Study of the Shroud of Jesus Christ. Facts and legends of the Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is perhaps one of the most important mysteries of the last century.

Did this piece of linen really cover the body of Jesus Christ taken down from the cross, or is it an incredible and unique falsification? How did the Shroud of Jesus end up in Turin and where did it remain for thirteen centuries? What does Leonardo da Vinci have to do with the shroud and why do world research data indicate that its age does not exceed 700 years? Hundreds of scientists, thousands of studies, dozens of opinions and a few proven facts. What do we know about one of the main shrines not only of Italy, but of the entire Christian world? Let's try to figure it out.

History of the Shroud of Turin

According to the gospel accounts, after the tortured body of Jesus was removed from the cross, his disciple Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body in a shroud and placed it in a tomb. After the Resurrection of Christ, the disciples did not find the body, but the mourning shrouds remained.

What happened to the shroud after that is not known for certain. There is a theory that until the 10th century, the shroud of Jesus was in Edessa (a city in modern Turkey), then it was taken to Constantinople, and after the 4th Crusade in the 13th century. fell into the hands of the crusaders, most likely the Templars.

Icon "Burial of Christ"

Officially, the Christian relic was first recorded in 1353. The French Count Geoffroy de Charny declared that he possessed a priceless Christian relic. How the shrine fell into his hands, the count never had time to say. He probably inherited it from his grandfather or father, to whom, in turn, it was given to him for safekeeping by one of the Templars.

Until the middle of the 15th century. The shroud of Christ was in one of the churches of the French city of Lyra, and then was sold by the count's granddaughter Margaret to Duke Louis of Savoy. The capital of the duchy was considered the city of Chambery. Here the shroud of Jesus was kept until 1578, and in 1532 there was a huge fire in the Chambery monastery, and the holy relic melted from the red-hot silver frame. Later, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin, and along with the capital, the shroud of Jesus Christ came, where it remains to this day.

In 1898, a negative face of a man was discovered on the shroud

1898 was the year of a sensational discovery. At an exhibition of religious art, photographer Secondo Pia took photographs of the Turin painting, discovering a human face in the negatives. Until this time, only blood stains could be seen on the shroud; no one could have imagined that there, in the negative, a person was depicted. Unfortunately, the development of science in the 19th century. did not allow serious research into the shroud; scientists were allowed to see it only 70 years later in 1969.

Scientific research of the Shroud of Turin: facts, theories and versions

None Christian shrine has not been subjected to such close scientific study as the Shroud of Turin.

For more than 50 years, scientists from all over the world have been trying to unravel the mystery of the Shroud of Turin. Only a few facts are known for certain:

• the shroud is a linen cloth measuring 4.36 by 1.1 m;
• the fabric is distinguished by a twill weave of threads;
• there is a negative on the canvas flat image a wounded person from the front and back;
• the image is only on the upper surface of the fabric and does not go through it, which excludes the possibility of using any paints or dyes;
• the front image of a person is 5 cm longer than the back one;
• Particles of male blood were found on the canvas, especially large spots can be observed in the side, on the head, as well as in the area of ​​​​the feet and wrists.

Positive and negative images of the face on the Shroud of Turin

Here, in fact, are all the scientifically proven facts. Then hundreds of different theories and versions appear.

The most difficult thoughts are being conducted on the issue of determining the age of the fabric of the Shroud of Turin. In 1988, three independent commissions from Switzerland, Great Britain and the USA carried out radiocarbon analysis of a particle of the cloth and dated the age of the fabric to the time interval 1270-1380. Immediately, theories appeared that refuted the calculations of the commissions and referred to the fact that the shroud of Jesus was noticeably damaged in the fire, which could significantly “rejuvenate” the ancient canvas. In 2008, the study was repeated, the result was the same - the linen cloth of the shroud was made during the Middle Ages.

The Shroud of Turin is one of the main mysteries of the last century

Then the second question arises: how could a drawing appear on the canvas without the use of paints? Could Renaissance artists have known this method of painting? In addition, the design is depicted flat, and if the fabric hugged the body, it would be distorted.

For answers we turned to the work of the great genius and hoaxer of the era -. There was even a theory that the painting depicted da Vinci himself. Allegedly, the holy fathers turned to the master, wanting to renew the decayed fabric and safely hide the original. To apply a similar pattern to a linen surface, the canvas was stretched and secured. On sunny days, a person stood behind the canvas, and the sun's rays, passing through the fabric and colliding with an obstacle, changed the structure of the matter. After this procedure, the tissue was placed in a weak silver solution and dried thoroughly. A barely noticeable pattern appeared, not visible to the human eye. Could this really happen? It probably could. But how the religious da Vinci could dare to falsify an authentic image of the God-Man remains a mystery.

Another question is raised by the twill weave of the threads. In Israel at the time of Christ, double-sided weaving of threads was used. Twill became widely used only 1000 years later. However, there is an opinion that in Syria the new era already used twill weave threads in the manufacture of expensive fabrics. Considering that Joseph of Arimathea, who wrapped the body of Jesus in the shroud, was not a poor man, it is quite possible that he purchased expensive Syrian fabric. However, this is nothing more than a theory.

Want to explore other theories? Then we recommend watching a short film that reveals some of the secrets and mysteries of the Shroud of Turin.

Christianity's view of the Shroud of Turin

There is no consensus on the Shroud of Turin among representatives of Christianity. The Catholic Church did not officially recognize the Shroud in Turin as authentic, but did not refute this possible fact, citing the fact that the Shroud of Turin is a vivid reminder to all Christians of the passion of Christ.

The Orthodox Church also has not expressed its official position on the authenticity of the shroud, but a number of church leaders nevertheless consider the Shroud of Turin to be the original.

Christian believers do not doubt the authenticity of the shroud of Jesus Christ

However, what does this matter when faith implies such a concept as a miracle. Many Christians sincerely believe that the shroud in Turin depicts the authentic face of Jesus Christ.

Where is the Shroud of Jesus Christ?

The Shroud is called Turin only because for more than 4 centuries it has been in Turin in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista). The relic is hidden from the harmful rays of the sun and air in a special capsule, and its exact copy is put on public display. The original shroud of Jesus is taken out for veneration very rarely, once every 25-30 years. The last time it was exhibited to believers was in the spring of 2010. This was done primarily in order to preserve the shroud and protect it from the effects of the external environment.

