Sventieji kúnai. Valkininky Sv. Bonifacas / Holy Bodies. St Boniface of Valkininkai

The veneration of the relics of saints is a religious phenomenon, yet from the perspective of cultural history, relics are the earliest anthropological objects, predating images, words, and writings. In Christianity, devotion to relics rests on the belief in the resurrection of the dead and the conviction that God does not abandon His faithful to the grave and will not allow “his saint to decay” (Ps 16:1016:10; At ; 2:272:27).  Through an examination of the corposantocorposanto of the holy martyr Boniface, two scholars seek to redefine the field of relic-sculpture research. The relic-sculpture, brought to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 17651765, was recently , scientifically examined and conserved at the Vilnius Church Heritage Museum.