Relic veneration began nearly concurrently with Christian belief, before the Church was even established as the familiar organization. At the end of the first century or beginning of the second century CE, St. Ignatius of Antioch was thrown to the lions and martyred. “His bones were gathered up by two of his companions, who came by night to rescue them” and the idea of relic veneration was born (Deedy 376). St. Polycarp’s bones were collected in a similar manner after he was burned to death. At the beheading of St. Cyprian, a hundred years later, the practice was so entrenched that Christians threw towels and handkerchiefs where they could be soaked by his blood. The practice may have become so accepted in such a short period of time due in part to the large number of martyrs killed at the time.

It became customary to mark the anniversary of a martyr’s death with a celebration of the Eucharist on his or her grave. Soon, the remains of martyrs were moved or disassembled so the celebration could occur at multiple locations. “Gradually, the custom of burying relics under every altar where the Eucharist was celebrated became standard Church practice in the West. To this day, the technical definition of an altar in a Roman Catholic canon law is ‘a tomb containing relics of saints’ (sepulchrum continens reliquas)” (Sox 8). Despite the rise in popularity through early Church history in keeping relics, especially oil from lamps marking martyrs’ tombs or cloth touched to their bones, Church law does not mention relics until 401 CE and nor is there explicit advocacy of relic veneration or cult until the Second Council of Nicea in 787 CE (Dooley 10). The validity of veneration and sanctity of relics was affirmed by the Council of Trent, between 1545 and 1563 CE, “saying that ‘through these [bodies of the saints] many benefits are bestowed by God on men’” (Deedy 376).

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