Category:Crown of Thorns (subject)
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 hosted 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. Among the ones still venerated are the relics at St. Michael's church in Ghent, and at Stonyhurst College.
In Depth
- Crown of Thorns (sources) -- survey of ancient sources
- Crown of Thorns (arts) -- survey of fictional works
- Crown of Thorns (research) -- survey of scholarly works
External links
This category currently contains no pages or media.