Why is it called the Mandylion?

This miraculous image became known as the Mandylion (which translates in Byzantine Greek as ‘small cloth’ or ‘towel’) and was the most famous image of Christ ‘not made by human hands’ from the sixth to the early thirteenth century. A depiction of the Mandylion is found in the centre of this painting.

What is the Mandylion of Edessa?

According to legend, the Mandylion was an image of Christ’s face imprinted on a towel, kept in Edessa. This acheiopoieton image (“not made by human hands”) disappeared in the eighteenth century.

Where is the Mandylion?

It is Jesus’s “Holy Towel”, once visited by pilgrims in the belief that it showed the face of Christ, formed when he dried his wet head on a piece of cloth and left an indelible mark. The Christian relic the Mandylion of Edessa usually takes pride of place in the Pope’s private Matilda chapel in the Vatican.

How old is the Mandylion?

The Mandylion came to Constantinople from the city of Edessa in the 10th century. It first occurs in written accounts in the mid-fifth century.

Who was the king of Odessa?

Abgar V (died c. AD 50), called Ukkāmā (meaning “the Black” in Syriac and other dialects of Aramaic), was the King of Osroene with his capital at Edessa.

How did Christianity spread from Jerusalem?

Apostles and preachers traveled to Jewish communities around the Mediterranean Sea, and initially attracted Jewish converts. Within 10 years of the death of Jesus, apostles had attracted enthusiasts for “the Way” from Jerusalem to Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Cyprus, Crete, Alexandria and Rome.

Who made Jesus?

Both accounts state that Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, his betrothed, in Bethlehem, and both support the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus, according to which Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb when she was still a virgin.