What is tunica?

What Does tunica Mean

A tunic is a garment that is characterized by its length and breadth. This garment, of great antiquity, allows to cover from the neck to the legs .

It is important to mention that the term can refer to different garments that have similar characteristics. The clothing worn by certain religious underneath their habits is called a tunic, like the toga or cassock that was used in ancient times as a shirt .
At the time of the Roman Empire , for example, the tunic was used as underwear . Both women and men resorted to this product, which was adjusted to the body. In Ancient Greece , meanwhile, they also had various types of tunics.

Already in the Middle Ages , it was possible to find more or less long tunics and with or without sleeves. Existed silk robes , the linen garments and wool tunics , among others, decorated with different decorations.
Currently the use of the tunic is limited. It is usually part of the religious clothing . For the Catholic religion , in fact, the tunic has a great historical and symbolic importance: the Virgin Mary is represented with a red tunic under the blue mantle, while the garment that Jesus wore before his birth is known as the Holy Tunic. crucifixion.
As mentioned above, the tunic was not the outer garment, but rather Jesus wore it under other garments, before they undressed him to torture him and eventually take his life. The Catholic Church considers the Holy Robe and the attack that consisted of taking Jesus' clothes as important symbols of its doctrine .
It is worth mentioning that today there is more than one relic that could be the clothes that Jesus wore before the crucifixion. They are found in France, Russia and Germany , and their validity is supported by different traditions that try to explain why they got there. For its part, the Church allows the faithful to venerate them as elements that represent the Christian religion, although it has never assured that they are authentic pieces.
This worship should not focus on the object itself, but should be understood as a painting or sculpture, evoking the image of Jesus. Since the Middle Ages, the veneration of the Holy Tunic took place, as well as the places where its supposed relics were deposited, in a series of pilgrimages that continue to take place even today.

In the Gospel of John, there is the only passage in the Bible in which the Holy Robe is mentioned . There it is said that the soldiers divided Jesus' clothes in four after having crucified him, and that each one kept a piece, but that they decided to leave the tunic intact and cast lots for it, for one of them to take it.
Today, therefore, it is not known with certainty which of the postulated robes is the authentic one , or even if any of them are. However, for the Church it is not so important to solve this mystery as to venerate the symbol it represents. One of the most important characteristics of this garment is that it has no seams, which is why the Christian tradition has considered it an allusion to the unity of the Church .
Tunic, on the other hand, is the name of a thin membrane that covers certain areas of the human body. It is also a membrane present in certain animals and a kind of film that protects the flesh of some fruits.

Go up