Catholic Dictionary
Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
Your Term:
OSSUARY
A bone casket, notably that of a person buried in the Near East in the first century. Ossuaries contain inscribed names commonly used by the Jews in the time of Christ, along with rarer ones. They testify to the historical authenticity of the name used in the Gospels, as also of such titles as "master" or "teacher" (didaskalos), although the designation previously had been cited as evidence of a second-century date. (Etym. Latin ossuarium, a bone urn.)
