Another claimant has rested in Krakow for about eight hundred years. That Lance is now at Etschmiadzin in Armenia scholars believe that it is not actually a Roman lance but the head of a standard, although it may have an interesting history of its own, separate from the legend of the Lance. One such вЂњHoly LanceвЂќ was allegedly unearthed by Crusader Peter Bartholomew in Antioch in 1098. There are several other competing relics in different locations. Innocent ordered the relic placed in Saint PeterвЂ™s in Rome, where it remains today, although the Catholic Church makes no great claim as to its authenticity. It was taken by the Turks in the 14th century and sent by Sultan Bajazet as a gift to Pope Innocent VIII in 1492.

Meanwhile, the rest of the spearhead was transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople sometime in the eighth century. It was briefly moved to the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris during the French Revolution, but it subsequently disappeared. The point, set into an icon, found its way to the church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople and later to France, where it remained in the Sainte Chapelle until the 18th century. The point of the spearвЂ™s blade was apparently broken off following the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 615 A.D. The earliest reports of the Spear were circa 570 A.D., when it was said to have been on display in the basilica of Mount Sion in Jerusalem alongside the Crown of Thorns. Like most holy relics, the history of the Spear of Destiny is complex and difficult to authenticate.

Like the SpearвЂ™s previous owners, Hitler perished after the relic was taken from him. The Spear was confiscated by American forces on the afternoon of April 30, 1945, less than two hours before HitlerвЂ™s suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin. The vault was subsequently discovered by American Army officers. Nuremberg was captured by Allied troops in April of the following year. KatherineвЂ™s until 1944, when it was moved to a specially constructed vault beneath the church, built in secret and at great expense, intended to protect it and the other stolen relics from Allied bombs. They were taken by train to Nuremberg, where they were stored in St. to seize the Spear and other artifacts from Vienna. On October 12, 1938, not long after the German annexation of Austria, Hitler ordered the S.S. HitlerвЂ™s fascination with the Spear was pivotal in sparking his interest in the occult, which gave birth to his ideas on the origins and purpose of the Germanic race and contributed to his belief in his own destiny as a world conqueror. His interest in the relic was further amplified by its role in the 1882 opera Parsifal - by HitlerвЂ™s favorite composer, Richard Wagner - which concerned a group of ninth-century knights and their quest for the Holy Grail. Hitler was familiar with the legend of the Holy Lance. A legend arose that whoever claimed the Spear вЂњholds the destiny of the world in his hands for good or evil.вЂќДЄs a young man Adolf Hitler was fascinated by the Spear of Destiny, which he first saw displayed in the Hofsburg museum in Vienna, Austria in 1909. A leader who possessed the Spear was said to be invincible Charlemagne and Frederick of Barbarossa were undefeated in battle until they let the Spear fall from their hands. The Spear subsequently passed through a multitude of hands, coming into the possession of many of EuropeвЂ™s most important political and military leaders, including Constantine I, Alaric (the Visigoth king who sacked Rome in the year 410), Frankish general Charles Martel, Charlemagne, Frederick of Barbarossa, and Frederick II. The centurion later become an early convert to Christianity. The first sign of that power was the purported healing of Gaius CassiusвЂ™s failing eyesight by blood from the wound. The Spear, bathed in the blood of the Lamb and playing a significant role in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, is believed to have acquired tremendous mystical power. As first described in John 19:31-37, the Spear was used by a Roman soldier (Gaius Cassius, later called Longinus) to pierce the side of Christ as he hung on the cross. The Spear of Destiny, also known as the Spear of Longinus and the Heilige Lance - Holy Lance - is one of the most important Christian relics of the Passion of Jesus Christ.

Spear of destiny