RELICS OF ST. CONSTANTINE-CYRIL IN SLOVAKIA

IVANIC, Peter. Relics of St. Constantine-Cyril in Slovakia. The worship of the remains of apostles, martyrs and saints has been practiced in Christianity since antiquity. Relics have spiritual and other meanings. In the present paper, I focus on the relics of St. Constantine-Cyril in Slovakia. Constantine-Cyril died in Rome in 869 and he is the co-patron of Europe together with his brother St. Methodius. The research itself was mainly focused on documenting the existence of relics, their description, dimensions and weight, identification of the certificate of authenticity of the relic, and the historical contexts of their acquisition. The research was conducted in nine Roman Catholic churches or church institutions (Banska Bystrica, Bzovik, Nitra, Rajec, Rakovice, Selce, the Spis Chapter and Zilina) and in one Greek Catholic church (Kosice). In the past, some relics were privately owned, but except for one case, they are currently owned by the church authorities. In two cases it was not possible to document the relics; their existence is, however, confirmed in the literature and archives. It is worth mentioning that after the Czech Republic, Slovakia comes second in the number of relics of St. Constantine-Cyril.