In October of 1978 a small company left San Lorenzo de Campo in the north of Italy for Thessalonica in Northern Greece. The members of this party included the Metropolitan of Thessalonica, Panteleimon, his Chancellor, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Italian province from which they were leaving. This was a very low-key event. Perhaps the local newspaper had written a couple of lines in reference to it, but in any case very few people even noticed, or much cared about, what was taking place. The retinue quietly made its way to the harbor, whence, virtually unnoticed, they embarked upon their voyage for Thessalonica. The journey itself, though uneventful, was pleasant enough. But as their ship approached the Thessalonian harbor, a faint sound was heard emanating from it. At first it was hardly discernible from the sound of the sea, but as it grew louder it revealed a sense of excitement, until, as the ship drew even closer to shore, it developed into the sound of ten-thousand voices singing in unison.&nbsp; The Roman Catholic Bishop could hardly disguise his surprise. With raised eyebrows he asked, “Was this throng waiting to greet them?” “They have come to welcome the Saint,” said one of the company. The others nodded in agreement.&nbsp; “But how many must there be?” asked the Bishop in disbelief. “It looks as though the whole city has come down to the harbor!” “It seems so,” said the Chancellor. “All these people for the sake of some old bones . . . hum, I mean, for the relics of St. Demetrius?” “Yes,” the Metropolitan replied, “the people have come to greet the Holy Relics of our beloved St. Demetrius. It is for this that the whole city rejoices.”

Holy Relics: The Deification of the Human Body in the Christian Tradition PDF

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