Italian to English Other Religion

Hi,

I'm translating a text on the stigmata, and on pain as a mnemonic aid. The word that's giving me difficulty is in the line here:

"L’apparire cristiano […] corrisponde molto meno alla ricerca di una similitudine figurativa che alla ricerca della virtù stessa fatta immagine, vale a dire la ricerca del contatto, dell’indiziarietà, della testimonianza carnale, dunque del martirio […]."

I was thinking of "indizio", and therefore "the nature of a thing as something that gives a clue, an indication"... which it may still be. But I've found "indiziario" is "circumstantial", which doesn't seem to fit here. Any ideas? I might try "circumstantial evidence". Here's my attempt so far:

The Christian appearance [...] corresponds much less to the search for a figurative likeness than to the search for virtue itself made image, that is to say, the search for contact, for circumstantial evidence, for carnal witness, and thus for martyrdom [...].

Thanks,

Peter