Deep in the Bones Lie Memories and Hopes: A Grand Unified Theory

Abstract

Christ’s bones are missing at the Holy Sepulchre; St Peter’s bones remain in his basilica; Hagia Sophia was not built on bones. The absence, presence, or lack of bones effects different emphases on memory (anamnesis) and fulfillment (eschatology). In Jerusalem we witness our future glory (eschatology) already revealed in our history (anamnesis); in Rome we recall (anamnesis) the sacrifice of martyrs whose bones remain until the general resurrection (eschatology), even while we venerate the saints in light; at Hagia Sophia liturgy itself, rather than bones, provides the context for remembering the whole Christ in the power of the Spirit. Celebrating liturgy over the bones of martyrs in Rome, while venerating their sacrifice, may have accentuated the sacrificial character of the eucharistic liturgy in the Christian west, whereas in the Christian east the eschatological glory already revealed in our history and in liturgy may have shaped the eschatological character of liturgy.