What does a miraculous image mean? Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands - meaning and how it helps

Great for believers is the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" - one of the very first Orthodox images, where the face of Christ is presented. The significance of this image is equated with the crucifixion. There are several lists provided by well-known authors.

"Savior Not Made by Hands" - the story of origin

Many people wondered, where did the image of the face of Christ come from, if nothing is said about it in the Bible, and the church lending has preserved a minimum of descriptions of appearance? The history of the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" indicates that the details about the face were brought to the people by the Roman historian Eusebius. The governor of the city of Edessa, Avgar, was seriously ill, and he sent an artist to Christ to paint his portrait. He could not cope with the task, because he was blinded by the divine radiance.

Then Jesus took the linen (ubrus) and wiped his face with it. A miracle happened here - the imprint of the face was transferred to the matter. The image is called "not made by hands" because it was not created by human hands. This is how the icon called "The Savior Not Made by Hands" appeared. The artist took the cloth with the face to the king, who, taking it in his hands, was healed. Since that time, the image has worked many miracles and continues this work to this day.

Who wrote "Savior Not Made by Hands"?

The first copies of the icon began to appear immediately after the establishment of Christianity in Russia. It is believed that these were Byzantine and Greek copies. The icon "Savior Not Made by Hands", the author of which was the Savior himself, was kept by the king Abgar, and its description came to us thanks to documents. There are several important details to pay attention to when considering a portrait:

1. The material with the imprint was stretched over a wooden base and this image is the only depiction of Jesus as a human person. On other icons, Christ is represented either with some attributes, or performing certain actions.
2. The image of the "Savior Not Made by Hands" is compulsorily studied at the school of icon painters. In addition, they should make a list as their first independent work.
3. Only in this icon Jesus is shown with a closed halo, which is a symbol of harmony and indicates the completeness of the world.
4. Another important nuance of the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" - the face of the Savior is depicted symmetrically, only the eyes are slightly slanted to the side, which makes the image more alive. The image is symmetrical for a reason, since it indicates the symmetry of everything that was created by God.
5. The Savior's face expresses neither pain nor suffering. Looking at the image, you can see balance and freedom from any kind of emotion. Many believers regard him as the personification of "pure beauty."
6. The icon depicts a portrait, but the paintings depict not only the head, but also the shoulders, but here they are absent. This detail is interpreted in different ways, as it is believed that the head indicates the primacy of the soul over the body, and it also serves as a reminder that the main thing for the church is Christ.
7. In most cases, the face is depicted against a background of fabric with different types of folds. There are options when the portrait is presented against a brick wall. In some traditions, the canvas is held on the wings of angels.

"Savior Not Made by Hands" Andrei Rublev

The famous artist presented a large number of icons to the world and the image of Jesus Christ was of great importance to him. The author has his own easily recognizable features, for example, soft transitions of light into shadow, which are completely opposite to contrasts. The icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" by Andrei Rublev emphasizes the extraordinary softness of the soul of Christ, for which a gentle warm scale was used. Because of this, the icon is called "luminiferous". The image presented by the artist was the opposite of Byzantine traditions.

"Savior Not Made by Hands" Simon Ushakov

In 1658, the artist created his most famous work - the face of Jesus "Savior Not Made by Hands". The icon was painted for a monastery located in Sergiev Posad. It has a small size - 53x42 cm. The icon of Simon Ushakov "The Savior Not Made by Hands" was painted on wood using tempera and the author used artistic techniques typical of that time for writing. The image is distinguished by a complete drawing of facial features and a cut-off transfer of volume.

How does the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" help?

The great image of Jesus Christ can become a faithful protector of people, but for this you need to establish a prayer dialogue with him. If you are interested in what the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" protects from, then it is worth knowing that it protects from numerous diseases and various negativity directed at a person from the outside. In addition, it is worth praying before the image for the salvation of the soul, for loved ones and children. Sincere appeals will help improve well-being, and cope with various worldly affairs.

Prayer to the Savior Not Made by Hands

You can refer to the image in your own words, the main thing is to do it from a pure heart. The simplest prayer that is known to every believer is "Our Father". It was given to people by Jesus himself during his earthly life. There is another simple prayer to the Savior Not Made by Hands, the text of which is presented below. Read it every day at any time your heart requires it.

