NFT gifts are big news this Christmas, especially faith-based — with a chance to buy an NFT thorn from Christ’s Crown of Thorns and help good causes
First of all, let me do a 101 for folk who might not remember their religious classes or going to church about the crown of thorns. According to the Gospels, the Roman soldiers made a crown out of thorns and put it on Christ’s head during the crucifixion.
They called him the King of the Jews, but only to mock him. About 500 years later, stories emerged about the crown of thorns being cared for in different places.
The crown and individual thorns popped up over Europe — one entire crown was housed in the Notre Dame cathedral in France until the major fire in 2019, and it was removed to the Louvre for safekeeping.
One such thorn was acquired by the Jesuit College of Brno (now the Czech Republic) and was given to Juan de Borja in 1581. It was included in a small bottle of Bohemian crystal perfume, demonstrating that it was private and intimate use. In 1594, the relic was offered to the Lisbon Jesuits by Mr de Borja and transferred to SCML in 1768 in Portugal.
SCML is a not-for-profit organization that, since its founding in 1498, has focused on social enterprise works. SCML operates hospitals, invests heavily in scientific and medical research in neuroscience, funds education and training programs, aggregates social entrepreneurship activities, runs a free pediatric dentistry service, works with other bodies to focus on the care of the 65+ population, and during the COVID-19 pandemic helped the elderly in social isolation as well as setting up a free online psychological support platform.
Over the centuries, SCML has accumulated a vast artistic and cultural collection, including the Museum and Church of Sao Roque in Lisbon, which is now being converted into NFTs.
In a world-first, Artentik, the digital marketplace for Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa (SCML), Portugal’s 500-year-old social enterprise organization and keeper of the Museum and Church of Sao Roque in Lisbon will be dropping a reliquary that holds what is believed to be a Holy Thorn from Christ’s Crown of Thorns as an NFT on December 28.
In total, there will be 1 million NFTs created from the thorn to allow people to connect with this remarkable relic in the same way a commemorative coin can celebrate a time, occasion, or person. On December 28, 10,000 will be released, allowing people to purchase this special NFT at €300 each.
Artentik is built on the Polygon Network blockchain, offering faster transaction speeds, Proof of Stake leading to minimize environmental impact, and reliability. Artentik is a joint venture with Boloro Global Limited, a New York City-based technology company. Artentik does not charge a gas fee for minting NFTs.
