Sudarium of Oviedo

The Sudarium of Oviedo, or Shroud of Oviedo, is a bloodstained piece of cloth measuring c. 84 x 53 cm (33 x 21 inches) kept in the Cámara Santa of the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, Spain. The Sudarium (Latin for sweat cloth) is linked to a legend of a cloth wrapped around the head of Jesus Christ after he died as described in John 20:6–7.

The cloth has been dated to around 700 AD by radiocarbon dating, which is inconsistent with a history purportedly extending back to c. 570 due to a possible reference to the Sudarium by the anonymous pilgrim of Piacenza. The laboratory noted that later oil contamination could have affected the dating.

The small chapel housing it was built specifically for the cloth by King Alfonso II of Asturias in AD 840; the Arca Santa is an elaborate reliquary chest with a Romanesque metal frontal for the storage of the Sudarium and other relics. The Sudarium is displayed to the public three times a year: Good Friday, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on 14 September, and its octave on 21 September.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.