The cathedral is located in Piazza San Giovanni and is open to the public daily from 7 am to 7 pm, break 12:30-15:00. On Sunday the cathedral doors open at 8 am.

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin

Not far from the cathedral is the Shroud Museum, where you can learn about the latest scientific research, see photographs of the sacred relic and study its history, starting from the moment it came to Turin.

The museum is located at Via San Domenico, 28, and is open to the public daily from 9 am to 7 pm with a break from 12:00 to 15:00. It is better to find out the cost of tickets, as well as changes in the museum’s opening hours, on the official website.

However, for those who plan to visit Turin and visit not only the Shroud Museum, we recommend purchasing one, which gives the right to free admission to almost all cultural sites not only in Turin, but throughout the entire Piedmont region. The card allows you to explore for free

The Turin Shroud of Jesus Christ is the cloth in which Joseph, respected in the council, wrapped the Body of the Savior taken from the cross. (Matthew 27:37)

Each of the four Gospels talks about the removal of Christ by Joseph and His burial, wrapped in linen after rubbing the Body with oils.

What is the Shroud of Turin

This relic has been kept in the city of Turin, Italy in the Church of St. John the Baptist for more than four centuries. For a long time nothing was heard about the Shroud of Christ. The Canvas, discovered several centuries later, on which the imprints of the human Body are visible, still excites the minds of scientists.

About other Orthodox miracles:

The merciful Creator, through the Holy Face of His Son, gives the world another testimony. If the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is accepted by faith by many believers, then the Funeral Cloths stored in Turin are strong evidence of the reality of the events of Holy Easter.

The Shroud of Turin is called the Fifth Gospel, revealing to unbelievers the truth of the feat of Christ - the Son of God, which was proven by isotopic and medical studies that recognized the fact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Shroud of Turin - history, legends, research

Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences V. SURDIN.

For centuries, this inconspicuous piece of fabric has haunted believers and non-believers, scientists and clergy, journalists and criminologists. From time to time, disputes flare up about what the Shroud of Turin actually is - a Christian shrine or a fake? A miraculous work or an artist's canvas? No one doubts that this is a document of the era, but it is not clear which one? Doubts are being expressed: is it possible to restore the true history of the object? The journal “Science and Life” has already addressed this topic more than once (see No. 12, 1984; No. 3, 1989; No. 5, 1996). The controversy continues unabated; Not only theologians, but also scientists participate in them. We bring to the attention of readers an article (with minor abbreviations and changes) from the bulletin “In Defense of Science,” published by the commission to combat pseudoscience and falsification of scientific research of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Science and life // Illustrations

Shroud of Turin. A negative photographic image looks like a positive one.

Image of the head in a positive photo (right) and in a negative photo (left).

Photograph of one of the supposed blood stains on the shroud (right).

Preparation of the shroud for the 1998 exhibition.

Tab. 1. Dating results of the Shroud of Turin.

Just a few years ago, I had no idea about the enormous scale of the debate that unfolded around the Shroud of Turin. All this was very far from my profession - astronomy. But, as it turned out, the focus of the Shroud of Turin crossed not only historical and theological, but also scientific problems. In this article I will briefly talk about them, as well as some historical detective episodes accompanying scientific investigation of this phenomenon.

MYSTERIOUS BLANKET

In the Italian city of Turin, in the Church of St. John, a piece of linen 4.36 m long and 1.09 m wide is kept, in which, according to legend, Jesus Christ was wrapped after being taken down from the cross. The fabric seems to be saturated with pollen and seems to outline faint outlines of flowers, leaves and other parts of plants. On the fabric there are two plain reddish-brown images of a person (front and back views). Without a doubt, the depiction is of a man about 1.8 m tall. Judging by the wounds on the head, arms and legs, it can be concluded that he suffered crucifixion. The nature of the wounds depicted suggests that the man was wearing a wreath of branches with thorns, that he was beaten with sticks and whips, and that he was pierced in the side with a spear. All these tortures, according to the New Testament, were endured by Jesus.

For centuries the painting was the property of the Savoy dynasty. The earliest information about it dates back to approximately 1350: there is written evidence that the owner of the painting was the French knight Geoffroy de Charny, who participated in the Crusades. In 1453, his granddaughter, Margaret of Charny, sold the coverlet to Louis and Anne of Savoy, who first kept it in Chambery and then in Piedmont. In 1532, during a fire, the cover was damaged by molten silver. In 1578 it was transported to where it is kept today - to Turin. In 1983, after the death of the last king of Italy, Umberto II, the shroud came into the possession of the Catholic Church.

The mysterious painting aroused distrust even at the time when it was first presented to the public. This happened in 1355, when Geoffroy de Charny gave the shroud to be displayed to the public in the parish of Liray, southeast of Paris. Soon the place was flooded with pilgrims. In honor of the event, special medallions were made.

Doubts about the authenticity of the shroud are evidenced by archival documents collected by the French priest Ulysses Chevalier and published in 1900 in the essay “A Critical Study of the Origin of the Holy Shroud of Liray-Chambery-Turin.” They say that there was an artist who created the mysterious painting, and that the owner of the shroud could not provide plausible information about how he acquired the shroud. The following fact is also cited: in 1389, the French bishop Pierre Darcy reported to the pope that the church was profiting from a veil painted in a “cunning way.”

WHO IS PICTURED ON THE CANVAS?

In the 20th century, the shroud was exhibited for public viewing several times; her last shows were held in 1978, 1998 and 2000. After the 1978 exhibition, limited research access to the shroud was allowed. Then a group of scientists, mainly from the United States, carried out the first comprehensive examination of the relic. It was concluded that the shroud depicts a real figure of a man subjected to lashing and crucifixion. The blood stains were noted to contain hemoglobin. For believers in the historical authenticity of the shroud, this became a powerful argument in favor.

