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What is the Holy Lance? -

The Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Destiny, the Spear of Longinus, and the Holy Spear, refers to the spear used to pierce Jesus during his crucifixion. The Holy Lance is a religious relic, much like the Holy Grail, and is said to have powers.

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Who wielded the Holy Lance? -

The spear was wielded by a Roman soldier (later identified as Longinus), who used it to pierce Jesus' side, to make sure he was dead on the cross.

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What does the Bible say about it? -

A reference to the lance can be found in the Gospel of John. John 19:34 specifically narrates the moment the Roman soldiers check if Jesus was indeed dead. It reads: “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”

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Reference in the scripture -

This is, however, the only reference to the Roman soldier's lance in the Bible. There is no information as to what happened to the weapon afterward, which has led to lots of speculation over the years.

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Who was the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus? -

The supposed identity of the Roman soldier who wielded the lance did not appear until ‘The Gospel of Nicodemus,’ an apocryphal work written in the 4th or 5th century.

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Longinus -

The text makes reference to a Roman centurion named Longinus. Some accounts say that Longinus was blind or had some other vision impairment, and that he was miraculously cured when Jesus' blood touched his eyes.

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Saint Longinus -

The Roman Catholic Church’s version is that Longinus converted to Christianity and died a martyr. He then became Saint Longinus.

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Powerful object -

The story has it that Roman emperors Charlemagne and Frederick Barbarossa were never defeated because they wielded the Holy Lance.

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It makes people invincible -

Because those wielding the lance were always victorious, it became known as the Spear of Destiny. When one loses it, though, death usually follows.

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It can heal -

Healing is yet another power the Holy Lance is said to possess. Some lore links both the Holy Grail (used to collect the blood of Christ during his crucifixion) and the spear, giving both objects healing properties.

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The Holy Lance’s history is unclear -

One narrative says that Joseph of Arimathea, who arranged the burial of Jesus, obtained both the Holy Grail and the Holy Lance, among other relics. But then there is no reference to it until about 570 CE.

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The Holy Lance’s history is unclear -

According to the account of an author known as the Piacenza Pilgrim, who traveled to the Holy Land, the lance was held in the Basilica of Zion.

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The lance gets divided in two -

Following the Persian invasion of Jerusalem around 615 CE, the lance was reportedly broken into two pieces. One piece was taken to the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and then incorporated into an icon.

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The lance gets divided in two -

As for the other part of the Holy Lance, historian Arculpus claimed to have seen it sometime around 670 CE when the Byzantine Empire retook Jerusalem. After this, we lose the lance’s historical trail, though several accounts have popped up since.

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Peter Bartholomew -

During the First Crusade (1095-1102), French pilgrim Peter Bartholomew claimed to have had visions of Saint Andrew. In one of these visions, the saint revealed the location of the Holy Lance.

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Peter Bartholomew -

According to Saint Andrew’s revelations, the Holy Lance was buried in the floor of Antioch's cathedral. Men were sent by Count Raymond of Toulouse to do the digging. After hours of work, Bartholomew found a rusty iron rod.

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Not everyone was buying the story -

Not everyone was convinced the visions were real or indeed that the iron rod was the Holy Lance. Bartholomew, however, wanted to prove everyone wrong, so he submitted himself to an ordeal of fire.

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The veracity of the story went up in flames -

Two pyres were lit ablaze and Bartholomew would have to walk through the space between them through the fire with the lance. But it didn’t go as expected, and he eventually died from the burns.

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The French Holy Lance -

According to a 7th-century Byzantine text called the Chronicon Paschale, the tip of the lance was likely in Constantinople (it was split in two, remember?). The story goes that when Emperor Baldwin II was in power, he sold it to King Louis IX of France.

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The French Holy Lance -

The Holy Lance was then placed at the Church of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, France, where it remained until the 18th century. The Lance was moved to the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris during the French Revolution, but then it vanished. Its whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

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The Vatican’s Holy Lance -

The Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople in 1453. Then, in 1492, Sultan Bajazet sent (part of) the Holy Lance to Rome to Pope Innocent VIII. This was a diplomatic entreaty, as the Sultan’s brother was being held captive.

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The Vatican’s Holy Lance -

The relic is currently held under the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. However, the Catholic Church does not claim it to be the authentic spear. This is due to the many conflicting claims and its unclear history.

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The Viennese Holy Lance -

There are several versions told about the lance held at Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. One says that Emperor Constantine commissioned the spear using one of the three nails his mother found, which had supposedly been used in Jesus’ crucifixion.

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The Viennese Holy Lance -

Another version says that the Viennese Holy Lance belonged to St. Maurice, a leader of the Theban legion who refused to kill Christians and died a martyr.

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The Holy Lance’s trip to England -

It is said that the Viennese Holy Lance found its way to England at one point. According to medieval chronicler William of Malmesbury, in 926 CE the Holy Lance, among other gifts, was given to the Anglo-Saxon king Athelstan by Hugh the Great, who intended to marry Athelstan's sister.

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The Holy Lance’s trip to Germany -

Of course, there are numerous stories and lore about the Holy Lance, with one story claiming that it ended up in the hands of King Otto I of Germany at one point.

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Hitler and the Holy Lance -

The Holy Lance was said to have great powers, and if there was someone fascinated with power and metaphysics, it was the leader of the Nazi party, Adolf Hitler. According to author Trevor Ravenscroft, Hitler viewed the relic as a "talisman of power."

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Hitler and the Holy Lance -

When Hitler annexed Austria into the German Reich in 1938, he reportedly managed to get his hands on the relic. The Holy Lance was then sent to St. Catherine's Church in Nuremberg. Legend has it that the Americans got ahold of it, but this theory has been debunked.

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The Armenian Holy Lance -

Another contender as the real Holy Lance can be found in Armenia. It was brought to the country by St. Thaddeus, or even by Longinus himself, according to some accounts.

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The Armenian Holy Lance -

The relic (pictured) was held at the monastery of Geghard, but its shape has raised some doubts about its authenticity (it’s not shaped like a spear, but more like a diamond). The relic can be currently found in Vagharshapat.

Sources: (Grunge) (Catholic Encyclopedia) (Smithsonian) (Armenian Church) 

See also: The world's most intriguing religious relics

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