Leonid Ouspensky on the Image of "The Holy Face"

Léonid Alexandrovich Ouspensky (1902–1987) was a famous Russian icon painter and art historian. In his Theology of the Icon (2 vols.) he wrote the following about the origin of the icon of “The Holy Face”:

 

The Tradition of the Church declares that the first icon of Christ appeared during His life on earth. This is the image which is called “The Holy Face” in the West; in the Orthodox Church it is called “the icon not made by human hands” (αχειροποιητος) The history of the provenance of this first image of Christ has been transmitted by texts of the liturgical service in its honor (August 16). Here, for example, is a sticheron in tone 8 from Vespers: “After making an image of Your more pure image, You sent it to the faithful Abgar, who desired to see You, who in Your divinity are invisible to the cherubim.” Another sticheron from Matins in tone 4 says: “You sent letters traced by Your divine hand to Abgar, who asked for salvation and health which come from the image of Your divine face.” In general, and especially in the churches dedicated to the Holy Face, there are frequent allusions to the history of Abgar in the liturgical service of the feast. But they only mention the fact itself, without entering into detail.

 

Before the fifth century, ancient authors make no reference to the image of the Holy Face. The first time we hear it mentioned is in the fifth century, in a document called The Doctrine of Addai. Addai was a bishop of Edessa (d. 541) who, in his work (if it is authentic), undoubtedly used either a local tradition or documents about which we do not know. The most ancient undisputed author who mentions the icon sent to Abgar is Evagrius (sixth century); in his Ecclesiastical History (Historia ecclesiastica IV, 27, PG 86: 2745-2748) he calls the portrait “the icon made by God,” θεοτευκτος εικων. (Leonid Ouspensky, The Theology of the Icon, 2 vols. [trans. Anthony Gythiel; Crestwood, N.Y.: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1992], 1:51-52)

The Eastern Orthodox (and Roman Catholic) dogma of icon veneration is probably the most ahistorical dogma both communions believe in, and goes against the unanimous consent of the Fathers of the opening 5 centuries. For more, see:

Answering Fundamentalist Protestants and Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox on Images/Icons