Akathist "To the Savior Not Made by Hands"

A hymn of praise or akathist, as used to turn to the Higher powers for help. You can read it yourself at home. Akathist "To the Savior Not Made by Hands", whose text you can simply listen to, helps to get rid of bad thoughts, get invisible support and believe in yourself. Please note that it is necessary to sing it while standing, except in special cases (when there are health problems).

Wonderfully imprinted on the board with which Christ wiped his face

Origin story

According to the Tradition set forth in the Chetya Minea, Abgar V Uchama, sick with leprosy, sent his archivist Hannan (Ananias) to Christ with a letter in which he asked Christ to come to Edessa and heal him. Hannan was an artist, and Abgar instructed him, if the Savior could not come, paint His image and bring it to him.

Hannan found Christ surrounded by a thick crowd; he stood on a stone from which he could see better, and tried to portray the Savior. Seeing that Hannan wanted to make His portrait, Christ demanded water, washed, wiped His face with a cloth, and His image was imprinted on this plate. The Savior handed this payment to Hannan with the command to carry it with a letter in return to the one who sent it. In this letter, Christ refused to go to Edessa himself, saying that he must fulfill what he was sent to do. After completing His work, he promised to send one of His disciples to Abgar.

Having received the portrait, Avgar was healed of his main ailment, but his face was still damaged.

The position of the city seemed hopeless, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to Bishop Eulavius ​​and ordered to get from the walled niche the Icon that would save the city from the enemy.

Having disassembled the niche, the bishop found the Image Not Made by Hands: an icon lamp burned in front of him, and on the clay board that covered the niche there was a similar image. In memory of this, in the Orthodox Church there are two types of icons of the Savior Not Made by Hands: the face of the Savior on the trim, or Ubrus, and a face without a trim, the so-called. Rape.

After the procession with the Image Not Made by Hands on the walls of the city, the Persian army retreated.

Transfer to Constantinople

In honor of this event, a church holiday was established on August 16 Transfer from Edessa to Constantinople of the Image Not Made by Hands (Ubrus) of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are several legends about the subsequent fate of the Image Not Made by Hands. One by one - he was kidnapped by the crusaders during their reign in Constantinople (1204-1261), but the ship on which the shrine was taken sank in the Sea of ​​Marmara. According to other legends, the Image Not Made by Hands was transferred around 1362 to Genoa, where it is kept in a monastery in honor of the Apostle Bartholomew.

Mention in ancient sources

According to legend, the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands is the very first Orthodox image that immortalized the image of the Lord God. The role of this icon is very important for every Christian; quite often this shrine is placed on a par with the Life-giving Cross and the Lord's Crucifixion. Since ancient times, Orthodox people have shown interest in the meaning of the icon "The Savior Not Made by Hands", and in what cases they turn to it for help.

Legends of the emergence of the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands"

The icon of Jesus is characterized by a special meaning in Orthodox icon painting. This shrine has two versions of its origin:
on a towel (Mandylion);
on a stone (Keramion).

According to the first legend, which says that once the ruler Avgar fell ill with a dangerous illness and made a written request to Christ to deliver him from leprosy. Jesus Christ sent a letter to the king, but the disease did not recede.

Then the king sent his court painter with the order to make a portrait of Christ. But despite the unsuccessful efforts of the servant, the Savior took a clean handkerchief and a bowl of water. After rinsing his face, Christ took a towel and left his image on it. When the artist Avgar went back, he spent the night in the town of Hierapolis and buried a towel with the image of Jesus in stone slabs. The next morning, the face of Christ was displayed on one of the stones. When the servant gave the miraculous towel with the image of Christ to King Abgar, the sick man instantly got rid of the disease.

The scarf and the Stove were soon sent to Constantinople, and a few years later these relics were delivered to Kievan Rus. The Savior's face on a towel is slightly more significant than on a stone. But divine help equally comes to believers who offer prayers before these shrines.

The role of the image "Savior Not Made by Hands"

The holy image is the unique and only depiction of the image of Jesus Christ. Other Images of the Savior depict him in full growth or in motion.

In what cases do they turn to the face of "Savior Not Made by Hands":

But before you turn to the Lord God with a request, you need to repent before his icon and offer the prayer "Our Father".

The day of veneration of the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" is the sixteenth (twenty-ninth) August.

