catholic texts. Criticism of Polish Protestants towards Catholic religious practices was directed mainly against three manifestations of public religiosity, which they stigmatised in their polemics: Processions, the cult of selected Marian images, and the cult of relics and devotional practices related to the votive offerings. In this publication, certain problems are hinted at in relation to these manifestations of public devotion widespread in Res Publica Poloniae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Cultura y Religión is the property of Miguel Angel Mansilla Aguero and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

"Cult of the Dead: A Brief History of Christianity" by Kyle Smith explores the devotion to martyrs throughout history and its impact on Christian art, literature, and spirituality. The book discusses the preservation and honoring of relics from martyrs' bodies, as well as the connection between tomb and shrine. It also examines the development of historical accounts of martyrs and the use of relics for healing and protection. The author acknowledges the reservations and criticisms of the relic cult, but emphasizes the enduring significance of martyrdom in the communion of saints. [Extracted from the article]

The present article discusses the reliquary of the Dormition Cathedral in the city of Berat’s acropolis (Albania). This church allegedly contains the relics of Sts. Gorazd and Angelar and even the relics of the Seven Saints as a group. The purpose of this paper is to summarize known data about the reliquary, but not retroactively with regard to its authenticity. Rather, the data are analyzed in perspective with reference to the origin and establishment of the cult of the Seven Saints. This study traces the scholarly discussion about the authenticity of the relics from the second half of the 19th century until the present. Although I take into consideration the real possibility of these relics to be fake, as a medievalist, I point out that such an assertion is not productive as to the emergence of the cult of the Seven Saints. I argue that before the end of the 17th century relics considered to belong to Sts. Gorazd and Angelar, along with other church property, had been moved from Glavinitsa (Ballshi/Ballsh) to the St. George monastery in the Breshtan settlement. From there, looking for extra safety, the relics had been moved to the metropolitan Dormition Cathedral of Berat. These relics generated the local cult of the Seven Saints developments, whereas their presence in Berat or their move to Berat per se became the reason for the creation of the so-called Berat (or Venice) Seven Saints Service. The feast day was commemorated on November 26, right after the feast day of St. Clement of Ohrid. Both holidays had been parts of a common festive event. The November 26 commemoration was preserved for more than a century and a half as a specific local tradition despite a second date, July 17, found in the Moschopolis Seven Saints Service of 1742. Along with the Berat Service, the relics serve as the basis of a wide-spread common iconographic design for the representation of the Seven Saints in the city of Berat and its vicinity. In 1885, under the patronage of the local bishop Anthimos Alexoudis, the relics were placed into a specially designed reliquary. This silver-plated reliquary has a relief image of the Seven Saints and several inscriptions. The differences between the names of the Seven Saints can be attributed to both types of traditions: the oral tradition, which can be seen on the reliquary inscription, and the written tradition whose continuation is evident in the service. Today, the reliquary silver decoration is missing, although the reliquary has been preserved and it is kept in the Dormition Cathedral, which since 1986 has been transformed into the Onufri National Iconographic Museum. The reliquary’s relics and metallic shoes provide sufficient basis for the assumption that they had belonged to one and the same saint, whose identification is a task that remains for future research. The relics kept in the Berat reliquary are the basis for the modern Seven Saints cult whose Berat origin has a high degree of certainty. Having emerged at the end of the 17th or the beginning of the 18th century in the multiethnic environment of the city of Berat, this cult has been represented by a rich iconographic tradition and a service associated with Southern Albania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Semata: Ciencias Sociais e Humanidades is the property of Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Servicio de Publicaciones and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents religious practices and politics of memory, related to the cult of the “new martyrs” (“martyrs of totalitarianism”) in the Catholic Church in Bulgaria after 1989. The paper is based on terminological apparatus and methodology in the field of anthropology of memory and anthropology of religion, and describes the procedures of beatification of Blessed Eugene Bossilkov (beat. 1998) and bishops Fr. Kamen Vichev, Fr. Pavel Dzhidzov, Fr. Iosafat Shishkov (beat. 2002), Fr. Fortunat Bakalski, Fr. Rafael Peev, and others. The objective of this study is to elucidate major moments related to the institutionalisation of the cult, the processes of construction of sacredness, the creation of new religious practices, the commemoration practices, and the places of memory. The study explores the elements of the veneration of the “new martyrs” in Bulgaria, the connection between cult and history, and the issues of memory and the policies of memory as a form of heritage. The observations and the examples are obtained through field research and interviews conducted in several settlements in the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv and the Diocese of Nicopolis (primarily the towns of Plovdiv, Rakovski, Ruse, and Belene, the village of Oresh, and the city of Sofia). Relics, testimonies of martyrdom, stories of miracles, hagiographical and iconographical innovations, commemorational festivities, places of memory, related to the “new martyrs” – all of these are analysed through the prism of processes of invention of cultural-historical heritage, renovation of confessional identities, and creation of reworking models of traumatic memory in the period of socialism. The article looks for answers to the following questions: What is the character of the totalitarian martyrology in Bulgaria? How are the confessional consciousness of the Catholic communities and the character of their religious culture being transformed through the religious cults of the “new martyrs”? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ars Bilduma is the property of Ars Bilduma and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article highlights the cultural and political context of the numerous openings of Francesco Petrarch's ark, located next to the church in the village of Arquà Petrarca. The remains of the great poet were worshiped by numerous Italian and foreign travellers who went to Arquà, as it was considered a necessary stop during the Grand Tour. The ark was repeatedly opened over the centuries and the relics of Francesco Petrarch suffered substantial thefts. The focus on the local setting, which lived in symbiosis with the ancient monument for centuries, aims at tracing the origins of a cult which manifested some original features from the mid-19th century onward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article, I argue that the houses and memorabilia collections associated with venerated personages played an important role in campaigns to elevate popular, unofficial, saintly figures to the level of the blessed or even canonised saints. Two practices converged in these campaigns: the Catholic tradition of sacralising specific sites and endowing material remnants with special meaning, and the ‘museumification’ of memorial houses and collections. The focus here is on the use of material culture in the beatification campaigns for modern stigmatics (who carried the wounds of Christ). Of the hundreds of cases that were reported, only a few were beatified and canonised. The article concentrates primarily on one success story: the evolution of the German stigmatic Anne Catherine Emmerick (1774–1824) from a ‘living saint’ to her being officially blessed (2004) and the role that her houses and possessions played in the promotion of her cult following and image construction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the use and promotion of contact relics in medieval England. It argues that by the late eleventh and early twelfth century, large English monastic houses were uncomfortable with unauthorised individuals touching high status corporeal relics and so re-introduced and promoted contact relics as alternative objects of veneration. It argues that contact relics were an important aspect of English saints' cults until the Reformation, in a similar manner to Celtic and Brittonic cults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article examines the pre-thirteenth-century Byzantine reliquary, relic, and inscribed text work of Saint Marina or Margaret of Antioch. It cites the book "The Medieval Poetics of the Reliquary" by Seeta Chaganti in which the performance element of reliquaries was discussed and the lengthy and intriguing cared Greek inscription in the small silver gilt reliquary of Saint Marina which engages the viewer/reader/devotee. It mentions the history of the Byzantine cult of the holy martyr Marina who is know with special power over demons and ability to protect against demonic possession. It also notes the interaction of viewers with the reliquary and the saint it commemorates the reliquary, relic, and inscribed text work of Saint Marina.

