The Shroud of Turin:

Historical Documentation

 

Be sure to read The Shroud of Turin: A Brief Introduction; Shroud of Turin: Facts that Compel Belief; Shroud of Turin: Evidence against the Shroud’s Authenticity; and Shroud of Turin: Proving the Supernatural.

Historical documentation

Skeptics argue that the Shroud was created in 1355 (the date it is universally agreed that the Shroud as we now see it was first revealed) or shortly before by an unknown artist or craftsman. Consequently, and to prove their point, they assert that there are no prior historical documents referring to the Shroud.

In view of the early persecution of Christians and the later, sometimes brutal repression by iconoclasts (the Shroud could have been perceived as an icon and thus subject to destruction), it is not surprising that the Shroud would have been hidden or only cryptic references made to it. But there is documentation and we will look at some of them in chronological order. Before we do so, however, we should make reference to what the Bible may say about the possibility of the existence of Christ’s burial cloth or cloak.

Possible Bible references

The Gospel of John introduces us to the possibility of the Shroud. After Peter and John were informed that the tomb was empty and that Jesus was risen, they ran to the tomb. John 20: 6-8 records: “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;”

From his Roman prison, knowing that he would soon be executed, Paul writes Timothy and asks him to “bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” 2 Timothy 4:13. Troas was approximately 800 miles from Rome. See “Elijah, Paul, the mantle and the cloak,” following this timeline for the possible significance of this request.

Pre-1355 historical timeline

Below is a chronology of recorded events and documents relating to the Shroud prior to its public display in 1355. Reference is also made to pages 7-46 in “The Shroud of Turin: A Critical Summary of Observations, Data and Hypotheses,” (the “Critical Summary”). This scholarly work contains a comprehensive and detailed narrative tracing the evidence and documents of the Shroud’s journey from Jerusalem to Turin, Italy.

In 544, the “Image Not Made By Hands” was discovered in Edessa (southern Turkey) and became the model for all Byzantine and Orthodox icon images of Christ that followed. Portrait of Jesus: Ruler of All. A 6th century text refers to the Mandylion as a “tetradiplon’–doubled in four.” If the Shroud of Turin were folded by being doubled four times, the viewer would see nothing but the head. The Mandylion was said to have been attached to a board so it could well be that those who viewed it would have been ignorant of the fact that they were viewing just a portion of what was actually a full-length image. Distinct crease marks have been discerned on the Shroud in the very locations suggested by the Mandylion. See “Elijah, Paul, the mantle and the cloak,” following this timeline.

In 755, and almost certainly referring to the Shroud, Pope Stephen II wrote: “Christ spread out his entire body on a linen cloth that was white as snow. On this cloth, marvelous as it is to see… the glorious image of the Lord’s face, and the length of his entire and most noble body, has been divinely transferred.”

On August 14, 944, and in exchange for a great deal of money and 200 Muslim prisoners a cloth bearing the full-length image of Christ carrying his bloodstains was received in Constantinople (Istanbul) with a great deal of fanfare and much celebration. The Emperor Constantine VII personally inspects the image and describes it as extremely faint, more like a moist secretion without paint.

In 1093, a list of relics in Constantinople includes “the linens found in the tomb following the resurrection.”

At an unknown time, the Shroud received four distinct burn marks. These are holes in the Shroud arranged in a very distinctive “L” pattern. No one knows when or how the burn holes were created (sometimes called “poker holes.”) They are unique to the Shroud. The Shroud displays four sets of these four burn holes on both the rear and frontal halves of the shroud, indicating that the cloth was burned through when it was folded.

A drawing of the entombed and enshrouded Jesus is found in an 1192 prayer book from Budapest known as the “Pray Manuscript.” The illustration not only depicts the unique “L” pattern of burn holes but also the unique herringbone weave pattern of the Shroud. Because of the identical positioning and ‘L’ pattern of the burn marks, the 1192 Pray Manuscript must be depicting the Shroud of Turin. There is no other rational conclusion.

