Note 26 — THE CRYPT
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There was no difficulty raised in the early days of Christianity in getting possession of the bodies of martyrs. The custom of the Roman Government was in every case to give over the bodies of those who had been put to death, to those who had loved them in life. This we see in the case of our Lord when the sacred body was at once given to Nicodemus and the friends of Jesus.
It was only at a later date, when Christianity became a real terror to the Roman Government, that this favour was taken away, and when every effort was made by the authorities to prevent the Christians from obtaining possession of the relics of their martyrs.