Religious relics selling on eBay

"This is where the real action is," he said. "This is where our fight is."

Serafin describes his motivation as part conscious-raiser and part consumer crusader.

He calls the sale of such relics deeply offensive to believers in their sanctity.

Then there is the caveat emptor — or "let the buyer beware" — factor. Clear documentation on a first-class relic is extremely rare, and fraud is as old as faith — as noted more than 600 years ago in a scene from "The Canterbury Tales" in which pigs' bones and a pillow case are part of a cache of dubious religious relics brought from Rome.

Some recent offerings on eBay include "the air" that Christ breathed, the wing of the Holy Spirit and "the hand" of St. Stephen.

Serafin also says the rules — both canon and eBay's — are on his side.

Most churches with centuries-old traditions in the display and veneration of relics, including the Roman Catholic and Orthodox, prohibit the sale of objects believed to hold body parts.

The extensive list of eBay's banned items include Nazi paraphernalia, firearms and ammunition and "human parts and remains."

Durzy said eBay has more than 2,000 people assigned to cull prohibited items, but noted that blanket enforcement is a challenge with up to 7 million new items going up for bid every day.

Sellers don't make it any easier.

Many now make a point of saying that the reliquary, or container, is for sale and the actual relic is a "gift." There are even conflicting linguistic signals. Recently a seller posted a relic of St. Eymard, a 19th century French priest, that was described as "ex ossibus," Latin for "from the bones." But the fuller text says the relic "does not contain any human parts."

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the seller — and several other relic dealers on eBay — via e-mail contact information were unsuccessful.

"We just want the same rules that apply to guns, Nazi items or the bones of American Indians," said Serafin, whose group is a loose association of about 200 members around the world ranging from a Russian Orthodox archbishop to Catholic priests and lay people.

Across the time zones, they try to keep a round-the-clock vigil on eBay for any suspicious relics. They fire off e-mails to eBay and the seller — who is often known only by an online nickname and e-mail address — asking for the item to be withdrawn.

But it's a cumbersome process.

In late October, Serafin's group protested what they considered an "ex ossibus" relic of the 19th century St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. The sale went ahead, starting at $25. Twenty-seven bids later, an anonymous buyer picked it up for $565, plus $12 shipping.