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Veneration of Relics
The faithful gathered the martyrs' bones as treasures more precious than gold
Veneration of relics is the honor paid to the bodily remains and possessions of martyrs and saints. It is attested as early as the second century, when the Martyrdom of Polycarp describes the faithful treasuring his bones, and it was defended at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The practice is understood differently across traditions: Catholics and Orthodox embrace it, while the Reformers rejected it as superstitious.
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