Abstract: This paper examines the comparatively patchy evidence for the pastoral provision and personal faith of late medieval Scottish combatants below the rank of knight. By examining such sources as papal supplications, royal financial accounts, parliamentary rolls, chronicles, poetry and the cartularies of Scottish monastic houses and burgh collegiate churches, it is possible to identify elite and parish provision of churchmen serving the needs of Scottish troops as they mustered, trained and prepared for battle. In addition, this evidence also highlights a number of cults and relics popular with the social ranks of the ordinary Scottish soldiery, including those of SS Ninian, Leonard, Thomas Becket, Columba, the Blessed Virgin Mary and — often cast as the nemesis of Scottish troops — Cuthbert. However, this survey also points to some tensions between the spiritual interests of Scottish servicemen and their ruling elites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We are surrounded today not only by celebrities but, more importantly, their images. Yet even in this famously multi-media world, it is the photograph that remains especially equipped for celebrity imaging. This paper seeks to explain both the ubiquity and the appeal of the celebrity photograph. It pays particular attention to the idea of 'presence' in the celebrity image and ultimately argues that the photograph can be equated to a holy relic, especially the 'representative' classification of relic still recognised within organised religion today. It will be demonstrated that in both celebrity photograph and representative relic, the celebrity/saint is both mortally absent yet curiously present. The paper begins by making trans-historical connections between images from the Classical, Byzantine, Medieval and contemporary periods, demonstrating the succession from hero to saint to celebrity; but it also explores conceptual issues of iconoclasm and ontology, finally uniting these historical and theoretical connections in the celebrity photography of the present day. It seeks, therefore, not primarily to uncover 'new facts' about the periods and practises discussed, but rather to elucidate the concerns of the present by drawing comparisons with images from the past. As Fred Inglis argues in A short history of celebrity, we need to understand: 'just how historical is the contemporary'. This is precisely what this paper seeks to achieve: while celebrity is often perceived as a contemporary phenomenon, its antecedents locate it firmly within history. Connecting themes include veneration through cult, premature death, perpetual youth and eternal life. Thus, this study of the celebrity photograph will help us to reflect not only on the nature of the medium, but also the increasingly religious nature of celebrity in the seemingly secular world today. Our understanding of the celebrity photograph must therefore be both ontologically grounded and historically linked. Ultimately, our investigation of the celebrity photograph will contribute to our understanding of celebrity itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cult of Połock's bishop Jozafat Kuncewicz, who was killed on the 12th of November in 1623, developed continually alongside the Marian cult which was popular in the 18th century. The aim of vitalizing it was also reflected in the transferring of the date of the martyr's feast from the 12th of November to the 26th of September (considering the climate conditions). One of the most prominent occasions of the popularizing of Jozafat cult came with the millenary anniversary of his martyrdom. The Basilian monks from the Apostolic Seat took advantage of this anniversary, procuring an accordance for the right to supply a complete feast for those who visited the Basilian churches during the blessed Jozafat festival. The centre of the cult became the relic of the saint. In 1705, before the Russian army assaulted Połock, the Basilian monks entrusted the body of the martyr, together with the sarcophagus and treasures that remained in the cathedral at that time, into the care of the duke Karol Radziwiłł, who took the relics to his dominion in Biała. The refusal of Radziwiłłs to return the relics developed into a process against the Apostolic Seat in Rome, which in 1743 ended in compromise; the relics were left in Biała until a new shrine was built. The celebratory portage of the relics to the newly built shrine in 1765 had significant importance for the entrenchment of the blessed Jozafat cult in Biała and its surroundings, as did the public exposure of relics, the documentation of experienced miracles through the mediation of the martyr and large pilgrimages of the fold to the relics of the martyr during feasts. The cult of the blessed Jozafat inspired Tymoteusz Szczurowski, the ihumenos of the Basilian monks' monastery in Bielsk, to establish the convent of Uniates in 1792 called jozafatek in honor of the martyr. Szczurowski created chants which elucidate the character of the martyr. The development of the martyr's cult was promoted by the distribution (parceling) of his relics as well. In the 18th century they were send to Vitebsk, Vilnius and perhaps even to Rome. In general, the relics were placed into coffin shaped reliquaries. In the 18th century these relics appeared in the Mary of Żyrowice sanctuary (built by Sapiehas) and in Połock. Other manifestations of the blessed Jozafat cult are the distribution of his pictures, flags dedicated to his honor, the building of chapels and churches in the blessed Jozafat name, the delivery of sermons sacred to the memory of his life and martyrdom and the participation in worship sacred to his honor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1058, the Flemish abbey of Saint-Winnoc stole St Lewinna's relics from a minster in southern England. The community worked to establish her cult in Flanders. Although scholars have focused on the material gain Saint-Winnoc probably hoped the cult would bring, this article argues that the development of the abbey's communal identity figured more prominently in its motives. The community saw Lewinna primarily as a means to help bolster its bid for independence from its mother house. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay I would like to explore the visionary writings of Elisabeth of Schönau (1129-1164) and to show how her work on Saint Ursula's martyrdom in Cologne, the Liber revelationum Elisabeth de sacro exercitu virginum Coloniensium (The book of Revelations on the sacred army of Cologne), written after 1156 and very widely read among her contemporaries, can illustrate some uses of visionary authority in the context of the cult of the saints and their relics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike previous studies of how the cult of the saints and martyrs developed in the Christian church, Robert Wi'sniewski has provided a sober but readable study that concentrates solely on the use of relics within the wider cult. His conclusion is that an expanded form of the cult of saints developed in the mid-fourth century as the martyrs were given much of the credit for the Constantinian peace of the church. He notes that Augustine, for example, changed his mind on the subject of relics, questioning ongoing miracles in the 380s but affirming them in the 420s (pp. 44-45). [Extracted from the article]

