Becket, the Man and the Myth

From The New York Times-

Sacred relics may not have the mystical power they had in a less secular past, but the return to Britain from Hungary of one of the few surviving fragments of bone from Thomas Becket, the murdered “meddlesome priest” of hagiography, literature, stage and screen, still commands considerable attention. As the Anglican bishop of London, Richard Chartres, noted at a service attended by Anglicans and Catholics, Britons and Hungarians, the 12th-century cleric “teaches us to consider what are the historic roots of European unity.”

That message was especially pertinent to the countries involved. Hungary, where the relic has been for 800 years, is now led by a prime minister, Viktor Orban, who promotes a blend of nationalism, populism and Euroskepticism that flies in the face of the values represented by the European Union. And Britain is nearing a referendum on whether to stay in the union.

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/opinion/becket-the-man-and-the-myth.html?_r=0