The Sudarium of Oviedo - The Face Cloth
In the city of Oviedo, in northern
Spain, in a small chapel attached to the city’s cathedral, there
is a small bloodstained dishcloth size piece of linen that some
believe is one of the burial cloths mentioned in John’s Gospel.
Tradition has it that this cloth, commonly known as the Sudarium
of Oviedo, was used to cover Jesus’ bloodied face following his
death on the cross.
Forensic analysis of the
bloodstains suggests strongly that both the Sudarium and the
Shroud covered the same human head at closely different times.
Bloodstain patterns show that the Sudarium was placed about a
man’s head while he was still in a vertical position, presumably
before he was removed from the cross. It was then removed before
the Shroud was placed over the man’s face.
If the Sudarium is related to the
Shroud, the historical implications are dramatic. The Sudarium,
unquestionably, has been in Oviedo since the 8th century and in
Spain since the 7th century. It seems, according to various
records, to have arrived from Jerusalem.
See:
The Sudarium of Oviedo
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