Late Breaking Website News! Updated October 10, 2017 Check here for important announcements and other Shroud of Turin Website news. This page will be updated whenever new page additions, articles and other resources are added to the site. Each item carries a posting date indicating when it first went online. The most recent update appears at the top of the page.

As you scroll down through the page, you can review the items that were added this year in chronological order. You should find this an excellent way to sample the evolving content of this website. And you can also view every previous year's Website News pages at the links below. The Holy Mandylion - Special Feature: The Shroud and the Eastern Orthodox Church Welcome to our Fall website update! This is another huge one and has literally taken until the very last minute to get it all completed!

Download Free Game Empire 250 Games Cdn more. We start with an important comment from the STERA, Inc. Board of Directors and the introduction of a new page on the website dedicated to the recent International Shroud Conference in Pasco, Washington.

Today's additions also include a Special Feature on The Shroud and the Eastern Orthodox Church, a new feature called News From Turin, the latest issue of the BSTS Newsletter, eight more issues of Rex Morgan's Shroud News, coverage of the recent 2017 Jalsa Salana Convention in England, news of a special Day of the Shroud in Krakow, Poland, the announcement of STERA, Inc.' S 2017 Fundraising Campaign, a preview of what is coming to Shroud.com in 2018, links to many new books, articles, papers and videos and much more.

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There should be enough here to keep you busy reading until Christmas! Here is the Update Table of Contents: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •. An Important Comment from the STERA, Inc. Board of Directors The STERA, Inc. Board of Directors has asked me to publish the following comment: In 2015, after fulfilling all of STERA, Inc.' S formal requirements for accessing materials in our various collections, the Board of Directors voted to approve Giulio Fanti's request for access to three of the remaining tape samples from the Ray Rogers Collection.

These were hand delivered to him in Turin in May 2015 by Barrie Schwortz. It should be noted that Barrie does not have a vote on the Board of Directors so did not participate in the decision to grant Giulio access to the samples. That decision was made solely by the Board of Directors. In the STERA, Inc. Materials Access Request form that Giulio completed, he stated that, 'The material will be returned AS it will be furnished without impact of any kind.

Possible minimal alteration will be agreed before any operation.' This indisputably implies that the testing he would perform would be completely NON-DESTRUCTIVE and was one of the critical considerations STERA, Inc. Used in their decision to grant his request and make the samples available to him.

When Giulio submitted a copy to the board of the first paper he produced based at least in part on the samples we provided, titled, 'Mechanical Characterization of Linen Fibers: The Turin Shroud Dating,' the Board of Directors reviewed it and made a series of comments and recommendations to improve the paper and make it more accurate. The board letter made the following points. [Editor's Note: A third paper by Giulio Fanti was published more recently, after the above statement had already been drafted by the Board.

This new paper is also based (at least in part) on the samples STERA, Inc. Provided, but, as of this writing, has not yet been evaluated by the Board]. Posted October 10, 2017. Shroud News With this update we add eight more issues to Rex Morgan's archive, which will total 118 issues when complete. This update includes Issue #77, June 1993 through Issue #84, August 1994 with articles by such notable Shroud scholars as Ian Wilson, Alan D. Adler and Larry A.

Schwalbe, Brother Bruno Bonnet-Eymard, Robert Halisey, Remi Van Haelst, Emanuela Marinelli and Orazio Petrosillo, Rev. Frederick Brinkmann, Prof. Alan Whanger and Mary Whanger, Emily A. Craig and Randall R. Bresee, Isabel Piczek, Ian Dickinson, Luigi Garlaschelli, Franco Ramaccini and Sergio Della Sala and many more.

Our sincerest thanks as always to Stephen Jones for his extraordinary effort in scanning and optical character recognition of every page, Ian Wilson for providing the original issues and valuable input and of course, to Rex Morgan for his gracious permission to reprint them here on Shroud.com. Posted October 10, 2017.

New Page - International Conference on the Shroud of Turin, Pasco, Washington On July 19-22, 2017, an International Conference on the Shroud of Turin - 'Seeking Solutions to the Mysteries of the Shroud,' was held at the TRAC Center in Pasco, Washington. The event was sponsored by Mark Antonacci and his and was organized and managed by Robert Rucker (and family). The Official Website of the event is online at this link: and includes the Conference Schedule, Abstracts, and Biographies of the presenters. As we have done with many conferences in the past, we have also created a new page here on Shroud.com. In fact, the page is already available although it is unfinished and still under construction. It includes conference details, photos, links to a few of the presentations, several reviews written by conference attendees and much more. Our goal is to eventually include all the papers that were presented in their entirety, but that will take a few more months to complete.

