historical journey of the shroud

Year 30 – 1204

St John the Evangelist saw the Shroud folded apart (and took it?) when he visited the tomb with St Peter after the Resurrection. As he mentions it in his gospel : “He saw and believed”. What did he see? Is it the image of the Shroud?
Disappearance of the Shroud for a long period (by fear of persecution and because it is considered impure)
Appearance in Edessa in the year 525 of an image of the face of Christ “not made by human hand”, the Mandylion. From this date, there is a massive diffusion of an iconography that resembles in several points the face of the Shroud. This proves that the Mandylion is the Shroud folded in a way to show only the face. Traces of the folds over the face are still visible on the Shroud. It is important to note that Edessa is the city where St John spent the last period of his life.
Edessa falls into the hands of the Arabs. In 944, a military campaign was led by Constantinople to save “the Mandylion”. After the siege of Edessa by General Jean Curcas, the Mandylion got exchanged with the caliph Al-Mustakfi against 200 Arab prisoners. The triumphal entry of the Mandylion to Constantinople in 944 is attested by several writings.
Veneration of the Mandylion in Constantinople as “miraculous image of the Face of Jesus” but also as “altar cloth” (which is at the origin of the Orthodox Epithaphios)
In 1204, disappearance of the Shroud following the sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders. Description of the Shroud by the Crusader Robert de Clary.
Pray Codex dating from 1195: manuscript with an engraving representing the burial of Jesus, undoubtedly inspired by the image of the Shroud (This codex still exists at the Budapest Museum).

King Abgar V holding the Mandylion

(10th century icon)

Year 1348-1997

Appearance of the Shroud at Lirey in 1348 held by a descendant of Templars, Geoffrey de Charny.
Transfer of the Shroud from Marguerite de Charny (descendant of Geoffrey) to the family of Savoy in 1453 (documents attesting the transfer).
June 11, 1502: Transfer of the Shroud to the Holy Chapel of the Chambéry Castle belonging to the Savoy family. Official Feast of the Shroud is set on May 4 under papal blessing.
December 4, 1532: Fire at the Holy Chapel of Chambéry. Traces are still visible from this fire. Zones of patching undertaken by the Poor Clares are still very visible too.
In 1578: Providential transfer of the Shroud from Chambéry to Turin to allow St. Charles Borromeo to venerate it (This transfer will allow the Shroud to escape the ravage of the French Revolution a few centuries later).
In 1983 the Shroud is given by the Savoy family to the Holy See. The Shroud will however be kept in Turin.
May 25, 1898: The Shroud is photographed by Secondo Pia - The picture appears sharper on the negative.
October 13, 1988: Carbon-14 dating of the Shroud: the results date it from the Middle Ages, which questions its authenticity.
11-12 April 1997: Fire in the cupola of the Cathedral of Turin. The Shroud is saved in extremis by firefighter Mario Trematore.

Shroud being folded in eight to form an image of the face alone.

Was the Shroud taken by St John ?

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “ They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.

Gospel according to St John, Chapter 20, 2-8

No traces of the Shroud before the year 525. Why?

After the Resurrection, the apostles were scared. They were sought after by the Romans. It is therefore absolutely normal that they had to hide the Shroud because:

It would surely be confiscated and destroyed
It would be used by the Romans as a proof that the apostles have stolen the body

Besides, showing the Shroud would have been problematic because it was considered IMPURE under Jewish law. Keeping a shroud was scandalous, especially if it is stained with blood!

The Shroud thus had to be kept in the highest secrecy by the first Apostles.

Reappearance in the year 525. Why?

In 525, Christians are not as persecuted as they were previously. They even have their first State… Edessa! So, they are able now to bring out the Shroud and to keep it safe in their first State.

But it is still scandalous to show the image of a naked man on a Shroud stained with blood, even if it is that of Christ.

This is why it is very likely that the Shroud was folded in eight in a way that we can only see the face. Legends were invented to explain the miraculous formation of the image (to avoid having to declare the true nature of the Shroud), namely the legend of King Abgar of Edessa and the Veil of Veronica (Vera Icona)…

It is worth noting that St John the Evangelist spent the last period of his life in Edessa. He is probably the one who brought the Shroud to Edessa since he is the one who found it in the tomb.

historical journey of the shroud

Year 30 – 1204

Year 1348-1997

timeline

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