GILT ALTAR RELIQUARY, RELIC OF THE TRUE CROSS !

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A spiritual treasure, worthy of the treasury of a major Cathedral ! A gilt brass neo-gothic standing (altar) reliquary with many fine details, ca 12 1/2 inches in height. France, ca. 1850. Inside, placed on red velvet, is an oval-shaped gilt brass theca, covered with octagonally cut crystal glass, sealed with the red wax seal of a Cardinal with the thread intact. Inside, placed on real gold, is the most precious relic, two significant splinters of the True Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The theca is abou a century older than the altar reliquary and of Italian origin, probably Rome, ca. 1750-70. Inside is written: Lignum S. Crucis: Wood of the Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ: According to several Church historians of the 4th and 5th century, the True Cross was discovered in 325 AD when Emperor Constantine the Great ordered the removal of a pagan temple built by Hadrian over the site of the Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre. Beneath the structure, in an old cistern, three crosses, the title with the inscription "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews", and three nails were found. In the presence of the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, the Cross of Christ was identified by the 'titulus' and the nail holes, and later confirmed by a miracle. It was laid upon a sick woman who was immediately miraculously cured. Helena divided read more

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