Reliquary box, silver, Greece, 1727

Embossed on the lid with a representation of the cross surmounted by God the Father in Majesty; his arms extended and clouds swirling upwards on either side. Above him is the inscription IE/XE. The cross is inscribed INRI. To the left of the cross stands the Emperor Constantine holding a sceptre and with a halo round his head; above is the inscription O OFTI OE TE KWNEHTN Q (The Holy Emporer Constantine). To the right of the cross stands St Helena, holding a sceptre, above her hand is the inscription HH TI ......(Holy Helena) Both figures clasp the cross. The sides are decorated with a pattern consisting of leaves at the corners and an arched line supporting bunches of leaves, with circular objects above and below, all on a recessed background. The hinge and lock which formerly closed the box are missing. On the base is a coartouche inscribed .'This box is the property of the monk Philotheus)'. The corners outsides the cartouches are filled with leaves on a pitted base. The donor, who was at one time British minister in Bulgaria acquired the box in Athens some 60 years ago; the dealer who sold it to him, said that it was possibly from Mount Athos.

Given by Sir George Rendel

Sir George Rendel. K.C.M.G.

The Eastern Churches
The history of the church around and beyond the eastern Mediterranean is complex. The earliest eastern churches were established in Antioch, Alexandria and other cities in the 1st century. They were independent communities and theological controversy sharpened their differences.

In 330 Constantinople (now Istanbul) became the capital of the Roman empire. Successive bishops of Constantinople, later given the title of patriarch, gradually won authority over other eastern churches, despite the opposition of the pope. Churches that accepted the jurisdiction of the patriarch became known as Orthodox, but others, including those of Armenia and Ethiopia, developed along separate lines. Diversity of practice and doctrine in the eastern churches is reflected in the different kinds of regalia and sacred silver. Yet some forms such as the chalice are common to all, indicating a shared core of beliefs.

This reliquary box comes from the Greek Orthodox church and may have contained a relic of the True Cross, which was believed to be the actual cross on which Christ was crucified. According to legend, the True Cross was found by Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, in the 4th century.

The lid bears a cross surmounted by God the Father in Majesty and inscribed ‘INRI’, meaning ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’. To the left of the cross stands Constantine, with a halo round his head and a sceptre. He is identified by the inscription above, which translates as ‘The holy Emperor Constantine’. St Helena stands to the right of the cross, with the inscription ‘Holy Helena’. Both figures touch the cross. On the base of the box is a cartouche inscribed in Greek, ‘This box is the property of the monk Philotheus’.

M.112-1966