Since I was unable to attend the conference myself, I could not write my usual summary of the event, so I asked STERA, Inc. Board member Russ Breault (and several attendees), to write a brief overview for us. Russ acted as Master of Ceremonies for the conference and made a number of presentations himself. In fact, you can already find links to videos of each presentation and Abstracts of every paper on the page of Russ' website. Here is his article: The International Conference on the Shroud of Turin held in Pasco, Washington July 19-22 was a great success. Robert Rucker and his organizing team along with his wife and daughter worked tirelessly to pull off a well-organized and well promoted conference. Numerous exhibits were developed by his talented daughter, Joleen.

She created an exhibit on how flax is prepared, a simulated crown of thorns and even created a realistic model representing the empty tomb. They brought in several posters and life-size photo replicas to grace the walls of the TRAC Center where the conference was held. Bob was able to bring in a video crew from his church who were able to film and live stream the entire event on Youtube with all the talks available for anyone to view right now. Here is the best link for anyone who wants to explore some of the excellent presentations made during this three day event: Bob and his team also arranged for lunch and dinner all three days of the conference creating a wonderful time of fellowship with fellow researchers and participants. Hotels were adjacent to the conference center making it very convenient for people to come and go from their rooms. The visual displays were excellent offering two large screens on either side of the stage. The sound system worked flawlessly as well.

Now for the best part. I was exceedingly pleased to see so many of our fellow researchers from 'across the pond' including Italy, Spain, France and Australia. Since there is a direct link above to all the presentations, there is no need for me to critique any of them. Watch, enjoy and come to your own conclusions. An added bonus to the conference were two film crews on site to interview various experts for two new documentaries.

One will air here in the US and the other will air in China! One last shout out and thanksto Treau, a young lady from New York who volunteered to be our time keeper for each speaker. She was indispensable for keeping us all on track. Once again, kudos to Bob Rucker and his team for putting together a terrific conference and sharing it with the world via streaming video. It was my honor to emcee the event. Bruno Barberis and David Rolfe were two of the distinguished European Shroud scholars that were guest speakers at the event (Click for larger view) I was once again privileged to attend and speak at the 51st Annual Jalsa Salana Convention near Guildford in Hampshire, England on July 28-30, 2017, marking my third year at the event.

As I have reported previously, the convention is held annually by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in England and this year's attendance reached around 40,000 people for the three day meeting. For the third successive year, the magazine, a 115 year old Ahmadiyya publication, sponsored a large marquee (tent) that included Pam Moon's beautiful Shroud Exhibit along with a superb exhibit of ancient Korans, collected and curated by my dear friend and world renowned Islamic calligrapher, Razwan Baig. Most exciting this year was the attendance and presentations made by three highly regarded European Shroud scholars including Bruno Barberis, Past-President of the International Center of Sindonology in Turin, Italy, Mark Guscin, noted author, linguist and expert on the Sudarium of Oviedo from Spain and David Rolfe, award winning filmmaker, Shroud scholar and the new Editor of the from England. As an added bonus, we were all pleasantly surprised by the attendance of our good friend Jostein Andreassen from Norway, who holds the distinction of having written the first book about the Shroud of Turin in the Norwegian language. Although he and I have corresponded for years, it was great to finally meet him in person.

In fact, you can view Jostein's report on the Jalsa in his website article (in Norwegian) titled,. You can also read my two previous articles on the Jalsa Salana at these links: - and -. They include details and many photographs of the events. The Review of Religions team have welcomed Pam Moon and me as official members of their Shroud Exhibit Planning Committee and the exhibit has grown and become more refined over the past two years. This year, in an effort to improve the overall exhibit, the normally translucent tent material was covered and blacked out and each individual part of the exhibit was lit separately using museum style lighting.

The effect was more powerful and dramatic and made one feel like you were actually standing in a museum. In past years, speakers would make their presentations in the exhibit area itself, but this year the Review team obtained a separate marquee, solely for the presentations of the speakers.

This accommodated a larger seated audience in a more comfortable and less distracting setting and was a major improvement over previous years. Of course, the most important part of the event for me this year was the attendance of three prominent European Shroud scholars. (Read more and see many photographs: ). Posted October 10, 2017. Home Page of Newly Redesigned Centro Internazionale di Sindonologia (CIS) Official Shroud Website We are very happy to report on the latest activities from the Centro Internazionale di Sindonologia (CIS) or International Center of Sindonology in Turin, and there have been many!

We will summarize them here and provide you with links to some of the most important new information. Our special thanks to Enrico Simonato, Secretary of the CIS, and Paola Cappa, CIS External Relations, for sending us the information. For those of you who might not be familiar with the International Center of Sindonology, it would be best for you to first read this brief overview of the nearly sixty year old organization and its importance to Sindonology before proceeding: • At the top of the news is the, which has just undergone a serious redesign and update. Only the Italian language pages have been updated as of this writing, but an English language version of the newly redesigned site is currently being created and the English language version of the original design is still readily available by clicking on the 'English' icon on the top right corner of the page. When you first arrive on the site, you need to click on the 'Home' button at top left to see the above view of the page.

