Translation (relic)

In the early Middle Ages, the solemn translation marked the moment at which, the saint's miracles having been recognized, the relic was moved by a bishop or abbot to a prominent position within the church.

For example, on January 27 is celebrated the translation of the relics of St. John Chrysostom from the Armenian village of Comana (where he died in exile in 407) to Constantinople.

It was assumed that they would remain permanently in their often-unidentified resting places in cemeteries and the catacombs of Rome (but always outside the walls of the city, continuing a pagan taboo).

Perhaps partly because Constantinople lacked the many saintly graves of Rome, translations soon became common in the Eastern Empire, even though it was still prohibited in the West.

An altar slab dated 357, found in North Africa but now in the Louvre, records the deposit beneath it of relics from several prominent saints.

In the West a decree of Theodosius I only allowed the moving of a whole sarcophagus with its contents, but the upheavals of the barbarian invasions relaxed the rules, as remains needed to be relocated to safer places.

[7] In the 4th century, Basil the Great requested of the ruler of Scythia Minor, Junius Soranus (Saran), that he should send him the relics of saints of that region.

[11] Sometimes the translation was the result of an agreement between the original and the new possessors or was arranged by a superior authority, but other times the relic was acquired against the will of the previous holder.

The new owners published accounts of their success and associated miracles to legitimate these furta sacra ("holy thefts") as consented by the saint.

When Albert the Great, who had been residing in Cologne in his old age, had listened to the account of the finding of the relics, he wept, praised God from the depth of his soul, and requested the bystanders to sing the Te Deum.

Philip II of Spain presided over a solemn ceremony commemorating the final translation of her relics to Toledo, in April 1587.

[16] Among the most famous translations is that of Saint Benedict of Nursia, author of the "Regula S. Benedicti", from Cassino to Fleury, which Adrevald memorialized.

In England, the lengthy travels of St Cuthbert's remains to escape the Vikings, and then his less respectful treatment after the English Reformation, have been much studied, as his coffin, gospel book and other items buried with him are now very rare representatives of Anglo-Saxon art.

[citation needed] Some well-known translations of relics include the removal of the body of Saint Nicholas from Myra in Asia Minor to Bari, Italy in 1087.

These are housed in St Mark's Basilica; in 1968, a small fragment of bone was donated to the Coptic Church in Alexandria.