In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Benedictine monks of Mont-Saint Michel promoted the cult of Aubert of Avranches, the abbey’s legendary co-founder, and used his newly rediscovered relics as a means of accessing the patronage and power of the elusive, incorporeal archangel Michael, the community’s other founder. Texts, images, the strategic placement of Aubert’s relics throughout the abbey church reinforced the association between these two saints, rendering Aubert more powerful and Michael more accessible. This local study of the interaction between these two cults at the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel suggests that medieval monastic uses of relics were more creative and varied than is generally recognized and that relationships between saints within a single cultic environment could be extremely complex and unstable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents the modern research on the hagiography of Stephen, the first Christian martyr as recorded in the book of Acts of the New Testament. Exploration on the ancient material on Stephen; Contention that an alleged dossier on Stephen does not exist; Emergence of the cult of Saint Stephen and the healing power of his relics.

Copyright of RACAR: Canadian Art Review / Revue d'art Canadienne is the property of Universities Art Association of Canada / Association d'Art des Universites du Canada and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Focuses on Breton saints, miracles, and relics during the period 850 to 1250. Hagiographical output of the abbeys of Saint-Meen and Landevennec and the cathedral communities of Saint-Pol-de-Leon, Quimper, and Alet; Important churches in medieval Brittany; Guibert of Nogent's inquiry into the value of saints' relics in Brittany; Guibert's criticism of the cults of Breton saints; Distinction between official, liturgical cult with written texts and popular, oral veneration of saints; Written culture of the Middle Ages.

The article discusses the medieval cult created by theologian Catherine of Siena, Italy. Topics include the claim that most of the followers of Catherine of Siena have relics though some focused on her deeds and charisma, Catherine's canonization, the cult's influence on various country and the promoters of Catherine.