This reliquary will hold the Holy relics that the Metropolitan will bring to our church and will be placed into the Altar Holy Table during the Consecration Service. The entire Consecration Service revolves around the Tradition of building Churches and altar over Martyr graves.

The custom of building altars and celebrating the Liturgy over the burial place of martyrs was probably inspired by the belief that martyrdom is a sharing in Christ’s sufferings. By the time of the Second Council of Nicaea (787) the actual division of relics had become common practice, for this council stipulates that every altar must contain a relic.