Holy Sponge
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2010) |
TheHoly Spongeis one of theInstruments of the PassionofJesus.[1]It was dipped invinegar(Ancient Greek:ὄξος,romanized:oxos;in some translations sourwine), most likelyposca,[2]a regular beverage of Roman soldiers,[3]and offered to Jesus to drink from duringthe Crucifixion,[2]according to Matthew 27:48,[4]Mark 15:36,[5]and John 19:29.[6]
History
[edit]Jerusalem
[edit]An object thought to be the Holy Sponge was venerated in the Holy Land, in the Upper Room of theConstantinian basilica,whereSophronius of Jerusalemspoke of itc. 600 AD:
And let me go rejoicing
to the splendid sanctuary, the place
where the noble EmpressHelena
found thedivine Wood;
and go up,
my heart overcome with awe,
and see the Upper Room,
the Reed, the Sponge, and the Lance.
Then may I gaze down
upon the fresh beauty of the Basilica
where choirs of monks
sing nightly songs of worship.— Sophronius
Rome
[edit]In theBasilica di San Giovanni in Lateranoin Rome, a brown sponge is venerated. Other pieces of sponge are present at the following:
- theBasilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
- theBasilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere
- St. Mary in Campitelli[citation needed]
Gerusalemme
[edit]The Chapel of the Relics atSanta Croce in Gerusalemmehouses another sponge:
Of all the churches in Rome, Santa Croce has one of the richest collections of relics. A special chapel was therefore built for them in 1930. A staircase to the left of the choir leads to this chapel, where one can see three pieces of the True Cross, one of its nails, a fragment of the INRI ( "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" ) inscription, two thorns from Christ'scrown of thorns,a piece of the sponge that was held up to him, one of the silver pieces paid to Judas, St Thomas's finger which touched the wounds of Christ, and the crossbar from theGood Thief's cross. The paving stones are said to have been laid on a substantial amount of earth fromGolgotha.[7]
Constantinople and France
[edit]In the 7th century,Nicetastook part in the conquest of Egypt fromPhocas.He was famed[citation needed]for bringing items he claimed were the Holy Sponge and the Holy Lance (the "Lance of Longinus") toConstantinoplefrom Palestine in 612. From 619 to 628/9 he may anecdotally have beenexarch of Africa.[dubious–discuss]
This sponge remained in Constantinople until it was bought from theLatin emperorBaldwin IIbyLouis IX of Franceamong the relics he needed for theSainte-ChapelleinParis.Participants in theFrench Revolutiondispersed these relics (including theCrown of Thornsand a bit of theTrue Cross). Some went briefly to theBibliothèque Nationale.Later, however, they were restored toNotre-Dame de Paris.[citation needed]
Other claimants
[edit]Other parties also claiming access to the Holy Sponge include:
- the church of St. Jacques de Compiègne in France
- Aachen's cathedral (Charlemagne's sample)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Manseau, Peter (April 11, 2009)."Faith, Proof and Relics".The Wall Street Journal.RetrievedSeptember 1,2020.
- ^abDavis, C. Truman (4 November 2015)."A Physician's View of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ".The Christian Broadcasting Network.RetrievedSeptember 1,2020.
- ^Wija, Tantri (September 18, 2019)."Oh, sure. Now it's trendy. But drinking vinegar was the taste that originally refreshed an ancient empire".The Seattle Times.RetrievedSeptember 1,2020.
- ^Matthew 27:48
- ^Mark 15:36
- ^John 19:29
- ^Knopf (1994).Guide to Rome.