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Roman Empire in the late 3rd century, but didn’t have nearly as many
martyrs as Rome. When St Ambrose became Bishop of Milan he

wanted to build churches that would impress the faithful and be suit-
able for an Imperial capital. And this meant acquiring relics. For the
Basilica of the Holy Apostles, modelled on the one in Constantinople,
he obtained portions of the relics of the Apostles and enshrined them

beneath the altar. The reliquary containing them is really quite small,
about the size of a tea caddy, which indicates that it was considered per-
fectly proper to consecrate an important church with small pieces of

holy bones, where a whole body could not be obtained. The division of
holy relics into small portions allowed the cult of the saints to spread
and develop in many places at once. Elsewhere Ambrose built churches

to commemorate the local martyrs Saints Gervase and Protase, and Na-
bor and Felix, and caused their bones to be dug up from the cemeteries
and carried in to the city to be enshrined in their new churches. These
translations were carefully managed as public celebrations to help estab-

lish orthodox Christianity in the minds of the people.15
Later on Milan also acquired the relics of the Magi, which were

enshrined in the Basilica of Sant’ Eustorgio. This was an example of

what was also happening in Constantinople, of important relics being
brought into centres of political power, as a sign of the blessing and pro-
tection of heaven and almost as it were as an endorsement of the reign-

ing emperor. The bones of these holy kings (as they were thought to be)
a?orded a blessing to the Christian monarch who possessed them. We
might recall that even today, in England, we have the relics of a canon-
ised King, Edward the Confessor, enshrined in Westminster Abbey, the

place where each new monarch is crowned.
The desire for rulers to own politically important relics did how-

ever lead to some dubious actions, as when the Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa stole the bones of the Magi and took them to Co-
logne to boost his own reputation, and there they still remain. Of

15 Ibid, pp 15-17

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