Acheiropoieta means “not made by hand”. Acheiropoieta are icons that are supposed to have been made miraculously and are not made by human hand. There are several acheiropoieta around the world and are considered to be powerful and especially holy. The most famous of these is the shroud of Turin.
Another famous acheiropoieta is the Image of Edessa. This is considered the “first icon”. This comes from the legend of the King Abgar of Edessa. This is told in Wikipedia, “King Abgar of Edessa writes a letter to Jesus, asking him to come cure him of an illness. Jesus replies that when he finishes his earthly mission he will send a disciple to heal him. Along with the letter went a likeness of Jesus. This legend was first recorded in the early fourth century by Eusebius of Caesarea.” (wikipedia article: Image of Edessa) The Image of Edessa was brought to Constantinople in 944 A.D. by the Emperor Romanus (the father of Anna Porphyrogenita) and has since disappeared. It may have been sent to a church in France where it was probably destroyed during the French Revolution.
The Veil of Veronica was used by Veronica to wipe the sweat off of Jesus’ face as he was carrying his cross to Calvary. His face made an imprint into her veil. This scene was in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ if I am not mistaken. The Veil of Veronica is currently in the Vatican. It is known as the Volto Santo.
There is an acheiropoieta in the Americas. There is the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe the most imporant icon in Mexico. Her image miraculously appeared on a St. Juan Diego’s cloak as he was walking to Mexico City on December 9, 1531. Hillary Clinton recently visited the image in Mexico a couple of days ago and shocked the her hosts when she asked “who painted it?” Then after viewing Our Lady of Guadalupe said, “you have a marvelous virgin!” Oh, and the USA has the oldest Democracy in the world too.
I know I seem stuck on icons, but the study of icons and hagiography is fascinating even though I don’t believe in either.
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