Turin Shroud copy on display in county

Thursday 25th February 2010, 8:39AM GMT.

The Shroud of Turin

A full-size copy of the world-famous Turin Shroud, one of only six in the world, is coming to Shropshire next week.

The copy of what is said to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ is an image printed on cotton created by Barrie Shwortz, who was the official photographer for the Shroud Research Project in 1978. It will be exhibited in St Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury from 5pm on Wednesday until noon on March 8.

The copy will be displayed together with various artefacts from Biblical times, and a series of modern paintings by Paul Hill depicting the Stations of the Cross.

The exhibition has been organised by the Friends of St Chad’s Shrewsbury to raise funds for repairs to the tower.

The event will open with a lecture on the shroud by Pam Moon, lay minister at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Little Aston, Birmingham, where her husband is vicar.

Mrs Moon has had a lifelong fascination with the Shroud of Turin and owns the copy which is to be exhibited.

She said: “I was deeply moved when I first saw the full-length images.

Lecture

“It is possible to get an idea of the shroud from television pictures, books, magazines and newspapers articles, but seeing it in its entirety is profoundly challenging.”

The lecture will take place at 7.30pm on March 3 at the church. Tickets are available on the door and will cost £5. Subsequent entry to the exhibition will be free.

There remains great debate about the authenticity of the shroud.

Carbon dating of a tiny piece removed some years ago suggested it was medieval, but more recently those fibres have been shown to have come from an area repaired after earlier damage.

Mrs Moon added: “This lecture and exhibition will not offer unequivocal answers, but it will leave you much better informed about the mystery of the shroud’s authenticity.

“It will also offer a timely reminder, during Lent, of aspects of life under Roman rule two thousand years ago.”

By Russell Roberts


  1. 1
    John Smith

    Why would anyone want to see a fake? They proved this was not real via carbon dating ages ago.

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  2. 2
    Spartacus

    John

    The shrouds origins are as yet unknown and the manner in which it was produced has not yet been established. By fake I assume you mean that it has been disproved as the burial shroud of Jesus?

    From what I have read so far it may not be but it still exists and science has not yet explained how it was created. Perhaps people still want to see it for itself.

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  3. 3
    Brimondo

    Spartacus – The shroud has been proved not to be a burial cloth. The front and back images do not match up, the arms are not proportionate to have belonged to a human and the image of the face is not distorted as it should be if it had been wrapped around a human face. This cloth has never been near a dead body – it’s a 12th century fake, one of a number of death shrouds doing the rounds at that time. The Vatican will not allow further tests on the shroud using modern techniques – so just because there is a small question mark about how it was produced does not endow it with any divinity. Religions rely on the premise that if you can’t prove something wrong then they must be right rather than trying to prove their own case.

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  4. 4
    Spartacus

    Brimondo

    I agree that the religious aspect is seriously in question but just because it has been claimed to be a burial shroud does not mean that it was originally meant this way. To be a fake it would have been created to decieve as you suggest. My interest in it’s origin is simply because it has so far eluded science.

    Perhaps that’s because the vatican are not willing to have the shroud tested further – although they have never claimed that it is the burial shroud of Jesus.

    Be great to be around when science explains how it was created (or faked)

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  5. 5
    Peter

    What appears to be on display is a copy of a mediaeval fake. It’s an interesting curiosity, and the original is a clever fake, but there’s no more significance to be attributed to it.

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  6. 6
    eva land

    Mrs Moon must be a pretty good age now if she feels qualified to tell us about life under Roman rule.
    I would support the cause because St Chads Church is an interesting piece of architecture not so I could come and see a copy of this questionable artifact.

    When St Chads was built it caused a furore as it was considered too similar to the cicular design of a Synagogue.

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  7. 7
    florence

    I would love to see a final without a dough that it is real. someday soon god willing will give us a sign. how to fine the answer.the non believers will believe.

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