"Jesus Christ showed us His holy face, so that we, looking at the icon, forever remember his coming, torment, painful death for the atonement of the sins of all mankind" - this was pronounced at the sixth World Assembly "

This icon, as the Sacred Legend says, arose during the worldly existence of the Savior, and is now called the Savior Not Made by Hands. There is no evidence of this incident in the New Testament, and the memory of it is recorded in the memoirs of Orthodox historians and in church legends.

Records about the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands"

One of the first written records of such a face in the Eastern countries dates back to the fourth century. According to historians, this evidence is the legendary written request of King Abgar addressed to Jesus and the Savior's reply to the king, which was contained in the chronicles of Fayuma around the fourth-fifth century and during research in Ephesus in the inscriptions left on the ancient doorframe in one of the old houses.

There are references to the revelations of the righteous Aquitanian believer, wandering through the divine places of the East, Sylvia, who in about the fifth century received copies of the letters of Abgar and Jesus from the monk of Edessa.

In which churches in Russia the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands is kept

In Russia itself, the original shrine of the towel was not, but copies were kept known for their miraculous properties. One of them was kept for a long time in the Novospasskaya monastery, located near Taganka, which became famous as the tomb of the Romanov family. But one of the first miracles happened in the town of Vyatka, after a while the miraculous face was sent with honors to Moscow. It happened in winter in the middle of the sixteenth century.

At first, the icon was kept in one of the Kremlin towers, but soon it was sent to the Transfiguration Church. Here are some miraculous healings sent in miraculous ways:
a blind man has gained sight;
support in ending the uprising of S. Razin;
a pilgrimage with an image was stopped by a fire in the middle of the eighteenth century;
countless cures for cholera disease.

But, unfortunately, during the revolution, the miraculous Vyatka icon disappeared, and in our time, instead of the original, a copy of the image is kept there.

The Cathedral of the Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands in Abramtsevo is considered a delightful monument of Russian architecture. The small exquisite temple is a joint work of V. Vasnetsov, V. Polenov, I. Repin. Together they came up with a drawing of the building, an icon case, the entire furnishings, created images, and also decorated the floors with mosaics. The window painting was done by M. Vrubel. The church was consecrated at the end of the eighteenth century. You can get from the capital to Ambramtsevo by train, reaching the Khotkovo stop.

One of the most ancient icons in Russia is the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, written in the twelfth century and belonging to the Novgorod form. There is no face on it, because the icon shows the image of the Lord, miraculously imprinted on stones (in Edessa). According to experts, this image is very similar to the original that appeared on the stone. At that time, the face was in the Kremlin, now it is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Prayer before the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands"

Troparion, voice 2

We bow to Thy Most Holy Appearance, Merciful, we ask the forgiveness of all our sins, Lord Jesus, by the Father's will you obeyed with the flesh, who ascended to the Cross, and delivered you the human race from unclean works. For this, we gratefully sing to You: He showed happiness to everyone, our Savior, who came to save people.

They say that this happened during the earthly life of the Savior. The ruler of the city of Edessa, Prince Avgar, was seriously ill. Hearing about the countless healings that Jesus Christ performed, Abgar wanted to look at the Savior. He sent a painter to paint the face of Christ.

However, the artist was unable to fulfill the assignment. Such a radiance emanated from the face of the Lord that the master's brush could not convey His Light. Then the Lord, having washed, wiped His most pure face with a towel, and His Image was miraculously displayed on it. Having received the Image, Avgar was healed of his illness.

Sometimes this image, like a number of others, is called the Golden-haired Savior (Savior Golden Hair), since Christ's hair is lined with golden lines. The nimbus is in the form of a cross and occupies almost the entire field of the icon. Christ's gaze is turned to the left. In the upper corners of the centerpiece there is an inscription: IС ХС.

The miraculous image of the Savior not made by hands, which was in the Novospassky monastery, constituting its main shrine, was, at the same time, an All-Russian church treasure deeply revered by the Orthodox Russian people.