However, the Catholic Church has never made an official statement regarding the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. During the public display of the Shroud in Turin on May 24, 1998, Pope John Paul II said: “The Shroud challenges our intellect. She reveals her innermost message only to those who are closest to her with their humble and at the same time lively mind. Its mysterious glow raises questions about the origin and life of a historical figure - Jesus of Nazareth. And since this has nothing to do with questions of faith, the church cannot take upon itself the courage to answer them. She entrusts science with the task of investigating what happened to the linen in which, according to legend, the body of our Savior was wrapped. And the church insists that the results of the study of the shroud be presented to the public. She invites scientists to work with a sense of inner independence and at the same time with attention to the feelings of believers.”

However, many believers treat the Shroud of Turin as a holy relic. For the 1998 exhibition, several books were published, the authors of which tried to prove the authenticity of the veil in the sense of its involvement in the biography of Christ. These researchers call the shroud the word “Sindon”, and themselves - Sindonologists. "Sindon" is a word of Greek origin that originally meant a piece of cloth that could also be used as a shroud, which distinguishes it from a face scarf for wiping away sweat. (Another interpretation of this name is based on the supposed place of origin of the shroud, which was called Sidon.) Among supporters of the authenticity of the shroud, the main role is played by the STURP (Shroud of Turin Research Project) group from the USA, created in the 1970s by John Jackson and Eric Jumper.

Sindonologists believe that after being taken down from the cross, Jesus was placed on a blanket, in which he was then wrapped. Therefore, the outline of the body was imprinted on the canvas. Salzburg theology professor Wolfgang Waldstein offers another explanation. He claims that Christ “left his church an image: since there were no press photographers then, he performed a miracle. At the moment of his resurrection on Easter morning, he produced a flash of light, a flash of enormous energy."

To prove that it is Jesus Christ who is depicted on the veil, Sindonologists refer to a large number of signs that are consistent with biblical information. Fans of the shroud also point to other objects with the image of Christ that existed before the 14th century: coins, medallions... They are convinced: the similarity of the depicted faces of Christ proves that even before the 14th century the Shroud of Turin was used as an original for making coins and other works of art.

However, skeptics disagree. If you look closely, they say, the similarity between ancient images of Christ and the imprint on the shroud is not that great. The only coincidence is that everywhere a long-haired, bearded man is depicted. In addition, the question arises: was the bedspread itself created based on some artistic original? In other words, all coincidences can be explained by the commonality of traditions and the desire to preserve them. Even the great theologian Augustine complained that there was no way to know what Jesus looked like. Over time, artists' ideas about the appearance of Christ changed. Until the 3rd century, Jesus was depicted with short hair and no beard. And only later did images of a bearded, long-haired Christ appear. The image on the Shroud of Turin corresponds quite accurately to the traditions of 14th century art. The fact that single-color images were fashionable at the time strengthens the assumption that we are dealing here with the work of an artist.

Of course, art historical analysis is a delicate and ambiguous matter. However, such an analysis was carried out by an Italian commission created in 1973. She concluded that it was "the work of an artist." Art critics believe that appearance The images on the shroud correspond to the ideas adopted after 1300. Historians agree with them; they note that in biblical times, Jews buried their dead with their arms crossed over their chests. Hands folded over the genitals, as depicted on the shroud, first appeared in paintings from the 11th century and were a concession to the prudery of the time. The dead in the time of Christ were buried naked, circumcised and shaved, which also does not correspond to the image on the shroud.

IMAGE TECHNIQUE

The question of how the image was obtained is, of course, the most important. Research in this direction began more than a hundred years ago. A member of the Turin city council, lawyer and amateur photographer Secondo Pia photographed the Turin canvas on May 28, 1898 using a camera on 50 (60 cm) plates. Developing the plates in a darkroom under red light, he noticed a stunning effect: on the negative, all the details were visible much more more clearly than on the positive. The negative itself looked like a positive photograph, which suggests that the image on the shroud is precisely a negative. Many contemporaries did not trust Pia and considered the young art of photography to be charlatanism. But today, the discovery of Pia serves as the main argument among sindonologists supernaturalism of the shroud.

The negative effect can be explained without involving supernatural forces. A painting technique known as "negative image" was used during the Middle Ages. Everyone knows that if you press paper against a coin and rub it with a pencil, you can get a “negative” of the coin. If you use a bas-relief (or a real one) as a “positive” human body), then obtaining such an image using the means that existed at that time looks quite probable. However, the image on the Shroud of Turin is not a true negative. If it was a real negative, the dark hair and blood should have looked light in the negative.

In addition, if we accept the hypothesis that the Shroud of Turin actually recorded the original body of Christ, then a number of absurdities are striking:

When the blanket lies on the human body, it adheres to the surface of the body. Consequently, if you remove and lay out the bedspread, the usual proportions of the body will be distorted in the image. For example, the imprint on the part that envelops the face will be wider than the face as we see it from the front. But there are no such distortions on the shroud;

There are absolutely no empty spaces that should appear due to folds. The image is too smooth to be genuine;

The imprint of bloody feet on the bedspread does not geometrically correspond to the position of the legs. The feet of a lying person are usually pointed upward, but here the soles of the feet are on the blanket, and then the knees should be bent;

The hair of the man depicted on the Shroud of Turin does not fall down, as is the case with a lying person, but frames his face, as in paintings;

Hands and fingers of different lengths; so, one arm is 10 cm longer than the other;

The blood flows as it does in the paintings of second-rate painters: along a small groove, and does not clot, which would be natural. Anyone who has ever had blood on their clothes knows what stains form. Over time they turn black. And the “blood” on the bedspread is still red.

In the book “Jesus did not die on the cross” (1998), journalists E. Gruber and H. Kersten tried to provide experimental evidence that the image could be obtained by the “evaporation” method. Kersten, having been in the sauna, smeared himself with oil and lay down under a linen blanket. An imprint of one side of his body appeared, but without facial features. Judging by the photographs in the book, the print clearly shows that it was taken from a three-dimensional original, for example, there is a definite extension in the hip area. There are no signs of “three-dimensionality” on the Shroud of Turin.

BLOOD OR PAINT?

This question is considered by many to be the most important, but it is also the most confusing. Two chemical analyzes of the fabric and the substance on it were undertaken with the consent of the Catholic Church back in the 1970s. The first analysis was carried out by an Italian commission in 1973 and concluded that it was “the work of an artist.” A reddish granular substance was found on the tissue. All special blood tests were negative.

