As a new study has suggested that the famous Turin Shroud might not be a Medieval forgery, renewed attention has fallen on other relics of Jesus’s clothing – including one that might ‘prove’ the story of the Shroud.
This week, many highlighted the connections between the shroud and the Sudarium of Oviedo – a relic held in a Spanish cathedral, which scientists have shown ‘matches’ the face on the Shroud.
A new review by researchers from France and Italy has revisited a landmark 1988 UK study of the Turin Shroud which found the shroud was a Medieval forgery and not the cloth Jesus was buried in – suggesting the result is not definitive.
Tristan Casabianca, a French independent researcher, who made the find, told DailyMail.com that his findings do not confirm the shroud is older or the burial cloth used to lay Jesus to rest.
But could other relics, including the Sudarium of Oviedo, offer evidence of Jesus’s life and death – or even prove that the Turin Shroud is real?
Sudarium of Oviedo
The Sudarium of Oviedo has been described as ‘the Shroud of Turin 2’ and some have claimed that the markings on the cloth – which is said to have been wrapped around Jesus’s head as he died – suggest that it was used alongside the Turin Shroud.
This week, posters on social media have highlighted how it ‘matches perfectly’ with the Shroud – and could even prove its authenticity.
A ‘sudarium’ is a sweat cloth, believed to have been put over Jesus’s face.
Thee sudarium is kept in a Cathedral in Oviedo: unlike the Turin Shroud, there is no clear face to be seen, but distinctive stains.
In John Chapter 20, verses six and seven, the Bible says, ‘ ‘Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloth lying on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself.
The history of the cloth was documented by a 12th-century bishop who claimed it was in Palestine until the year 614 AD when it was taken from Jerusalem and given to the bishop of Seville.
The Sudarium has several details which suggest that it may have covered the same face as the Turin Shroud.
While no face is visible on the Sudarium, stains offer clues to the person whose face it covered – who seems to have died in a position which corresponds to crucifixion.
The blood group is the same (AB) and the length of the nose of the person whose face was covered by the Sudarium is the same as the Turin Shroud.
In 1984, Dr Alan Whanger of Duke University used a polarized overlay technique to compare the two.
Whanger said, We noted about 130 points of congruence between the shroud and the facecloth. We feel this is hard evidence that both were in contact with the same person.’
The Sudarium is known to date to at least the 9th century, but there are earlier references to it also.
Radiocarbon dating suggested an origin around 700AD, but researcher Cesar Barta suggested this could be due to contamination with oils, as there are references to its presence in Jerusalem as early as 570AD.
The Image of Edessa
Other icons showing Jesus’s face were supposedly not made by hand – but imprinted miraculously.
But could one of these actually have been the Turin Shroud – showing where it has been in earlier centuries?
Author Ian Wilson has suggested that the Image of Edessa, also known as the Mandylion and first mentioned in the fourth century, may actually have been the shroud folded over four times.
The Image of Edessa supposedly dates from an ancient king, King Abgar of Edessa, requesting that Jesus cure him of an illness.
Jesus declined, but a letter supposedly from Jesus was sent – and an image was either painted or ‘God-made’.
Some have argued that the image venerated as the Image of Edessa was in fact the Turin Shroud.
The Holy Coat
In John 19:24, the Bible says that the soldiers at Jesus’s crucifixion ‘said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.’
Several churches around Europe claim to have either the Holy Coat (or seamless robe) itself, or pieces of it.
