History Main / SeekingSanctuary

* Played with in the Graphic Novel ''Hiketeia'', starring ''ComicBook/WonderWoman''. A young woman appears at the door of the Themiscyran embassy (WW's home), and uses the eponymous ritual to demand sanctuary and protection from the thing that chased her all the way from Gotham... Franchise/{{Batman}}.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* On an episode of ''Series/{{Mash}}'', an AWOL soldier takes refuge in the mess tent while Father Mulcahy is using it for a church service. Mulcahy states that he will not allow the soldier to be arrested on holy ground, and many calls are made to find out if a mess tent qualifies as a place of sanctuary. The answer comes back no, and the [=MPs=] are sent in to get the soldier, who wards them off at gunpoint. Incensed, Father Mulcahy upbraids him for defiling what he considered a house of the Lord just moments earlier by pointing a deadly weapon at someone. After Mulcahy disarms him despite being at point-blank range, the soldier feels bad and surrenders. The Army later compromised by arranging Dr. Freedman to give him psychiatric help instead of just throwing him in the stockade.

* Creator/WilliamShakespeare:
** The foreign Antipholus and Dromio hide from their twins' angry friends and family inside an abbey, whose abbess guards them and prevents anyone from entering in to take them away.
** Subverted in ''Theatre/RichardIII'' when Richard, Duke of York, taken to sanctuary by his mother, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Woodville Queen Elizabeth]], is hauled out of sanctuary on the arguments of the Duke of Buckingham and subsequently murdered in the Tower.
* Euripides' ''Andromache'' has the title character seeking refuge at the altar of Thetis when the jealous Hermione seeks to kill her husband's SexSlave. Hermione and her father get her to leave sanctuary by finding where she hid her son by Neoptolemus and threatening to kill him instead.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder]]", Louis de Pointe du Lac flees to St. Augustine Church in the hope that it can protect him from Lestat de Lioncourt, whom he believes is the Devil. However, vampires aren't affected by religious sites or objects, so Lestat (a HollywoodAtheist who resents Christianity) enters the church, sets the pews on fire, murders Father Matthias while Louis was confessing his sins, and then kills a second priest before he approaches Louis.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': In the series premiere, Louis de Pointe du Lac flees to St. Augustine Church in the hope that it can protect him from Lestat de Lioncourt, whom he believes is the Devil. However, vampires aren't affected by religious sites or objects, so Lestat (a HollywoodAtheist who resents Christianity) enters the church, sets the pews on fire, murders Father Matthias while Louis was confessing his sins, and then kills a second priest before he approaches Louis.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' a traveler getting on a Corbettite train that gives the monks an honest explanation of who they are, where they're going, and why, is entitled to sanctuary and safe passage until the train gets to their stop.

* ''Film/LesVisiteurs'': Godefroy, a temporally-displaced medieval knight, charges into a modern-day church on a horse bellowing "Sanctuary!" It takes a full squad of riot cops to get him out.

* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Bakura goes into a church while running from his SuperpoweredEvilSide. Unfortunately, [[EnemyWithin it's already inside him]].

* In ''Anime/DenNohCoil'', the Satchii (anti-virus programs; the city is an augmented reality) can't follow people into Shinto shrines. You can also trick them by drawing the basic shape of a shrine gate on the ground with chalk, then standing on it. This sanctuary doesn't come from any higher morality, but just [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucratic infighting]] — Satchii are run by the Ministry of Posts, but schools are run by the Ministry of Education while shrines and parks fall under the purview of the Ministry of Culture[[note]]in the government, the Ministry of Posts was absorbed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2001, while the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture are the same[[/note]]. They're just keyed to recognize torii as shrine indicators, to the point where a solitary torii from a demolished shrine or a sketch of a torii can apparently suffice to trick them, and since Daikoku is an old town, there are a lot of old shrines nestled among the back streets.

* Zigzagged one in ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}''. John Constantine traps a group of demons ''inside'' an old church by having his accomplices pour holy water around the outside after the demons have entered to get at him. Then comes in the Aztec Death God that he had made a deal with earlier, who can walk past the holy water barrier that the demons cannot cross.
* Subverted in ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers "A Mexican Oddysey" storyline. Fat Freddy, on the run from the police, spies a Catholic church and runs for it, saying to himself that it has been a tradition for centuries for the Catholic church to provide sanctuary for the hapless fugitive. He runs in the church, asks the priest for sanctuary...and the priest ''immediately'' runs outside and yells for the cops.

