What are bones of the saints or articles of their clothing called?

Answer 1

AnswerThe word relics comes from the Latin reliquiae (the counterpart of the Greek leipsana) which already before the propagation of Christianity was used in its modern sense, viz., of some object, notably part of the body or clothes, remaining as a memorial of a departed saint. The veneration of relics, in fact, is to some extent a primitive instinct, and it is associated with many other religious systems besides that of Christianity. At Athens the supposed remains of Oedipus and Theseus enjoyed an honour which it is very difficult to distinguish from a religious cult (see for all this Pfister, "Reliquienkult in Altertum", I, 1909), while Plutarch gives an account of the translation of the bodies of Demetrius (Demetr. iii) and Phocion (Phoc. xxxvii) which in many details anticipates the Christian practice of the Middle Ages. The bones or ashes of Aesculapius at Epidaurus, of Perdiccas I at Macedon, and even-if we may trust the statement of the Chronicon Paschale (Dindorf, p. 67)-of the Persian Zoroaster (Zarathustra), were treated with the deepest veneration. As for the Far East, the famous story of the distribution of the relics of Buddha, an incident which is believed to have taken place immediately after his death, seems to have found remarkable confirmation in certain modern archaeological discoveries. (See "Journ. of R. Asiatic Society", 1909, pp. 1056 sqq.). In any case the extreme development of relic-worship amongst the Buddhists of every sect is a fact beyond dispute. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12734a.htm

Answer 2

They are called relics.

A first class relic is a small piece of the body of the saint - hair, bone, skin, etc. or instruments of Our Lord's passion and death - cross, crown of thorns, etc.Second class relics are items used by the saint during life - clothing, bedding, a rosary, book, etc.

Third class relics are items, such as a piece of cloth, touched to a first or second class relic.