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Image of Edessa

The Image of Edessa, also known as the Mandylion, is a revered Christian relic consisting of a cloth bearing a miraculous, acheiropoietos ("not made by human hands") imprint of Christ's face, regarded as one of the earliest and most significant icons in . According to the foundational legend recorded in early texts, it originated in the AD when King of , suffering from , corresponded with , who promised to send a ; the Ananias (or Thaddaeus/Addai) then delivered the image along with a letter from Christ, miraculously healing the king and leading to Edessa's conversion as one of the first Christian kingdoms. The relic's historical attestation begins in the , with no earlier references to the image itself despite the Abgar legend appearing in of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History around 325 AD; by then, it was described as a protective , hidden in Edessa's city walls during a in 525 AD and rediscovered to aid in defending the city against Persian King Khusro I's siege in 544 AD, where it reportedly contributed to a miraculous . In 944 AD, Byzantine Emperor orchestrated its transfer from to amid diplomatic negotiations, where it was enshrined in the Pharos Chapel of the imperial palace, celebrated annually on August 16, and venerated as a prototype for . The Image played a pivotal role in the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy (726–843 AD), serving as canonical proof of divinely sanctioned images against iconoclasts, and inspired numerous copies and artistic traditions depicting Christ in a specific frontal pose. Described in contemporary accounts as a small, rectangular cloth (often called a tetradiplon, or fourfold ) showing only the face in natural colors, it was publicly displayed during processions and healings but handled with reverence to avoid direct contact with the image. Its fate remains unknown after the in 1204 during the , when it was looted along with other relics.

Legend and Origins

Abgar Correspondence

The foundational legend of the Image of Edessa centers on an exchange of letters between King Ukkama of , who ruled the city-state of (modern Şanlıurfa, ) from approximately 4 BC to AD 7 and again from AD 13 to 50, and Jesus Christ. Afflicted with a debilitating illness—often described as or —Abgar wrote to Jesus, having heard reports of his miracles, to request healing and to invite him to as a safe haven from persecution by Jewish authorities. In his letter, Abgar praised Jesus as either God descended from heaven or the , capable of restoring sight to the blind, mobility to the lame, and life to the dead without medicines. Jesus responded by commending Abgar's faith, quoting scripture to affirm that those who believe without seeing will be saved, and promising that after fulfilling his mission and ascending to the Father, he would send a disciple to cure the king and ensure that neither Abgar nor his city would ever fall to enemies. In the expanded narrative of the legend, fulfills his promise by creating the Image of through a miraculous act: he presses a cloth to his face, imprinting upon it an exact likeness of his features, rendered acheiropoietos—not made by human hands. This cloth, bearing the divine countenance, is dispatched to Abgar along with the disciple Thaddaeus (also known as Addai), one of the seventy apostles sent by . Upon arrival in , Thaddaeus presents the image to the king, who is immediately healed upon gazing at it and touching it to his body. This miracle leads to Abgar's , along with many of his subjects, establishing as one of the earliest Christian centers in the . The earliest surviving textual record of the Abgar correspondence appears in Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History (c. AD 325), where he claims to have personally translated the letters from ancient documents preserved in Edessa's royal archives, presenting them as historical evidence of the city's apostolic origins. includes the full texts of the letters and describes Thaddaeus's mission, though his account does not yet mention the image itself. The acheiropoietos cloth emerges in subsequent traditions, such as the Doctrine of Addai (late 4th or early 5th century), which elaborates on the relic's role in the conversion and marks the legend's development to include the miraculous image. Theologically, the Image of Edessa is portrayed as a divine safeguarding the city from calamities, underscoring its acheiropoietos nature as a direct emanation of Christ's presence and authority. This protective function, first attested by the historian Evagrius Scholasticus in his Ecclesiastical History (c. AD 593), highlights the relic's significance in early Christian devotion, symbolizing God's enduring favor toward the faithful community.

Early Christian Accounts

The Abgar legend, including the correspondence between King of and Jesus Christ, is recorded in fourth-century Christian writings, but references to the Image of Edessa itself first appear in the sixth century. of , in his Ecclesiastical History (Book 1, Chapter 13), records discovering the letters exchanged between Abgar and Jesus in the public archives of , where they were preserved in ; he describes how, after Jesus' , the Thaddaeus was sent to heal Abgar and convert the city, establishing there as a lasting legacy. By the sixth century, the gained prominence as a tangible in historical accounts of defense. Evagrius Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History (Book 4, Chapter 27), describes it as a "divinely wrought " on cloth—not made by hands but sent by Christ to Abgar—employed during the of in 544 CE under King . According to Evagrius, the Edessenes applied the Image to wooden supports in a counter-mined beneath the Persian siege mound, invoking divine power that ignited the structure and collapsed it, compelling the attackers to retreat and sparing the city. The functioned as a , or protective , central to Edessan identity against Zoroastrian incursions, symbolizing divine favor in moments of crisis like Khosrow I's , where its revelation reportedly induced enemy withdrawal through miraculous intervention.