During the second analysis, in 1978, experts placed 32 adhesive strips on the shroud and then carefully tore them off: 14 strips were taken from the areas of the shroud located around the image of Jesus, 12 strips were glued to the image itself, and 6 were on the “bloody” areas. spots. The strips were cut into two pieces, and one set was given to microanalyst Walter McCrone and the other to Ray Rogers, who examined the particles of matter and fibers of the bedspread adhering to the strips.

McCron found no traces of blood. But he managed to find iron oxide (ferrous ochre) and cinnabar. The old masters obtained this second component from mercury sulfide and used it as a scarlet pigment. Ferrous ocher is only present in the image area itself and is not present in the control areas of the bedspread. And mercury sulphide paint is found exclusively in “bloody” areas. The fact that cinnabar was often used to depict blood in 13th- and 14th-century painting reinforces the idea of ​​the veil as a work of art. All this strengthened McCrone in the opinion that the bedspread had been in the artist’s studio. But since he considered the antique origin of the bedspread to be possible, he concluded that the paint was used additionally for a more expressive restoration of the yellowed stains left by the body on the bedspread. In his 1999 book The Shroud of Turin, McCron cites the following curious incident: his wife, also a researcher, was studying a glue strip from an old French painting. The results of her analysis were so similar to the results of the analysis of the shroud that McCron initially assumed that the wife had accidentally mixed up her stripes with stripes from the shroud in the laboratory. After all, the painting under study was precisely from the country where the Shroud of Turin suddenly appeared in the 14th century. Facts gradually persuaded McCron to believe that the shroud was a man-made product.

However, work on chemical analysis the shrouds continued: Victor Tryon of the University of Texas in 1998 claimed to have discovered blood on the Shroud of Turin. This was previously stated by Alan Adler and John Geller, members of the STURP group. In fact, they provided evidence of iron and protein on the tissue. But these substances are part of tempera, a water-soluble paint, in the manufacture of which they used egg yolks and iron-containing pigments. The decisive factor here is the fact that no other essential components of blood could be found on the tissue, for example potassium, which is three times more abundant in the blood than iron. However, later reports appeared that traces of DNA were found on the bedspread. The presence of DNA can, of course, indicate the presence of blood, but this is a very weak witness. After so many people have handled the bedspread over the centuries, it would be a miracle if there were no traces of human touch left on it.

I think you will agree with me that the history of research into the Turin blanket is fascinating, like a true detective story. It combines the finest scientific techniques of physicists, biologists and even botanists: fabric, dyes and tiny particles pollen, stuck in the threads of the fabric and capable of indicating the route of travel of the fabric. From the huge number of publications, it is difficult to single out reliable and unbiased ones, since research is influenced by the tension associated with the clash of interests of fanatics and scientists, church and science. The above is only a small part of what I learned about the Shroud of Turin during a short time my interest in her. Anyone interested in the details of her story can easily find them in the literature. And if you use the Internet and dial search engine two words - “Shroud of Turin”, then the computer will rain down megabytes of information on you. The purpose of this article of mine is different...

When I first became acquainted with the “Turin problem,” I, as a normal graduate of the physics department of Moscow State University, immediately asked myself: “Is it really impossible to objectively measure the age of the canvas and thus try to solve the problem of falsification in one fell swoop? If the painting is not 2000 years old, then it has no connection with biblical stories - it is a fake. And if it is 2000 years old, then it is truly a unique historical monument worthy of attention and deep study.” Having asked myself this question, I quickly discovered that I was not the only one “so smart”: it was precisely the problem of age Turin canvas is now considered the most important and attracts the attention of both serious and not entirely serious scientists.

AGE OF THE CANVAS

Modern scientific methods offer many ways to date a historical monument: physical-chemical, archaeological, art history, theological (correlating biblical texts with the image on the canvas) and others. But to me, as a natural scientist, the physicochemical radiocarbon method, based on the decay of a radioactive carbon isotope and long ago adopted by historians and archaeologists, seems most reliable. The gist of it is this. In the earth's atmosphere, carbon atoms are present in the form of three isotopes: 12 C, 13 C and 14 C. The light isotopes 12 C and 13 C are stable, and the heavy isotope 14 C is radioactive, with a half-life of 5730 years. However, its content in the Earth's atmosphere remains approximately constant (one atom of 14 C per 1000 billion atoms of 12 C), since the isotope 14 C is constantly formed in the atmosphere from nitrogen atoms under the influence of cosmic rays. Plants, animals and other organisms that maintain gas exchange with the atmosphere absorb 14 C and during life contain it in approximately the same proportion as the earth's atmosphere. But when an organism dies, its exchange with the atmosphere stops, 14 C is no longer absorbed by tissues and its content begins to slowly decrease as a result of radioactive decay. If you measure the ratio of 14 C to 12 C in a sample, you can determine the age of the sample, more precisely, the time that has passed since its death. The fewer 14 C atoms left, the older the object.

Of course, the detailed technology for applying the method is not so simple. In principle, if the initial 14 C content was known, the age of the sample could be directly calculated based on the law of radioactive decay. But first you need to make sure that the sample is not contaminated with later carbon. Then you need to take into account that the atmospheric content of 14 C fluctuates, since hard cosmic radiation is not constant; in addition, there are variable carbon sources (for example, volcanoes, and in the modern world, the combustion of coal and oil) that affect the relative content of 14 C. To get rid of these inaccuracies, the method is calibrated using wood samples whose age is precisely known from their growth rings.

Thus, age determination occurs in three stages:

1. The sample is cleaned from random, later impurities.

2. The content of carbon isotopes is measured and, using the decay law, the so-called radiocarbon age (tied to 1950) is calculated, which is calculated in “yr.BP” (years before present) values. But this radiocarbon age is not considered as the true age of the sample, but acts only as a measure of the 14 C content. And it does not matter that instead of the real half-life of 5730 years, the so-called Libby half-life is used (named after the creator of this method, Willard Libby), taken equal to 5568 years.

3. Based on the radiocarbon age, using a calibration curve, the calendar date of the sample is determined, which is given in the usual values: years AD or BC.

