Relics of St. Barnabas
September 12th, 2011
Inside the Church
Today we drove to the Church of Saints Barnabas and Hilarion. It is a small church, as are most of the older Orthodox churches. Some of the new ones we see around Nicosia are quite large. The Cypriots with whom we speak do not care for the larger buildings—too impersonal. Anyway, this morning we met a very friendly young man who had arranged for someone to come and unlock the church door.
Relics of Barnabas
At one time the stones inside this old church were plastered and covered with frescos. Today, the rocks are bare, but the iconostasis is ornate. And, most important for me, the church not only has icons of Barnabas, but also some relics. Our young guide took us to an ornate display box in the front left of the church and explained that the bones and the top of a skull in this silver container are the bones of Barnabas.
Closeup of the bones.
I am amazed by the sincere reverence Orthodox Christians have for icons—for the way they kiss certain ones and bow before them. Icons for them are not simply works of art, but holy objects that bring them closer to God. My Protestant background is quite removed from such veneration of relics, so I am still in a situation of having much to learn and experience.
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
September 13th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
We don’t know what to do with icons, Michael. Don’t you think we are terrified of becoming idolators? Veneration is often not something we understand as Americans, either appreciation of the distant past or of the immediate past. Other cultures revere their ancestors, their history, their heritage. We Americans are so pragmatic and maybe egotistical that we spend more time contemplalting what is going on right now and how WE will influence the moment!
September 14th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Hi Mike,
I must admit the bones thing kind of freaks me out. But if I sit with it a little bit, I start to wonder if it’s almost another way of sharing sacred space. For instance, if Barnabas was buried in one place, people could go to that place to remember him, but by spreading the bones in different places, more people have the opportunity to remember and be thankful.
And I do also wonder, given some stories of relics, (and I think of the dead man who was raised to life when buried over an OT prophet) whether there are some energy patterns that stay encoded in the physical body for a time.
It’s fun to wonder with you and Lynne, encountering different ways of thinking of and practicing faith.