Relics and the real presence of the saints: the late Roman evidence
Eric Rebillard Abstract: The distribution and proliferation of relics that began in the late fourth century ran against the long-standing Roman tradition of not interfering with the dead in their tombs. Despite imperial laws reaffirming these principles and the efforts of some clerics to contain the enthusiasm for relics, translations of relics proliferated between the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth. We will read closely some of the texts that document this practice and look in particular at the issue of the physical presence of the saint through his smallest relic in order to develop an understanding of these acts of devotion focused on physical objects.
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