Russia's Savoir of the Nuts
In recent days, Russian Orthodox Christians have celebrated the feast of the image of Christ Nerukotvornyj, meaning “not made by human hands”, which reproduces the Holy Face of the Shroud, the original version of which has been the subject of endless debate for many centuries. According to tradition, the image is linked to a miracle that benefited King Abgar of Edessa, a contemporary of Jesus' earthly life.
Moscow (AsiaNews) - On 29 August, Russian Orthodox Christians celebrated the feast of Orekhovyj Spas, the ‘Saviour of Nuts’, in which they venerate the image of Christ Nerukotvornyj, ‘Not made by human hands’, the icon that reproduces the Holy Face of the Shroud, the original version of which has been the subject of endless debate for many centuries. It is called Mandilion in Greek and Ubrus, ‘cloth,’ in Old Russian.
According to Orthodox tradition, the image is linked to a miracle that benefited King Abgar of Edessa, a contemporary of Christ's earthly life, to whom he sent a servant to ask for healing from leprosy. Jesus washed his face and dried it with a cloth, on which his face remained imprinted, which brought about the healing of the Mesopotamian king, and thus his conversion and baptism.
According to the legendary narrative, one of Abgar's descendants returned to paganism and ordered the destruction of the sacred cloth, which was stolen by local Christians and walled up in one of their houses, then found five centuries later by the bishop of Edessa.
In the 7th century, the city was conquered by the Muslims, and it was not until 944 that the Byzantine emperor Romanus I Lecapenus besieged Edessa, exchanging the Mandilion for the promise to withdraw his army, and triumphantly bringing it back to Constantinople on 29 August, organising a solemn procession and a liturgy, of which the homily of Archdeacon Gregorios remains, now preserved in the Vatican archives, where it was recently discovered.
The study of the homily has fuelled new discussions, as its text contradicts the official legend, stating that "This image <...> was imprinted only after the mortal struggle on the life-giving Face, then, flowing like clots of blood, and from the finger of God... These are the truly beautiful colours that created the imprint of Christ, adorned by the drops that flowed from His side'. There is therefore mention of another relic, which corresponds to the Holy Shroud, and the mystery remains as to what object the emperor brought to the capital.
In the various traditions of the Churches, there is no agreement on the actual reproduction of the Holy Face, and many believe that there may be several variations. Debates have always continued on the nature and antiquity of the Shroud, as has happened recently, as well as on its passage from Constantinople to Turin, where it is currently kept.
The Byzantines, however, preserved a copy of the image on the burial shroud, the so-called icon of “Christ in the Tomb”, with a special celebratory liturgy studied in recent years by an eminent Russian theologian, Protoierej Valentin Asmus, according to whom the true Shroud was transported to Constantinople on 29 August 944.
According to Asmus, this conclusion does not contradict the legend of Abgar, nor does it exclude the existence of the miraculous cloth, which is similar in length to the Shroud, at about 4 metres. It remains to be understood which is the true icon “of the Sepulchre” or “Not of human hands”, and from which original it was copied, unless two are admitted, both sacred and worthy of the utmost veneration.
Hagiographic accounts have overlapped since the 7th century, when the tradition of Veronica's veil during the Way of the Cross also spread in the Latin West, another origin attributed to the “Holy Face” of icons, such as the one preserved in the Abruzzo sanctuary of Manoppello, while the original cloth is kept in St Peter's Basilica in Rome, where it is displayed at a distance only once a year.
In Manoppello, a cloth was brought by a “mad pilgrim”, who entrusted it to the local bishop with the recommendation to “preserve it as a gift from heaven”. According to some researchers, it was stolen from the Vatican, where a counterfeit is said to be kept.
There are many other legendary versions of the sacred relic, which Russians also associate with pagan folk traditions, such as the one that invites people to taste walnuts on 29 August: if they taste ripe, the year will be a good one, especially for young women and for all of Russia in search of its true face.
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21/09/2021 10:45
