Incorruptibility

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Body of Saint Zita in the Basilica di San Frediano in Lucca

Incorruptibility is the property of a body — usually a human body — that does not decompose after death. Such a body is sometimes referred to as incorruptible (adjective) or as an incorruptible (noun).

Incorruptibility is seen as distinct from the good preservation of a body, or mummification. Incorruptible bodies are often said to have a sweet smell.

1 Incorruptibility in Christianity
2 Incorruptibility in other cultures
3 Causes
4 Incidence of incorruptibility
5 Instances of incorruptibility
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Incorruptibility in Christianity

In Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox Christian cultures, if a body remains incorruptible after death, this is generally seen to be a sign that the individual is a Saint. The converse is not true: not every Saint is expected to have an incorruptible corpse.

According to the Catholic Church, a body is not deemed incorruptible if it has undergone an embalming process or other means of preserving the dead.

[edit] Incorruptibility in other cultures

Although incorruptibility is seen as a primarily Christian phenomenon, other cultures have examples of revered, incorrupt dead. The followers of Paramahansa Yogananda maintain that his body was incorruptible. While the death certificate clearly shows the body was embalmed, his followers claim that such a corpse would normally show signs of mold developing from the pores if a pore-blocking cream is not used. No such cream was used in this case.

Another possible candidate is that of a Tibetan monk (reported by AFP, quoting the Hindustan Times, 2004). This body has been revered by the local villagers since its discovery in 1975. However, this case may be more appropriately considered a case of natural mummification.

In other cultures, however, an incorrupted body is a sign that the corpse is a vampire. The opposite is also true. Bodies that had decayed too fast were also treated as vampires.

In The Brothers Karamazov novel by Dostoyevsky, the body of the newly deceased holy monk Zossima began to decay noticeably even during his funeral wake, which caused a great scandal in his monastery and among the townsfolk, who fully expected that he would be incorrupt.

[edit] Causes

The causes of incorruptibility are disputed. The two main positions can be summarised as an argument for a spiritual cause, or an argument for a physical or environmental cause.

The argument for a big spiritual cause may include a belief that the pious nature of the individual in some way permeated the flesh (a metaphysical cause having a physical effect), or a belief that decomposition was prevented by the intervention of a deity.

The argument for a physical cause includes a belief that the corpse has been subjected to environmental conditions such that decomposition is seriously retarded. There are a number of ways of retarding decomposition, but the mechanism commonly stated is that of saponification.

See Also: Bog body.

[edit] Incidence of incorruptibility

Incorruptibility is seen almost overwhelmingly only in Anglican, Catholic or Orthodox Christian cultures. However, it is argued by some that this is more due to the cultural phenomenon of exhuming the bodies of pious people to discover if they are incorrupt or not, a practice that is uncommon in other cultures, even other Christian cultures.