The Oviedo Sudarium Odyssey.pdf
9 The History Of The Sudarium Of Oviedo.mp3
This source delves into the intricate history of the Sudarium of Oviedo, a cloth believed to have covered Jesus' head after his death, often confused with the Shroud of Turin. The text highlights the scarcity of early documentation due to historical destruction and the conflation of the Sudarium with the Shroud as key challenges in tracing its origins. Here we meticulously reconstruct the relic's journey, supported by both historical manuscripts and modern scientific studies, from Jerusalem to North Africa and finally to Spain, particularly to Oviedo, detailing its concealment during periods of invasion. The narrative also explores the evolution of Oviedo as a significant pilgrimage site, enriched by the Sudarium and other relics, and addresses legends and controversies surrounding their history, especially regarding the supposed relics of St. Toribio, positing that many may have originated from Oviedo's own collection.
The history of the Sudarium of Oviedo is complex and has often been confused with the Shroud of Turin due to a lack of clear understanding of its function, even though it is mentioned in the Gospel of John. Artistically, the "Descent from the Cross" never depicts a sudarium covering Jesus's head, and many books about the Shroud rarely mention the head cloth. There is also a historical confusion between the sudarium and a potential "first shroud" that covered Jesus's body from the cross until entombment, which is distinct from the "clean shroud" (traditionally the Shroud of Turin) that wrapped his body in the tomb.
The Sudarium is specifically mentioned in John 20:5-7, where it is found in the sepulcher "not with the other linens." John the Evangelist, an eyewitness to the Crucifixion, was continually present at the foot of the cross and likely accompanied the procession to the sepulcher. The position of the burial cloths was profoundly significant to him, leading him to believe in the Resurrection.
Early historical references to the Sudarium in Jerusalem have been difficult to identify due to this confusion with the Shroud. However, its traditional route from Jerusalem to Alexandria in North Africa, and then into Spain, is supported by initial pollen studies and newly discovered manuscripts.
One of the earliest references supporting the Sudarium of Oviedo's identity is found in Nonnus of Panopolis's paraphrase of the Gospel of St. John, written in the first half of the fifth century in Egypt. Nonnus adds details to John's account, stating that the cloth that covered Jesus's head had "a knot toward the upper back of the part that had covered the hair," and was "not with the funerary linens, but was rolled up, twisted in a separate place." This description surprisingly matches scientific findings on the final position of the sudarium.
Another testimony to the Sudarium's preservation comes from an anonymous pilgrim from Piacenza, Italy, in 570 AD. His chronicle mentions a cave near the Monastery of St. Mark, across the River Jordan, where seven nuns "looked after the sudarium of Christ."
Two sources affirm that the apostle Peter took charge of the sudarium. The life of Santa Nino of Georgia (died 338 AD) relates that Peter had hidden it. Isodad of Merv, a Nestorian bishop writing around 850 AD, states in his Commentaries on the Gospels that Simon (Peter) took the sudarium and used it "as a crown on his head." He describes Peter using the cloth in the rite of the imposition of hands to obtain miraculous cures, and notes that later bishops wore turbans, a forerunner of the miter, in imitation of Peter's practice. This suggests a logical connection between Peter, the Sudarium containing Christ's blood, and the early Christian practice of healing, potentially even influencing St. Paul's use of cloths for cures. These early sources mentioning St. Peter as the first custodian make sense within the context of John 20, where Peter and John discover the linens in the tomb.