Chronology of the Turin Shroud: Fifth century

Chronology of the Turin Shroud: AD 30 to the present
FIFTH CENTURY
© Stephen E. Jones[1]

This is part #5, "Fifth century," of my "Chronology of the Turin Shroud: AD 30 - present" series. See part #1, "First century" and index, for more information about this series.

[Index #1] [Previous: 4th century #4] [Next: 6th century #6]

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5th century (401-500)

402 Emperor Honorius (r. 393-423) transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Mediolanum (current Milan) to Ravenna[RVW]. Ravenna subsequently served as the capital of the empire for most of the 5th century and the last de facto western emperor Romulus Augustulus (r. 475-476) was deposed there in 476[RVW]. The transfer was made partly for defensive purposes: Ravenna was surrounded by swamps and marshes, and was perceived to be easily defensible[RVW]. It is also likely that the move to Ravenna was due to the city's port and good sea-borne connections to the Eastern Roman Empire[RVW].

c.410 St. Augustine (354–430) wrote in his De Trinitate (c.400-17) of Jesus, "We do not know of his external appearance, nor that of his mother."[2]

c.432 Carving of the earliest known Christian representation of the

[Above (enlarge): "Depiction of the crucifixion on the wooden door of Santa Sabina. This is one of the earliest surviving depiction of the crucifixion of Christ"[3].]

crucifixion of Jesus on a panel of the wooden door of Santa Sabina in Rome[4]. This shows a bearded Christ, unlike almost all the other beardless depictions of Jesus at that time[5]. As with the c. 400 fresco on the catacomb of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, also in Rome, "this type of representation of Christ, at least in the basic features ... shows a ... similarity to" the "Cloth of Turin."[6].

451 The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church, confirmed that Christ had two natures, fully human and fully God[7]. This is orthodox Christology, accepted by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants. The Council rejected as heretical, Arianism which holds that the Son was created by the Father and Monophysitism, which holds that Christ had only one divine nature[8] and so denied the reality of His humanity[9]. Since Monophysitism remained dominant in the far east of the Byzantine Empire, including Antioch and Edessa[10], and would have been theologically opposed to the display of a physical representation of Jesus[11], that and their persecution by the Orthodox[12], might partly explain why the Mandylion/Shroud [see "60"] remained hidden until 544[13] [see "544"].

476 Fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire, whose capital was Constantinople, continued for nearly a further thousand years until 1453 [see future "1453"].

c. 490 The Gelasian Decree, attributed to Pope Gelasius I (r.492-496), classified the correspondence between Edessa's King Abgar V and Jesus [see "50"] as apocryphal. But see 08Jan19.

Continued in part #6, Sixth century, of this series.

Notes
1. This post is copyright. Permission is granted to quote from any part of this post (but not the whole post), provided it includes a reference citing my name, its subject heading, its date, and a hyperlink back to this page. [return]
2. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, pp.101, 305n.5. [return]
3. "Santa Sabina," Wikipedia, 17 August 2016. [return]
4. Drews, R., 1984, "In Search of the Shroud of Turin: New Light on Its History and Origins," Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham MD, pp.28-29. [return]
5. Petrosillo, O. & Marinelli, E., 1996, "The Enigma of the Shroud: A Challenge to Science," Scerri, L.J., transl., Publishers Enterprises Group: Malta, p.190. [return]
6. Bulst, W., 1957, "The Shroud of Turin," McKenna, S. & Galvin, J.J., transl., Bruce Publishing Co: Milwaukee WI, p.41. [return]
7. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, p.139. [return]
8. Wilson, 1979, pp.139-140; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.3; Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, p.22. [return]
9. O'Rahilly, A. & Gaughan, J.A., ed., 1985, "The Crucified," Kingdom Books: Dublin, p.236. [return]
10. Wilson, 1979, p.140; Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, p.136; Guerrera, 2001, p.3; Oxley, 2010, p.22; Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, p.149. [return]
11. Antonacci, 2000, p.136; Guerrera, 2001, p.3. [return]
12. Markwardt, J., 2008, "Ancient Edessa and the Shroud: History Concealed by the Discipline of the Secret," in Fanti, G., ed., 2009, "The Shroud of Turin: Perspectives on a Multifaceted Enigma," Proceedings of the 2008 Columbus Ohio International Conference, August 14-17, 2008, Progetto Libreria: Padua, Italy, pp.382-407, 393 n.9 [return]
13. Markwardt, J., "Antioch and the Shroud," in Walsh, B.J., ed., 1999, "Proceedings of the 1999 Shroud of Turin International Research Conference, Richmond, Virginia," Magisterium Press: Glen Allen VA, 2000, pp.94-108, 100-101. [return]
RVW. "Ravenna," Wikipedia, 26 January 2024.

Posted 10 November 2016. Updated 17 December 2024.