A Shroud Interest Group, Inc.
825 E. Marquam Street, P.O. Box 50
Mt. Angel, Oregon 97362
(503) 845-2490
email: imago@open.org
About the Project
Imago Christi, A Shroud Interest Group, Inc. was organized to "research, study, and disseminate" information concerning the relic known as the Shroud of Turin. Imago Christi exists "for artistic, educational, and scientific purposes." It is a non-profit organization designed to help the public audience learn about the Shroud by facilitating an interest in the humanities.
The project's primary purpose is for further study and research on the Shroud
of Turin. The principal staff of Imago Christi, A Shroud Interest Group, Inc.,
consists of a board of directors guided by the rules and procedures of a non-profit
organization. The center will be staffed by volunteers and will be open to
public membership. Key consultants include directors and other individuals
from Shroud centers established both nationally and internationally and from
sindonology scholars.
About the Shroud
Brief History of Turin Shroud
The remarkable object known as the "Shroud of Turin" has been an historically recorded relic since 1353 when it was documented as being owned by the de Charney family in France.
The Shroud is believed by many to be the actual burial cloth of Jesus of
Nazareth. History on the Shroud describes this unbleached, herringbone weave,
sepia color cloth as 14 feet 3 inches long by 3 feet 7 inches wide. It was
wrapped in red silk in a silver chest in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in
the Renaissance Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Turin, Italy, up until
the time of the fire which occurred April 11-12, 1997. This fire destroyed
the Chapel which was designed by B. Quadri, building of the Chapel was continued
(from 1667) and completed to the design of Guarino Guarini (1624-1683). During
the exposition of the Shroud, held in May-June 1998, the Shroud was exposed
for public viewing in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.
Some believe this sacred piece of linen is the same cloth known as the "Mandylion" which has been traced from Jerusalem in 30 A.D. to Constantinople in 1204 only to disappear during the 4th Crusade. Ancient records state it was displayed in Lirey in 1353 when it was in the possession of Geoffrey de Charney. Somehow a piece of linen that bore "The Figure of the Lord" was reported seen years earlier by Robert de Clari, a chronicler of the 4th Crusade, in the city of Constantinople in 1203. He recorded that it disappeared when the Byzantine Capital was looted by the Crusaders.
There are various stories and accounts, but de Charney's granddaughter, Marguerite, owned the Shroud and in 1453 gave it to Duke Louis of Savoy.
Turin's Treasure
From 1453 the Shroud belonged to the House of Savoy until the death of the exiled King of Italy, Umberto II, on March 18, 1983. In his will the king bequeathed the Shroud to the Vatican. Pope John Paul II requested that "this precious heritage to mankind" remain in Turin.
Investigating the Shroud
In 1978, using over six tons of scientific equipment, teams of assigned experts began the laborious task of investigation. For five full days, 24 hours a day, each particular group, a total of 32 scientists, did its own testing.
Never before had the Shroud of Turin been subjected to such an exhaustive and minute examination by man. (We acknowledge information provided by the Albany Center Turin Shroud.)
Carbon 14 Controversy
On October 13, 1988 the results from the carbon-14 (C-14) test on the Shroud of Turin were announced by Cardinal Anastasio Ballestrero of Turin. The A.D. 1260-1390 dates, suggesting as medieval origin for the cloth, resulted in a considerable stir. Many people, including scientists and researchers feel that there were inconsistencies in the method used and are recommending that another test be done.
The investigators today are still looking into its mystery.
Among them are art historians, pathologists, Biblical scholars, linguists,
chemists, textile experts, physicists, photographic specialists, archaeologists,
numismatists, image analysts, authors, and writers from every part of the
world.
Expositions of the Shroud
The Shroud was exposed for public viewing in 1933, 1978 and
1998. In this year of the jubilee 2000, the Shroud will be on exhibit in Turin
from August 12 to October 22, 2000.
About the Chapel
The Chapel was designed by Bernardino Quadri in 1657 at the
request of Prince-Cardinal Maurizio. "A new conception is realized here,
heavy with symbolic implications: Church and State meet under the shadow of
the Holy Shroud, a relic not of a saint, but of Christ himself, and one that
derives not from some random incident in his life, but from his sacrifice
of it for the redemption of Humanity." Quadri's plan and quote from
"Guarino Guarini and His Architecture." - H.A. Meek, 1988, Yale University,
Pgs. 63-64.
In 1993 when the Chapel was undergoing restoration, the Shroud was temporarily
transferred to behind the main altar of the Saint Giovanni Battista Church
in Turin and the relic was protected by bulletproof glass in a silver reliquary.
.
Dr. Michelina Le Margie 7. May 4, 1995
On April 11-12, 1997, a fire occurred in the Cathedral and seriously damaged
the Guarini Chapel and also the Cathedral. The Shroud was saved by Mario
Trematore, a Turin fireman, who by breaking the bulletproof glass carried
the reliquary to safety.
A copy of the Shroud known as the "Lier Shroud" dated 1516 has at times
been attributed to Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) and perhaps to the Flemish
painter Bernard van Orley. This copy documents the fact that the Shroud
has been through a fire at a time and in circumstances unknown, but certainly
before the Chambery fire of 1532 -- it reproduces only the double mirror
image series of little burn holes, visible in the Shroud today (shown in
the photograph above). This copy (Lier Shroud) is located in Saint Gommaire
Church of Lierre, Belgium.
