that he fulfill the command. So Thomas, having gone away and recognizing from what he heard that Ananias was seeking to accomplish, led him to Jesus. But before he received the letter from him, Christ told him both the reason for his presence before him and the power of the letter, then taking it and going through it, he dictated another letter to Abgar in reply, which reads thus word for word: 12 Blessed are you, Abgar, who have believed in me without having seen me. For it is written of me that those who have seen me will not believe in me, and that those who have not seen me will themselves believe and live. But concerning what you wrote to me, to come to you, it is necessary for me to fulfill all things for which I was sent here, and after fulfilling them to be taken up to the Father who sent me. And when I am taken up, I will send you one of my disciples, who will heal your suffering and provide eternal life and peace to you and those with you, and will make your city sufficient so that none of its enemies may prevail against it. 13 So Christ, giving such a letter to Ananias, since he also knew that he was anxious and concerned about bringing the other command of his lord to completion, that is, to bring back a likeness of his form to him, the Savior, having washed his face with water, then wiped off the moisture from it on the cloth given to him, divinely and beyond reason caused his features to be imprinted on it, and giving this to Ananias, he commanded him to give it to Abgar, so that he might have it as a consolation for his longing and for his disease. 14 When therefore Ananias, returning with these things, reached the fortress of Hierapolis, which in the Saracen tongue is called Membich, and in the Syrian Mabouk, he lodged outside the city, where a pile of newly made tiles lay, and there Ananias hid that holy cloth. And around midnight a great fire appeared, encircling that place, so that it seemed as if all the surroundings within the city were being consumed by fire, and fearing for themselves, they now came out to investigate the fire that was seen. And finding Ananias there, they arrested him as the perpetrator of the bold act and investigated the matter, and they inquired who he was, and where he was going, and from where. But as Ananias was perplexed by the strangeness of the accusation, he explained where he was from, where he was coming from, and what he was carrying, and revealed that what he was carrying had been placed among the tiles, from which the flame also seemed to be kindled, and they, immediately wishing to discern the truth of what was said and having searched the place, found not only what had been placed there by Ananias, but also on one of the nearby tiles another impression of the divine image, miraculously and beyond comprehension transferred onto the tile from the cloth, of the unwritten form, which when they saw it, they were filled with both wonder and astonishment, both because of this and because no burning fire was found anywhere, but the flame seemed to be sent forth from the radiance in the form, and so they kept the tile which had received on itself the divine impression as a sacred relic and a most precious treasure, having conjectured from what they saw the divine energy concerning it, but fearing to detain the original and its minister, they sent them on to Abgar. And now the form on the tile is preserved and honored by the inhabitants of this town, the unwritten of the unwritten form and the unmade by hand of the unmade by hand. 15 And Ananias, having completed the journey set before him, made clear to his lord the things that had happened in between, delivering also the saving symbols which he carried. 16 And this is the account told by the majority concerning this unwritten form of our Savior on the cloth. But another account is also told concerning this, which neither lacks plausibility nor is wanting in good witnesses. Therefore I will also set this forth, lest anyone should suppose that in my ignorance of this one I am strengthening the other. And

