Did the Sudarium of Oviedo truly cover Jesus’ face?
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Many people have heard of the Shroud of Turin, which is a burial shroud that shows the three-dimensional image of a man who died from crucifixion. For over 1,000 years, the shroud has been venerated by Christians as if it was the linen cloth that covered the body of Jesus Christ in his tomb. This shroud is in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. However, not too many people have heard of the Sudarium of Oviedo, kept in the Cathedral of San Salvador, in Oviedo, Spain. The word Sudarium is Latin for a cloth used by upper-level people in Roman times to wipe perspiration off their faces. For over 1,600 years this cloth in Oviedo has been venerated as if it was the cloth used to wrap Jesus’ head before he was even brought down from the cross. Because of the three-dimensional image in the Shroud of Turin, there are many clues and tests that have shown that the Shroud of Turin covered the body of a man who died from crucifixion in the first century Palestine in the exact way Scripture describes Jesus’ death. There are also many clues that show that both cloths covered the same man.
In John 20: 3-7 we read “Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.”
It was the Jewish custom at the time of Jesus to first cover the face of the deceased out of respect and compassion for the family members. This was a necessity in the case of the man who was covered by this cloth in Oviedo, as he was bleeding a lot and releasing fluids that needed to be contained. This cloth from Oviedo is 2 3/4’ by 1 3/4’ feet and it has stains of blood and fluids. If this was used for Jesus, it is likely that Jesus’ head was covered in this cloth while they requested permission to take possession of the body, took him off the cross, and was transported to the tomb. At that time, it was carefully removed, the body initially prepared, and then covered with a burial cloth until the women could come back on Sunday after the Sabath to finish the burial preparations.
The history of this cloth from Oviedo is as follows:
It is believed that after the resurrection it was hidden in a cave near Jerusalem.
The first written mention of it was in 570 AD when Antonio of Piacenza wrote that the Sudarium (believed to have covered Jesus) had been kept in a cave near Jerusalem near the monastery of St. Mark. The chest containing the cloth was then taken to Alexandria in 614 AD after the invasion of the Byzantine provinces and moved to Spain in 616 AD after Persian King Khosrau II invaded Alexandria. After arriving in Cartagena, Spain it was then given to Leandro, Bishop of Seville. After several years it was moved to Toledo to escape the attack from the Moors and as they advanced north it was hidden in the northern mountains of Asturia in 718. In 840 AD, King Alfonso II built a chapel to house the reliquary in Oviedo, Spain.
A carbon test dated the cloth to around 700 AD, but it is possible that examination by believers under candlelight throughout the years may have contaminated the cloth, impacting the integrity of the test. A pollen test has identified pollen from Jerusalem, Northern Africa, and Spain, perfectly aligning with its trajectory.
What have scientists determined in studying the Sudarium of Oviedo?
Scientists have determined that the cloth was placed over the person’s face carefully, wrapped around the head, and tied above as if forming a bag. The cloth was placed on the head while the deceased was in an upright position, consistent with a crucifixion. The person was then moved on the side for a while and then face down, before finishing facing up. The spread of fluids with these movements allow scientists to understand the location of the nose and mouth and the size of the nose and head.
The stains consist of one part of blood and six parts of oedema fluid, which collects in the lungs when a crucified person dies of asphyxiation, the common cause of death by people crucified.
There are smaller bloodstains all over the head made by small sharp objects, like thorns. The stains are not just around the head like we see Jesus’ crown of thorns depicted in art, but on top of the head as well, as if the crown was held together by branches with thorns on top of the head. That would have kept the crown together and inflict greater pain. The image of the man from the Shroud of Turin also shows that he had a crown of thorns that included branches with thorns over the top of his head.
The blood was tested to be AB type (not common among Europeans). The blood of the man from the Shroud of Turin was also determined to be AB type, as has been the blood of all Eucharistic miracles that were tested for blood type. Blood type AB is the universal recipient, as it can accept blood from all types. If this is from Jesus, he is able to receive us all.
The measurement of the size of the nose and the face match the measurements of the man in the Shroud of Turin.
There is a correspondence of 124 blood stains from the face in both the Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin. 124 blood stains are in the exact same spots.
The men covered in both cloths had trauma to the bridge of the nose, swelling of the right cheek, the tip of the nose twisted to the left, and many other similarities.
We are not required to believe that either the Sudarium of Oviedo or the Shroud of Turin were the true linens that covered the head and body of Jesus Christ, but there is strong evidence that they covered the same man, who died in crucifixion in the first century Palestine in a form that matches everything we know about Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion from Scripture. At a minimum, the study of both linens helps us understand what Jesus went through.
This much I know, Jesus experienced torturous suffering and physical abuse to a degree that no painting, crucifix, or movie can truly capture. It was horrific beyond anything we can imagine. And he did it all willingly, lovingly, and demonstrating utmost humility. He did it for our eternal salvation. Because his love for is is infinite.
O God, Who for the redemption of the world was pleased to be born in a stable and to die upon a cross and by Your holy sufferings which we, Your unworthy servants, call to mind: by Your Holy Cross and by Your death, deliver us from the pains of hell, and grant to conduct us to the place where you did the good thief who was crucified with you, You, who live and reign eternally in heaven. Amen.
