![]() The alleged presence in Jerusalem of the relic is attested by Cassiodorus (c. : 42 A lance is mentioned in the so-called Breviarius at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Antoninus of Piacenza) in his descriptions of the holy places of Jerusalem, writing that he saw in the Basilica of Mount Zion "the crown of thorns with which Our Lord was crowned and the lance with which He was struck in the side", : 18 although there is uncertainty about the exact site to which he refers. ![]() The first historical reference to a lance was made in AD 570 by an unknown pilgrim from Piacenza (often erroneously identified with St. ![]() Relics Īt least four major relics are claimed to be the Holy Lance or parts of it.Ī relic described as the Holy Lance in Rome is preserved beneath the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica, although the Catholic Church makes no claim as to its authenticity. This is one of the earliest records of the name, if the inscription is not a later addition. In the miniature, the name LOGINOS ( ΛΟΓΙΝΟϹ) is written in Greek characters above the head of the soldier who is thrusting his lance into Christ's side. Ī form of the name Longinus occurs on a miniature in the Rabula Gospels (conserved in the Laurentian Library, Florence), which was illuminated by one Rabulas in the year 586. The name of the soldier who pierced Christ's side with a lonchē is not given in the Gospel of John, but in the oldest known references to the legend, the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus appended to late manuscripts of the 4th century Acts of Pilate, the soldier is identified as a centurion and called Longinus (making the spear's Latin name Lancea Longini). Longinus Ĭrucifixion miniature, Rabula Gospels, with the legend "Loginos" The main piece becomes the lamb, the host that is consecrated on the altar and distributed to the faithful for Holy Communion. Most of these pieces, set aside, become the antidoron to be distributed after the liturgy, a relic of the ancient agape feasts of apostolic times, considered to be blessed but not consecrated or sanctified in the Western understanding. The deacon recites the relevant passage from the Gospel of John, along with sections of the Acts of the Apostles dealing with commemoration of the saints. In most variants of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, the priest lances the host ( prosphoron) with a liturgical spear before it is divided in honor of the Trinity, the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), and various other remembrances. Saint Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun whose advocacy and writings led to the establishment of the Divine Mercy devotion, also acknowledged the miraculous nature of the blood and water, explaining that the blood is a symbol of the divine mercy of Christ, while the water is a symbol of His divine compassion and of baptismal waters. A ceremonial evocation of this is found in a Catholic Mass: The priest pours a small amount of water into the wine before the consecration, an act which acknowledges Christ's humanity and divinity and recalls the issuance of blood and water from Christ's side on the cross. Catholics, while accepting the biological reality of blood and water as emanating from the pierced heart and body cavity of Christ, also acknowledge the allegorical interpretation: it represents one of the main key teachings/mysteries of the Church, and one of the main themes of the Gospel of Matthew, which is the homoousian interpretation adopted by the First Council of Nicaea, that "Jesus Christ was both true God and true man." The blood symbolizes his humanity, the water his divinity. The phenomenon of blood and water was considered a miracle by Origen. One of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance (λόγχη), and immediately there came out blood and water. To make sure that he was dead, a Roman soldier (named in extra-Biblical tradition as Longinus) stabbed him in the side. Just before they did so, they noticed that Jesus was already dead and that there was no reason to break his legs ("and no bone will be broken" ). Because it was the eve of the Sabbath (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown), the followers of Jesus needed to "entomb" him because of Sabbath laws. The gospel states that the Romans planned to break Jesus' legs, a practice known as crurifragium, which was a method of hastening death during a crucifixion. The lance ( Greek: λόγχη, lonkhē) is mentioned in the Gospel of John, but not the Synoptic Gospels. The Holy Lance, also known as the Lance of Longinus (named after Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is the lance that is alleged to have pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his crucifixion. Fresco by Fra Angelico, Dominican monastery at San Marco, Florence, showing the lance piercing the side of Jesus on the cross ( c.
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