The site now has a fresh new design and improved navigation which should make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for. Of course, if you prefer you can also use Google (or some other online translation service) to translate the newly revised Italian language pages directly.• For a more detailed than is provided in the brief overview above, this link is to a more in-depth history of the organization.• Among the many recent activities to report, the CIS recently elected their new Board of Directors. Here is an article (in both English and Italian) that lists not only the new Board members, but also the recently created Regional Directors and the updated members of the Scientific Committee:.• The CIS is also charged with the responsibility of maintaining the Sindone Museo or Shroud Museum in Turin. It houses the second largest collection of Shroud related materials in the world (second only to the Savoy Collection). Enrico was kind enough to send us a comprehensive history and other important details about the museum so we have compiled it all into a single document titled and are making it available to you today. Posted October 10, 2017.

Special Feature: The Shroud and the Eastern Orthodox Church While lecturing in Cincinnati, Ohio this past March, I met Ralph Sidway and Brian Farison, both members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, who attended my lecture and spoke with me afterwards. We discussed the fact that the Orthodox Church plays an important role in the Shroud's history and Ralph was kind enough to contact me more recently and send me a wealth of information from the Orthodox Christian perspective. Ralph wrote: 'It was great to meet you and attend your presentations at Immaculate Conception Academy in Cincinnati back in March. My friend Brian Farison also benefited greatly from your talks and the opportunity to speak with you after.

I'd like to share with you some links to presentations and news stories, as well as PDFs of the most significant ones, which might be of interest to some of your readers, coming as they do from the little reported Orthodox Christian perspective. These might be suitable for your Religion & Philosophy Page at shroud.com, and I have tried to provide some synopsis and context for each.' Ralph provided us with so much material and relevant links that there is far more than I can include on this page.

Consequently, to make it easier to find and review all the related articles, I have also compiled everything into a single comprehensive document titled, which includes all the Eastern Orthodox related articles, links and notes and have permanently archived them as Ralph suggested on the and pages of the site. I am including a number of these links below to get you started. • One of the only serious studies of the Shroud by an Orthodox writer: (link to online version) by Fr. Alexey Young.

(Also available in a stand alone ). Somewhat dated in terms of the science, but some deep, serious reflections on the meaning of the Shroud, including why it might have been providentially preserved to our day, when science itself has to struggle with the mystery of how the Image was created. This article also draws out references to the Shroud embedded in Orthodox hymnography and worship, especially in the Holy Week services.• A talk by Deacon Stephen Muse, (link to online video and transcript). (Also available in a stand alone ) - This talk has a great deal to recommend it for it insights into the Eastern Orthodox Church. The video is unfortunately just done from a stationary video camera, so it is hard to make out most of the images he talks about, but one could find them through online searching. Ralph included some specific notes on this presentation which are included in the comprehensive version mentioned above.• An excellent gathering of articles, icons and Orthodox hymns,, from the Orthodox blog, 'Full of Grace and Truth'.

(Also available in a stand-alone ). This combines hymnography and history of the Holy Mandylion - the 'Image Not Made by Human Hands' - which is, of course, very likely the Shroud in its Tetradiplon folded status as it was venerated in the Christian Church from the sixth century through the sack of Constantinople in 1204. There is much Orthodox material in this profusely illustrated collection, plus many embedded links. Posted October 10, 2017. Secure Contribution Form I love the work I do as editor of this website and as President of, but one of the most difficult (and uncomfortable) responsibilities I have is raising funds each year in the form of tax deductible contributions to support the website and our other long term projects. Frankly, with the large number of visitors we have each year, we could generate substantial revenue by allowing advertising on the site, but we have never allowed ads in our 22 year history and have no intention of allowing them in the future!

That means that we need your support to help make up the difference. As President of STERA, Inc., I am obligated to solicit contributions from our viewers and subscribers, just like every other non-profit in the world.

Of course, unlike most non-profits, we only have one annual fundraising effort near the end of each year. We prefer not to bombard you with continuous requests for contributions during the course of the year (which I am sure you appreciate). But now, that time has come again and this year we are offering some new ways to support STERA, Inc.

Our newest means of supporting STERA, Inc. Is via which allows you to shop at more than 3000 of your favorite brand-name stores and receive cash back for all your purchases. You can then specify what percentage of your cash back earnings you would like to have automatically donated directly to STERA, Inc. We already have several supporters using this method and we encourage our viewers who shop online to help support us this way. You can save money and help STERA, Inc. At the same time!

Last year we announced our participation in a non-profit program from Amazon called which allows you to shop as you normally do and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price directly to STERA, Inc. Amazon charges no fees for this service and you can even adjust your settings to automatically enter Amazon Smile every time you log on to the Amazon website. It provides an easy way to support our work and this website without spending anything extra.