Historical Transmission

Period in Edessa

Following the of in 544, during which the image was credited with miraculously protecting the city from destruction, continued to be housed in the city's as a central object of Christian . When Arab forces under the conquered in 638, the image remained in Christian custody under Muslim rule, enduring as a symbol of local faith amid the political shift. Rather than being hidden, it was preserved through the extended to Christian communities, allowing ongoing despite the city's from Byzantine territories. Throughout the 7th to 10th centuries, the Image of Edessa served as a focal point for liturgical practices, including annual feasts on August 16 featuring processions through the streets, where it was carried aloft to invoke divine protection and healing. Integrated into the local Syriac Christian liturgy, the relic symbolized Edessan orthodoxy, particularly in theological disputes between Orthodox and Monophysite factions, with theologians like Theodore Abu Qurrah invoking it around 800 to affirm its acheiropoietos (not made by human hands) nature against iconoclastic challenges. These practices underscored its role in fostering communal identity and resilience under Islamic governance. The relic's prominence culminated in the events of 944, when Byzantine Emperor leveraged its prestige in negotiations during a led by General . The Muslim authorities of agreed to relinquish the image—along with a purported accompanying letter from Christ to King Abgar—in exchange for 200 prisoners, 12,000 silver dinars, and a pledge to spare the city from plunder, highlighting the relic's immense political and symbolic value as a trophy of Christian heritage. Contemporary accounts, such as the anonymous Narratio de Imagine Edessena, portray this transfer as a providential event, celebrated with miracles and processions upon its arrival in , framing it as in the restoration of Byzantine influence.

Transfer to Constantinople

In 944, during the reign of Emperor , the Byzantine general led a military expedition against the Muslim-held city of , besieging it as part of broader campaigns in . The Edessan authorities, facing pressure from the siege, agreed to surrender the in exchange for the release of 200 Muslim prisoners and a payment of 12,000 pieces of silver, averting further destruction. This transaction marked the relic's extraction from , where it had been rediscovered and venerated centuries earlier as a protective . The Image's journey to Constantinople was conducted with elaborate imperial pomp, transforming the transfer into a triumphal adventus . Arriving by on August 15, 944, it was first received at the Sagar River estuary by the patrician Theophanes, accompanied by processions and liturgical hymns. The next day, August 16, a grand procession through the led to , where Emperor Romanos I and Theophylaktos presided over rites, before the relic was escorted to the imperial palace. This ceremonial route emphasized the Image's role as a divine palladium, bolstering Byzantine legitimacy amid ongoing conflicts with Arab forces. Upon arrival, the relic was renamed the Mandylion, derived from term for a towel or cloth, reflecting its form as an acheiropoietos image imprinted on fabric. It was enshrined in the Chapel of the Virgin Pharos within the Great Palace, placed in a gold-framed casket alongside the legendary correspondence of , where it joined other imperial relics. Contemporary accounts, including the Narratio de Imagine Edessena and descriptions in Constantine VII's , documented the event's splendor, portraying it as theological to affirm the relic's miraculous origins and the emperor's piety. The Mandylion's integration into provided a significant boost to in the post-Iconoclastic era, serving as the preeminent example of a divinely produced image that validated the use of religious . It was paraded in subsequent military triumphs against Arab incursions, reinforcing its protective aura and the empire's spiritual-military prestige. This elevation helped solidify Byzantine identity around relics, influencing court rituals and artistic traditions.

Description and Iconography

Physical Attributes

The Image of Edessa is described in historical sources as a cloth, often termed a mandylion or small , bearing a miraculous, acheiropoietos (not made by human hands) imprint of Christ's face. Early accounts, such as the Doctrine of Addai (ca. 5th–6th century), portray it as a simple cloth impression created when Christ pressed the fabric to his face, resulting in a faint, natural transfer rather than a painted image. By the 6th century, Evagrius Scholasticus referred to it as a theoteuktos (divine portrait), emphasizing its non-artificial qualities during its role in Edessa's defense against Persian forces in 544. Tenth-century Byzantine sources, including the Narratio de Imagine Edessena, identify the cloth as a tetradiplon—folded in four layers—to reveal only the facial image, with the unfolded linen described as square or rectangular, though its precise size is not documented. The relic was typically housed in a wooden or frame, sometimes nailed to a board for stability, and placed within a locked or measuring about 60 cm long, 40 cm wide, and 5 cm deep to fit the folded form. Handling involved unfolding it partially for in processions or liturgical settings, such as in Edessa's or Constantinople's Pharos after 944. The imprinted image depicts a full-face of with long hair parted in the middle, a forked beard, and prominent eyes, contributing to its lifelike appearance. Described as dim or faint by the , the impression resembled sweat, blood, or a subtle stain. Accounts vary across traditions: early texts emphasize a basic, unadorned cloth with a minimal impression, while later Byzantine descriptions, such as those in the Synaxarion and Michael the Syrian's Chronicle (), portray it as more elaborate, with added inscriptions, gold embellishments, and integration into ornate reliquaries. These evolutions reflect the relic's growing ceremonial role without altering core attestations of its acheiropoietos nature.

