Reliquaries

A reliquary (also referred to as a shrine, chasse, or phylactery) is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a feretory. A brooch-like container for a very small relic may be called a "theca". Relics may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints, and may comprise bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or with other religious figures. Objects owned or touched by the figure may be called "contact relics". The authenticity of any given relic is often a matter of debate; for that reason, some churches require documentation of a relic's provenance. Relics have long been important to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and to followers of many other religions. These cultures often display reliquaries in shrines, churches, or temples to which the faithful make pilgrimages to gain blessings. The term is sometimes used in a looser sense to mean a container for the remains of any important figure, even non-religious ones. In particular, the kings of France often specified that their hearts and sometimes other organs be buried in a different location from their body.