As soon as we instituted it last year, it quickly became a great success. We thank all of you who logged in and began supporting us this way. We truly appreciate it!

We have also joined with to provide an additional way to support Shroud.com and STERA, Inc. You can use it whether buying or selling on eBay and a percentage that you designate is donated to STERA, Inc. You can also support STERA, Inc. And Shroud.com by purchasing items directly from our page. With the holidays fast approaching, you might want to look at some of the items we make available, including a miniature Shroud replica on cotton canvas, a set of high quality lithographic prints, several different Shroud transparencies in backlit PhotoGlow frames and a number of DVD's.

Any of them would make great gifts for your favorite Shroudie! Order by December 15, 2017 for Christmas delivery. Of course, we have also made it very easy to safely make a tax deductible contribution online using PayPal or your credit or debit card via our (or by clicking on the graphic at left or at the top of this article). The form also includes details on how you can contribute by or by telephone. Naturally, we hope many of you will contribute generously since we must rely in part on our viewers for financial support. We understand that you are constantly being asked to donate to many worthwhile organizations and hope you will consider STERA, Inc.

And Shroud.com worthy of your support. As further incentive and to express our gratitude for your contributions, we are offering contributors a number of excellent gifts for their support.

We thank you in advance for your consideration and generosity. CMS Sindone Coming Soon to Shroud.com (Link to official CMS Spanish language website) Our dear friend, Dr. Julius Lopez, a member of the Centro Mexicano de Sindonologia (CMS) in Mexico City and a long time contributor to Shroud.com (he and his son Julio are responsible for many of the Spanish language pages and translations on this website), has recently begun digitizing the CMS Boletin Sindone, the official Spanish language publication of the CMS that first appeared in 1983, and we have agreed to archive the journal here on Shroud.com starting sometime next year, as soon as the Rex Morgan Shroud News archive is completed. This will mark the first time that we archive a non-English language publication on this site and we are very pleased to finally accommodate our many Spanish speaking viewers around the world with a Shroud journal in their own native language. The journal will be presented in text readable pdf format so that non-Spanish speaking viewers can use online translation services to convert the files to their own language. (That's exactly what our Spanish speaking viewers have had to do with our English language pages for years)! We are grateful to Julius and Julio for doing the scanning of all the issues and look forward to working with them and the CMS to create a lasting online archive of their work.

The good news doesn't end there. Our good friend and noted Shroud scholar, Paul Maloney, is making available for the archives the only three issues of the ASSIST Newsletter that were ever published. It was the short-lived publication of the Association of Scientists and Scholars International for the Shroud of Turin, of which Paul was the General Projects Director and a founding member. The publication was first produced after ASSIST acquired the Max Frei sticky tape collection in 1988. The third and final issue was published in June 1990. We are still working with Paul to finalize the files and hope to include them sometime in 2018.

Finally, next year marks the 40th Anniversary of the ground breaking scientific examination of the Shroud in October 1978 by the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP). As one of the few remaining original team members that is still living and involved with the Shroud and as Editor of Shroud.com, I feel obligated to do something special to commemorate this milestone in Shroud history. To that end, I am considering a number of different options, but will definitely include a special update to the website. However, since we still have some time to decide, if any of you have some ideas and would like to suggest them, I would consider any serious suggestions.

Just send us an e-mail and share your thoughts. Posted October 10, 2017. By John Jackson, Ph.D. And the is a new book from one of world's foremost Shroud scholars and his research organization in Colorado. Here is a description from the CMJ Marian Publishers and Distributors website where the book is available for purchase: 'The Shroud of Turin is the single most studied object in the history of the world. Since 1978, John Jackson, PH.D. In physics, has continued to conduct research with his team in Colorado, investing tens of thousands of hours in ongoing research.

'The purpose of this publication is to provide an up-to-date overall summary of the corpus of Shroud evidence. Included here is key evidence that traces its source back to the Shroud of Turin Research Project, as well as data from the broad spectrum of other scientific, historical and artistic Shroud research that has been conducted around the world.

'One thing that is certain: The Shroud is an artifact that exists. It is of interest because traditionally it has been venerated as the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. This is a remarkable claim.

Can it be true? Take a journey through an examination of evidence and come to your own informed judgement regarding the question of the 'authenticity' of the Shroud.

This timely book will enable you to begin that journey.' Paperback: 134 pages Publisher: Turin Shroud Center of Colorado (2017) Language: English ISBN-13: 978-0-692-88573-4. By Nicholas Allen. This is the follow-up to Nicholas' first book, The Turin Shroud and the Crystal Lens, published in 1998.

