Editing Ossuary (section)

==In Christianity==

=== Roman Catholic ossuaries ===
[[Image:San Bernardino ossuary 2.jpg|thumb|The ossuary of [[San Bernardino alle Ossa]] in [[Milan]].]]
Many examples of ossuaries are found within Europe, including the [[Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini]] in [[Rome]], Italy; the [[Martyrs of Otranto]] in south Italy; the [[Fontanelle cemetery]] and [[Purgatorio ad Arco, Naples|Purgatorio ad Arco]] in [[Naples]], Italy; the [[San Bernardino alle Ossa]] in [[Milan]], Italy; the [[Brno Ossuary]] and the [[Sedlec Ossuary]] in the Czech Republic; the [[Skull Chapel in Czermna|Czermna Skull Chapel]] in Poland; and the [[Capela dos Ossos]] ("Chapel of Bones") in [[Évora]], Portugal. The village of [[Wamba, Valladolid|Wamba]] in the province of [[Valladolid]], Spain, has an impressive ossuary of over a thousand skulls inside the local church, dating from between the 12th and 18th centuries. A more recent example is the [[Douaumont ossuary]] in [[France]], which contains the remains of more than 130,000 French and German soldiers that fell at the [[Battle of Verdun]] during [[World War I]]. The [[Catacombs of Paris]] represents another famous ossuary.

The [[catacombs]] beneath the [[Monastery of San Francisco, Lima|Monastery of San Francisco]] in [[Lima]], Peru also contain an ossuary.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://random-times.com/2019/07/13/skulls-and-bones-at-san-francisco-monastery-catacombs-in-lima-peru/|title=Skulls and bones at San Francisco Monastery catacombs in Lima, Peru| author= Ivan| website= random-times.com| date=July 13, 2019| access-date= December 27, 2020}}</ref>

==== Largest ossuary ====
[[File:Köln st ursula goldene kammer02.jpg|thumb|The Ursulakammer in the [[Basilica of St. Ursula, Cologne|Basilica of St. Ursula]] in [[Cologne]], where in the 17th century the largest mosaic in human bones ever was created, that covers the four walls of the room.<ref>{{cite web |last=Koudounaris |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Koudounaris |title=Skeletons of the week, August 12: The Relics in the Ursulakammer in Cologne |url=http://empiredelamort.com/skeletonoftheweek/skeletons-of-week-august-12-the-relics-in-the-ursulakammer-in-cologne/ |website=empiredelamort.com}}</ref>]]
{{main article|Catacombs of Paris}}

The skeletal remains of six million people lie, neatly arranged, in catacombs (also known as ossuaries or charnel houses) beneath the streets of [[Paris]], France. The city has an estimated {{convert|300|km|mi}} of tunnels and pathways, of which {{convert|11,000|sqm|acres}} are packed tightly with the bones of those re-interred from the city's overflowing cemeteries in the late 1700s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00/page/125 |title=Guinness World Records 2011 |publisher=Guinness World Records |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-904994-57-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00/page/125 125]}}</ref>

=== Eastern Orthodox ossuaries ===
[[Image:GreekOssuaries.JPG|thumb|right|190px|Contemporary [[Greece|Greek]] ossuaries made of wood and metal.]]

The use of ossuaries is a longstanding tradition in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]. The remains of an Orthodox Christian are treated with special reverence, in conformity with the biblical teaching that the body of a believer is a "temple of the Holy Spirit",<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|6:19|KJV}}</ref> having been [[sanctification|sanctified]] and [[Transfiguration (religion)|transfigured]] by [[Baptism]], [[Holy Communion]] and the participation in the [[Sacred Mysteries|mystical life]] of the Church.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Ware
  | first = Timothy
  | author-link = Timothy Ware
  | title = The Orthodox Church
  | place = London
  | publisher = Penguin Books
  | orig-year = 1963
  | year = 1964
  | chapter = God and Man
  | page = [https://archive.org/details/orthodoxchurchac00ware/page/239 239]
  | isbn = 0-14-020592-6
  | chapter-url-access = registration
  | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/orthodoxchurchac00ware/page/239
  }}</ref> In Orthodox [[monastery|monasteries]], when one of the brethren dies, his remains are buried (for details, see [[Christian burial]]) for one to three years, and then disinterred, cleaned and gathered into the monastery's [[charnel house]]. If there is reason to believe that the departed is a [[saint]], the remains may be placed in a [[reliquary]]; otherwise the bones are usually mingled together (skulls together in one place, [[long bone]]s in another, etc.). The remains of an [[abbot]] may be placed in a separate ossuary made out of wood or metal.

The use of ossuaries is also found among the [[laity]] in the [[Greek Orthodox Church]]. The departed will be buried for one to three years and then, often on the anniversary of death, the family will gather with the [[parish priest]] and celebrate a ''[[parastas]]'' (memorial service), after which the remains are disinterred, washed with wine, perfumed, and placed in a small ossuary of wood or metal, inscribed with the name of the departed, and placed in a room, often in or near the church, which is dedicated to this purpose.