of the decorated church was to confirm the role of the Church. Christ's Church was the body of Christian believers. But in the narrower sense it was an organisation, and, particularly when under threat of heresy, humanism, division and reform, it needed to maintain and reinforce its role in offering the right way to Salvation. The decorative schemes in churches have often reflected the Church's role. One point of emphasis is to show that the Church was founded by the apostles and its history goes back to that time without a break. One way a church might reflect this was to have the relics of an apostle or an early martyr. There was a great trade in body parts of different religious notables. At least three churches claim to have the body of Mary Magdalene. With the relics came beautiful reliquaries of ivory, gold and precious stones. Some saints' remains were reported to have healing powers. This fortunate phenomenon produced pilgrimage, which was very lucrative for the church involved and, if the saint was of sufficient renown, for all the churches and monasteries that sprang up along the pilgrimage route. Three of the most popular pilgrimage churches in the Middle Ages were The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella in Spain and Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. Churches, particularly monasteries, honoured their own. Thomas of Canterbury is an example. This archbishop was murdered by King Henry II's henchmen while praying at a side altar in the cathedral. The King himself made a penitent pilgrimage to the cathedral. Even though much of the stained glass has been lost over the years, there still remains two windows which show some of the many healings and miracles associated with St Thomas, both before and after his death. In churches that are monastic, there is often an emphasis on the saints that belonged to that particular order. It is not uncommon to see religious paintings of the Blessed Virgin enthroned with the Christ Child and surrounded by numerous saints, including some of the 1st century, and some belonging to the particular Order who commissioned the work. Another way for the church to confirm its role was through the administration of the rites. Some churches have decorative schemes which support this role of the church, illustrating the various rites and sacraments. The Church of St John at Tideswell in