I can’t say what EWTN does or doesn’t do (the channel isn’t available to me). But I can say that when the EF is celebrated in a church where the relics either aren’t there, or have been removed, it’s a common practice to have the relics on the altar in some kind of reliquary; so they probably are reliquaries. I think there’s a difference here between having relics exposed for particular veneration, which would not be appropriate during Mass and on the other hand simply having the relics there on the altar (as a replacement for the practice of having them within the altar).I thought that relics aren’t supposed to be exposed on top of altars when there’s Mass (or at least they shouldn’t be exposed where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed). But, I was watching the Latin Masses they show on EWTN sometimes, and there are what look like reliquaries with relics in them on the altars. Am I mistaken?
Oh, I didn’t know there was the option of having relics on the altar rather than sealing them in. Isn’t there a potential problem with theft though? Everything in a parish seems to be kept so securely; the Eucharist is obviously locked in the tabernacle and even the holy oils are kept in an ambry. Seems weird they’d just keep relics exposed on altars like that on what don’t look like built-in reliquaries.I can’t say what EWTN does or doesn’t do (the channel isn’t available to me). But I can say that when the EF is celebrated in a church where the relics either aren’t there, or have been removed, it’s a common practice to have the relics on the altar in some kind of reliquary; so they probably are reliquaries. I think there’s a difference here between having relics exposed for particular veneration, which would not be appropriate during Mass and on the other hand simply having the relics there on the altar (as a replacement for the practice of having them within the altar).
Oh, I didn’t know there was the option of having relics on the altar rather than sealing them in. Isn’t there a potential problem with theft though? Everything in a parish seems to be kept so securely; the Eucharist is obviously locked in the tabernacle and even the holy oils are kept in an ambry. Seems weird they’d just keep relics exposed on altars like that on what don’t look like built-in reliquaries.
Seems weird to me also. Most Alter Stones whether granite or marble and the built in reliquaries that I’ve seen had a tightly interwoven cloth wrapped around the entire Alter Stone.Seems weird they’d just keep relics exposed on altars like that on what don’t look like built-in reliquaries.
You seem to be taking that out of context.I am sorry to see that we have some immature members in here, who refer to to the venerable practice of placing relics on an altar as “weird,” simply because they themselves were ignorant of the centuries-old Catholic custom.
I am offended at this description of such a beautiful practice.
I am taking nothing out of context. The use of a pejorative term such as weird indicates ignorance and/or immaturity and, quite frankly, I am shocked to see that you repeated it.You seem to be taking that out of context.
I called it “weird” as in it doesn’t look like the usual practise. I’m aware that relics are put into an altar, but I still do say it seems weird that they keep it on an altar. Like I said, relics aren’t supposed to be exposed when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed; it looks like a deviation from that rule when relics are exposed on an altar when Mass is going on. Aside from that, I’m not even sure relics are supposed to ever be placed on an altar, but rather that they are supposed to be placed on another table.
And again, as everything precious in the church is locked away, it seemed weird they’d just keep relics out like that because those items tend to attract theft. Father David clarified those issues for me in that the relics are later removed, but you can’t blame me for thinking it’s weird since even the holy oils are locked away.
Lastly, it seems weird to keep relics on top of an altar seeing as how there are already supposed to be relics inside. I haven’t ever read anything about relics being placed on top of altars, only within.
I also don’t think it’s a centuries-old custom to keep relics on the altar. It certainly is a custom to have them encased inside, or over the altar in cases of major relics, but outside of the instance I mentioned in my first post, I haven’t seen them placed on top. Judging from the responses on this thread, neither has most everyone else, with the exception of Father David.
Please re-read post #3. The poster, JesuXPIPassio, thought it “weird” that the relics would be left on the altar unsecured. That’s the key point. Not that they were on or near the altar, but that they were in a situation in which someone might steal them.I am taking nothing out of context. The use of a pejorative term such as weird indicates ignorance and/or immaturity and, quite frankly, I am shocked to see that you repeated it.
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Thank you, Father. While that point was made initially, subsequent posts seemed to go beyond that. And honestly, many churches do not remove the reliquaries after Mass, though I agree that they should.Please re-read post #3. The poster, JesuXPIPassio, thought it “weird” that the relics would be left on the altar unsecured. That’s the key point. Not that they were on or near the altar, but that they were in a situation in which someone might steal them.
While we’re on that topic, I’m curious, even when there is a major relic like that, do they still include smaller relics of other saints? If so, are those also visible behind the glass, or are they entombed in the altar as usual?The relics of St Fermin (Firmin(us)) - piled long bones etc., are clearly seen in a golden box with windows right over the altar (ciborium) of the great cathedral at Amiens, France.
Actually they have these small lockets called “theca” (Latin for small case) and these are commonly used for both purposes. They can be entombed or exposed.While we’re on that topic, I’m curious, even when there is a major relic like that, do they still include smaller relics of other saints? If so, are those also visible behind the glass, or are they entombed in the altar as usual?
Also (except for the case of whole bodies of saints), can they ever have relics displayed behind glass inside the altar? Or is it always entombed in something opaque? Like, is there ever a sort of display-case looking altar to display those small relics?