TheSeamless Robe of Jesus (also known as theHoly Robe,Holy Tunic,Holy Coat,Honorable Robe, andChiton of the Lord) is therobe said to have been worn byJesus during or shortly beforehis crucifixion. Competing traditions claim that the robe has been preserved to the present day. One tradition places it in theCathedral of Trier, another places it inArgenteuil's Basilique Saint-Denys, and several traditions claim that it is now in variousEastern Orthodox churches, notablySvetitskhoveli Cathedral inMtskheta, Georgia.
According to theGospel of John, the soldiers who crucifiedJesus did not divide his tunic after crucifying him, but cast lots to determine who would keep it because it was woven in one piece, withoutseam. A distinction is made in theNew Testament Greek between thehimatia (literally "over-garments") and the seamless robe, which ischiton, (literally "tunic" or "coat").
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments (ta himatia) and divided them into four parts, to every soldier a part, and the coat (kai ton chitona). Now the coat was without seam, woven whole from the top down. Therefore, they said among themselves, let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it will become. Thus the saying in Scripture was fulfilled: they divided My raiment (ta imatia) among them, and upon My vesture (epi ton himatismon) did they cast lots.
— John 19:23–24; quoting theSeptuagint version of Psalm 21 [22]:18–19
According to legend,Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the seamless robe in theHoly Land in 327 or 328 along with several other relics, including theTrue Cross. According to different versions of the story, she either bequeathed it or sent it to the city ofTrier, where Constantine had lived for some years before becoming emperor. The monk Altmann of Hautvillers wrote in the 9th century that Helena was born in that city, though this report is strongly disputed by most modern historians.
The history of the Trier robe is certain only from the 12th century, whenArchbishopJohann I of Trier consecrated an altar which contained the seamless robe in early 1196.[1] Although biographies of Johann I state that this was not the first time the robe was displayed, there are no historical dates or events presented which predate 1196.[2] Sections of taffeta and silk have been added to the robe, and it was dipped in a rubber solution in the 19th century in an attempt to preserve it.[3] The few remaining original sections are not suitable forcarbon dating.[3] The stigmatistTherese Neumann of Konnersreuth declared that the Trier robe was authentic.[4]
The relic is normally kept folded in a reliquary and cannot be directly viewed by the faithful.[5] In 1512, during anImperial Diet, EmperorMaximilian I demanded to see the Holy Robe[6] which was kept in the Cathedral. Archbishop Richard von Greiffenklau arranged the opening of the altar that had enshrined the tunic since the building of the Dome and exhibited it. The people of Trier heard about that and demanded to see the Holy Robe.[7] Subsequently, pilgrimages took place first annually, then every seven years, in accordance with the Aachen pilgrimages. However, after 1545, pilgrimages were irregularly done due to warring in Europe. The pilgrimage occurrences are as follows: 1513,[8] 1514,[8] 1515,[8] 1516,[8] 1517,[8] 1524,[8] 1531,[8] 1538,[8] 1545,[8] 1655,[9][8] 1810,[9][8] 1844,[8] 1891,[9][8] 1933,[10] 1959,[10][9] 1981, 1996,[9] 2006,[10] and 2012.[11]
The 1844 exhibition of the relic, on the instructions of Wilhelm Arnoldi, Bishop of Trier, led to the formation of theGerman Catholics (Deutschkatholiken), a schismatic sect formed in December 1844 under the leadership ofJohannes Ronge. The 1996 exhibition of the tunic was seen by over one million pilgrims and visitors. Since then, theBishopric of Trier has conducted an annual ten-day religious festival called the "Heilig-Rock-Tage".
According to the Argenteuil tradition, theEmpress Irene made a gift of the seamless robe toCharlemagne in about 800. Charlemagne gave it to his daughterTheodrada, abbess ofArgenteuil,[3] where it was preserved in the church of theBenedictines. In 1793, theparish priest, fearing that the robe would be desecrated in theFrench Revolution, cut the robe into pieces and hid them in separate places. Only four of the pieces remain. They were moved to the present church of Argenteuil in 1895.
The earliest document referring to the robe at Argenteuil dates from 1156, written by ArchbishopHugh of Rouen. He described it as the garment of the child Jesus. A long-running dispute claims that the Argenteuil cloth is not the seamless robe worn by Jesus during the crucifixion, but the garments woven for him by theVirgin Mary and worn his entire life. Advocates of the theory that the Argenteuil cloth is the seamless robe claim that the Trier robe is Jesus'smantle.[3]
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TheEastern Orthodox Church has also preserved a tradition regarding the clothing of Jesus which was divided among the soldiers after the crucifixion.
According to the tradition of theGeorgian Orthodox Church, thechiton was acquired by a Jewishrabbi from Georgia named Elioz (Elias), who was present inJerusalem at the time of the crucifixion and bought the robe from a soldier. He brought it with him when he returned to his native town ofMtskheta,Georgia, where it is preserved to this day beneath a crypt in the PatriarchalSvetitskhoveli Cathedral. Thefeast day in honor of the "Chiton of the Lord" is celebrated on 1 October.
A portion of the himation was also brought to Georgia, but it was placed in the treasury of the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, where it remained until the seventeenth century. Then the PersianShah Abbas I, when he invaded Georgia, carried off the robe. At the insistence of the Russian ambassador[2] andTsar Michael Feodorovich, the Shah sent the robe as a gift toPatriarch Philaret (1619–1633) and Tsar Michael in 1625. The authenticity of the robe was attested by Nectarius,Archbishop ofVologda, by Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem and by Joannicius the Greek. Reports also circulated at that time ofmiraculous signs being worked through therelic.
Later, two portions of the robe were taken toSaint Petersburg: one in the cathedral at theWinter Palace, and the other inSts. Peter and Paul Cathedral. A portion of the Robe was also preserved at theCathedral of the Dormition inMoscow, and small portions atKyiv'sSophia Cathedral, at the Ipatievmonastery nearKostroma and at certain other old temples.
TheRussian Orthodox Church commemorates thePlacing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow on 10 July (25 JulyN.S.). At Moscow annually on that day, the robe is solemnly brought out of the chapel of the Apostles Peter and Paul at the Dormition cathedral, and it is placed on a stand forveneration by the faithful during thedivine services. After theDivine Liturgy the robe is returned to its former place. Traditionally, on this day thepropers chanted are of "the Life-Creating Cross", since the day on which the relic was actually placed was theSunday of the Cross, duringGreat Lent of 1625.
The Holy Robe, believed by some to have been the seamless garment worn by Jesus Christ shortly before his crucifixion, is usually kept out of public view in a reliquary at Trier Cathedral.
The pilgrimage dates to 1512, when Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I demanded a personal viewing of the Holy Robe.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907). "Holy Coat of Trèves".The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.
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