Holy Shroud of Turin

Is the Shroud indeed the burial cloth of Jesus, or is it a medieval fake? Do the Gospels narrate real events or are they mere legends? The answer to these questions is not secondary since it involves deeply our lives. Certainly, the Shroud is the most studied archaeological find in the world, and the Gospels constitute the only key to its interpretation. This link between Shroud and Gospels, therefore, suggested to the Authors to combine the latest scientific research on the Shroud to an investigation equally scientific and documented on the reliability of the Gospels. Summarizing in a single text the results of the natural sciences and the historical ones, in short form and a language accessible, so as to offer an essential synthesis for the modern man who does not want to remain illiterate about the deepest questions.

For many years, the Shroud of Turin has been famous for images of a body and face which many believe were formed during The Resurrection. More recently, however, claims have been made that the Shroud also contains evidence of other objects, and these claims have been used to support the view that the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus. However, these claims are based on marks that are barely visible and the psychological processes known to be involved in perceiving objects under data-limited conditions have been largely ignored. Here, we consider these processes and assess the claims that objects can be seen on the Shroud. We conclude that the viewing conditions provided by images of the Shroud are likely to lead to the illusory perception of objects, and knowing the psychological processes underlying these perceptions is crucial for accurately determining the provenance of the Shroud and other material artefacts.

Nell’ambito della ricerca architettonica un posto di rilievo spetta senza dubbio ai problemi relativi all’analisi, allo studio e alla rappresentazione di organismi particolarmente significativi. Il presente contributo rivolge l’attenzione ad uno degli elementi architettonici più complessi e al tempo stesso simbolicamente rilevanti: la cupola. In ogni epoca infatti, e prescindendo dalle soluzioni tecnologiche-formali adottate, le cupole – elementi di chiusura di un edificio e in quanto tale poste tra terra e cielo – hanno in qualche modo evocato la volta celeste. Così, caricandosi di significati simbolici e superando la semplice essenza materica, tali strutture sono spesso riuscite ad esprimere sacralità, forza, dinamismo, tensione ascensionale, dando quindi la sensazione di poter avvicinare l’uomo al cielo, reso finalmente tangibile. Emblematica in tal senso appare la cupola progettata da Guarino Guarini per la Cappella delle Sacra Sindone a Torino, la cui premessa fondamentale è il ricorso a rigorosi principi matematici e geometrici. Concepita come una sorta di finzione scenografica, grazie all’impiego della prospettiva solida, essa diventa simbolo del cielo, di cui sembra voler catturare l’infinito. Partendo dunque da una estesa rielaborazione e dalla interpretazione, concettuale oltre che grafica, delle strutture architettoniche della chiesa di Guarini,in particolare della cupola e degli elementi sui quali essa è impostata, il contributo intende definire la natura geometrica nonché la genesi costruttiva delle relative intersezioni, cioè delle linee che costituiscono i profili degli archi e delle finestre che vi si aprono. Attraverso i grafici illustrativi si indaga infine sulla complesso intreccio di archi che definiscono la cupola: nella sua configurazione effettiva, con le reali dimensioni ‘accelerate’, ed in quella ‘illusoria’ secondo la quale la stessa cupola appare di una assai maggiore altezza.

La storiografia sabauda attribuisce agli anni Settanta del Quattrocento e ai duchi Amedeo IX e Iolanda di Francia il merito del "lancio" della devozione alla Sindone nei territori ducali. Se è vero che le prime esposizioni pubbliche della reliquia in Piemonte risalgono effettivamente agli anni della reggenza della duchessa di Savoia, dopo la morte del duca nel 1472, il significato di tali esposizioni fu molto diverso dal culto che si affermò nei decenni successivi. Lo studio analizza quindi la trasformazione semantica di una devozione: da importante oggetto di culto inserito in un ampio patrimonio di simboli e reliquie a parametro privilegiato della rappresentazione dinastica.

