What you need to know about the relics of the flagellation

[Michie]

In a side chapel of the Basilica of St. Praxedes in Rome sits a fragment of black and white stone. It is claimed to be the Column of Flagellation, a piece of the pillar at which Jesus was scourged, brought back to Rome by St. Helena.

However, in Jerusalem is a near-identical story. In a side niche in the Chapel of the Apparition in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, stands the portion of a pillar, this one made of red porphyry, also claiming to be the Column of Flagellation.

Holy Sepulchre Apparition Chapel. Column of the Flagellation. Wikimedia Commons
It is highly unlikely that they are both fragments of the same pillar, considering their differences in material and size. Does this mean that one church is in possession of the column of Jesus’ scourging and one is not? Or perhaps neither of these are the sacred pillar from the Passion.


If so, why are these on display if their authenticity hasn’t been verified? Should we venerate objects we aren’t certain about?

The answer may come as a surprise: it doesn’t really matter.

Honoring the cross​

Continued below.

What you need to know about the relics of the flagellation

When you come across a relic claiming to be from the time of Christ, don’t dwell too much on the question of “is this really it?” (It may very well be, even if we don’t know for sure.) Instead, let us remember he who really did suffer for us, who invites us to participate in his passion each day...

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