FEAST OF THE HOLY MANDYLION (AUGUST 16TH)
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| An Ancient Byzantine Icon of the Holy Mandylion, The “Icon-Made-Without-Hands” |
By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)
The Feast of the Holy Mandylion, also known as the Image Not Made by Hands, is one of the earliest and most revered celebrations of the Church, commemorating the miraculous imprint of the face of Christ upon a cloth. This sacred relic, also called the “Holy Towel of Edessa”, is known as the first icon of our Lord, given as a sign of His divine presence and saving power. In an age when the Word became flesh, it is fitting that His very likeness would be imprinted upon the world, affirming both His humanity and His divine glory.
According to tradition, King Abgar V of Edessa, suffering from a grave illness, sent a letter to Jesus, imploring Him to come and heal him. Unable to travel, Christ responded with a promise of healing and sent His disciple, Thaddeus (Addai), bearing a cloth upon which His face had been imprinted. This image, formed by the touch of the Incarnate Word, became a source of healing and a witness to the faith, much like the later Western legend of “St. Veronica's veil”, which also bore Christ’s image when she wiped His face on the road to Calvary. Upon receiving the holy image, King Abgar was miraculously healed, and the faith of Christ took root in Edessa, which became the first Christian kingdom in history. The sacred cloth was enshrined in a chapel above the city walls and was unfurled on special occasions, particularly in times of war, as a sign of divine protection.
Through centuries of war and persecution, the Holy Mandylion was hidden, rediscovered, and eventually brought to Constantinople in the tenth century to protect it from the iconoclastic destruction of Islam. There, it was venerated with great solemnity, enshrined in the Church of the Theotokos of the Pharos. However, after the sack of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in AD 1204, the relic disappeared from history. Some believe that it was taken to the West, eventually surfacing as the “Shroud of Turin”, now venerated as the burial cloth of Christ. The similarities between the two traditions - the Holy Mandylion bearing the face of Christ and the Shroud revealing His full body - suggest that they may, in fact, be the same relic in different forms. The Shroud, displaying both the marks of the Passion and the serene countenance of the risen Lord, is, in a sense, the final unfolding of the Mandylion’s mystery, revealing the full glory of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.
The theology of the Holy Mandylion affirms the Church’s veneration of sacred images, for just as Christ took on a visible form for our salvation, His image may be honored in sacred art. The Seventh Ecumenical Council (AD 787), in defending the veneration of icons, pointed to this miraculous imprint as evidence that the Lord Himself had sanctified the depiction of His sacred face. This theology finds its foundation in the words of Christ: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). The Holy Mandylion, the Veil of Veronica, and the Shroud of Turin together proclaim that Christ, “the Image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15),” has made Himself visible to the world, that we might behold and worship Him in spirit and truth.
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| Mar Addai Displaying the Mandylion to King Abgar |
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| The Story of the Enlightenment of Edessa, in an Ancient Byzantine Icon |
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| King Abgar Displaying the Healing Face of Christ |
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| Christ Giving St. Addai the Cloth |
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| A West Syriac Icon of Abgar of Edessa, Holding the Face of Christ |
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| Ancient Russian Icon of the Icon Made Without Hands |
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| An 18th Century Copy of the Icon |
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| A Modern Russian Tryptic, by the Prosopon School |
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| A Renaissance Depiction of St. Veronica Holding the "Veil of Christ" |
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| An Ancient Roman Copy of the Veil of St. Veronica, Often Claimed to be the Veil Itself, Enshrined in Typical Late Medieval/Byzantine Style |
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| The Typical Roman Depiction of the Veil, Almost Identical to the Mandylion |
The Feast of the Holy Mandylion is more than a historical remembrance; it is an invitation to contemplate the mystery of Christ’s presence, to seek His healing, and to recognize that, in the face of Christ, we see the love of the Father. In an age when the image of God in man is often defaced by sin and unbelief, this feast reminds us that the face of Christ is the face of salvation, shining forth with the light of divine grace.
HYMN OF THE HOLY FACE
O Christ, the Light unshaken,
Thou dawn from heaven bright,
In mercy Thou hast taken
Our flesh in saving might.
The Word beyond all telling
In lowly form was veiled,
Yet, in Thy face indwelling,
The light of God prevailed.
Thy countenance, all glorious,
Upon the cloth did shine,
A gift of love victorious,
A seal of grace divine.
Not wrought by hand, nor painted,
But traced by Light alone,
Thy image, Lord, is sainted,
A sign before Thy throne.
King Abgar, sick and yearning,
Did call Thee from afar;
His heart in sorrow burning,
Did seek the Morning Star.
Thou sent’st the towel hallowed,
The relic of Thy face;
Its radiance healed and followed
His people into grace.
Then Mari and Addai,
Thy servants sent abroad,
Did bring the light from high,
Proclaiming Thee as God.
Through Edessa’s holy city
Did truth in power shine,
And sinners found Thy pity,
And healing touch divine.
O Christ, our form assuming,
Thou cam’st to make us whole,
In flesh Thy grace illuming
The darkened human soul.
The Mandylion’s glory
Shines forth in every land,
A witness to the story
Wrought by Thy sovereign hand.
No painter’s craft hath made it,
No mortal hand hath drawn,
But, Lord, Thy light arrayed it—
A gift of love foregone.
O Image true, revealing
The Godhead’s holy face,
Thy presence brings us healing,
Thy mercy and Thy grace.
Through ages dark and troubled,
Through war and bitter strife,
Thy countenance unshackled
Still shines with deathless life.
From Edessa’s walls ascending,
Thy light spread ever wide,
Thy kingdom still extending
Where saints in Thee abide.
The Gospel’s seed was planted
By Thy apostles bold,
And in Thy grace enchanted,
The nations did behold.
O Christ, in glory seated,
Upon the Father’s throne,
Thy work shall ne’er be cheated,
Thy kingdom stands alone.
Thy face, O Lord, most holy,
We long one day to see,
Where saints in light and glory
Are crowned to reign with Thee.
Till then, Thy image glorious
Beholds us through the veil,
A light divine, victorious,
Where love shall never fail.
In Thee all things are ended,
In Thee all things begun,
For man and God are blended,
In Thee, the Incarnate Son.
Thy image, Lord, doth guide us,
Thy truth doth make us free,
Till heaven’s gates divide us
No more, but rest in Thee.
COLLECT
O God, who hast created man after thine own image, and didst reveal in thy Son the express likeness of thy divine glory: grant, we beseech thee, that as we venerate the sacred image of Christ, impressed upon the Holy Mandylion, the Veil of Veronica, and the Shroud of His Passion, we may be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, beholding His countenance now by faith, and in the world to come, face to face; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
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