Category:Crown of Thorns (subject)

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According to Christian traditions, the Crown of Thorns is one of the Relics of Jesus.

Overview

As an instrument of the Passion of Jesus, the Crown of Thorns is mentioned in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and John, and in later Christian traditions.

As a relict the Crown of Thorns is first attested in some literary sources at Jerusalem, among the most sacred Relics of Jesus.

The Paris Crown of Thorns

In 1238 Baldwin II, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople offered the Crown of Thorns to St. Louis, King of France. It was supposed to be same relic once venerated at Jerusalem and then moved to Constantinople. St. Louis built the Sainte-Chapelle (completed 1248) in Paris, France, to contain the Crown of Thorns along with the relic of the Holy Lance. The two relics remained there until the French Revolution, when they were transferred to the Bibliothèque Nationale. While the relict of the Holy Lance went lost, in 1806 the Crown of Thorne was returned to the Church and in 1896 a new reliquary was made to contain the relic. The relic was located in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, where it is still preserved.

The Paris Crown consists only of a circlet of rushes, without any trace of thorns. According to the tradition the thorns were separated from the band of rushes and distributed in several reliquaries, then presented to different churches and monasteries. None of these now remain in Paris.

The Holy Thorns

There are more than 700 relics of the Holy Thorns. Their provenience is obscure; some claim to come from Paris, some claim to have been separated from the "original" relict in much earlier times. Today reliquaries of the Holy Thorns can be found in Belgium (Wevelgem, Ghent), Germany (Trier, Cologne, Elchingen), Italy (Pisa, Rome, Naples, Ariano Irpino), Spain (Oviedo, Barcelona, Seville), and the United Kingdom (Stanbrook Abbey Worcester, and Stonyhurst College Lancashire).

  • St. Michael's Church, Ghent, Belgium -- A thorn from the Crown of Thorns
  • Parochial Church of Wevelgem, Belgium -- A portion of the Crown of Thorns
  • Cathedral of Trier, Germany -- A thorn from the Crown of Thorns
  • The Koluma (Diocesan Museum), Cologne, Germany -- A thorn from the Crwon of Thorns, given by Luis IX to the Dominicans of Lüttich, and a second Thorn from the treasure of St. Kolumbas Church
  • Church of the Elchingen Abbey, Germany -- A thorn from the Crown of Thorns
  • Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, Rome, Italy -- Two thorns from the Crown of Thorns.
  • Church of St. Praxedes, Rome, Italy -- A small portion of the Crown of Thorns
  • Church of Santa Chiara, Pisa, Italy -- A branch with thorns from the Crown of Thorns, originally held at the church of Santa Maria della Spina.
  • Santa Maria Incoronata, Naples, Italy -- A fragment of the Crown of Thorns
  • Cathedral of Ariano Irpino, Italy -- Two Thorns from the Crown of Thorns
  • Church of San Gaetano, Barletta, Italy -- One Thorn from the Crown of Thorns (the Sacra Spina di Barletta) is venerated in Barletta since the 13th century.
  • Cathedral of Oviedo, Spain -- Five thorns from the Crown of Thorns
  • Cathedral of Barcelona, Spain -- A thorn from the Crown of Thorns
  • Iglesia de la Anunciación, Seville, Spain -- A thorn from the Crown of Thorns
  • Stanbrook Abbey, Worcester, England -- A thorn from the Crown of Thorns
  • Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, England -- A thorn from the Crown of Thorns

In Depth

External links

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