Influence on Byzantine Art

The Image of Edessa, revered as the Mandylion, profoundly shaped Byzantine iconography by establishing the "Christ Pantocrator" type, featuring a symmetrical face with long hair, a forked beard, and solemn expression that became standard in religious art from the late 6th century onward. This prototype drew from the relic's legendary acheiropoietos (not made by human hands) imprint, influencing monumental works such as the 11th-century mosaics in the Daphni Monastery near Athens, where the Pantocrator's dignified visage in the dome conveys divine authority and mirrors textual descriptions of the Mandylion's facial traits. Numerous painted replicas of the Mandylion proliferated in Byzantine workshops, disseminating its across the empire and beyond; for instance, icons from St. Catherine's Monastery on , dating to the 10th–12th centuries, depict Christ's face emerging from a folded cloth, often with ethereal highlights emphasizing its miraculous origin. These copies not only preserved the relic's form but also facilitated its transmission to artistic traditions, such as in medieval , and indirectly to Western European depictions through trade and pilgrimage routes. The Mandylion's liturgical integration, particularly through the annual feast of the Holy Mandylion on commemorating its transfer to , inspired a range of artistic media beyond , including embroidered textiles like epitaphioi veils used in Week processions and enamel works on crosses and reliquaries from the . These artifacts, often featuring the folded cloth motif, reinforced the relic's role in Eucharistic rituals and theophanic celebrations, blending visual piety with ceremonial practice. As a of the acheiropoietos , the Mandylion bolstered the post-Iconoclastic after 843, justifying the of images through its divine authenticity and shaping church decorative programs with themes of triumph over in the 11th–15th centuries. It also informed Byzantine diplomatic and theological exchanges with Islamic rulers, who referenced the relic in discussions on , thereby highlighting Christianity's emphasis on incarnational imagery.

Connection to the Shroud of Turin

In 1978, historian Ian Wilson proposed that the Image of Edessa, also known as the Mandylion, was the folded in a specific manner to display only the face, interpreting the Greek term tetradiplon—meaning "doubled in four"—as evidence of this configuration, which aligned with descriptions of the relic's transfer from to in 944 AD. This theory posits that the full-length cloth was folded lengthwise twice and then in half crosswise, creating a rectangular panel approximately 38 by 21 inches that revealed solely the facial image during veneration, consistent with contemporary accounts of the relic as a compact, face-only icon. Supporting this identification, certain Byzantine artistic depictions of the Mandylion from the 10th to 12th centuries include subtle indications of a fuller , such as rivulets of flowing from the and hints of elongated proportions beneath the cloth, suggesting artists were aware of underlying corporal elements not publicly shown. Additionally, 12th-century testimonies, including those from Western visitors to , describe the relic in ways that imply imprints of the entire body, with references to a "sindon" or cloth bearing traces beyond the face, potentially conflating or revealing the Mandylion's true nature as a complete shroud. Opposing views highlight discrepancies, such as the Mandylion's reported smaller dimensions in Edessan traditions compared to the Shroud's 14-foot length, and the absence of unbroken linking the two relics across centuries. The 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Shroud by laboratories in , , and yielded a medieval origin range of 1260–1390 AD with 95% confidence, conflicting with the Image of Edessa's purported 1st-century antiquity, though this result has been challenged by 2020s studies, including 2025 demonstrating potential from microbial biofilms, repairs, or environmental factors that could skew the toward a later period. Scholar Averil Cameron, in her 1980s analysis, examined the Mandylion legend as an evolving narrative shaped by Byzantine cultural and political needs, arguing that its transformation from a simple facial icon to a more complex relic may reflect legendary embellishment rather than historical continuity with the Shroud.