αὐτὸν ἐκπληρώσῃ διαταγήν. ἀπελθὼν οὖν ὁ Θωμᾶς καὶ τὸν Ἀνανίαν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἃ ἤκουσεν εὑρεῖν διαπραττόμενον ἐπιγνοὺς ἤγαγε πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. πρὸ δὲ τοῦ λαβεῖν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς παρουσίας τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, εἶτα λαβὼν ταύτην καὶ διελθὼν ἑτέραν ἐπιστολὴν πρὸς Αὔγαρον ἀντεπέθηκεν ἐπὶ λέξεως οὕτως ἔχουσαν· 12 Μακάριος εἶ Αὔγαρε πιστεύσας ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ ἑωρακώς με. γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ ἐμοῦ τοὺς ἑωρακότας με μὴ πιστεύειν ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ ἵνα οἱ μὴ ἑωρακότες με αὐτοὶ πιστεύσωσι καὶ ζήσωνται. περὶ δὲ οὗ ἔγραψάς μοι ἐλθεῖν πρὸς σέ, δέον ἐστὶ πάντα δι' ἃ ἀπεστάλην ἐνταῦθα πληρῶσαί με καὶ μετὰ τὸ πληρῶσαι ἀναληφθῆναι πρὸς τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με πατέρα. καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἀναληφθῶ, ἀποστελῶ σοι ἕνα τῶν μαθητῶν μου, ὅστις τὸ πάθος σου θεραπεύσει καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ εἰρήνην σοὶ καὶ τοῖς σὺν σοὶ παράσχοι καὶ ποιήσει τῇ πόλει σου τὸ ἱκανὸν πρὸς τὸ μηδένα τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατισχῦσαι αὐτῆς. 13 ἐπιδοὺς οὖν τῷ Ἀνανίᾳ τὴν τοιαύτην ἐπιστολὴν ὁ Χριστός, ἐπεὶ καὶ περὶ τοῦ τὴν ἑτέραν ἐντολὴν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ εἰς πέρας ἀγαγεῖν ἔγνω διαμεριμνῶντα αὐτὸν καὶ φροντίζοντα, τουτέστι τὴν τοῦ εἴδους αὐτοῦ ὁμοιότητα πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀπενεγκεῖν, νιψάμενος ὕδατι τὸ πρόσωπον ὁ σωτήρ, εἶτα τὴν ἀπὸ τούτου ἰκμάδα ἐν τῷ ἐπιδοθέντι αὐτῷ χειρομάκτρῳ ἀπομαξάμενος ἐντυπωθῆναι τὸν αὐτοῦ χαρακτῆρα ἐν αὐτῷ ᾠκονόμησε θείως καὶ ὑπὲρ λόγον, καὶ τοῦτο τῷ Ἀνανίᾳ ἐπιδοὺς τῷ Αὐγάρῳ ἐπιδοῦναι προσέταξεν, ὡς ἂν τοῦ τε πόθου παραμύθιον καὶ τῆς νόσου αὐτὸ σχῇ. 14 ὡς οὖν ὑποστρέφων μετὰ τούτων ὁ Ἀνανίας εἰς τὸ κάστρον Ἱεραπόλεως ἔφθασεν, ὃ τῇ μὲν τῶν Σαρακηνῶν φωνῇ Μεμβὶχ λέγεται, τῇ δὲ τῶν Σύρων Μαβούκ, ἔξωθεν τοῦ τοιούτου καταλύσας πολίσματος σωρείας κεράμων νεωστὶ κατασκευασθέντων ἐκεῖσε κειμένης, ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἱερὸν ἐκεῖνο ῥάκος ὁ Ἀνανίας ἀπέκρυψε. καὶ περὶ μέσας νύκτας πῦρ ἐφάνη πολὺ τὸ τοιοῦτον χωρίον κυκλοῦν ὡς ἐντὸς τοῦ ἄστεος δοκεῖν πάντα τὰ πέριξ πυρὶ καταφλέγεσθαι καὶ περὶ ἑαυτῶν ἤδη δείσαντας ὑπεξελθεῖν καὶ διερευνᾶσθαι περὶ τῆς ὁρωμένης πυρκαϊᾶς. ἐκεῖσε δὲ τὸν Ἀνανίαν εὑρεθέντα συνεῖχον ὡς αὐτουργὸν τοῦ τολμήματος καὶ διερευνῶντο περὶ τοῦ πράγματος, καὶ τίς τε εἴη αὐτὸς καὶ ποῖ βαδίζει καὶ ὅθεν, διεπυνθάνοντο. ὡς δὲ τῷ ἀλλοκότῳ τῆς αἰτιάσεως ὁ Ἀνανίας διηπορεῖτο, τέως τε ὅθεν εἴη καὶ πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ τί ἐπιφέρεται διεσάφησε, καὶ ἀποθέσθαι ἐν τοῖς κεράμοις ἐδήλωσε τὸ ἐπιφερόμενον, ὅθεν ἐδόκει ἀνάπτεσθαι καὶ ἡ φλόξ, εὐθὺς δὲ ἐκεῖνοι τὴν τῶν λεγομένων διαγνῶναι βουληθέντες ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὸν τόπον διερευνησάμενοι εὗρον οὐ μόνον τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀνανίου ἐκεῖσε ἀποτεθέν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ πλησιάζοντι τῶν κεράμων ἑνὶ ἕτερον ἐκτύπωμα τοῦ θείου ἀπεικονίσματος παραδόξως καὶ ὑπὲρ νοῦν ἐπὶ τὸ ὄστρακον ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑφάσματος τῆς ἀγράφου μεταγραφείσης μορφῆς, ὃ καὶ θεασάμενοι καὶ θάμβους ὁμοῦ καὶ ἐκπλήξεως γενόμενοι ἔμπλεω διά τε τοῦτο καὶ διὰ τὸ μηδαμοῦ πῦρ εὑρεθῆναι καιόμενον, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν τῇ μορφῇ λαμπηδόνος δόξαι τὴν φλόγα ἐκπέμπεσθαι τὸν μὲν κέραμον τὸν ἀπομαξάμενον ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ θεῖον ἐκτύπωμα κατέσχον παρ' ἑαυτοῖς ὥσπερ τι κειμήλιον ἱερὸν καὶ πολύτιμον θησαυρὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁραθέντος τὴν περὶ αὐτὸ στοχασάμενοι θείαν ἐνέργειαν, τὸ πρωτότυπον δὲ καὶ τὸν τούτου διάκονον δείσαντες κατασχεῖν ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς τὸν Αὔγαρον. καὶ νῦν ἐστι σωζομένη καὶ τιμωμένη παρὰ τοῖς τῆς τοιαύτης πολίχνης οἰκήτορσιν ἡ ἐν τῷ κεράμῳ μορφή, τῆς μορφῆς τῆς ἀγράφου ἡ ἄγραφος καὶ τῆς ἀχειροτεύκτου ἡ ἀχειρότευκτος. 15 ὁ δὲ Ἀνανίας τὴν προκειμένην αὐτῷ πορείαν διηνυκὼς τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτοῦ τὰ μεταξὺ διετράνωσεν, ἀποδοὺς καὶ ἃ ἐπεφέρετο σωτήρια σύμβολα. 16 καὶ οὗτος μὲν ὁ παρὰ τῶν πλειόνων λεγόμενος λόγος περὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ ὑφάσματι ταύτης ἀγράφου μορφῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. λέγεται δέ τις καὶ ἕτερος περὶ τούτου λόγος οὔτε τὸ πιθανὸν ἐκφεύγων οὔτε μαρτύρων χρηστῶν ἀπορῶν. διὸ καὶ τοῦτον ἐκθήσομαι, ἵνα μή τις ὑποτοπάσῃ ἐν τῷ ἀγνοεῖν με τοῦτον κρατύνειν τὸν ἕτερον. καὶ