* The eponymous (and likely [[spoiler:demon-posseed]]) vehicle in the horror film ''Film/TheCar'' is unable to follow some of its would-be victims into a cemetery.

* ''Literature/TheBlackArrow'': When the outlaws of the Black Arrow disrupt the wedding between Dick's lover Joanna and Lord Shoreby in Shoreby Abbey Church, Dick and his companion Lawless are turned over to Sir Daniel -Dick's treacherous and manipulative ex-guardian-, but Dick claims sanctuary in the abbey church so he is not turned over to someone who attempted to murder him.
* ''Literature/TheZombieSurvivalGuide'' explicitly warns the reader ''not'' to go to a church when zombies attack. The reason? Everyone else who goes there will likely pray loudly for protection, and the sound of their prayers will draw the zombies straight to them.
* ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''. The original book and most adaptations.
* ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'': One of the signs that things are going to crap is that Feeders are running amok in a church.
* Deconstructed in the novel version of ''Literature/IAmLegend'', which [[DoingInTheWizard provided scientific reasons]] for classic vampire weaknesses and behaviors.

* ''Literature/DemonAMemoir'': The narrator is being stalked by the eponymous demon and tries to arrange one of their "appointments" in a church, hoping the demon will be unable to follow him inside. It's downplayed as the demon has no problem following him inside the church, but complains that [[GoodHurtsEvil the saints' prayers give it a headache]].
* Creator/AndreNorton:
** In ''Literature/TheZeroStone'', Jern flees the HumanSacrifice and his mentor's murderers to a location protected by a godling. It's a classic sanctuary: anyone, regardless of crime, may find shelter there.
** In ''Literature/ThePrinceCommands'', Michael finds the enemy in the cathedral. They murder the bishop, and he refuses to honor their claim of sanctuary on that ground.
%% * ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'': When Zoey and the gang need help and a stay, the Benedictine Nuns come to the rescue.

* ''Literature/TheCrownerJohnMysteries'': Being set in the Middle Ages in the cathedral town of Exeter, the series contains multiple examples of people attempting to use the actual law and seek sanctuary from their crimes in the church. The first novel even takes it title from the tradition: ''The Sanctuary Seeker''.

* Myth/ArthurianLegend: One version has Mordred's sons murdered by their rival at a church altar after they take sanctuary. This is basically the worst thing he could possibly have done by the standards of the time.

* ''Literature/TheBible'':
** Fugitives would flee to the temple in Jerusalem ("take hold of the horn of the altar"), where they would be granted temporary asylum from pursuers. However, the important word here is "temporary", as a judgement of the king nullifies the protection of the temple. And as Joab found out to his detriment, Solomon is not shy about killing people in the Tabernacle.
** One of Solomon's brothers runs to grab "the horns of the altar" after a coup. The reason for this was the fact that the horns of the altar (bronze horns) were held by the person making a sacrifice so that they could be forgiven. Since they were sacred, the belief was pretty accurate, as long as Solomon respected the altar of God. Fortunately for the brother, he did.

* Churches in ''VideoGame/TheFlameInTheFlood'' always make great shelters from the rain, and often have rags and alcohol (for making bandages and other items).

* Defiance: ''Literature/TheZombieSurvivalGuide'' explicitly warns the reader ''not'' to go to a church when zombies attack. The reason? Everyone else who goes there will likely pray loudly for protection, and the sound of their prayers will draw the zombies straight to them.
* ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''. The original book and most adaptations, including [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney Disney's]].
* OlderThanFeudalism: In ''Literature/TheBible'', one of Solomon's brothers runs to grab "the horns of the altar" after a coup. The reason for this was the fact that the horns of the altar (bronze horns) were held by the person making a sacrifice so that they could be forgiven. Since they were sacred, the belief was pretty accurate, as long as Solomon respected the altar of God. Fortunately for the brother, he did.