In the West, the legend about the Savior Not Made by Hands has spread as the legend about the Fee of St. Veronica. According to one of them, Veronica was a disciple of the Savior, but she could not accompany him all the time, then she decided to order a portrait of the Savior for the painter. But on the way to the artist, she met the Savior, who miraculously captured his face on her board. Veronica's plate was endowed with the power of healing. With his help, the Roman emperor Tiberius was healed. Later, another option appears. When Christ was led to Golgotha, Veronica wiped the face of Jesus, soaked in sweat and blood, with a cloth, and it was reflected on the matter. This moment is included in the Catholic cycle of the Passion of the Lord. The face of Christ in a similar vein is written in a crown of thorns and with dripping drops of blood.

In the Orthodox Church, the glorification of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands spread in the 10th century, after the transfer in 944 of the fee with the face of the Savior from Edessa to Constantinople. In Ancient Russia, the Savior Not Made by Hands is known in the 12th century church murals of the Spaso-Mirozhsky Cathedral in 1156. and Savior on Nereditsa 1199.

At the time of the iconoclastic heresy, the defenders of the veneration of icons, shedding blood for the holy icons, sang the troparion to the Image Not Made by Hands. To prove the veneration of icons, Pope Gregory II (715-731) sent a letter to the Eastern Emperor, in which he pointed to the healing of King Abgar and the stay of the Image Not Made by Hands in Edessa as a well-known fact. The image not made by hands was placed on the banners of the Russian troops, protecting them from enemies. In the Russian Orthodox Church, there is a pious custom, when a believer enters a church, to read together with other prayers the troparion to the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

According to the Prologues, there are four Not-Made-to-Hand Images of the Savior:

1) In Edessa, King Abgar - August 16.

2) Camulian; its acquisition was described by Saint Gregory of Nyssa (Comm. 10 January). According to the legend of the Monk Nikodim the Holy Mountain (1809; commemorated July 1), the Camulian image appeared in the year 392, but he had in mind the image of the Mother of God on August 9.

3) Under the emperor Tiberias (578-582), from whom Saint Mary syncliticia received healing (Comm. 11 August).

4) On ceramics - August 16.

The feast in honor of the transfer of the Image Not Made by Hands, performed on the feast day of the Assumption, is called the third Savior, "Savior on canvas." The special veneration of this holiday in the Russian Orthodox Church was also expressed in icon painting. The Icon of the Miraculous Image is one of the most common.

Miracles of the holy icon of the Savior.

The first miracle, which marked the beginning of the all-Russian glorification of the holy icon of the Savior, was revealed from her on July 12, 1645 in the city of Khlynov (Vyatka) in the Church of the All-Merciful Savior. Historical church documents certify that a resident of the city, Petr Palkin, who suffered from complete blindness for three years, after praying in front of the icon of the Savior, received healing and received his sight. After that, miraculous miracles from the image began to be performed one after another, and the fame of the miraculous image quickly spread throughout the entire Russian Land. Hearing about the extraordinary miracles from the icon, then reigning pious sovereign Alesya Mikhailovich, on the advice of Archimandrite Nikon, later Patriarch, former abbot of the Novospassky monastery, decided to transfer the icon to Moscow. In fulfillment of the royal will, with the blessing of Patriarch Joseph, an embassy was sent for the holy icon to the city of Khlynov, headed by the hegumen of the Moscow Epiphany Monastery Paphnutii.

On January 14, 1647, literally all of Moscow came out to meet the Not-Made-by-Hands Image of the Savior. The meeting took place at the Yauzsky gate. As soon as the icon became visible to the people, there was a ringing in all Moscow churches, everyone knelt down, and a thanksgiving service began. At the end of the prayer service, the miraculous icon was transferred to the Kremlin and placed in the Assumption Cathedral. The gates to the Kremlin, through which the image was introduced, which until that time were called Frolovsky, were ordered to henceforth be called Spassky. In addition, a royal decree followed that everyone should take off their hats when passing through the gate.

The image remained in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral until the reconstruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral in the Novospassky Monastery was completed. As soon as the day of the consecration of the cathedral was set, September 19, 1647, the icon was solemnly transferred to the monastery by the procession of the cross.

In 1670, the image of the Savior was given to help Prince Yuri, who went to the Don to pacify the rebellion of Stepan Razin. The revolt was suppressed, and at the royal command the image was decorated with a gilded robe, strewn with diamonds, yachons and large pearls.