Claimed Surviving Copies

Several medieval and later artifacts have been proposed as direct copies or survivals of the Image of Edessa, also known as the Mandylion, a cloth bearing a miraculous imprint of Christ's face. These claims emerged primarily in the context of Byzantine relic transmission and post-Crusade relic trade, with proponents arguing for continuity from the original Edessan relic lost during the 1204 sack of Constantinople. However, none possess an unbroken chain of custody linking them definitively to the 10th-century Mandylion, and scholarly consensus views them as devotional replicas inspired by the legend rather than authentic survivals. The Holy Face of Genoa, housed in the Church of San Bartolomeo degli Armeni, is a 14th-century linen cloth featuring a faint image of Christ's face, framed in a silver-gilt reliquary with embossed scenes from the Passion. Acquired in 1362 as a diplomatic gift from Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos to Genoese Doge Leonardo Montaldo, it was bequeathed to the Armenian monastery in 1388 and has remained there, venerated as a copy of the Mandylion since at least the late 14th century. Proponents, including 17th-century chronicler Agostino Calcagnino, cited its resemblance to Byzantine descriptions of the Edessan image and eyewitness accounts of its antiquity to argue for its status as a direct replica produced in Constantinople. The Holy Face of San Silvestro, located in Rome's Church of San Silvestro in Capite (now transferred to the ), is an 8th-century painted on cloth depicting Christ's face in a serene, beardless Edessan style, supported by a wood panel and enclosed in a Palaiologan-era (1261–1453). Historical accounts trace its arrival in from in the , with 17th-century defender Paolo Giacomo Giacchetti invoking the Narratio de Imagine Edessena to claim it as an early acheiropoietos replica commissioned during the Mandylion's time in . Restricted from public display in 1517 to avoid rivalry with other relics, it was analyzed in 1996 using and , revealing pigment-based painting with later alterations to the facial features but no evidence of overpainting. Other candidates include the Veil of Manoppello, a thin cloth with a translucent face , first documented in 17th-century records as a post-1204 survival smuggled from and housed in the Basilica of the Holy Face since 1638. Devotees claim it as a Mandylion derivative based on its acheiropoietos qualities and spectral analyses in the 2010s showing no pigments or brushstrokes, though critics attribute the image to 16th-century artistic techniques. Similarly, the Savior Acheiropoietos in Moscow's Cathedral, a 12th-century Novgorod-school tempera on panel, replicates the Mandylion's frontal, haloed face and was venerated in as a copy transferred after the Byzantine era. Authenticity debates center on the absence of provenance documents predating the 14th century for most claimants, with Counter-Reformation scholars like Calcagnino and Giacchetti engaging in polemics to affirm their relics amid theological scrutiny from the . Modern scholarship, including Joe Nickell's 2009 analysis, dismisses them as pious forgeries or artistic inventions drawing on the Edessan legend, lacking the miraculous properties described in early sources; recent studies in outlets like reinforce this by highlighting stylistic inconsistencies with 6th–10th-century Byzantine icons. No comprehensive 2010s UV analyses confirm ancient pigments on the Genoa cloth specifically, though related examinations of similar relics underscore medieval fabrication methods.

Relation to the Veil of Veronica

The legend of the Veil of Veronica originates from the story of a woman who, during Jesus' journey to Calvary, wipes his bloodied face with her cloth, resulting in a miraculous imprint of his features. This narrative is rooted in apocryphal traditions, with the name "Veronica" (meaning "true image") first appearing in the 4th- or 5th-century Gospel of Nicodemus (also known as the Acts of Pilate), where she is identified as the hemorrhaging woman healed by Jesus, though without mention of the veil imprint. The full legend of the face-wiping and imprinting developed in medieval Western Christianity, evolving into a recognized relic housed in Rome by the 12th century, where it was venerated as an acheiropoietos (not made by human hands) image. The Image of Edessa (Mandylion) and the share key motifs as cloths bearing Christ's face, often invoked for healing, protection against disasters, and as symbols of divine favor. Both relics were believed to possess miraculous properties, such as replicating themselves through contact or , and were associated with narratives of direct imprinting from ' living face. Scholars suggest possible cross-pollination between the Eastern Mandylion tradition and the Western legend, particularly following the Fourth Crusade's in 1204, when Byzantine relics, including face images, were dispersed to the Latin West, influencing devotional practices and . Despite these parallels, significant differences distinguish the two traditions: the Mandylion is depicted as a pre- gift from to King of in the 1st century, emphasizing an Eastern, apostolic origin, whereas the Veronica arises from a Passion event during the procession, tying it to Western meditations on Christ's suffering. 20th-century scholarship, including that of Ian Wilson, concludes there is no direct historical link between the relics, viewing them as independent developments shaped by regional theologies rather than a shared artifact. Culturally, the Mandylion held an imperial role in Byzantine , serving as a (protective ) for the emperor and the city, often displayed in processions to affirm authority. In contrast, the became a focal point of papal in , promoted by figures like in the early 13th century to bolster Roman prestige and , including indulgences for viewing it. Both traditions persist in modern replicas, such as Byzantine-style Mandylion icons and Western vernicle medals depicting the Veronica, continuing their roles in liturgical art and personal piety.

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