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BELICS 487 RELIEF, WAR by palmers returning from Palestine, and by the Latin conquerors of Constanti- nople; and it is admitted by the most zealous Roman Catholics that at this period many false, and perhaps even absurd and ridiculous relics were intro- duced, and were successfully commended to the veneration of individuals or in- dividual churches in the West; nor do they venture to doubt that abuse and superstition found their way side by side with what they regard as the genuine and authorized worship of the Church. Nevertheless, with the exception of the Waldenses, Wyclif, and a few iso- lated individuals, the practice remained unchallenged till the 16th century, when, in common with many other doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome, it was utterly repudiated by the Reformers. Roman Catholics, however, allege that the practice, as sanctioned by the Church, has nothing in common with the abuses which form the main ground of the objections alleged by Protestants. The Roman Catholic use of relics, as authorized by the Church, is to serve as incentives to faith and piety, by recalling vividly to men's minds the lives, and, as it were, the corporeal presence and the earthly converse of the saints, and thus placing before them, in a more touching manner, the virtues which, in the ex- amples, are held up for men's imitation. The decree of the Council of Trent con- nects the subject of relic worship with the general question of saint worship, and regards the relics of the saints not as possessing intrinsic virtue, but only as instruments "through which God be- stows benefits on men." The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) forbade the sale or veneration of relics till their authen- ticity had been approved by the author- ities; the Council of Trent renewed the prohibition. In the pastoral of the Bishop of Treves, inviting pilgrims to the exhibition of the Holy Coat (1891), it is expressly stated that "the authenticity of no relic, be it the most eminent of the eldest Church of Christendom, falls under any precept of Catholic faith." Relics are usually venerated in costly cases or "reliquaries" set on the altar; they are also carried in procession, and the faithful are blessed with them. The Greek and other Oriental Churches, and most of the Oriental sects, agree with Roman Catholics in the practice of relic worship. On the contrary, the Re- formed Churches, without exception, have reiected the usage; though non-religious relic worship is rife enough, in the form of swords of Wallace and Bruce, locks ol Prince Charlie's hair, etc. The prac- tice of relic worship forms a notable feature of the Mohammedan usage of pilgrimages, and is an even more impor- tant feature of Buddhism. RELIEF, a fine or composition paid by the heir of a tenant, holding by knight's service or other tenure, to the lord on the death of the ancestor for the privilege of succeeding to the estate, which by strict feudal law had lapsed or fallen to the lord on the death of the tenant. In physical geography, the undulations or surface elevations of a country. In painting, the appearance of projection and solidity in represented objects, so as to cause them to appear precisely as they are found in nature. In sculpture, archi- tecture, etc., the prominence of a sculp- tured figure from the plane surface to which it is attached. According to the degree of prominence, it is known as alto- relievo, or high relief, mezzo- or demi- relief, and bas-relief, or low relief. RELIEF, WAR. When the war broke out in Europe in 1914 very little time was allowed to pass before organizations were brought into being for the purpose of assisting the people in Europe who were the chief sufferers in the zones affected. Sympathy was particularly aroused on behalf of the Belgians who were recognized as having no part in the opening of hostilities, and who bore the chief brunt of the first German attacks. The other peoples whose lands formed the terrain over which the first battles were waged, northern France, Poland, Serbia, and other countries, like- wise were included in the appeal for aid addressed to the citizens of the United States. Moreover, the desolated lands of Hungary and east Germany were the objects of much sympathy, particularly among people having kin in the countries of the Central Powers, before the United States entered the war, but relief in that direction was largely blocked, for the British navy' held the seas and made communication with the Central Powers difficult. But measures for war relief ^ were developed on a very large scale. A Commission for Relief in Belgium was one of the first organizations formed, but the Red Cross, the Rockefeller Foun- dation, the Allied War Charities, and similar organizations were soon active both in campaigns for subscriptions and in the distribution of war relief over wide areas. The enormous variety of suffering that followed in the train of the war called for heroic measures and as the months passed and it was borne in on the world that the war was to be a long one, the organizations devoted to the work of war relief extended their activities in every direction. Not only had the families left behind by the bread-