Here is the book's description on Amazon: 'The heated debate still rages as to how the seemingly miraculous, life-size, two-fold image of the crucified Christ appeared on the Shroud of Turin. Was it the actual burial cloth which wrapped Christ's body 2000 years ago or was it simply a clever medieval forgery? Prof Nicholas Allen, the originator of the photographic hypothesis for image formation on the Shroud of Turin, has been researching this phenomenon since 1988. He shares the secrets of how medieval alchemists managed to make this incredible image over 600 years ago and successfully addresses, inter alia, the following issues: The historical evidence for persons knowing about the camera obscura, lenses and light-sensitive chemicals before c. He also shares with you his exhaustive, practical experimentation in order to ascertain the possibility of producing an image which duplicates the characteristics of the Shroud of Turin employing only those substances and equipment that existed in a medieval society.' Paperback: 180 pages Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing (August 24, 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: ISBN-13: 9319. By Rudolf Berwanger (German language).

In this, Rudolf's second book, he uses the Shroud of Turin, the Manoppello and the Lady of Guadalupe images as a basis for his writings. Here is a brief quote (via Google Translate) from the book's description on Amazon.de: 'Were you as a reader often disappointed by the content of a book? Then read a book that has not been written by human hands. If you think that such a book does not exist in this world, you have not yet found the Holy Grail. It contains demonstrable not only the blood of the Savior, but also a picture-puzzle, from which God speaks to us and which is so far unknown in the public.' Paperback: 216 pages Publisher: Books on Demand Edition: 1 (July 31, 2017) Language: German ISBN-10: 374319578X ISBN-13: 9783. By Bill Price.

The book includes a section on the Shroud. Here is an excerpt: 'There is still plenty of room for new research, not least in discovering, if it is not the result of a miracle, exactly how the shroud was fabricated, a question that has so for baffled all those who have studied it. Ian Wilson, in his book, The Shroud, comes to the eminently sensible conclusion that the best course of action for anyone interested is to consider all the available evidence and then make up their own minds about whether they think it is real or fake.' Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. (2017) Language: English ISBN-10: GTIN: 4666. Gary Chiang, Ph.D.

Here is an excerpt from the preface: 'By writing this book, I am setting the record straight on a relic that has been maligned, misunderstood and misconstrued on several levels. This work not only alleviates concerns that a Christian may have about the Shroud, it also makes known the amazing connections between this cloth, touched by our Lord and Saviour, and the truth revealed in Scripture.When I first approached the Shroud in this fashion, I was unexpectedly surprised at the wealth of information it provided. Once you pass the fork in the road and consider that the Holy Shroud is authentic, its impact upon Christian theology is akin to finding a whole new Gospel. It becomes far more than a simple object for veneration. It opens up a new vista to view the human story in relation to our place in eternity.' Paperback: 224 pages, 9 figures Publisher: Doorway Publications, 346 Southcote Rd, Ancaster, ON, Canada, L9G 2W2 (2016) Language: English ISBN 978-0-919857-93-3 by Dr. Gary Chiang, Ph.D.

Now available in the Urdu language as a PDF download. Translation into Urdu was done by Ashraf Ghani of Light of the World Ministries International, Pakistan (ssmpk.webs.com). This Ministry works with needy and deserving children, with the mission to uplift lives of the neglected children in the society and teach them the Word of God so that they may grow in their spiritual life. Funds obtained by the sale of the Urdu pdf will go towards Ashraf's ministry. PDF Format Download - 163 pages, 9 figures Publisher: Doorway Publications, 346 Southcote Rd, Ancaster, ON, Canada, L9G 2W2 (2017) Language: Urdu ISBN 978-0-919857-94-0 Posted October 10, 2017. Investigations into the effect of carbon monoxide exposure on bloodstain color: Implications for the Shroud of Turin by Kelly Kearse Once again, a large number of papers have been published in recent months that are relevant to Shroud research and we are including many of them here.

The first two are by blood and DNA expert Kelly Kearse and are published here on Shroud.com for the first time. Kelly's papers were evaluated and accepted for publication by the STERA, Inc.

Editorial Review Committee and mark the sixth and seventh of his original papers that we have published. For the record, I should note that the review process used by the STERA, Inc. Editorial Review Committee does NOT constitute peer review. I purposely created the committee so that I would not be the only person deciding what materials we publish on this website and the committee simply helps me to evaluate those papers that are submitted. However, that is a far cry from the rigorous academic peer review offered by refereed journals that focus on specific disciplines of science and where the reviewers are all generally experts in the same field. Also included today, as always, are links to many other papers and articles that were published more recently.

All have also been permanently archived on the page (alphabetically by title) and the page (alphabetically by author). • by Kelly P. Kearse - www.shroud.com, 10 October 2017. Here is the abstract: 'Initial characterization of the bloodstains on the Shroud of Turin indicates that blood components are present, findings that are consistent with the presence of real blood on the cloth.

The bloodstains on the Shroud have been primarily evaluated from a chemical perspective, though much less so from the context of immunology, particularly in elucidating the species of origin. For example, while it is commonly reported that the blood is human, the immunological data for the type of blood present on the Shroud remains incomplete. To date, this issue is still scientifically unresolved.