* In ''The Sanctuary Sparrow'', a Literature/BrotherCadfael mystery by Creator/EllisPeters, a young man accused of murder flees an angry mob and takes sanctuary in Cadfael's monastery. This means Cadfael only has a limited amount of time to solve the murder, before the law -- or the mob -- can get at the accused.
* This trope is invoked in Creator/SandyMitchell's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/CiaphasCain novel ''Duty Calls''. Cain, THE HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, persuades the Sisters of Battle to [[LeeroyJenkins stop blindly advancing]] by pointing that they would leave a gap in the battle line once they were slaughtered. The tyranids would pour in, charge straight to the temple, and slaughter all the refugees praying there for the Emperor's protection -- and if they wanted to report before the Golden Throne having permitted that, he wouldn't stop them. Not only do they retreat, one later thanks him for reminding them of their duty.
* In one of the ''{{Literature/Deverry}}'' novels, the wife and daughters of the slain lord of the Wolf clan seek sanctuary from their enemies in the Boar clan at a temple. The Boars respect the sanctuary of the temple, but leave a squad of men behind just outside of the temple's lands, ensuring that the women cannot leave without being captured.
* The narrator of ''Literature/DemonAMemoir'' is being stalked by the eponymous demon and tries to arrange one of their “appointments” in a church, hoping the demon will be unable to follow him inside. It’s downplayed as the demon has no problem following him inside the church, but complains that [[GoodHurtsEvil the saints’ prayers give it a headache]].

* ''Series/AmericanGothic1995'' plays around with this trope in "Inhumanitas". Caleb believes he will be safe from Buck's evil influence by taking shelter in the church, but the sheriff not only has no issues whatsoever stepping into the sanctuary and relentlessly pursuing his attempts to corrupt the boy, but he is even able to [[spoiler:exert DemonicPossession on him]], proving [[GoodIsImpotent how little the forces of holiness can touch him]]...until Merlyn [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome lays a delicious smackdown on him]]. The fact that the parish priest had [[DealWithTheDevil sold his soul]] and was attempting to break free of the deal may have had something to do with why Buck was first untouchable, then vulnerable.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

* On ''Series/{{Highlander}}'', the one undisputed rule among Immortals is that they ''cannot'' harm one another on Holy Ground. It doesn't matter what religion it is, any church, temple, cemetery or other site recognized as a holy place counts. Thus, if an Immortal is being chased by an opponent, they can duck onto such a place and seek some safety for a while.

* One version of the Myth/ArthurianLegend has Mordred's sons murdered by their rival at a church altar after they take sanctuary. This is basically the worst thing he could possibly have done by the standards of the time.
* In Myth/ClassicalMythology, this was a recurrent theme. Characters pursued by somebody trying to rape or kill them could rush to the nearest temple and prostrate themselves as a supplicant before the image of the god. Violence of any kind (with the sole exception of ritual animal sacrifice) was strictly forbidden on temple grounds, so any gods-fearing pursuer would have to stop off their attack. In myths where an attacker kills somebody at the altar anyway, they usually suffer the vengeance of the god whose sanctuary they violated.

** One origin story of Medusa had her raped by Poseidon inside a temple of Athena... at which point Athena [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal punished her priestess for violating her vow of chastity]] by turning her into a monster.

*** During the sacking of Troy, Neottolemus, son of Achilles, killed Priam on Apollo's altar. In one version of the myth he was later slain by Apollo's priests at Delphi on the god's direct orders relayed by the Pythia.
* In Literature/TheBible, fugitives would flee to the temple in Jerusalem ("take hold of the horn of the altar"), where they would be granted temporary asylum from pursuers. However, the important word here is "temporary", as a judgement of the king nullifies the protection of the temple. And as Joab found out to his detriment, Solomon is not shy about killing people in the Tabernacle.

** Subverted in ''Theatre/RichardIII'' (as in RealLife) when Richard, Duke of York, taken to sanctuary by his mother, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Woodville Queen Elizabeth]] (no, not [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I that one]]), is hauled out of sanctuary on the arguments of the Duke of Buckingham and subsequently murdered in the Tower.

* [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by the Vikings. As pagans, they didn't see any significance in churches, so they didn't feel they had any reason ''not'' to attack churches. One of the reasons the Europeans were so scared of them is because this trope ''didn't work'' on them.
** In fact, churches and temples were a good source of loot that the Norse raiders could later sell, so they were often targeted more.

* Averted during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. A notable case is the Ntarama Massacre, which took place in a Catholic church. When photographer David Guttenfelder came to take pictures of the church a few months after the massacre, he was horrified to discover "people piled on top of one another, four or five deep, on top of the pews, between the pews, everywhere," most of whom had been struck down by people with whom they had lived and worked. It's now a memorial to the genocide. Many church officials were genocidaires or collaborators as well.