All these details have long been known to specialists; Isotopic ratios are calibrated across the entire historical time scale using confidently dated samples, including historical sites. The radiocarbon dating method has no fundamental problems.

It is this method that can most accurately determine the age of the linen Shroud of Turin, as historians and archeologists do in relation to all similar monuments of animals and plant origin. In the 1970s and 1980s, scientists repeatedly asked the shroud's owners for permission to conduct precise dating. However, they were refused on the pretext that the research required using a large amount of bedspread fabric. Indeed, in those years the measurement of the 14 C isotope was carried out traditional method, determining the radioactivity of the sample using a decay counter. But since the activity is low, samples of relatively large mass were required: in relation to textiles - 20-50 grams, and the fabric would have to be crushed. However, then the ratio of isotopes began to be determined by mass spectrometry, based on the separation of individual atoms in electrical and magnetic fields. The sensitivity of mass spectrometry is very high, so it is enough to have a strip of fabric measuring 7 (10 cm) to make 12 measurements. This circumstance facilitated the decision by the Catholic Church in 1988 to determine the age of the shroud.

Initially, seven laboratories were selected for research. Their list is recorded in the so-called Turin Protocol. However, then friction began between scientists and clergy, and the number of laboratories was reduced to three. The researchers feared that possible random errors in the study of one of the samples would give reason to doubt the reliability of the research (seven samples would significantly increase the reliability). Fortunately, all three laboratories obtained similar results, which indicated that the veil originated between 1260 and 1390. We will return to this later.

However, due to deviations from the Turin Protocol, which the church insisted on, the sampling procedure was changed. Scientists were not allowed to be present when the tissue was taken, continuous and documented identification of samples was not carried out, and the procedure was not recorded with a camera. All this inevitably led to doubts. Although there is a fear that random deviation, obtained in one of the three laboratories, will call into question the overall result, was not justified, the lack of an impeccably executed research protocol still gives rise to various speculations (see Table 1).

But let's get back to the research. So, a sample of the shroud measuring several square centimeters divided into three parts and sent to three independent scientific institutions: to the geophysics laboratory of the University of Arizona (USA); to the Laboratory of Archeology and History of Art at the University of Oxford, which carried out this work jointly with the research laboratory of the British Museum (UK); and also to the Institute of Physics in Zurich (Switzerland). In each of these laboratories, the samples were divided again, purified in different ways, and their carbon composition analyzed. A total of 12 measurements were made. Comparing the results of the three laboratories gave a radiocarbon age of 691% 31 yr.BP (see table). The calendar age obtained using the calibration curve indicates: with 95% probability, the time of origin of the samples lies between 1262 and 1312 or 1353 and 1384 years (here the objective ambiguity of the calibration curve appeared). The age of 2000 years is practically excluded. Let me remind you that the earliest reliable information about the shroud dates back to approximately 1355. None of the radiocarbon dating participants doubt the medieval origin of the shroud. The result strongly supports the hypothesis that the Shroud of Turin is the work of a 14th-century artist. It would seem that the scientific study of the shroud should end here; but, as it turned out, it’s too early to put an end to this story.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO AGING THE SHROUD OF TURIN?

When I decided to write about the latest scientific research on this historical monument, I did not imagine that I would have to conduct an absentee debate with the luminaries of Russian criminology. However, it is difficult to call this a dispute. Judge for yourself...

In 2001, the journal “Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences” published an article “On the issue of dating the Shroud of Turin.” Its authors: Fesenko Anatoly Vladimirovich - Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Institute of Forensic Science; Belyakov Alexander Vasilievich - head of the Russian Center for the Shroud of Turin; Tilkunov Yuri Nikolaevich - candidate of chemical sciences, head of department at the Institute of Forensic Sciences; Moskvina Tatyana Pavlovna - Candidate of Chemical Sciences, Head of Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. This article expresses doubt about the accuracy of the radiocarbon dating of the shroud carried out by specialists from England, the USA and Switzerland.

The authors of the article indicate that the shroud, which suffered from a fire in 1532, according to historical data, underwent restoration, during which it could have been soaked in vegetable oils and thus introduced into its composition fresh organic material that could significantly change the ratio of carbon isotopes, and therefore reduce it radiocarbon age. Our criminologists have experimentally shown that the method of preparing shroud samples for radiocarbon dating, used, in particular, by Oxford specialists, does not provide complete removal from the fabric of the dried shroud vegetable oil. If from 7.0 to 15.6% oil was added to the fabric (relative to its initial mass), then after processing there could still be from 1.8 to 8.5% oil left in it. This result looks quite plausible, although I cannot judge the accuracy of the numbers. However, the authors of the article further claim that even 5-7% of oil is enough to “shift” the radiocarbon date of the manufacture of the shroud from the “initial” (which the authors a priori consider the year of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ) to the medieval date obtained in the above-mentioned foreign laboratories.

Agree - amazing result! Did the specialists of the three world centers “miss” this possible source of error? Of course not: just open their work to see that they took this possibility into account. Listing the various sources of error that affect the accuracy of radiocarbon dating, they point out that when measuring textile samples main danger consists of contamination, especially with fat, oil or soot, of origin later than the sample itself. The fact that different samples in each laboratory were cleaned using different methods (including ultrasound), and the results of individual measurements were in good agreement with each other, suggests that the role of contamination was insignificant. In addition, if the shroud was made in the 1st century, then even 10% contamination with oil in 1532 gives an error of about 280 years old, that is, it “rejuvenates” the shroud to the 3rd-4th centuries AD, but not to XIV century. If the fabric was made in the 14th century, then 10% oil contamination in the 16th century would reduce its radiocarbon age by only 40 years. And finally, in order to rejuvenate the shroud by 1300 years - from the era of Jesus Christ to the mid-14th century - it is necessary to saturate the fabric with an amount of oil whose weight is several times greater than the weight of the fabric itself. And this is obvious nonsense.