Le Saint Suaire de Besançon fut très populaire pendant près de trois siècles, attirant des foules considérables dès ses premières ostensions au 16e siècle. Sa popularité est si grande qu'en 1705 le roi Louis XIV ordonne la suspension des ostensions pour éviter que les soldats allemands s'emparent de la ville en se dissimulant parmi les dizaines de milliers de pèlerins étrangers. Le Suaire de Besançon disparaît en 1794 lors de la Révolution française, mais il subsiste de nombreux anciens manuscrits et publications le décrivant. Le manuscrit 826 du 18e siècle des archives de la bibliothèque de Besançon est composé de deux dissertations distinctes qui poursuivent des objectifs diamétralement opposés, la première plaidant en faveur de l'authenticité du Suaire de Besançon et la seconde soutenant le contraire. Ce livre présente une transcription inédite de la première dissertation et une version modernisée de la seconde dissertation publiée en 1831, accompagnée de commentaires. Les auteurs de ces dissertations comparent le Suaire de Besançon avec le Suaire de Turin, parfois pour déterminer lequel serait authentique. Le lecteur pourra juger de la pertinence de ces comparaisons et mieux découvrir ces deux Suaires. Il découvrira aussi des éléments modernes de la seconde dissertation et en particulier qu'un suaire authentique est plus crédible s'il produit une image tridimensionnelle, une remarque très pertinente au regard des développements scientifiques modernes sur le Suaire de Turin. Quelle est l'origine du Suaire de Besançon? Était-il aussi populaire que le Suaire de Turin? Est-ce que l'Histoire de ce Suaire a été combinée à celle du Suaire de Turin? Le chevalier Othon de la Roche est-il réellement à l'origine du Suaire de Besançon ou peut-être est-il plutôt à l'origine de celui de Turin? Voilà quelques-unes des questions fascinantes abordées dans ce livre.

This paper proposes specific tests for the presence of neutron-created C-14, Cl-36 and Ca-41 on control samples and on linen, blood, charred material and limestone from the Shroud of Turin and/or Jesus’ reputed burial tombs. These tests could refute the Shroud’s 1988 radiocarbon dating and establish its actual age. The proposed tests could also demonstrate that the Shroud linen and its blood were irradiated with a neutron flux, while indicating when and where the event took place.

In this article I outline some of the more prodigious characteristics of the Shroud of Lirey-Chambery-Turin's image and highlight the inadequacy of the various image formation theories postulated this century. A review is then given of some of the findings of a recently ...

Il Vangelo di quest’oggi (Mt 25, 14-30) è l’immediato e sequenziale prosieguo di quello di domenica scorsa (Mt 25, 1-13).
L’esegesi con riguardo all’ “olio” che ci ha accompagnato sette giorni fa, ha tratto da questo elemento connessioni e legami espressivi che ci hanno rimandato alla “fatica” e al “peso”, ovvero alla loro “lieta accettazione” (cf. Presero anche l’OLIO).
E se l’estratto evangelico odierno, come appena detto, è l’esatta continuazione del passo scorso, con il commento che proponiamo possiamo rilevare come la prosecuzione non si limiti solamente alla forma, ma concerna anche la sostanza.
Riflettiamo assieme.

Plusieurs hypothèses sur le transfert du linceul de Turin de l'orient à l'occident reposent sur la supposition que le chevalier Othon de la Roche acquit le Linceul lors de la quatrième croisade, et qu'il le garda un certain temps à Athènes -- ville qu'il conquit après cette même croisade.  En fait, ces hypothèses ont toutes pour origine une dissertation sans fondement historique sérieux contenue dans le manuscrit 826 de la Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon. La dissertation fut écrite en 1714, mais le nom de son auteur n'a été découvert qu'en 2015. Cet auteur a publié plusieurs thèses historiques erronées et fantastiques, ce qui est cohérent avec les affirmations fabriquées par cet auteur pour sa dissertation sur Othon de la Roche. Cela confirme encore plus clairement que cette thèse d'Othon de la Roche n'a pas de fondement historique valable. D’autre part, certains auteurs affirment que le coffret conservé au château de Ray-sur-Saône aurait été utilisé par Othon de la Roche pour protéger et transporter ce Linceul. Il n'y a en fait aucune tradition familiale des propriétaires de ce château soutenant l'authenticité de ce coffret. Finalement, la supposée lettre de Théodore Ange Comnène au Pape Innocent III, soutenant que le Linceul se trouvait à Athènes en 1205, apparaît fort probablement inauthentique au regard de la fabrication de cette thèse sans fondement de 1714. Cette thèse d’Othon de la Roche a brouillé la vraie provenance du Linceul et ainsi occulté une thèse beaucoup plus simple, celle du passage du Linceul par la Sainte-Chapelle de Paris.