Furthermore, it is often misunderstood that previous studies have ruled out the possibility that blood from other animal types (cow, horse, chicken, etc.) might be present on the Shroud, when, in fact, this subject has never been addressed by experimentation. Indeed, with one exception (rabbit), which occurred serendipitously, no data exists regarding this issue. Here, the current knowledge of the types of blood that might exist on the Shroud of Turin is discussed, emphasizing results for which empirical data actually exists, the strength of such data, and estimations that remain to be determined.' • by Kelly P.

Kearse - www.shroud.com, 10 October 2017. Here is the abstract: 'Hemoglobin (Hb) is the major protein present in red blood cells whose function is to transport oxygen throughout the body. The oxygenated form of hemoglobin is responsible for the typical red color of fresh blood that is normally observed.

Carbon monoxide (CO) binds to hemoglobin with an affinity 250-300 times greater than that of oxygen, making it a highly competitive, toxic substance which can be lethal at even relatively limited levels of exposure. Blood drawn from patients experiencing CO poisoning exhibits a 'cherry red' appearance, which is often useful in the initial diagnosis. CO levels from such patients have been reported to persist in refrigerated sealed liquid blood samples stored in the presence of preservatives for at least three years; however, no data exists regarding the persistence of CO in aged, dried bloodstains. It has been noted that the bloodstains on the Shroud of Turin appear too red in color for blood that is reportedly some 600-2000 years old. Various explanations have been put forth for the blood color on the Shroud, including the suggestion that CO bound to hemoglobin via endogenous or exogenous mechanisms is responsible. In this report, the effect of CO exposure on bloodstain color is evaluated and its relevance to the appearance of the Shroud of Turin bloodstains is discussed.' • by Jean-Pierre Laude and Giulio Fanti - Applied Spectroscopy, Sage Journals - Vol 71, Issue 10, 2017.

Here is the Abstract: 'The Raman spectrum of a microsubstance, smeared on a fiber coming from the Shroud of Turin, was compared with numerous spectra published for old or modern pigment dyes, whole bloods, dried bloods, red blood cells, albumin, very ancient blood stains, and various “degradation” products of heme. Within the wavenumber measure accuracy, it is shown that all Raman lines detected above background could correspond to vibration frequencies found in biliverdin-derived compounds except a weak line that we tentatively attributed to amide I. Biliverdin is known as an oxidative ring cleavage product of the heme of blood. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the sample confirms an elemental composition fully compatible with this hypothesis. Therefore, it is very likely that this microsubstance contains products of heme including heme/biliverdin-derived compounds and protein traces (amide I). Nevertheless, other measures will be necessary to confirm it. This method of identification, adding EDS to Raman spectrometry can be applied to nondestructive testing (NDT) of many other microsamples.'

• by Paul Maloney - Posted to the Shroud Science Group (SSG), July 31, 2017. Reprinted with the author's permission.

Here are some brief excerpts from the article: '.to accomplish what the church wanted to do, the best way would be to continue with the re-enactment of Da Vinci Last Supper because there would be problems presenting to a congregation the individual speeches since some of the disciples, using the first century rendition, would have their backs to the audience. But, aside from that, there are many things about the medieval and Renaissance paintings that do not reflect accurately how the Jews in the time of Jesus would have done it.The safest way to judge the dining of the first century is to employ archaeology and stick to the murals found in Pompeii. Tables with wooden legs were burned due to the volcano in 79 AD (Pompeii & Herculaneum) and the ravages of time wherein organics—such as wood, cloth, and other perishable items—and are no longer available to give us a truly accurate picture of dining in the first century.' • by Darshi Arachige - Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.4, No.13, July. 25, 2017 - Here is the Abstract: 'This paper revisits the analysis of 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin published in the Nature in 1989. The radiocarbon dating has been controversial as the sample taken from the Shroud is believed to be contaminated.

Arguing from a novel statistical point of view, the current analysis, within the confines of the data provided in the Nature article, further confirms their radiocarbon dates for the Shroud of Turin. It also finds the opposing argument that their result is untenable due to the shortcomings of sample selection arising from the localised heterogeneity such as invisible mending in the selected sample, to be highly unlikely.' • by Elvio Carlino, Liberato De Caro, Cinzia Giannini, Giulio Fanti - PLoS ONE 12(6): e0180487, 2017. Here is the Abstract: 'We performed reproducible atomic resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and Wide Angle X-ray Scanning Microscopy experiments studying for the first time the nanoscale properties of a pristine fiber taken from the Turin Shroud. We found evidence of biologic nanoparticles of creatinine bounded with small nanoparticles of iron oxide.

The kind, size and distribution of the iron oxide nanoparticles cannot be dye for painting but are ferrihydrate cores of ferritin. The consistent bound of ferritin iron to creatinine occurs in human organism in case of a severe polytrauma.

