and died in A.D. 75. 5. The tradition usually received in the West states that the emperor Tiberius ordered Veronica to Kome that the touch of her sweat-cloth might cure his leprosy, and that when the cure was ef- fected she jjersiiaded Tiberius to exile Pilate in piniish- ment for having sentenced Jesus to death. Veronica afterwards remained in Home with her wonderful suda- riuin, and in her will gave the cloth to Clement, the successor of Peter, by whom it was transmitted to suc- ceeding popes. The Church of Santa Jlaria Maggiore boasted its possession since pope John VII (705), but it is now claimed by St. Peter's at I!ome. Oidv persons of princely degree who have been admitted to the rank of titulary canons of St. Peter's are permitted to look upon it. ]Milan, and Jacn, in Spain, however, both as- sert that the cloth is in their possession (see Benedict XIV [Lambertini ], 7>e Servorum Dei Beatifi'cat. etc. iv, 2, 31). Down to the 13th century the cloth itself, and not the woman, was called Veronica, a fact which throws doubt upon the authenticity of the legend as a whole. Pa|)ebroch, jNIabillon, and others reached the conclusion that Veronica was originally a corruption of the words (part Latin, part (ireek) rei-a icon (eIkwi'}, and signifies simply a true, authentic likeness, and manv modern critics adopt that view. Grimm (Sa//e vom Urspi-un(/ der Christushilder, p. 8()) says that the legend of Veronica is simply the Occidental version of the Eastern tradition of Abgarus (q. v.) of Edessa, which narrates that Christ sent both an autograph letter and an authentic portrait of himself to that prince. The traditional dwelling of Veronica in Jerusalem was shown, situated by the way from the house of Pilate to Calva- ry, in very recent times.
See Bolland, A eta SS. Feb. 4, i, 449 sq. ; Baronius, Anmil. ad An. 34, No. 138; (iretser, S/jntaepnu de Inia- f/inibus rum Manu Factis (Ingolst. 1()22); Chitflef, J)e Linteis Chriiti Sepulchr. Servatis Crisis fHstorica (Antv. 1624) ; Beausobre, Des Imafjes de Main JHvine, in the Biblioth. German, xviii, 10 ; Tillemont, Me- moires, i, 471 sq. ; (iieseler, Kirchenrjesch. i, 80; Her- zog, Reul-Encyklop. s. v.
VERONICA ( Lat. rera, true; Gr. icon, image), a napkin or handkerchief with which a Jewish woman, named Prounice or Berenice (Lat. Veronica), who hail been cured of the issue of blood (iMatt. ix, 20-22, and parallels), is said to have wiped the face of our Lord when going to the crucifixion by the Way of Sorrows. Wet with blood and other fluids, his likeness was stamped upon its triple folds, and the napkin was brought in a wooden coffer from Palestine to Home, and eventually placed by Urban VIII in an upper
VEKONIUS
756
VERSE
Portrait of Chnst on St. Veiouica's Uaudkerchief,
chapel adjoining one of the great piers in St. Peter's Church, where it is still preserved under the charge of the canons. It is exhiljited ill a silver case ten times in the year to the pope, cardi- nals, and faithful who are placed in the nave. As early as the 14th century, ])ainters represented a woman holding a linen clotli, on which is a radiating face. surrounde<l liy a halo, with the cross. Since that time the attribute has be- come the subject. The iii- |l animate substance has taken life, and the woman is only known as Veronica. There were icons, or veils, preserved at Laon, Cologne, and Milan. See Walcott, Sacred A >■- cluenl. s. V. ; Barnum, Romanism As It Is, p. 491.
Veronius (Fiangois Vero7i), a French Jesuit, was born about 1575, in Paris. At the age of twenty he joined the Jesuits, received holy orders, and labored as a missionary among the Protestants of France. In l(i22 he received permission to preach and discuss in the streets and in market-places, as predicateur du Roi pour Its controverses, while the French clergy gave him the jurisdiction and an annual pension. He died as pastor in Charenton, Dec. 0, 1049. He is said to have been well qualitied for missionary work, but, on the whole, he was very moderate. At the colloquy at Ca- dom, in 1G28, he discussed with Bochart and published the acts thereof. Bochart also published the same (Saumiir, 1G30) because Veron had falsified them. He wrote, Methodes de Trailer des Controverses de Religion (Paris, 1G38, 2 vols.) : — Regie de la. Foi Catholique (ibid. 1(545; Latin in Migne, Cursiis T/ieolor/iciis, i, 1035 sq.): --L'aillon des Jansenistes, ag;ainst. the Jansenists: — he also published a revised edition of the Louvaiu French Bible (1C47). See Schrcickh, Kirchengeschichte seit der Reformation, iv, 251 ; JSiographie Universelle, s. v. ; Henke, Culixtus und seine Zeit, \\, i, 157 sq. ; Tlieolog. r iiirersal-LeTikon, s. v. (B. P.)
Verpoorten, Albrecht Meno, a Protestant the- ologian of (Jermaiiy, was born at (iotha, Oct. 13, 1672. He belonged to a family which lel't the Netherlands under the persecutions of the duke of Alba. He stud- ied at Giessen and Wittenberg. In 1C99 he was appoint- eil pastor at Sonnenberg, and in 1708 superintendent at Neustadt. In 1724 he was called as rector of the aca- demic gymnasium at Coburg, having received the doc- torate in the same year. In 1731 he went as rector and professor to Dantzic, at the same time acting as pastor of Trinity Church, where he died, .June 3, 1752. Ver- poorten was an excellent theologian. In numerous Latin treatises he wrote on exegesis and criticism of the New Test., on Church history, and patristics. The main results of his studies are found in Fasciculus Du- serlationuni ad Theologiam maxime Exege/icam et Phi- I'llogiam iSacram Pertinentiuni ((Jedani, 1739): — Posi- tiones Theologice ex A rticulis A ugustunie Confessionis, ed- ited by his son (ibid. 1751). The number of his larger and smaller works amounts to seventy-six. for w^hich see Diiring, delehrte Theologen Deutschlands ini ISten vnd X^ten Jnhrhumlert, iv, 586-588; the works pertain- ing to the Old Test, are given bv Furst, Bibl. Jud. iii, 475. (B. P.)