That's really cool! Rich cultural history in BG.

It is very likely that this relic is authentic, because it was (and still is today) a practice of the Catholic church to place a authentic relic of the patron Saint of that Church inside the main altar.
-Joseph Johnson
http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com

"It is very likely that this relic is authentic, because it was (and still is today) a practice of the Catholic church to place a authentic relic of the patron Saint of that Church inside the main altar."

I am sorry to put a little bit of water into your wine, but this practice is not a practice of the Catholic church only, and it is highly unlikely that the relic is authentic.

First of all, Sozopol (and of course Constantinopel from where the 'relics' came as it seems) were (almost) never catholic. The practice you describe above was never limited to the catholic church alone, but is very common also in the Orthodoxy.

Second, the trade with relics was a good business for the churches over the centuries. They 'donated' a relic here and there and received rich 'donations' (in gold or currency) from their members in return. Historians have evidence that at least 90% of the 'authentic' relics presented in churches are fabrications.

Therefore it is not surprising that the number of relics is inflated. The 'authentic' head of John the Baptist for example can be seen in at least five places in the world, and the same goes for example for the splinters of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The amount of wood for these splinters would be sufficient to crucify a whole Roman legion.

I am not saying that relic in Sozopol is not authentic, but it is most probably not unless scientists will find strong proof regarding the provenance of the relic before it came to Constantinopel.

DrFaust:

"Therefore it is not surprising that the number of relics is inflated. The 'authentic' head of John the Baptist for example can be seen in at least five places in the world, and the same goes for example for the splinters of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The amount of wood for these splinters would be sufficient to crucify a whole Roman legion."

I can testify from experience that in Rome, at least the number of times I've been there, the number of crucifixes one can buy containing a piece of wood from "the true cross" leads one to expect that the vertical shaft of the cross reached somewhere near the moon.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

The relics are certainly genuine. All the info so far is leading to this conclusion and so far there are no proofs of his relics being somewhere else

"I can testify from experience that in Rome, at least the number of times I've been there, the number of crucifixes one can buy containing a piece of wood from "the true cross" leads one to expect that the vertical shaft of the cross reached somewhere near the moon."

Haha. *like*