Our results point out that at the nanoscale a scenario of violence is recorded in the funeral fabric and suggest an explanation for some contradictory results so far published.' • by Mercedes Sheen and Timothy R. Jordan - Archive for the Psychology of Religion, Volume 38, Issue 2, pages 232 – 251, 2016. Here is the Summary: 'For many years, the Shroud of Turin has been famous for images of a body and face which many believe were formed during The Resurrection. More recently, however, claims have been made that the Shroud also contains evidence of other objects, and these claims have been used to support the view that the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus. However, these claims are based on marks that are barely visible and the psychological processes known to be involved in perceiving objects under data-limited conditions have been largely ignored.

Here, we consider these processes and assess the claims that objects can be seen on the Shroud. We conclude that the viewing conditions provided by images of the Shroud are likely to lead to the illusory perception of objects, and knowing the psychological processes underlying these perceptions is crucial for accurately determining the provenance of the Shroud and other material artefacts.' • by Irene Calliari and Caterina Canovaro - MATEC Web of Conferences 36, published by EDP Sciences, 2015.

Here is the Abstract: 'The results of some Turin Shroud particles (3 to 30 µm) examination are presented. A research was performed with the aim to classify the particles in order to correlate them with the environments where, from historical information, the Shroud resulted to have been exposed.

Grains of pollen, flax and cotton fibers, mites, spores and fungi, mineral particles and particles related to body fluids were detected and classified. Attention has been focalized to the pollen grains, to discuss M.

Frei’s results, without forgetting a more general investigation aimed at evidencing new information for the Shroud studies. A few cotton fiber were found to be mixed with flax ones. Moreover, many mineral particles are compatible with the Jerusalem soil.'

[Editor's Note: Since it is impossible to determine the actual provenance of any particles found in the dusts aspirated from between the Shroud and the Holland Cloth in 1978 (are they from the Shroud, the backing cloth or somewhere else?), it is difficult to accept with scientific certainty any conclusions drawn solely from those samples]. Posted October 10, 2017. Obituaries Typically, when someone of importance or notoriety in the Shroud world passes away, we publish an in-depth memorial to remember their contributions to Sindonology, whether they were positive or negative. Since our Summer Update, I received word of the passing of several important people that fall into that category. Sadly, so much time has passed since some of their deaths that a full memorial would be somewhat awkward and untimely, so we are simply listing them here to remember them and their contributions, perhaps not in depth, but at least in passing. We extend our deepest sympathies to the familes and friends of those who passed. David Wayne Balsiger (1946-2017) David Wayne Balsiger of Loveland, Colorado, formerly of Orange County, California, passed away at age 71 on June 27, 2017.

Russ Breault was kind enough to inform me of his passing with the following message: 'I have considered David Balsiger my friend ever since 1993 when we first met for the making of his documentary, 'Mysteries of the Ancient World', which aired on CBS. He also produced 'The Fabric of Time' and 'The Case for Christ's Resurrection,' both of which were very positive in their treatment of the Shroud. I have met with David many times over the years and more by phone. He was a sincere Christian and I know many lives have been changed because of his tireless work.

I will miss him but I am greatly comforted knowing he is enjoying total peace, love and joy in the Kingdom. Russ' In case you are not familiar with David, here is a brief quote from his official obituary: 'David was a lifelong investigative journalist, activist, photographer, speaker, best-selling author, and award-winning film producer and director. His multimillion copy books (co-authored with the late Charles E.

Sellier) In Search of Noah's Ark and The Lincoln Conspiracy (on the New York Times Best Sellers List for 22 weeks, reaching the #2 position) were both made into major movies of the same titles. 'For 12 years David was the Vice-President of Marketing and Senior Producer at Grizzly Adams Productions, producers of 500 family friendly movies, documentaries, TV specials, and series including 'Ancient Secrets of the Bible' and 'Encounters with the Unexplained.' Harold David Sox April 24, 1936 - August 28, 2016 David Sox was a controversial figure in the Shroud world. He entered as a believer in the Shroud's authenticity but changed his opinion after having a hand in the controversial radiocarbon dating in 1988. He subsequently became a vocal critic and claimed the Shroud was a forgery. His official obituary is available online at this link:. Below is an excerpt.

You can read a much more extensive obituary along with an in-depth summary of his role in the 1988 radiocarbon dating on. 'David, as he was known his entire life, died at home in Palm Springs, California on August 28, 2016, after a brief struggle with colon cancer. He is the author of numerous articles and 11 published books on varied subjects from the Shroud of Turin, art collectors and forgers and in later years subjects dealing with well know Quakers. Various titles include 'The Shroud Unmasked', 'Relics and Shrines', 'Bachelors of Art' and 'Unmasking the Forger'. His later subjects included biographies on John Woolman and Pere David, early naturalists and environmentalists.' Our next major update will go online January 21, 2018 and will mark our 22nd anniversary online!

