The Quest for the Holy Lance, the Legend behind the Holy Spear

Date: Mon Jan 04 2021 13:23:27 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time) ; Tags: Christianity »»»» Holy Artifacts »»»» Holy Relics »»»» Jesus Christ »»»» Passion of Christ

Early in the rise of the Third Reich, Nazi Germany took over Austria. Adolf Hitler rode into Vienna, the city of his Youth, as a conquerer. One of the first things he did was to view the treasures of the House of Hapsburg, the ruling family of Austria. They were the remaining remnant of the Holy Roman Empire, and held the various Relics of that empire.

Among those is the Lance that a Roman Soldier used to pierce Jesus' side during the Crucifixion. The soldiers overseeing the process had, according to John's Gospel, sought to speed up the process by breaking the legs of the people being Crucified. Since Jesus had apparently already died, they did not break his legs, but a Soldier stabbed him with a Lance. Upon doing so, the soldier was sprayed with blood, curing an infection in his eyes, and also leading that soldier through a series of spiritual experiences leading to his conversion to Christianity.

Supposedly the Soldier brought the Lance to the Armory, where it remained for some time. The lance disappeared when the Jews siezed the Armory. While the early church kept relics of the saints, there were no relics of Jesus, other than this lance.

The lance remained hidden until Helena, the Mother of the Emperor Constantine, led a large archeological expedition to Jerusalem. They identified all kinds of sites and objects supposedly associated with Jesus -- all the sites and objects had been destroyed or hidden, so how likely is it Helena's group accurately identified sites and objects that had been obscured for over 300 years? Regardless of the accuracy (or not), what they produced and found have become the recognized locations for everything in the Bible.

The lance became, by the 600's, became a prized possession of certain Kings and Emperors of old Europe. For example, Charlemagne gained possession of the lance, and won every one of his battles until he happened to drop the lance. Within a year he was dead.

The lance was handed from King to King, critically Henry I of Germany. Afterward it became highly associated with the German Kings. Over the years an association was formed between possession of the Lance, and success in Battle.

Which gets us back to Adolf Hitler. While the Third Reich had nothing to do with anything about any religious or christian ideals, he highly prized the Lance as a symbol of German power. All his hero's had possessed the lance. Of course possession of the lance did not assist Hitler's regime to last more than a few years.

As is so often the case with these holy relics - the "lance" discussed above is not the only object claimed to be the spear that stabbed Jesus.

The Armenian Apostolic Church, one of the earliest outposts of Christianity, has a spear. According to the Armenians, the Apostle Thaddeus brought the spear to what's now Armenia. Over the next 300 years the spear became a tool used by those who eventually converted the "Pagans" of that territory to Christianity. They still possess the spear allowing it to be studied by modern scholars. It is obvious that the Armenian spear cannot have been used by a Roman soldier to stab Jesus because it is plainly not of a Roman design. The Armenian's answer this saying that it was a Jewish spear used by a Jewish soldier.

Another spear is one that had been in Constantinople for hundreds of years. A tip had been broken off, and ended up in a Cathedral in Paris. The spear itself ended up in the Vatican, and it is never shown to the public. A drawing made in the 1800's shows that this spear also was not of Roman design.

The lance discussed above, located in Vienna, is the Spear of Saint Maurice. This was the commander of a Christian-oriented Roman Legion in Luxor who became the possessor of a lance said to be the one used to stab Jesus. He and his Legion then went to Europe, and ended up involved in a campaign against a group of Christians. They had been ordered to kill the Christians, but as fellow Christians they refused the order. The Emperor they served then killed the entire Legion for their refusal to follow orders.

This act became a model for the Chivalric code of later years. The spear Saint Maurice held became the possession of the Emperor Constantine who eventually converted the Roman Empire to Christianity.

The spear of Saint Maurice appears to be a Roman spearhead that has undergone several modifications over the last 2000 years. A hole was made in the middle, into which has been inserted a "pin" that's adorned with crosses and other things. At another time, some "wings" were added to the spear for whatever reason.

A question screams itself into existence --- the value of a "symbol of power" to cause populations to be ruled by political/military leaders. How are people so foolish that they'll be led by people who claim to have an object of significance?

This spear of Saint Maurice currently residing in Austria may or may not be authentic. Careful studies show it is of amazing construction, but it cannot be dated beyond the 700's. That this spear was possessed by various rulers of Europe, starting with Charlemagne, seems clear. But it's not clear whether it was truly the spear possessed by Constantine, as the legend goes, and it's not clear that the spear is not a forgery from the 700's.

It is clear that the various Kings and Merchants who possessed this object were able to amass great wealth and power while possessing the spear. That the symbolism - the claim that this was the spear that stabbed Jesus - is what enabled them to amass that power. A group of soldiers knowing their King had this object might fight more ferociously, for example, and therefore win the battle.