On August 13, 1834, a terrible fire broke out in Moscow. At the request of the residents, a miraculous image of the Savior was brought from the Novospassky monastery, which they began to wear around the conflagration. In front of everyone's eyes, the fire, as if by an invisible force, kept from spreading beyond the line where the icon was carried. Soon the wind died down and the fire stopped. Since then, the image began to be carried out for the service of prayers at home. During the cholera that raged in Moscow in 1848, many patients received wonderful help from the icon.

In 1839, the icon was decorated with a gilded silver robe with precious stones to replace the one stolen by the French in 1812. In the summer, the image was in the Transfiguration Cathedral, and in the winter it was transferred to the Intercession Church. In the Nikolsky and Catherine churches of the monastery there were exact copies of the miraculous image.

Until 1917, the icon was in the monastery. The whereabouts of this holy image are currently unknown. In the Novospassky monastery there is a preserved copy of the miraculous image. It stays in the local row of the iconostasis of the Transfiguration Cathedral - where the miraculous icon itself was previously located.

“The Savior left us in Himself His holy image, so that, looking at him, we would never stop remembering his incarnation, suffering, life-giving death and the redemption of the human race,” it was said at the VI Ecumenical Council.

Iconography of the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

The Savior Not Made by Hands is a special type of image of Christ, representing His face on an ubrus (board) or chrepia (tile). According to the Orthodox iconographic canon, the Savior Not Made by Hands is written in the form of a middle-aged man, in the words of the iconographic original: "perfect in the image of a husband," which corresponds to the fifth week (from 28 to 35 years) of the ancient Russian calculus of human life. Only the Divine face of the Savior is depicted on the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands". Moreover, this image may be different. The face of the Lord is either simply inscribed in a halo, or is depicted on the ubrus, and sometimes the ubrus is held by the Angels.

All these icons are painted from the "original original". Christ is depicted with long dark hair, parted in a straight part, and with a short beard. Generally speaking, it is customary to paint both the hair of Christ and the beard with wavy ones, but on Russian icons sometimes there are images with straight, as if wet hair.

Icons "Savior Not Made by Hands" are usually divided into the main types: "Savior on the Ubrus" or simply "Ubrus", where the face of Christ is placed on the image of the plate (ubrus) of a light shade and "Savior on the Rope" or simply "Chrepie", "Keramida". According to legend, the image of Christ appeared on the tiles or bricks that hid a niche with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands. Occasionally, on this type of icons, the background is an image of a brick or tiled masonry, more often the background is simply given in a darker color compared to Ubrus.

The Christian tradition considers the Image of Christ not made by hands as one of the proofs of the truthfulness of the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity in the human image, and in a narrower sense - as the most important evidence in favor of the veneration of icons.

We magnify Thee, the Life-Giving Christ, and venerate all the glorious image of Thy Most Holy Face.

• St.

Ubrus- 1) boards, linen, towel; 2) Holy (Holy) Ubrus - the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands; boards with a miraculous image of a face.

Has Saint Ubrus survived to this day?

The legend about the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands brings to us the story of this origin.

When the ruler of Edessa, Avgar Uchama, suffering from a serious illness (leprosy) incurable by conventional medical means, learned about what Christ was doing on the territory of Palestine, he sent his servant Ananias (Hannan) to Him, having previously given him a message in which he asked for healing ... In addition, knowing about the persecution of Christ by the Jews, Abgar offered Him shelter and refuge.

In view of the need to fulfill the main task of the Coming into the world, the Savior refused the invitation, however, promised to send subsequently one of His disciples, who would not only heal Abgar from his bodily illness, but also heal the citizens of his country from ignorance.

Ananias was a painter and had a commission from Abgar to capture the image in case he refuses to come to Edessa in person. When Ananias wanted to start writing the image, he was unable to approach the Savior, since He was crowded with huge crowds of people. No matter how much he tried to reproduce a face shining with Divine glory on matter, he could not achieve the desired result.

Then the Lord, realizing what was happening, commanded to bring him a wardrobe, after which he washed His face and wiped it off. Mysteriously and inexplicably, His Divine is imprinted on the board. After the Ubrus was handed over to the painter Hannan, he took him to Edessa.

Avgar received the Image Not Made by Hands with reverence and since then has been healed, although the disease still left some traces on his flesh. He was finally healed by the Apostle Thaddeus, who was sent to Edessa by the Apostle Thomas after the Lord, having redeemed the human race and resurrected, ascended into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father.