So what is the find of Russian criminologists? How did they manage to rejuvenate the shroud by 13 centuries with no more than 7% oil contamination? And it’s very simple: they did this through a gross mathematical error, writing the isotope ratio equation in such a form, as if at the moment of contamination only the radioactive carbon isotope 14 C got into the fabric of the shroud, and not a natural mixture of all carbon isotopes! It's hard to believe that this is an accidental mistake. From this equation, the authors calculate what the radiocarbon date of birth of the shroud, created in the early 1st century, would have been if there had been a certain percentage of unaccounted oil contamination (see Table 2).

It was no coincidence that we identified contamination at 8.7%; As we see, it is with this content of unwashed oil that, according to the calculations of our criminologists, the radiocarbon age of the shroud would coincide with the date of its contamination. You don’t have to be a great scientist to understand: such rejuvenation is only possible if the substance of the ancient tissue is completely replaced by fresh organic matter produced in 1532. Completely, not 8-9%. The last columns of the table look like complete fantasy: with 11.5% contamination produced in the 16th century, the fabric of the shroud should be made today! Well, then she found herself in the era of Jesus Christ... You can’t do without a time machine here!

To tell the truth, I am sorry that our criminologists were not able to have their say in the world “shroudology.” After all, there are probably competent specialists among them, and the task is certainly interesting for them. But how could experienced experts fail to notice such an obvious mistake? I won’t guess, I’m an astrophysicist, not a detective.

For the sake of objectivity, we can recall that in the discussion around the shroud, mistakes and even pitfalls were made before. For example, in 1989, physicist Thomas Phillips of Harvard University's High Energy Laboratory suggested that at the moment of Christ's resurrection, his body emitted a powerful pulse of thermal neutrons (and why not - what do we know about the physics of the resurrection?). At the same time, some nuclei of the 13 C isotope, capturing neutrons, could turn into 14 C nuclei, thus “rejuvenating” the fabric of the shroud from the point of view of radiocarbon studies. Although it was clear to everyone that this idea belonged to the category of “Physicists are joking,” it was carefully analyzed by experts. Arguments were found, for example the normal isotopic composition of other chemical elements tissues that completely reject this hypothesis.

Sometimes one hears reproaches that serious scientists are trying to brush aside the problem of the Shroud of Turin, that science is not able to unravel the nature of this historical monument. This is strange to hear: any document of the 14th century (and even more so of the 1st century!) is infinitely valuable for science, for the history of culture. That is why scientists are so meticulously striving to establish its authenticity. To establish the true, and not the mythical, history of the Shroud of Turin is the goal scientific research. Unfortunately, this cultural monument never fully fell into the hands of scientists. But even the little that qualified researchers have been able to do is mentioned by some “commentators” in passing or with obvious distortions. I am sure that over time the mystery of the Shroud of Turin will be solved: scientists have also uncovered not such secrets!

LITERATURE

Arutyunov S., Zhukovskaya N. The Shroud of Turin: a body imprint or an artist’s creation // Science and Life, 1984, No. 12, p. 102.

The face on the shroud // Science and Life, 1996, No. 5, p. 49.

Surdin V.G. Error in solving an elementary problem // Bulletin of the RAS, 72, 2002, No. 6, p. 543-544.

The Shroud of Turin is the creation of an artist // Science and Life, 1989, No. 3, p. 157.

Fesenko A.V., Belyakov A.V., Tilkunov Yu.N., Moskvina T.P. On the issue of dating the Shroud of Turin // Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2001, No. 10, p. 915-918.

Chernykh E.N. Biocosmic “clocks” of archeology // Nature, 1997, No. 2, p. 20-32.

Damon P. E., Donahue D. J., Gore B. H., Hatheway A. L., Jull A. J. T., Linick T. W., Sercel P. J., Toolin L. J., Bronk C. R., Hall E. T., Hedges R. E. M., Housley R., Law I. A., Perry C., Bonani G., Trumbore S. ., Woelfli W., Ambers J. C., Bowman S. G. E., Leese M. N., Tite M. S. Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin // Nature, 1989, v. 337, p. 611-615.

G ove H . E. Relic, Icon or Hoax - Carbon Dating the Turin Shroud. - Institute of Physics Publishing. London, 1996.

Gruber E. R., Kersten H. Das Jesus-Komplott. - Langen Mueller, Muenchen, 1992.

Nickell J. (1998a) Inquest on the Shroud of Turin.- Latest Scientific Findings. Prom. Books., Amh., NY.

The main shrine of the Christian world is kept in the Italian city of Turin - the shroud in which the body of Christ was wrapped after death. Christians all over the world believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, but there are also many atheists. One day I had to have a long conversation with an unbelieving friend about the fact of the resurrection of Christ.

I gave him convincing scientific arguments and told him that the shroud of Christ testifies to his miraculous resurrection. Unfortunately, it was not possible to convince him. But I believe my words planted a seed in his heart. They will definitely rise in due time. In the article I will tell you about the Shroud of Turin and the history of its acquisition by believers.

The shroud is a piece of fabric measuring 4.3 x 1.1 meters. On the canvas, yellowed by centuries, brownish spots clearly appear, which outline a male figure with long hair and a beard. The history of this shrine is full of secrets and adventures. According to legend, the shroud was kept by the apostle, and then it passed from student to student. The shrouds were kept in deep secrecy so that they would not attract adventurers of all stripes.

It should be clarified that during the time of persecution of the followers of Christ, all shrines were carefully hidden from the pagans, so the shrouds were not reported anywhere. The shroud was too valuable a treasure for Christians to put on display. But after the adoption of Christianity as the state religion by Emperor Constantine, they began to talk openly about the shroud.

It is known that for some time the shroud was preserved in Constantinople, but after the defeat of the Byzantine Empire by the Turks and Crusaders, nothing is known about the shrine. No one knows for certain how it appeared in Europe. But one fact remains reliable, what happened to the Italian photographer Secondo Pia.

Now the Shroud of Turin is in the Church of John the Baptist in Turin.

The shrouds were brought to an exhibition of religious art, where Pia photographed them. When the photographer developed the films, one of them became completely exposed. But another one, when developed, left the photographer in awe and horror. The image of a man of incredible beauty and nobility was very clearly visible on the shroud - it was the Face of Jesus Christ. The photographer could not fall asleep until the morning and take his eyes off the divine. This happened in 1898 in Paris.

