Carbon-dating of ancient tunics of Saints Peter and John separates legend from reality

by | May 24, 2024 | Religion

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Once shrouded in history and legend, the so-called tunics of St. Peter and St. John the Evangelist have been subjected to a full restoration and carbon-dating analysis by experts at the Vatican Museums. They will be displayed in a new and permanent exhibition that aims to shed light on the mysteries of these treasures of Catholicism.The work on the garments, sponsored by the Vatican Patrons of the Arts, found that the tunic said by church tradition to belong to St. Peter dates to a period between the sixth and seventh centuries C.E., while that allegedly belonging to St. John the Evangelist, a type of religious robe known as a dalmatic, was dated to sometime in the first or second centuries. Both saints lived in the first century after the birth of Christ.
The head of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, said at a press conference on Thursday (May 23) that while the tunics may not have belonged to St. Peter or St. John, they still carry “devotional significance” for believers and that further studies will attempt to bring clarity to the provenance and long history of the artifacts.
The tunics, especially the one said to have belonged to St. Peter, were in a ter …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnVATICAN CITY (RNS) — Once shrouded in history and legend, the so-called tunics of St. Peter and St. John the Evangelist have been subjected to a full restoration and carbon-dating analysis by experts at the Vatican Museums. They will be displayed in a new and permanent exhibition that aims to shed light on the mysteries of these treasures of Catholicism.The work on the garments, sponsored by the Vatican Patrons of the Arts, found that the tunic said by church tradition to belong to St. Peter dates to a period between the sixth and seventh centuries C.E., while that allegedly belonging to St. John the Evangelist, a type of religious robe known as a dalmatic, was dated to sometime in the first or second centuries. Both saints lived in the first century after the birth of Christ.
The head of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, said at a press conference on Thursday (May 23) that while the tunics may not have belonged to St. Peter or St. John, they still carry “devotional significance” for believers and that further studies will attempt to bring clarity to the provenance and long history of the artifacts.
The tunics, especially the one said to have belonged to St. Peter, were in a ter …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
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