𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 … 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤

 Responses to Christians. IIN - 2

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𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 … 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤

For seven full centuries, Christians in the West venerated a piece of cloth known as the Shroud of Cadouin, or the Holy Shroud of Cadouin (Saint Suaire de Cadouin), at Cadouin Abbey in the Dordogne region of France.

The matter dates back to the First Crusade. Following the capture of Antioch in 1098 CE, Adhémar de Monteil, the papal representative on the Crusade, announced that he had found the shroud in which the head of Christ had been wrapped after the alleged crucifixion and burial. The shroud was then transported from Antioch to the Cadouin region of France in solemn ceremonies.

It was worshipped and venerated as the shroud in which the head of Christ had supposedly been wrapped following the alleged crucifixion and burial, and the tradition of making pilgrimage to it from throughout Europe continued for nearly seven centuries. European kings and popes flocked to visit it and seek blessings through it, to the extent that the Vatican granted special indulgences to those who visited the abbey.

Then came the shock in 1936 CE, when the Jesuit priest Father J. Francez began studying the textile. He was greatly astonished and profoundly shocked when he noticed that the decorative bands contained inscriptions in Kufic script—that is, Arabic script. He then sought the assistance of the Orientalist Gaston Wiet, a specialist in Arabic antiquities and inscriptions, to decipher the text.

The conclusion was that the textile did not date from the time of Christ. Rather, it originated in Fatimid Egypt in the late eleventh century. The inscription referred to the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustaʿli bi-Allah and his vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah, included their names, and contained the formula, In the Name of Allah—the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim”, phrases remembering Allah, the two testimonies of faith, and mention of the Prophet Muhammad—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, “salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa sallam”.

After the true nature of the textile was revealed, the official pilgrimage to the shroud was discontinued, as it had not covered the head of Christ but was instead an Islamic textile from Egypt.

Source:

*Bulletin de la Société historique et archéologique du Périgord*, 1935.

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