In any case, it is not at all surprising that in such a long time the story has often gone astray. For concerning the essential point of the matter, all are in similar agreement, and they confess that the form was miraculously imprinted on the cloth from the Lord's face. But they differ concerning some detail of the event, or the time, which does no harm to the truth whether it happened earlier or later. The other of the accounts has it thus. 17 When Christ, they say, was about to come to His voluntary passion, at the time when, showing human weakness, He was seen agonizing and praying, when also the word of the Gospel indicates that His sweat dripped like clots of blood, at that moment, he says, having taken this piece of cloth which is now seen from one of the disciples, He wiped away the streams of sweat on it and immediately this visible impression of that godlike appearance was imprinted; which, having entrusted to Thomas, He ordered him to send to Abgar through Thaddeus after His ascension into heaven, fulfilling the promise made through the letters. 18 Therefore, after our Lord Jesus Christ was taken up into the heavens, Thomas, giving the not-made-by-hand image of the Lord’s face to Thaddeus, sent him forth to Abgar. Thaddeus, therefore, having reached Edessa, first stayed with a certain one of the Jews there; this man was named Tobias. And indeed, wishing to make himself known to Abgar by deeds before words, the disciple of Christ healed the sick of the city by the invocation of Christ alone. Whence the report quickly spread, as is wont to happen in such cases—for miraculous events have many who report about them—the news concerning the arrival of Christ’s apostle reached even Abgar through one of his officials called Abdus. Therefore, reasoning immediately from the hope that dwelled within him, that this was the one whom Jesus had promised in the letter to send to him, and having learned more fully from him about Thaddeus, he ordered that he be brought to him. 19 So Tobias came and made these things known to the apostle, and he, saying he had been sent to him in power, came next before Abgar. And as he was about to appear before him face to face, having, as it were, set up such an image upon his own forehead, he thus went in to Abgar. But he, seeing him approaching from afar, seemed to see a light brighter than sight radiating, leaping forth from his face, which the image placed upon it was emitting. Wherefore, being struck by the exceeding brilliance of the flashing splendor and becoming as if forgetful of his own afflictions and of the long-standing paralysis of his limbs, he suddenly leapt from his bed and forced his paralyzed limbs to run to meet him, suffering the same passion in another way as those on Mount Tabor who beheld the flashing form. 20 Therefore, having received such an image from the apostle and having reverently placed it upon his head and his eyes and his lips, and not depriving the other parts of his body of such a touch, he immediately felt all his limbs miraculously recovering and undergoing a change for the better, and the leprosy being cleansed and receding, even if a small remnant of it was still left on his forehead. 21 Having therefore been taught the word of truth more clearly then by the apostle, and about the miraculous wonders of Christ, and His divine passion and burial and resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, and having confessed Christ as true God, he inquired about the impression of the form on the cloth, since upon examining it more closely he recognized that it had its composition through material colors and he was astonished at the power in it, by which he was miraculously raised from his bed and was numbered among the healthy. To this Thaddeus explained the time of the agony and the uncolored formation from the sweat and the of the

