Rare French Antique Relic Theca Vraie Croix / True Cross t570

French Antique Reliquary True Cross

2,5 cm (1") x 2cm (3/4")

Marked in french Vraie Croix (True Cross)

I can guarantee this is a geniune relic, the frame is several hundred years old and french. It is coming from the same place than the other relics I have on sale on Etsy. I don't know the entire history of this relic and I cannot guarantee this is really a piece of the true cross.

At the back,it might be Sainte Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine .

"According to post-Nicene historians such as Socrates of Constantinople, the Empress Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, travelled to the Holy Land in 326–328, founding churches and establishing relief agencies for the poor. Historians Gelasius of Caesarea and Rufinus claimed that she discovered the hiding place of three crosses that were believed to be used at the crucifixion of Jesus and of two thieves, St. Dismas and Gestas, executed with him; to one cross was affixed the titulus bearing Jesus' name, but Helena was not sure until a miracle revealed that that cross was the True Cross. "

Four cross particles – of ten particles with surviving documentary provenances by Byzantine emperors – from European churches, i.e. Santa Croce in Rome, Notre Dame, Paris, Pisa Cathedral and Florence Cathedral, were microscopically examined. "The pieces came all together from olive."[29] It is possible that many alleged pieces of the True Cross are forgeries, created by travelling merchants in the Middle Ages, during which period a thriving trade in manufactured relics existed.

French Antqiue True Cross Vraie Croix

French Antique Relic True Cross

Available on MonsieurBrocanteur Etsy Store