** During the fall of Troy, the fate of many of the Greeks is decided by them respecting or violating sanctuary. In particular, Ajax the Lesser's rape of Cassandra on the altar of the Temple of Athena and the Greeks' failure to execute him for it as he had the gall of claiming sanctuary himself causes many of them to be caught in a terrible storm sent specifically after Ajax, with the ones escaping any trouble from the storm being Odysseus, who had advocated to [[TakeAThirdOption stone him to death to kill him without entering the temple and thus violating sanctuary]], and Nestor and Diomedes, who left before Athena made her demand for Ajax' head.

** During the fall of Troy, the fate of many of the Greeks is decided by them respecting or violating sanctuary:
*** Neottolemus, son of Achilles, killed Priam near the temple's altar. A version of his fate has him killed by the priests of Apollo on direct order of their god.
*** Ajax the Lesser kidnapped Cassandra from Athena's temple, even toppling a statue in the process, before raping the priestess, and then had the gall to claim sanctuary himself when Odysseus tried to have him executed for it. During his return home he's shipwrecked by a storm sent by the goddess, and while Poseidon initially saves him by having him wash ashore on an islet the arrogant man ''[[TooDumbToLive dares the gods to kill him]]'', at which point Poseidon ''[[NoKillLikeOverkill sinks the entire islet]]''.
*** Agamemnon acted honorably during the conquest, even using his authority to take Cassandra from Ajax, and was allowed to return home... Where everything else he had done caught up with him in the form of a murderous and adulterous wife. He's at least given justice when his children slay his murderers.
*** Menelaus avoided the temples, being too busy to track down Helen, and [[EarnYourHappyEnding was given a happy (if harduous) return home and a happy life]].
*** Odysseus also stayed away from the temples and advocated for Ajax' execution for his profanation of Athena's temple, so he had no divine interference in his voyage up to the point he blinded Poseidon's son Polyphemus and arrogantly told him his name.

* ''Series/{{Lucifer|2016}}''. PlayedForLaughs when Lucifer offers a priest a PlaceOfProtection. Cut to several nuns descending a staircase in what appears to be a candle-lit crypt... until they throw off their veils to reveal themselves as strippers in [[DenOfIniquity Lucifer's nightclub]]. Fortunately the priest is [[TheGoodShepherd entirely unruffled]] by Lucifer's attempts to expose him to temptation. Lucifer, incidentally, can walk into a church no problem (he is an angel, after all).

* Subverted in Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RichardIII'' (as in RealLife) when Richard, Duke of York, taken to sanctuary by his mother, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Woodville Queen Elizabeth]] (no, not [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I that one]]), is hauled out of sanctuary on the arguments of the Duke of Buckingham and subsequently murdered in the Tower.

* Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'':

* ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''. The original book and most adaptations, including [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Disney's]].

* Played very straight -- to surprisingly good effect -- in an episode of the New World ''Series/{{Zorro|1990}}'' series. While they're driving into town together, Don Diego's mentor is shot by government officials convinced he's a traitor. The only way for Diego to get him treatment is to duck into the nearby pueblo church and claim sanctuary... then try to figure out how he's going to either a] transform to Zorro without giving the secret away or b] get out of this as his meek alter ego.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E6TheLazarusExperiment "The Lazarus Experiment"]], Richard Lazarus hid from the Blitz in Southwark Cathedral as a child. When he's losing control of his mutation, he retreats there a second time. The Doctor lampshades it.

* ''Series/Lucifer2016''. PlayedForLaughs when Lucifer offers a priest a PlaceOfProtection. Cut to several nuns descending a staircase in what appears to be a candle-lit crypt...until they throw off their veils to reveal themselves as strippers in [[DenOfIniquity Lucifer's nightclub]]. Fortunately the priest is [[TheGoodShepherd entirely unruffled]] by Lucifer's attempts to expose him to temptation. Lucifer, incidentally, can walk into a church no problem (he is an angel, after all).