Thomas enlightened the townspeople with the light of the Gospel sermon and Edessa became Christian.

The ubrus was put on the board and approved in a niche located in the fortress wall above the city gates. All those who entered the city through the gates were to worship the Not-Made-by-Hands Image.

When, years later, one of the descendants of Avgar began to plant the faith in Edessa, the local bishop, having received it, came to the gate at night, lit a lamp in front of the Image and walled up the niche that contained it, and he did it so skillfully that the place where the icon was stored was no longer distinguished by anything. the general background of the wall. Over time, the whereabouts of the Image were forgotten.

Centuries passed before the Image Not Made by Hands was again revealed to the people.

In 545, when the Persian king Khosrai I (Khozroi I) besieged the city of Edessa and was preparing to take it, Bishop Eulavius ​​had a vision: the Wife, who appeared to him in Heavenly majesty, pointed to the place of storage of the Image Not Made by Hands and commanded to take this Saint.

Obeying the Divine will, Evlavius ​​opened the walled-up niche and discovered Saint Ubrus, which had been lost. The image appeared to be intact. Moreover, on the stone (ceramic) slab that covered it, he discovered another image of the Savior, miraculously reflecting the one that was captured on Ubrus.

After a prayer was performed before the Not-Made-by-Hands, and then, with a procession of the cross, it was carried along the city walls, the enemy retreated.

When the Arabs captured Edessa in the 7th century, Christians were allowed to worship the Image as a shrine. The fame of this miraculous icon spread throughout the East.

In 944 the emperors Constantine VII Porphyrogenic and Roman I Lacapenus, driven by zeal for the Lord, agreed with the authorities of Edessa to redeem the icon. They received 12,000 pieces of silver and 200 captive Saracens as a gift for the icon. At the same time, they were given a promise that from now on the city would not be attacked by the imperial troops.

The townspeople, of course, did not want to part with their shrine. However, the ruler managed to persuade them to agree: some by exhortations, some by force and coercion, some by threats of death.

On August 15, 944, the Image Not Made by Hands was delivered to the Blachernae temple, and from there to the “Pharos” temple. On August 16, he was brought to the Constantinople Temple of the Wisdom of God. After honoring and worshiping the Image Not Made by Hands, he was returned to Pharos. In memory of these events, the Church established a special Feast. It is celebrated annually on August 16 (29).

Over time, Saint Ubrus was lost.

According to the most widespread opinion, he was kidnapped from Pharos after the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204 and sent to Venice by ship. The ship never reached Venice: it sank in the Sea of ​​Marmara. Together with the vessel, Ubrus went to the bottom.

According to one private legend, the Image Not Made by Hands did not sink in the Sea of ​​Marmara. In the XIV century, John Palaeologus handed it over to the Genoese as a token of gratitude for their help in the liberation of some lands from the rule of the Saracens. This is how the icon came to Europe. True, it later became clear that the image passed off as the original Saint Ubrus belongs to a later letter.

According to another legend, also private, the Image of the Savior not made by hands, through complex vicissitudes, got to the territory of Georgia. Previously, this image was exhibited for worship. However, it also turned out to be man-made.

What is Veronica's Plath?

Saint Ubrus, revered in the Orthodox Church, should not be confused with the well-known in the West the Plate of Veronica. The fundamental difference between this icon is that Christ is represented on it in a crown of thorns.

According to the tradition of the Western Church, the origin of this icon is associated with the following tradition. Veronica was that bleeding wife whom the Lord healed (). She accompanied Him during the procession to Golgotha, to the place of His last sufferings and sacrificial death. Compassionate and wishing to help her healer in some way, she gave Him a wardrobe so that He could wipe the drops of sweat and blood from his face. As a token of gratitude, the Savior returned this card with the imprint of His face miraculously manifested on it.
In another version of the story of the origin of the fee, it is reported that Veronica, wanting to have the image of Christ with her, asked the Evangelist Luke to write it. But all his attempts were unsuccessful. Then the Lord, knowing about her desire, Himself came to her at the supper, washed and put the cloth on his face, after which His holy face was displayed on it.

Also, three relics that are in the Cathedral of the Apostle Peter in Rome, in the cathedral of a small village in the Italian province of Abruzzo, in the monastery of the Spanish city of Alicante, claim the status of the Plaque of Veronica.