Un chimico di Roma, il professor Luigi Campanella, ha recentemente annunciato di avere messo a punto nuovi metodi per la datazione di reperti cellulosici (legno, carta, fibre tessili vegetali). Ha affermato che i suoi metodi sarebbero idonei per datare la Sindone di Torino. Vediamo se è verosimile.

This reflection paper concerns data on the Shroud, some of the prophecies in the Old Testament and my reaction to it. It is a personal reflection based on my own experiences in life, faith and how the Shroud has impacted my life & what I do because of that impact. I have always believed and lived out that my actions must correspond to my beliefs. This road in life is not necessarily easy, but it is worth living. I spent four years away from my Catholic home studying Scripture, both New & Old Testaments, reflecting on the passages that I am bringing to bear in this paper. At that time I knew nothing of a Shroud, was unaware that there were things in this world that may give us some indication of what Jesus looked like or what he was like with the exception of Scripture and history. From the fruit of that reflection & study, I offer this poem I wrote in light of that to start this reflection.

Some apocryphal texts – read in a biased, superficial and uncritical way – have been used with an apologetic function to support the historicity and authenticity of certain relics that are said to come from the apostolic period. A significant example is that of the Holy Shroud of Turin, a medieval cloth ; the supporters of its authenticity believe that it was known to the authors of certain apocryphal texts, that its story is told in the Abgar cycle (where it would appear in the form of the cloth known as the Mandylion of Edessa) and that it is also recognisable in certain special iconographic representations.

In a recent editorial paper of this journal, Bella et al. commented on the mass spectra analysis done by Rogers [11], which consisted of two mass spectra of the pyrolysis of linen fibers from two areas of the Shroud of Turin. The main conclusion of Bella et al. was “No diagnostic peak in the pyrolysis mass spectra indicates a significant difference in the two samples, besides hydrocarbon-derived contamination. Therefore, none of the presented data supports the conclusion by Rogers.” We show that the technical analysis of Bella et al. of the mass spectra is incorrect and that their main conclusion is unconfirmed, in particular that a “contaminant” would be present on the second sample analyzed.

The paper is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040603115004724.

A square piece of cloth painted with an image of the Veronica Veil interrupts the sculptural procession depicted in the Way to Calvary chapel at the Sacro Monte of Varallo (ca. 1597-1617). Neither an actual relic, nor simply a two-dimensional image, it is closely related to another image at the pilgrimage site: a lifesize replica of the Shroud of Turin. Images of acheiropoetoi at Varallo shed light on the conceptual and material relationship between images and relics. Their proliferation after the Council of Trent was inflected, moreover, by post-Tridentine debates around the epistemological value of sacred images. The treatises of Gabriele Paleotti and Agaffino Solaro blur the distinction between divinely-produced acheiropoetoi and the man-made artifice of illusionistic images. Making contact with the divine through images of acheiropoetoi could negotiate anxieties toward embodied presence at a moment when visual experience was more emphatically implemented at the Sacro Monte of Varallo.

Unfortunately, the link to the interview by Tom Chivers is no longer available at The Telegraph website. An excerpt of the interview can be found at https://shroudstory.com/2011/12/30/an-interview-with-paolo-di-lazzaro/
You may email to Telegraph asking for a copy of this interview by Chivers, it was published online on 30 December 2011 at the Telegraph website.