The Mandylion or Cloth of King Abgar of Edessa

Basic Info

The story goes that King Abgar of Edessa sent Jesus a letter, asking him to come to Edessa and heal his incurable disease. Jesus wrote back, saying that he was unable to travel to see the king but would send one of his disciples. The legend goes on to say that Jesus enclosed with the letter a towel or cloth with an image of Jesus’ face. Sometimes the legend is depicted with King Abgar in the artwork; other times, artworks simply look like paintings or sculptures of a cloth tacked up with Jesus’ face in the center.

This tends to be more popular in the Orthodox Tradition than in the Catholic or Protestant Traditions.

Historical Notes

The legend first appears in the early 4^th century, but there is no image mentioned at that point. By the 7^th century, the legend includes a miraculous image.

What to Look For

• Whether the image on the cloth looks like Jesus portraits of the early Church (an icon)
• Whether the image on the cloth looks like Jesus portraits from the artist’s day
• Whether the image on the cloth looks like something that could have been left by Jesus wiping his face on a cloth or otherwise touching the cloth to his divine face or like something in paint and gold leaf
• Whether King Abgar or the messenger is present to “validate” the story

Questions to Focus a General Interpretation

What are the features of this “miraculous true image” of Jesus? Does it matter whether they are in keeping with the typical features of men in first century Palestine?

Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation

What difference does it make to you what Jesus “really” looked like? Does this image suggest an “authentic” image of Jesus to you? What difference would it make if this was not what Jesus looked like historically?

Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation

In a time when political power is tenuous and subject to being overthrown, objects of power are important to political rulers. This idea is the foundation of the contemporary film The Book of Eli (2010), starring Denzel Washington. Might this explain the artist’s creating a copy of the image in this legend at his or her particular time and place?

Are Jesus’ physical features similar to the typical physical features of men in the artist’s time and place?