Christ "Holy Face" (Balkans) Icon - X153

The face of our Savior is kind and gentle in this image of the Holy Face, also known as the Mandylion. This icon is celebrated on August 16, the feast of the Icon Not-Made-By-Hands.

This icon, also known as the Holy Face or Mandylion, portrays the face of Christ on a piece of cloth, carried by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. According to Christian legend, King Abgar of Edessa wrote to Jesus, asking him to come cure him of an illness. Jesus declined the invitation, but sent a disciple with a miracle-working image of Jesusthe first icon. The "Made Without Hands" image has long been considered a powerful weapon against iconoclasm.

The icon was painted in the Balkans in the 13th century, and today it is housed in the Church of Notre-Dame de Laon in Laon, France.