Jesus face cloth is the holy shroud, a linen sheet kept in the Turin Cathedral, which shows the image of a man and signs caused by mistreatment and torture. These signs correspond with those described in the Passion of Jesus. And for this reason, even today, we identify this man as the King of Kings. According to tradition, the Shroud is the sheet to wipe His blood and wrap His body in the grave.
Looking at the herringbone linen sheet, measuring 4.41 × 1.13 meters, we can see the double image placed side by side for the head of the corpse of a man who died as a result of torture culminating in the crucifixion.
The origins of the name
Shroud derives from the Greek Sindon and indicates a large fabric, like a sheet. It is usually made of good quality linen or Indian material. Originally this term had nothing to do with burial but today, it has become a synonym for Jesus face cloth.
Although the origins of its name are pretty straightforward, there are numerous mysteries around the head of the most famous linen sheet there. Even today, the Shroud is the subject of considerable research by sceptical scholars and by believing scholars.
History of Jesus faces cloth.
According to the Jewish tradition, immediately after the moment of death, the face of the dead is covered with a kind of cloth/shroud as a sign of respect. This made even more sense for those sentenced to death, previously tortured. To spare passers-by the sight of those grief-stricken and sometimes bleeding faces. Then this cloth was removed, and the body was wrapped in a sheet. And if there was blood, the fabric was left in the tomb, like any object that came into contact with the deceased’s blood. This is what could also have happened to Jesus.
When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus obtained permission from Pilate to take the body of Christ before the deposition, they covered the face. With the face thus protected, the body was taken to the tomb, where the cloth was removed to wrap the body in a sheet. And this shroud covered the head of Christ. Also mentioned in the Gospel of John, we will speak in this article. According to this evangelist, when he entered the empty tomb with Peter on the morning of the resurrection, they saw that the shroud that covered Christ’s head was folded into a corner (Jn 20: 3-7).
The analyses of the Holy Shroud
In 1988 the church ordered a critical scientific examination of the shroud, the carbon-14 one, to date its origin. The study carried out the test simultaneously in three independent laboratories to which different Shroud samples were delivered. The laboratories selected are those of Oxford, Zurich, and Tucson.
The result revealed that the origin dates back to between 1260 and 1390. But numerous scholars have questioned the examination’s development and validity. Another study was conducted on a patch of the sheet by the nuns following a fire. The age of Jesus faces cloth has been confirmed to be between 1300 and 3000 years. They are reopening the possibility that the sheet is the same shroud of Jesus.
Where is Jesus face cloth?
The Shroud is kept in the Turin Cathedral, Piazza San Giovanni. Under the Royal Tribune, in the last chapel of the left aisle. To ensure safe storage, the cloth is located inside a case that is closed inside a metal case. On some occasions, it is exposed to the public for ostensions. On these occasions, pilgrims can admire it from the chapel and gather in prayer using the benches and kneelers. Inside the Cathedral, in the left aisle, some screens transmit videos in which the lounge and the Shroud’s history are explained in detail.
What was Jesus face cloth used for?
The Capuchin monk Domenico da Case (1905 – 1978) recognised resemblances between the facial features of the Holy Veil and that of the Shroud of Turin. Using landmarks, the Trappistine Blandina Paschalis Schlömer, a German pharmacist and iconographer, developed a superposition technique and was able, by concordance, to provide proof that the images of the two lines were those of the same person. Later, she applied this same technique to the Shroud of Oviedo and arrived at the same result.
How was the Shroud of Turin preserved?
Scientific research on the Sudarium was preserved in the Cathedral of San Salvatore in Oviedo for several years. (Asturias, northern Spain.) And has been ongoing, even if little known to most people. It is a rectangular cloth, only partially regular, of linen, about 53 by 86 centimetres in size. Of the same composition as that of the Shroud in terms of fibre size, spinning, and twisting, except the weft. Which is an orthogonal warp. In contrast, that of the Shroud is herringbone.
To the naked eye, only light brown spots of varying intensity are revealed as human blood; microscopic analyses also showed other blood stains (some pinpoint), pollen grains, and traces of aloe and myrrh.
According to tradition, the Shroud of Turin has been preserved in the ancient capital of Asturias since the 8th century with chemically-neutral gasses. Scientific investigations have recognised bloodstains compatible with those of the Shroud.
Historical sources traditionally put the shroud on the passion of Jesus. It is exposed to the faithful three days a year: Good Friday and the first and last day of the Jubilee of the Holy Cross. That is September 14 (the feast of the Holy Cross) and September 21 (the feast of St. Matthew).
Public exhibitions
The term “ostensions” refers to the public exhibitions of the Shroud (from the Latin ostendere, or “to show”). The latest was in 1978, 1998, 2000, 2010, 2and 013, from April to June 2015, and in April 2020, the latter on Saturday occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2013 and 2020 exhibitions were broadcast on television.
Beyond the studies that confirm or deny the sacred origins of the Shroud, as often happens when it comes to religion, the Cloth must represent a symbol of faith. The only sure proof that it is Jesus face cloth hidden within us, within our creed, and within the trust we place in the Lord.
Representation of Jesus face cloth.
You might also want to know.
1. Where is the veil of Jesus found?
The Holy Veil of Jesus depicts His Face and can be found in Manoppello. In the Basilica of the Holy Face. It is a soft veil that portrays the image of a face. A male face with long hair and a beard divided into bands and believed by some to correspond to the physical look of Christ.
2. What is the name of the veil that covered Jesus?
The name of the veil that covered the Holy Jesus is called Saint Veronica’s Veil. The Gospel of St. John, in chapter 20, tells us of a shroud placed on the Face of Jesus when he was buried on the afternoon of Good Friday. After the Resurrection, when the tomb was found empty, that shroud was not on the ground on one side, like the bandages that had wrapped the Body of Jesus.
3. Who is Veronica in the Gospel?
According to the Christian tradition, Veronica is a “pious woman.” Seeing the passion of Jesus carrying the cross and His face dirty with sweat and blood, he wiped it with a linen cloth. On which the imprint of the front of Jesus (the so-called “Veronica’s veil”).
4. Where is the towel of Jesus face?
Conclusion
In the case of this relic, in 1990, the Carbon 14 test on two samples was carried out. These have dated the find between 540 and 890. As we have already commented on other discoveries, this evidence is not believed to be reliable for many, significantly when Jesus face cloth is heavily contaminated. In this case, for centuries, this relic has been shown to all the faithful who initially kissed it. Then it shows traces of incense and soot left by candles, sweat, insect remains, lipstick, etc. Even gunpowder was used in 1934 to blow up the Cámara Santa during the Revolution of Asturias.
The supporters of the relic’s authenticity are based on all the scientific studies carried out in recent decades that have made it possible to reconstruct the agony and the last moments of Christ’s death up to his deposition in the tomb. And which confirms this, moreover, how much is handed down to us from the scriptures. The examination of the pollen confirms the origin and the path of Jesus face cloth, as described by Pelagius. And more importantly, due to the type and dating of the fabric as well as the multiple coincidences in the characteristics of the deceased. They state that the Oviedo shroud and the Veil of Veronica were used for the same person.