 In 1201, the overseer of the imperial relic treasury in Constantinople writes: “in this place the naked Lord rises again, and the burial sindons [shroud or cloths] can prove it.” His description refers to the nudity of the man on the shroud, which flew in the fact of artistic renditions of the time which never showed a nude Christ. Thereafter the Shroud was regularly shown in Constantinople, although it was typically folded and kept in a reliquary so that only the face was visible.

The knight Robert de Clari wrote that in Constantinople (Church of My Lady Saint Mary of Blachernae) there was a shroud in which the Lord was wrapped that was raised every Friday so that one could see the form of the Lord on it. In 1204 Constantinople was sacked by the Crusaders and relics disappeared. Knight de Clari states that no one ever knew what became of the shroud when the city was taken.

On August 1, 1205, a nephew of one of the Byzantine Emperors, sent a letter to Pope Innocent III saying that “the linen in which our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped after his death and before the resurrection” was in Athens.

In 1355, a linen shroud which is universally agreed as the Shroud is publicly displayed in Lirey, France. Large crowds of pilgrims are attracted

Elijah, Paul, the mantle and the cloak

The Old Testament presages the New; what was anticipated and hidden is now revealed. A phenomenal example is the story of Elijah found in the second chapter of 2 Kings. Elijah does not die and is carried away into heaven, leaving behind only his mantle, the priestly cloak he wore. For three days the doubters searched for him, but he was not to be found.

It is amazing how Jesus elevates the hidden meaning of the Old Testament stories. The only physical evidence Jesus left behind was his cloak, or mantle, which was the same evidence left by Elijah. “When Elijah is taken up to heaven in the chariot of fire, he drops his mantle down to Elisha. Elisha picks it up, and immediately it becomes his time to act. Just a few verses later, Elisha heals the bitter waters of Jericho.” .But Jesus goes one step further. Elijah never returned to earth except at the Transfiguration (see The Apostolic Conspiracy – Matthew Introduces the Transfiguration), and then it is made clear that he gives way to Jesus. Our Christ returns and leaves a powerful piece of evidence that should prove his crucifixion and resurrection to even the most skeptical of skeptics. He leaves his photograph taken at the instant of his resurrection; it is the Shroud of Turin.

Surely this was what Paul was referring to when as a prisoner in Rome he asked Timothy to retrieve the cloak. Timothy 4:13. There must have been something sacred about the cloak. With the Roman executioner closing in on him he certainly could not be concerned about retrieving a coat to keep him warm or a mere keepsake. He was asking Timothy to bring and, by implication, protect some very important and sacred items: the cloak, books, and parchments. He did not want them to fall into the hands of Christ’s foes; he wanted Christ’s mantle, or priestly garment, to be kept safe, and likely explains the use of the non-descriptive word, “cloak,” to prevent the authorities from understanding its true nature should they acquire the letter or a copy.

As shown under “Pre-1355 Historical Timeline,” in 544 a very sacred cloth known as the Mandylion was discovered in Edessa, Turkey. Perhaps the name given to the cloth, Mandylion, will help us uncover its origin. Paul had asked Timothy to bring him the cloak from Troas, which was a part of Troy in Turkey. Now comes an incredible coincidence or insight, depending on your orientation.

1.  The word used in Paul’s letter to Timothy is never used anywhere else in the Bible. It means a mantle, just the same as the one worn by Elijah. ‘Mantle’ was the long white cloth worn by high priest and is known as ‘mandya.’

2.  Troy used to be known as Ilion.

A reasonable conclusion is that the Mandylion discovered in Edessa means the priestly or kingly garment of the king or high priest Jesus (‘mandy’) that came from Ilion (‘lion’), or the Mandylion. Two excellent resources discussing the relationship between the Shroud of Turin and the Mandylion are Bible Reference to Shroud of Turin and Acheiropoietos Jesus Images in Constantinople: the Documentary Evidence*** by Daniel C. Scavone. Moreover, and as described under “Pre-1355 Historical Timeline,” distinct crease marks appear on the Shroud in the very places suggested by the Mandylion.

Some websites and references

Footnotes and Attributions

  • Icon of Elijah dropping his mantle to Elisha retrieved from Wikipedia Commons.
  • The quotation describing Elijah passing the mantle to Elisha quoted from the Orthodox Christian Fellowship website.

Last modified September 9, 2019