ICoNoGRAphIC eVolUTIoN FRoM 944

Iconography before the 10th century

With the arrival of the Mandylion to Constantinople in 944, the representation of Jesus changed radically in Christian iconography: we go from the young beardless shepherd, to a bearded Christ, with a long face, a long thin nose, a lock of hair on the forehead, an inflated right cheek… exactly following the features of the face of the Shroud.

Since Byzantine iconography was largely inspired by the Mandylion, and since the Christ of Byzantine iconography resembles in every aspect the face of the Shroud, it seems clear that the Mandylion is nothing else than the folded Shroud.

Did the Shroud inspire the tradition of the Epitaphios?

The Shroud has most probably inspired the tradition of the Epitaphios that is still followed in some Orthodox Churches where on the Holy Saturday the altar is covered with a cloth showing Christ buried in the same way as shown in the Shroud.

In the 10th Century, a shroud was used in Constantinople to cover the altar of Hagia Sofia Cathedral every Holy Saturday as described in the Book of Ceremony by Constantin Porphyrogenete (905-959). It thus seems clear that it is the Shroud that inspired the tradition of the Epitaphios, which dates back well before the period stated by the Carbon-14 test.

The Pray Codex printed in 1195 ...

The Pray Codex is the first document written in Hungarian language, discovered in 1770. It dates back to 1195, so well before the period obtained by Carbon-14 dating (1260-1390!).

It includes an illustration representing the burial of Christ. The drawing bears striking similarities with the image of the Shroud.

Christ is represented in his burial, completely naked, hands crossed with only four fingers. The burial cloth has a weaving similar to that of the Shroud as well as L-shaped holes exactly like the burns present on the Shroud!

It is clear that the author of the Pray Codex was inspired by the image of the Shroud (displayed in full size and no longer as the Mandylion). The Shroud would therefore date back from before 1195 (thus contradicting the Carbon-14 dating).

The Pray Codex is still kept at the National Library of Budapest.

If it is not the Shroud of Jesus, whose is it then ?

The impossibility of giving a plausible hypothesis other than that of the Shroud of Jesus is a strong argument in favor of its authenticity.

The best element is that even the most ardent critics of the Shroud cannot define what this cloth is and how the image that is printed on it was formed! Assuming that the Shroud dates back to the Middle Ages, how was the image formed?

Who is this crucified person who has all the characteristics of the UNIQUE crucifixion of Jesus because it includes the flogging, the crown of thorns, the spear wound and the unbroken legs?

If it really was a medieval forger who produced it. how could he foresee all these anatomical details that no one could know at his time (nails in the wrists and not in the palms of the hands, nail in the heel, spear wound un-coagulated because it was inflicted post-mortem, thumbs retracted, oversized chest due to suffocation, swollen cheek, broken nose…) ?

Critics of the authenticity of the Shroud chose the period of the Middle Ages because it was a period where false relics were abundant. This was the case indeed. But then, why would the forger of the Shroud have perfected his work beyond imagination since it was easy for any object to pass as a relic at that time? Even by botching his job he could have achieved the same result.

If it was the work of a forger from the Middle Ages how was he able to reproduce this image since we are sure it is not a painting but a photographic 3D impression, unalterable by water and heat.

If it is impossible, even with modern means, to reproduce an image that is similar to that of the Shroud with all its photographical and anatomical characteristics, how could it have been done in the Middle Ages?

The best argument in favor of the Shroud’s authenticity is therefore its impossible reproducibility with ALL its three-dimensional, anatomical and photographical characteristics, even by using modern techniques!

If it were for example the toga of Julius Caesar with traces of 23 stabs, no one would question the authenticity of the fabric. But when it comes to Jesus, doubt automatically settles despite all the evidences.

For all historical figures, we start from hypotheses that become proofs… except for Jesus’ case, in which we follow the opposite path: we have proofs and evidence that we consider as hypotheses.

The problem of the Shroud is that its authenticity reveals the Truth of the Incarnation, the Passion and the Resurrection. Its authenticity would not only validate the Gospels but it would

even prove the Resurrection since:

The “photographic” image of the Shroud was formed by a uniform radiation from the body.
There was an evaporation or dematerialization of the body since there are no traces of tearing of the Shroud at the level of the wounds, as it would have been the case if the body had been removed.
The body did not stay more than 48 hours in the Shroud because there is no trace of putrefaction.

This Truth has such implications that in spite of all the evidence backing the authenticity of the Shroud, it will continue to be challenged by all means.

THE SIGN OF JONAH

Jesus announced that He would leave a sign of His resurrection “for all generations”. According to the Gospels, He mentions it several times and calls it the Sign of Jonah, referring to the prophet that “came back to life” after spending 3 days inside the belly of a whale.

“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

(Mt 12, 38-41)

“You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”

(Mt 16, 3-4)

As the crowds increased, Jesus said: “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”

(Lk 11, 29-32)

“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

(Mt 12, 40)

Jesus announced that He would leave a sign of His resurrection “for all generations”.

The Shroud as the sign of jonah

Could the Shroud be the Sign of Jonah announced by Jesus? The sign of his Resurrection?

When he speaks of a “bad generation”, isn’t it a way to signify that the sign will be addressed to future generations instead? Hasn’t the reality of the Shroud become more obvious nowadays through photography and science?

What could this sign be other than the Shroud?

If we believe that Jesus truly is Christ, is it not plausible that He has left us a tangible trace of His message? What could embody His message better than his Passion and Resurrection? And what could embody his Passion and Resurrection better than the image of the Shroud?

If we believe that Jesus is really “outside of time”, then shouldn’t this sign also transcend time? Hasn’t the reality of the Shroud become more obvious nowadays, with the progress of Science allowing us to see and analyze its smallest details?

As if the Shroud worked like a time bomb…

The Shroud, an image of madness and hope

The Shroud is an image of madness. The “madness” of God who becomes man to be closer to us and to make Himself tangible to us. A God who shows us his True Face, a face full of Love, but also full of suffering. A suffering caused by the other madness, that of men. The madness of men who are capable of torturing their fellow man because he spoke to them about Love.

But the image of the Shroud is above all an image full of hope: the hope that Love conquers all, that Love is worth fighting for until the end, because in the end there is the Resurrection. Because in the end, Love will prevail against the suffering, Love will triumph over death.

Because in the end, there is the certainty that even in the depths of darkness there is Light, the same Light without which the image of the Shroud would have never been formed.