16 August 944

Events:

• The reliquary with the Mandylion is carried in a solemn procession along the walls of Constantinople, then brought to the basilica of Hagia Sophia, where it is placed on the 'throne of grace,’ then to the Chrysotriklinos in the Boukoleon Palace, where it is placed on the imperial throne, and finally to the Pharos Chapel, designated as its permanent storage place.

Comment:

Contemporary alternative attempts to explain the genesis of the image: 1) Jesus wiped his face with the cloth after washing it with water; 2) Jesus wiped the „bloody sweat” with the cloth during the agony in Gethsemane—this proves that those who saw the cloth in 944 did not realise that it was a shroud with the image of Christ’s entire body. On the basis of iconographic and literary testimonies, it is thought that this was due to the way the cloth was stored at the time: it must have been folded so that only the face was visible (tetradiplon), and stretched over a special frame and covered with an ornate lattice.