Shroud of Turin, high resolution photo:

Why did the Savior appear before humanity in his true form? Because in modern society they have lost faith and forgotten about the true meaning of life. The Savior reminded of himself in such a form that everyone would think about their soul. People began to rely on scientific evidence of the absence of the existence of God and fell into Gnosticism. However, in the 21st century, science is no longer so categorical about the denial of the divine principle and has even found evidence in quantum theory.

Miraculous image

The Shroud is not made by hands and bears evidence of its ancient origin. Scientists cannot doubt this because detailed research has been carried out. Even criminologists carefully examined the shroud, but found no evidence of forgery or falsification.

Many scientists who studied the shroud believed in the possibility of the resurrection of Christ and turned from atheists to Christians.

Evidence of the authenticity of the shroud:

• linen fabric woven using a now lost ancient technique;
• the cotton from which the linen is made grows only in Western Asia;
• imprint of coins from the era of Pilate (they covered the eyes of the deceased);
• mark from a nail driven into the wrist;
• lack of dyes and artistic creativity;
• the age of origin dates back to 30-100 years after the birth of Christ.

The botanist Frey studied the composition of the dust from the shroud and confirmed that it corresponds to the composition of the dust of Palestine, Byzantium and Europe. Thus, the transfer of the shrine from area to area was confirmed.

The results of scientific research of the shroud exclude its artificial origin in Europe.

The history of the shroud also includes events when it was washed, boiled in oil and heated. But despite all efforts, the Holy Face could not be destroyed. Also, the shroud was caught in fires more than once, but retained its integrity and remained unharmed.

The Shroud of Turin fully proves the fact of the resurrection of Jesus.

The most surprising discovery was the discovery radioactive radiation. How could it have gotten onto the shroud in those distant times? This was explained by the fact of Christ's resurrection from the dead, when various nuclear processes occurred in his body. Thanks to qualitative changes in the body, the Savior could emerge from the shroud without untying and pass through the walls.

Lawyer Edward Clarke's conclusion about the Shroud of Turin:

Traces of torture

The traces of the torture of Christ’s body, which are imprinted on the canvas, deserve special attention. Scientists scrupulously examined every spot on the fabric and revealed details that were not mentioned in the gospel. Firstly, the nationality of the body wrapped in a cloth was established - Jewish or Arab. Secondly, the stains on the canvas are formed by blood. Thirdly, the fabric of the shroud was expensive for those times, and only a wealthy person (he was a pious person) could buy it.

• Blood stains on the fabric appeared before the image was imprinted - this indicates that a nuclear reaction occurred during the resurrection.
• Analysis of blood stains indicates that the linen covered the body of the deceased for no more than two/three days.
• The thorns from the crown of thorns damaged the blood vessels of the brain, as evidenced by blood stains on the shroud in the area of ​​the head and beard.
• There were bloody wounds on the knees, which testifies to the fall of the Savior under the weight of the cross carried to Calvary.
• The nail wounds are on both feet.
• In the area of ​​the ribs there was a blurry stain formed by the ichor - when Jesus’ ribs were pierced with a spear.

The facts of brutal torture are simply terrible. Scientists have reconstructed the picture of the Savior’s death throes, which were not mentioned in the Gospel. was subjected to severe scourging by two men. The whips had iron balls with hooks that tore out pieces of skin when struck. Each blow left a bloody mark on the canvas. In a beaten and tormented state, Christ carried a heavy wooden cross to the place of execution - Golgotha.

Shroud of Turin - photo of Jesus Christ:

Removal of the Shroud

In Russia, the term “shroud” appeared only in the 16th century. Since the original is in Russian Orthodox Church it wasn’t, then they created an icon. It depicted Jesus Christ in the tomb. But this icon is not painted on wood, but on canvas. It can be painted or cross-stitched.

IN Good Friday Easter services are held in churches and the Holy Shroud is taken out. This is the most mournful and sad day for believers, when the suffering of Jesus on the cross is remembered.

The removal of the shroud takes place on Good Friday in the afternoon at 14-00. The priest takes out the shrine and places it in the center of the temple on a special elevation, symbolizing the coffin. The shroud is decorated with fresh flowers, and the gospel is placed in the center of the cloth.

On Good Friday in the evening the burial ceremony is performed, in this service the shroud plays main role. The service is held in mournful tones, the clergy sing mourning troparia. During the liturgy, a procession of the cross takes place around the church accompanied by funeral bells.

After the burial ceremony is completed, the shroud is brought to the royal doors, and then returned to the center of the temple. At this time, all believers can venerate it. The shrine can be worshiped until late Saturday evening. Then the shroud is taken to the altar before Matins, symbolizing the arrival of the good news of the resurrection.

The imprint on the Turin canvas is the Body of Christ

After establishing the authenticity of the Shroud, i.e. After eliminating the possibilities of the theory about the fake or repeatability of the Turin painting, the scientific world was faced with the task: who owns this painting?

This question of enormous, global importance has long and greatly worried, even at the first appearance of the Shroud, those to whom Christ was and is the greatest hindrance. Therefore, all research and published works that were positive for the Shroud were for a long time and systematically subjected to attacks, criticism and even ridicule. This attitude of a certain part of people further sharpened the attention of the scientific world. His task became worthy special attention. A number of scientists began to solve it using an impartial method, known in science, on the basis of which historical figures are established (identification).

First of all, the type of body imprinted on the Turin canvas was studied. The result turned out to be the following: the body belongs to an ideally classical and exclusively symmetrical build. The body was examined by specialists using the anthropological method - Doctor of the University of Rome L. Gelda and Doctor of Forensic Medicine in Milan G. Iudica-Cordiglia. Both professors came to the conclusion that the body under study had not only exceptional symmetry, but also nobility of beauty. The total body length is 181 centimeters. According to the classical proportion, the head is one eighth of the entire length of the body, i.e. 22? centimeter According to the mentioned scientists, the strict classicism of such a body was unknown to the artists of the Middle Ages, which once again excludes the possibility of counterfeiting the Turin canvas by artistic means. At the congress in Turin in 1931 this truth was announced high specialists in art history and directors of Turin museums.

