I have been to San Francisco and have venerated the relics of St John.
Actually, one could say the origins are in the Old Testament when a corpse was thrown in the cave with the remains (relics!) of the Prophet Elisha and was resurrected. Therefore, it is biblical.
I wouldn\'t say it\'s optional. It\'s not as widespread in a sense, because there are limits on how many relics you can have. Icons and Gospels can be mass produced.
Be the first person to like this.