The acheiropoieton of Gethsemane as depicted in the manuscript Madrid, Biblioteca del Monasterio de El Escorial, T.I.1  (ca. 1280-1284), f. 44r, https://rbme.patrimonionacional.es/s/rbme/item/11337#?c=&m=&s=&cv=95&xywh=-4400%2C-263%2C12014%2C5244 . Legends surrounding so-called images “not made by human hands” ( acheiropoieta ) emerged around the 6th century, with the aim of popularizing the miracles attributed to them, promoting their veneration, and increasing the number o

Giotto, Ascension of Saint John the Evangelist , Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence (14th c.), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giotto_di_Bondone_-_Scenes_from_the_Life_of_St_John_the_Evangelist_-_3._Ascension_of_the_Evangelist_-_WGA09300.jpg . After the death of the Apostle and Evangelist John (late 1st century), his tomb did not become a place venerated by Christians, and later generations forgot its exact location. The oldest biography of the apostle only mention

The image of Edessa in the manuscript Paris, BNF Lat. 2688 (13th c.), f. 75r, https://mandragore.bnf.fr/mirador/ark:/12148/btv1b8101682k/f61 . In the Byzantine world, the icon of Edessa was arguably the most famous image “not made by human hands” (acheiropoieton). According to legend, before his death, Christ imprinted the image of his face on a cloth, which he sent to King Abgar V of Edessa with a letter. This story is not credible, especially since, unlike other Christian

Prophet Ezekiel as depicted in the manuscript   Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève 21  (14 e  s.), f. 77r, https://initiale.irht.cnrs.fr/decor/52768 , CC BY-NC 3.0. According to popular piety, a mysterious letter fell directly from the sky to draw attention to Sunday observance. After remaining suspended in the air for three days, the letter descended among the faithful. It contained harsh words for those who did not attend church on Sundays. Although rightly contested by e

The Virgin Mary and the ordeal of the bitter water, wall painting in the church of Santa Maria foris portas in Castelseprio, Italy (ca. 9th c.), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maestro_di_castelseprio,_storie_dell%27infanzia_di_cristo,_datazione_incerta_tra_l%27830_e_il_950_dc_ca.,_12_prova_delle_acque_1.jpg#mw-jump-to-license , CC 3.0 BY Saliko. According to Jewish tradition, the husband who suspected his wife of adultery brought her to the Temple in Jerusalem, where

The Martyrdom of the Three Children Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, as depicted in the manuscript Vatican, BAV gr. 1613 (10th/11th c.), f. 251 (detail), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ananias,_Azarius_and_Misael_(Menologion_of_Basil_II).jpg . In ancient times, losing one’s head was not an exceptional occurrence. Wars, conflicts of all kinds, and punishments could easily result in death by decapitation. Among those condemned to this type of death, hagiographic texts pr

Image of Thecla on a Coptic eulogy ampulla (6th/7th c.), Paris, Musée du Louvre, Département des Arts de Byzance et des Chrétientés en...

Emperor Theophilos and his court, as depicted in the manuscript Madrid, Gr. Vitr. 26-2, 12th c. (Chronicle of Skylitzes), f. 42v,...