πάντως οὐδὲν θαυμαστὸν ἐν τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ πλανᾶσθαι πολλάκις τὴν ἱστορίαν. περὶ μὲν γὰρ τὸ καίριον τῆς ὑποθέσεως ὁμοίως πάντες συμφέρονται, καὶ ὁμολογοῦσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ κυριακοῦ προσώπου τὴν ἐν τῷ ὑφάσματι ἐκτυπωθῆναι παραδόξως μορφήν. περί τι δὲ τῶν τοῦ πράγματος ἤτοι τὸν καιρὸν διαφέρονται, ὃ οὐδὲν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ λυμαίνεται εἴτε πρότερον εἴτε ὕστερον γέγονεν. ἔχει δὲ οὕτως καὶ τῶν λόγων ὁ ἕτερος. 17 ἐν τῷ μέλλειν, φασί, τὸν Χριστὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ἑκούσιον πάθος ἐλθεῖν, ἡνίκα τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀσθένειαν ἐνδεικνύμενος ἀγωνιῶν ὡρᾶτο καὶ προσευχόμενος, ὅτε καὶ τοὺς ἱδρῶτας αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ θρόμβους σταλάσσειν αἵματος ὁ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου λόγος ὑποσημαίνεται, τηνικαῦτα, φησίν, ἀπό τινος τῶν μαθητῶν λαβόντα τὸ νῦν βλεπόμενον τοῦτο τεμάχιον τοῦ ὑφάσματος τὰς τῶν ἱδρώτων λιβάδας ἐν αὐτῷ ἀπομάξασθαι καὶ εὐθέως ἐντυπωθῆναι τὴν ὁρωμένην ταύτην τοῦ θεοειδοῦς ἐκείνου εἴδους ἐκτύπωσιν· ὃ τῷ Θωμᾷ παραθέμενος μετὰ τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς αὐτοῦ ἄνοδον διὰ Θαδδαίου τῷ Αὐγάρῳ ἀποστεῖλαι προσέταξε τὴν διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων ὑπόσχεσιν ἐκπληρῶν. 18 μετὰ οὖν τὸ ἀναληφθῆναι τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς δοὺς ὁ Θωμᾶς τῷ Θαδδαίῳ τὴν ἀχειρόγραφον τοῦ κυριακοῦ προσώπου ἐκμόρφωσιν πρὸς τὸν Αὔγαρον ἐξαπέστειλε. καταλαβὼν τοίνυν ὁ Θαδδαῖος τὴν Ἔδεσαν, ἔμεινε πρῶτον παρά τινι τῶν αὐτόθι Ἰουδαίων, Τωβίας οὗτος ὠνόμαστο. καὶ δὴ πρὸ τῶν λόγων ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων θέλων ἑαυτὸν γνωρίσαι τῷ Αὐγάρῳ ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μαθητὴς τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας τῆς πόλεως ἐπικλήσει μόνῃ Χριστοῦ ἐθεράπευσεν. ὅθεν ταχὺ τῆς φήμης διαδοθείσης, ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων συμβαίνειν φιλεῖτὰ γὰρ παράδοξα τῶν πραγμάτων πολλοὺς ἔχει τοὺς περὶ αὐτῶν ἀπαγγέλλονταςἔφθασε καὶ πρὸς τὸν Αὔγαρον διά τινος τῶν αὐτοῦ δυναστῶν Ἄβδου καλουμένου ἡ περὶ τῆς ἐνδημίας τοῦ ἀποστόλου Χριστοῦ ἀκοή. λογισάμενος οὖν εὐθέως ἐκ τῆς ὑποικουρούσης ἐν αὐτῷ ἐλπίδος, τοῦτον ἐκεῖνον εἶναι, ὃν ἀποστεῖλαι πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς διὰ τῆς γραφῆς ἐπηγγείλατο, καὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ τελεώτερον τὰ περὶ τοῦ Θαδδαίου μαθὼν ἀγαγεῖν αὐτὸν πρὸς αὐτὸν διωρίσατο. 19 ὁ οὖν Τωβίας ἐλθὼν ἐγνώρισε ταῦτα τῷ ἀποστόλῳ κἀκεῖνος ἐν δυνάμει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπεστάλθαι εἰπὼν τὸ ἑξῆς πρὸς τὸν Αὔγαρον παρεγένετο. ἐν δὲ τῷ μέλλειν κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῷ ἐμφανίζεσθαι, ἐπὶ τοῦ ἰδίου μετώπου οἷον ἀναστηλώσας τὴν τοιαύτην ἐμφέρειαν, οὕτως εἰσῄει πρὸς Αὔγαρον. ὁ δὲ πόρρωθεν αὐτὸν προσιόντα ἰδὼν κρεῖττον ὄψεως φῶς ἀκτινοβολοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως αὐτοῦ ἐξαλλόμενον ἐδόκει ὁρᾶν, ὃ τὸ ἐπικείμενον ἠφίει ὁμοίωμα. ὅθεν τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τῆς ἀστραπτούσης λαμπηδόνος καταπλαγεὶς καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν λήθῃ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν συμπτωμάτων γενόμενος καὶ τῆς πολυχρονίου παρέσεως τῶν μελῶν τῆς κλίνης ἀθρόως ἀνέθορε καὶ πρὸς ὑπαντὴν τὰ παρειμένα μέλη τρέχειν ἐξεβιάζετο, ταὐτὸ πάθος παθὼν τρόπον ἕτερον τοῖς ἐν τῷ ὄρει Θαβὼρ τὴν ἀστράψασαν μορφὴν θεασαμένοις. 20 λαβὼν τοίνυν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου τὸ τοιοῦτον ὁμοίωμα καὶ σεβασμίως αὐτὸ τῇ τε κεφαλῇ περιθεὶς καὶ τοῖς ὄμμασι καὶ τοῖς χείλεσι καὶ οὐδὲ τἄλλα τῶν τοῦ σώματος μερῶν στερήσας τῆς τοιαύτης προσψαύσεως, ἔγνω παρευθὺ τὰ μέλη πάντα θαυμασίως ἀναρρωννύμενα καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολὴν εἰσδεχόμενα καὶ τὴν λέπραν ἐκκαθαιρομένην καὶ ὑποφεύγουσαν, εἰ καὶ ἔτι ἐν τῷ μετώπῳ λείψανόν τι ταύτης μικρὸν ὑπελείπετο. 21 διδαχθεὶς οὖν τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας λόγον τότε πρὸς τοῦ ἀποστόλου τρανότερον καὶ περὶ τῶν παραδόξων τοῦ Χριστοῦ θαυμάτων, τῶν τε θείων παθῶν καὶ ταφῆς καὶ τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως καὶ τῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀναλήψεως καὶ ὁμολογήσας ἀληθῆ θεὸν τὸν Χριστόν, περὶ τῆς ἐν τῇ ὀθόνῃ ἐκτυπώσεως τῆς μορφῆς ἐπυνθάνετο, ἐπείπερ αὐτὴν ἀκριβέστερον ἐφιστὰς ἐπεγίνωσκεν διὰ χρωμάτων ὑλικῶν τὴν σύστασιν ἔχουσαν καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτῇ κατεπλήττετο δύναμιν, ὑφ' ἧς παραδόξως ἐξανέστη τῆς κλίνης καὶ συνηριθμεῖτο τοῖς ὑγιαίνουσι. πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ Θαδδαῖος τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἀγωνίας ἐδήλου καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἱδρώτων ἀχρωμάτιστον μόρφωσιν καὶ τὴν τῆς