* Played very straight - to surprisingly good effect - in an episode of the New World ''Series/{{Zorro}}'' series. While they're driving into town together, Don Diego's mentor is shot by government officials convinced he's a traitor. The only way for Diego to get him treatment is to duck into the nearby pueblo church and claim sanctuary...then try to figure out how he's going to either a] transform to Zorro without giving the secret away or b] get out of this as his meek alter ego.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

[[folder:Folklore, Mythology, and Religion]]
* One version of the [[Myth/KingArthur Arthurian legends]] has Mordred's sons murdered by their rival at a church altar after they take sanctuary. This is basically the worst thing he could possibly have done by the standards of the time.
* In Myth/ClassicalMythology, this was a recurrant theme. Characters pursued by somebody trying to rape or kill them could rush to the nearest temple and prostrate themselves as a supplicant before the image of the god. Violence of any kind (with the sole exception of ritual animal sacrifice) was strictly forbidden on temple grounds, so any gods-fearing pursuer would have to stop off their attack. In myths where an attacker kills somebody at the altar anyway, they usually suffer the vengeance of the god whose sanctuary they violated.
** In one version of Myth/JasonAndTheArgonauts, Jason's mother tried to escape being raped by fleeing into the temple of Hera. She prayed three times before she was caught and raped in the temple, as a result, Hera helped Jason three times in his quest.
** One origin story of Medusa had her raped by Poseidon inside a temple of Athena... at which point Athena [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal punished her priestess for violating her vow of chastity]] by turning her into a monster.
* In Literature/TheBible, fugitives would flee to the temple in Jerusalem ("take hold of the horn of the altar"), where they would be granted temporary asylum from pursuers. However, the important word here is "temporary", as a judgement of the king nullifies the protection of the temple. And as Joab found out to his detriment, Solomon is not shy about killing people in the Tabernacle.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''Anime/DennouCoil'', the Satchii (anti-virus programs; the city is an augmented reality) can't follow people into Shinto shrines. You can also trick them by drawing the basic shape of a shrine gate on the ground with chalk, then standing on it. This sanctuary doesn't come from any higher morality, but just [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucratic infighting]] — Satchii are run by the Ministry of Posts, but schools are run by the Ministry of Education while shrines and parks fall under the purview of the Ministry of Culture[[note]]in the government, the Ministry of Posts was absorbed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2001, while the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture are the same[[/note]]. They're just keyed to recognize torii as shrine indicators, to the point where a solitary torii from a demolished shrine or a sketch of a torii can apparently suffice to trick them, and since Daikoku is an old town, there are a lot of old shrines nestled among the back streets.

The probability of success depends on where the story is on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism. On one end, not only will the church be safe but the local GoodShepherd will provide the hero with cookies and milk. At the other end, there will be a SinisterMinister that is working with what ever was chasing the hero.

When a character seeking sanctuary in a different sort of way, wanting to be alone to talk to God, that's SanctuaryOfSolitude. See also PlaceOfProtection.

* Happens several times in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' with innocents running to the nearest church to escape whatever demons happen to be roaming around. [[CrapsackWorld Unsurprisingly]] this fails more often than not. The Holy See isn't going to do much to protect from demons [[PathOfInspiration when their gods are actually those demons' bosses]]. The only real time it worked was in Enoch village during the troll invasion, where at first the trolls managed to easily get into the church, but were chased off by the little witch Schierke's magical barrier.
* In ''Anime/DennouCoil'', the Satchii (anti-virus programs; the city is an augmented reality) can't follow people into Shinto shrines. You can also trick them by drawing the basic shape of a shrine gate on the ground with chalk, then standing on it. This sanctuary doesn't come from any higher morality, but just [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucratic infighting]] - Satchii are run by the Ministry of Posts, but schools are run by the Ministry of Education while shrines and parks fall under the purview of the Ministry of Culture[[note]] In the government, the Ministry of Posts was absorbed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2001, while the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture are the same[[/note]]. They're just keyed to recognize torii as shrine indicators, to the point where a solitary torii from a demolished shrine or a sketch of a torii can apparently suffice to trick them, and since Daikoku is an old town, there are a lot of old shrines nestled among the back streets.

** Incidentally, the historical rule (at least in England) was that a person could claim sanctuary in a church under specific circumstances, and could stay there for up to forty days, after which they either had to give themselves up to the authorities or be sent into exile. But hey, better than getting killed by an [[TorchesAndPitchforks angry mob]].

* ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''. The original book and most adaptations, including [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Disney's]].

* Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'':