Epiphanius, the monk, no longer gave himself peace: he set out on a journey; he travelled through Europe scrutinising every face. Nothing. There was no suitable face to represent Christ.

One evening he fell asleep repeating the words of the psalm: "Your face, Lord, I seek. Do not hide your face from me". He had a dream: an angel brought him back to the people he had met and pointed out to him a detail that made that face similar to Christ's: the joy of a young bride, the innocence of a child, the strength of a peasant, the suffering of a sick person, the fear of a condemned man, the goodness of a mother, the dismay of an orphan, the severity of a judge, the cheerfulness of a jester, the mercy of a confessor, the bandaged face of a leper.

Epiphanius returned to his convent and set to work. After a year, the icon of Christ was ready and he presented it to the Abbot and the brothers, who were astonished and fell to their knees. The face of Christ was marvellous, moving, searching inwardly and questioning. In vain they asked Epiphanius who had served as his model.

Do not look for Christ in the face of a single person, but seek in each one a fragment of Christ's face.

See, Il monaco Epifanio e il volto di Gesù