A life-size replica of one of the world’s most controversial religious relics is on display at Norwich’s Roman Catholic cathedral.
The ghostly image of a crucified man on the Shroud of Turin has been cloaked in intrigue for centuries, sparking debate among scholars, scientists and theologians over whether it shows the face of Christ.
A photographic reproduction of the shroud on linen, one of only six in the world, forms the centrepiece of an exhibition at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist on Earlham Road.
The original relic remains guarded in a custom-built, humidity-controlled unit in Turin, in northern Italy, where it has resided since 1578 and where it very rarely goes on show to the public.
The Rev Patrick Limacher, deacon of St John’s cathedral, said the exhibition of the replica gave people an opportunity to form their own opinions.
“It has to be said that the shroud is probably the most studied artefact there has ever been,” he said. “But the authenticity of it is still in the melting pot.
“Like all artefacts, it is not necessarily there to prove anything. It is there purely to help one to appreciate and understand what the church and religion are all about.
“I used to be a materials engineer, so I’m intrigued by all the scientific work that has gone on. They have used the most modern technology around, and even they cannot figure it out. How does that image get on there? God alone knows.
“At the end of the day, all the testing and all the work that has been done has only managed to prove what it is not. It is not a painting, it is not a forgery, it is not from the 14th century and it certainly was not painted by Leonardo da Vinci."
“But, in some ways, if you take the scientific evidence, we can tell what it is. It is almost certainly a first-century burial shroud of a man who was crucified. That is the fact of it. Beyond that, it becomes a matter of faith.”
The back of the image is littered with marks which appear to be wounds from a savage flogging.
“That is the part I found most moving,” said Mr Limacher. “You can see the marks of a man who was crucified and it reminds you that 2,000 years ago this man, whoever he was, went through the most appalling degradation and death. It can remind us of man’s inhumanity to other men.”
The origins of the shroud – and how the faint, full-length image of a man could have appeared on it – are still the subject of intense debate around the world.
The many unproven theories include that the image was somehow left by Christ before his resurrection, that it is the work of a skilled forger, or that it could have been generated by chemical residue, scorching or radiation.
In 1988 a radiocarbon dating test was performed on small samples of the shroud, which concluded the samples were dated from medieval times – far too recent for the linen sheet to have been used in Christ’s burial. Those findings have since been questioned by scholars who contend that the sample tested was from a repair made hundreds of year after the shroud was created.
Mr Limacher said: “Every time science thinks they have got the answer, God throws in another wobbler. There are a lot of things said about it but at the moment it remains a mystery, and it will remain so.”
The Shroud of Turin replica exhibition will run daily 11-4pm until March 10 at the cathedral, between Earlham Road and Unthank Road.