To establish historical figure, who made a negative print on the Turin canvas, scientists examined the entire imprinted body - both front and back. Here is the protocol for this study:

“A small beard and mustache. The right eye is closed, the left is barely open. There is a drop of blood above the left eyebrow. Oriental nose. The eyes are close to the bridge of the nose. The nasal bone was broken from a blow on the left side, apparently from a blow with a stick; The left cheek was very swollen. On the left side, above the cheekbone, the body is broken, and this side of the face is not swollen. Underlip imprinted exactly. The mouth is remarkably expressive, giving the whole face an expression of deep sadness, but sadness without anger. The chin is clearly defined, especially on the left. On the right there is a stain of blood or a deep wound. Since this person suffered a lot, the contraction of tissues occurred unevenly after death, and the face was asymmetrical. In addition to the indicated injuries and wounds, there are many other marks on the head and face from blows and injuries.

On the temples and forehead brown spots– clots of dried drops of blood. They create the shape of a crown. The drop above the left eyebrow is somewhat oblong: it flowed from the wound, then caked on the skin. Such a drop always takes the shape of a hole, because when it coagulates, red drops of blood are fixed on the outside, and the ichor, or serum, remains inside the drop. The serum evaporates more strongly and, as it evaporates, the surface of the drop in the middle bends. It was just such a drop that was imprinted on the Shroud with perfect precision, having a thick color at the edges and lighter in the middle. This is significant, because no artist has ever depicted this natural structure of a drop of congealed blood so truthfully. This drop was dry long before death, about 12 hours, judging by the shape and color of its imprint (the scourging of Christ took place a day before His death).

On the chest (on the Shroud on the left, therefore on the body on the right) there is a stain from a wound between the ribs; Adjacent to the wound stain below is another, oblong stain that looks like leaking blood. The direction of flow, in relation to the entire body, is from top to bottom, along the body when it was in a standing position. The dried stream of blood is naturally arched and resembles a spear blow. If any artist had depicted the same wound even with blood, then even then the correct traces of it on the canvas that are on the Shroud would not have been obtained, and here’s why: fresh blood is absorbed into the fabric abundantly, leaving jagged lines along the threads at the borders of its distribution , edge, whereas on the Shroud such borders are completely even, for the blood on the wound and on the side had dried long before the cloth touched it.

There is a wound and a large blood clot on the left arm, in the hand area. Only the tips of the fingers are visible on the right hand. Both wrists are dark, because were abundantly irrigated with blood from through wounds. Blood flows are visible from the wrists to the elbows in a lower direction. The nail was not driven in the middle of the palm, but higher, between the bones of the wrist.

The wounds on the legs are of the same type. Their outline is very clear, because the blood had time to coagulate and bake. The edges of the bloody print are jagged in one place, but the stain is lighter in this area. Apparently, the wound was disturbed later, and the threads of the linen drew moisture through their capillaries.

There are special wounds along the entire back and pelvis. They are located one next to the other. Each such wound is the same size and type, 3 centimeters long. These wounds are black in the centers and brown at the edges. The bleeding from these wounds, 18 in number, covering the back, lower back and buttocks, was prolonged, because the wounds were irritated for a long time by the friction of clothing. These wounds were inflicted by a Roman scourge called a flask, such as were discovered during the excavations of Herculaneum. The flask consisted of several ropes with metal ends. The size of the tips corresponded to the size of the wounds. These tips deeply cut the body with elongated wounds. The blows were applied from the right upward, as well as from the right downward, the hand of the scourge described a circle near the motionless shoulder.

A wide stripe is visible on the right shoulder, as if an abrasion from carrying a very heavy object with sharp edges.”

Turning to the evidence of wounds and mutilations examined on the Turin canvas, scientists resorted to comparing these wounds and injuries documented in the Gospel, as well as all the circumstances that accompanied the trial of Jesus Christ before Pilate and the Sanhedrin, and found complete and detailed similarities and coincidences with everything that was discovered on the Shroud.

“Wounds all over the body from scourging. The scourging was carried out, at the insistence of the crowd, by Roman soldiers and left all traces on the Shroud. The crown of thorns was also imprinted. The face disfigured by blows is the work of the servants of Caiaphas, the high priest of the Jews. The stripe of bruise on the shoulder is the path of Christ to Golgotha ​​with His Cross. The wounds on his hands and feet are His crucifixion. Deep wound from a spear between the ribs - a blow from a warrior, in order to verify the life or death of the executed Christ. Surviving, contrary to custom during such an execution, were the lower legs. And at the same time, royal clarity and peace on a face that is unique in the world in its anthropological properties. Then - the era established by a series of material documents; an incident among the Jewish people, which is also fully proven materially; death on the cross; the circumstances of the position in the tomb, under the canvas for no more than two or three days - all this, carefully checked and examined, makes it possible to assert that the canvas belonged to only one historical figure - Jesus Christ.

The expression of Christ's face, remarkably symmetrical, after death remained majestically calm and inexpressibly beautiful, despite the damage and mutilation. The hands are folded one on top of the other in the middle of the body, with only four fingers visible right hand and the ends of the fingers of the left. Thumb is not visible because, according to experts, when the wrist was wounded with a nail, the nerve was struck, which paralyzed the motor muscles of this finger, and it curled under the palm.”

Everything presented here is mainly the materials of scientists, who often have nothing in common with the Christian Church, but involuntarily lead an impartial person to recognize the Turin canvas as the miraculously preserved Holy Shroud of Christ to this day. The world, hostile to Christianity, is free not only not to recognize the obvious evidence of scientists and historians, as well as Evangelists, but also to continue its opposition in the form of ever new questions and formal objections. But this cannot change our attitude, especially since over the past 50 years we have managed to become convinced that the endless objections to the truth of the Holy Shroud are aimed not so much at the Shroud itself physically, but at general recovery people against the Christian Church and its relics.

So, we are contemporaries of a new acquisition by the Orthodox of the highest shrine of Christians.

The suffering of Christ the Savior as a Man on earth - highest point His Divine Sermon. The suffering is not only physical, but even more mental. We usually have very modest ideas about the physical suffering of the Savior, and we have become accustomed to the sight of the crucified Christ; we have lost the desire to be transported in thought and feeling to the authenticity of the tragedy on Calvary.