Tokyo
Holy Shroud
If somebody said that something in his possession is so holy, nobody minds it.
But, if the Vatican says that a cloth many believe to be the very shroud used for burial of Christ Jesus should be respected as so religious regardless of its true authenticity, it can be a big sin against the truth, the fact, the history, and the God without mentioning Christ Jesus Himself.
If the holy shroud of Turin is not the very shroud used for burial of Christ Jesus, the Vatican should stop keeping it officially in a church under its authority, since it would be a big sin against the truth, the fact, the history, and the God without mentioning Christ Jesus Himself.
PART I: Historical Analysis of Holy Shroud
The Vatican has, as a matter of fact, authorized the holy shroud kept in Turin, Italy, as authentic or religious.
The simple review of its historical trace is as follows:
Probably the 7th April, 30, or perhaps the 3rd April, 33
Crucifixion of Jesus outside Jerusalem. Three days later His female followers seems to have seen something extraordinary in His tomb as so advised by an angel:
And he said unto them, Be not amazed: you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. - Mark 16:6
~ 57
Ma'nu VI inherits the throne of Edessa. Return to paganism, and persecution of the Christians
~ 326
Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, (born at Trier in 265, died at Nicomedia in 327), goes to Palestine to find the relics of Jesus. She is reported to have discovered the nails of the Passion, the Cross, and the tunic that she donates to the town of Trier. The narrative of her quest, is written by Eusebius of Caesarea (265-340) in his book 'Ecclesiastical History'
In 544 AD, in the city of Edessa, a folded burial cloth bearing an image, believed to be of Jesus, was found above a gate in the city's walls. We know from various history sources that the cloth was a burial shroud with a faint full-body image of Jesus and bloodstains positioned on the image...
943 - 944
Siege of Edessa by the Emperor of Byzantium. The image of Edessa is given to him in exchange for his lifting the siege, together with the payment of a large sum of money, and the liberation of Muslim prisoners
The Mandylion, the name given by the Byzantians to the image of Edessa, leaves for Samosate and then Constantinople
On August 15, 944 AD, the Image of Edessa was forcibly transferred from Edessa to the Byzantine capital city of Constantinople. It clearly was a burial cloth with a full image and bloodstains...
Illustrations in an 1192 codex, known as the Hungarian Pray Manuscript, show Jesus being prepared for burial and the scene of the empty tomb. The drawing depicts several features consistent with the Shroud of Turin: the unique herringbone twill, a specific pattern of burn holes that antedate the much later fire in 1532 which nearly destroyed the Shroud, Jesus depicted naked with his hands crossed before him, hands with no visible thumbs.
In 1204, French and Venetian knights of the Fourth Crusade besieged the city
Constantinople and on April 13 entered and looted the city. The Edessa Image certainly seems to have been among the treasures taken by the looters.
~ 1205
The Holy Shroud is probably at Athens
~ 1350
First display of the Holy Shroud at Lirey (Champagne, France)
1353
The knight, Chevalier Geoffrey I de Charny, obtains from the French King, Jean le Bon, a grant to found the Collegiate Church at Lirey
1354
The Holy Shroud is entrusted to the Collegiate Church at Lirey
1453
The Holy Shroud is transferred to Duke Louis de Savoie by Marguerite de Charny, and moved to Chambery.
1532
Fire in the Holy Chapel at Chambery during the night of 3 to 4 December ; The Holy Shroud is damaged by the fire, and by the water used to fight the fire.
1578
14th of September : the Holy Shroud arrives to stay permanently in Turin.
1988
Carbon 14 dating indicates that the Shroud dates between 1260 et 1390.
1997
Scientific Symposium of Nice : Confirmation that the formation of the image on the Turin Shroud is not the work of man
http://iesvs.tripod.com/SINDONOLOGY.htm
http://www.shroudofturin4journalists.com/history.htm
The mysterious linkage is between Jerusalem and Edessa and between Constantinople and Lirey.
Maybe we have to check the New Testament more carefully.
PART II: Implications of Holy Shroud
The most important aspect of the matters concerning the holy shroud of Turin is that the most advanced science and technology are useless to determine whether the old shroud is true one or a counterfeit, so far.
And a mystery is in why carbon 14 dating has not bean repeated. It was 12 years ago that the first and only carbon 14 dating test was conducted. Today, the related technology is more advanced. A smaller sample is needed for the test. If the 1988 test is not so trustworthy, the Vatican should allow for a test again with a far fewer sample to be taken from the shroud than in the 1988 testing.
But, if this test should result in finding of the date of preparation of the shroud to be around AD 30, it cannot be so decisive. Science must prove how the figure was imprinted on the shroud. Skipping the dating confirmation, it is possible to study how it was created on the surface of the mysterious cloth. But, science is yet to provide an authentic answer.
If it was made around the 14th century, it is still a mystery how the figure was made to appear on the surface of the old cloth. So, the most important aspect of the matters concerning the holy shroud of Turin is that the most advanced science and technology are useless to determine whether the old shroud is true one or a counterfeit, so far.
But, one thing true is that it has been an object beyond time, even around the 14th century; thus it must have had a certain trace of its existence or effect of its creation in history, even around the 14th century.
Anyway, if you cannot judge it to be true or false at a glance, you cannot tell whether what you see is from God or a man.
But, the Vatican has, as a matter of fact, authorized the holy shroud kept in Turin, Italy, as authentic or religious.
Or, is a pious motivation to have created it around the 14th century reflected on it?
Anyway, the most serious implication is on how much pious the Vatican is.
http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~takemura/seigaifu/english.htm
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Some people say that the holy shroud of Turin must not be the real one that had once covered the dead body of Christ Jesus, since the figure imprinted on the cloth matches "too precisely" the description of Christ Jesus at his last moment in the Bible.
Apart from the holy shroud of Turin, the very cloth that covered dead Christ Jesus must have received strong heat and light when Christ Jesus resurrected inside the wrapping cloth.
With new energy generated inside His body, Christ Jesus must have come back to life. The very shroud must have received the physical effect emitted from His body. And, this shroud must have very much alarmed His followers who came to the tomb after his resurrection.
But, who carried the very shroud where afterwards? To the hand of the Holy Mother who might have a relationship with somebody who later went to Edessa?
If the holy shroud of Turin was not authentic, where is the true one? At least not in the hand of the Pope in Rome. Isn't something wrong?
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.