Frankly, it is already shaping up to be another large one and will include more of the Pasco Conference papers and presentations. It will also include more issues of Rex Morgan's Shroud News, the latest papers, books, articles and videos and of course, any breaking Shroud news. To be sure you don't miss any important Shroud information as it occurs, check our page from time to time, since we now try and update it weekly to keep you informed between our regular website updates. You do not need to have a Facebook account to view our page. You can also join our and receive an e-mail whenever the site is updated or any important Shroud news breaks. We hope you find this update interesting and useful and look forward to seeing you in a few months. And as always, thank you for being there!

Commemorative Medal of the Polish Theological Society Polskie Towarzystwo Teologiczne (PTT) The last few months have been exceptionally busy ones. I was traveling and lecturing throughout much of the Lenten season and had the misfortune to pick up a bug along the way, which put me in bed for two weeks and forced me, for the first time ever, to cancel one of my lectures (in Ottawa, Canada).

Fortunately, my good friend John Iannone graciously took my place at the last minute. Of course, the Lenten season is also our busiest time of year and consequently, the backlog of materials that have accumulated since our last update in January is immense! Today's additions include the Program for the upcoming International Conference on the Shroud in Washington State, ten more issues of Rex Morgan's Shroud News, a Memorial for three departed Shroud scholars, a Special International Feature on the Polish Theological Society and their Syndonology Section, news about the upcoming 2017 Jalsa Salana Convention in England and a new addition to our Speakers Directory, along with links to many new books, articles, papers, videos and much more. There should be enough here to keep you busy reading until our Fall update! Shall we begin? Here is the Update Table of Contents: • • • • • • • • • • • • •.

Gina Phillips Moran Glick (1931-2017) It is with deep sadness that I must report the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Gina Phillips Moran Glick, M.D. On February 23, 2017 in Coppell, Texas, after a long illness. For those of you new to Shroud research, you might not know that Gina was an anesthesiologist with a strong interest in the medical and forensic science aspects of the Shroud and is the sister of noted Shroud scholar and optical engineer, Kevin Moran. Over the years Gina attended many Shroud conferences and was an active participant in the online Shroud Science Group. A memorial service was held at Christus St Joseph Village on April 7, 2017 and the Catholic Rite of Christian Burial was held the next day at Christus St. Joseph Village chapel. Interment was at Saints Peter Paul Catholic cemetery in Cumberland, Maryland.

Here is a link to an article in the Cumberland Times News titled kindly provided by her brother, Kevin. Our sincerest condolences to Gina's family, friends and colleagues for their loss. Lennox Manton It is again with deep sadness that I must report the recent passing of noted British Shroud scholar Lennox Manton on February 14, 2017.

Lennox was a long time member of the British Society for the Turin Shroud and contributed many articles and monographs to the publication. Since I never knew Lennox personally, I am grateful to Emanuela Marinelli for providing us with a link to her Collegamento pro Sindone website News Page and Ian Wilson's fitting memorial titled, We are reprinting it here as well. Our sincerest condolences to Lennox's family, friends and colleagues for their loss. 'Amongst Lennox's many interests was the Turin Shroud, the so controversial cloth that allegedly wrapped Jesus' dead body after his crucifixion. Lennox joined the British Society for the Turin Shroud not long after its foundation in the late 1970s, at a time when media interest in the topic was particularly intense.

Thereafter he was a regular attendee whenever the Society hosted lectures in London, in later years making special train journeys from Stirling for this purpose. Lennox also pursued his own original researches into the subject, alongside furthering one of his other research passions, the travels of St. Both of these lines of research took him to Turkey, where in the case of the Shroud he pioneered exploration of the rock-cut churches of Cappadocia, very ably photographing - amongst much else - their often badly damaged but Shroud-inspired depictions of the Christ Pantocrator, also hitherto little-known depictions of the Image of Edessa, the Eastern Orthodox Church's fabled 'lost' cloth imprinted with Christ's image, controversially identified with the Shroud.

'In April 1994 Lennox gave a very memorable illustrated lecture on these researches to a well-attended meeting of the British Society for the Turin Shroud held at the New Cavendish Club in London. Later the same year his monograph of the same findings was published from Australia by Australian promoter of Shroud studies Rex Morgan, MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). Although my wife Judith and I emigrated to Australia the following year (quite independently of the Rex Morgan connection!), Lennox regularly kept in touch with us throughout the two decades since. Only in the most recent years did what had been emails from him lapse back to conventional postal communications, at which point Lennox graphically described his and Ruth's herculean efforts trying to stay as independent as possible despite their nonagenarian vintage! 'Lennox was blessed with a diversity and universality of interests, amongst these the medical science that was necessary for his dental profession and the art and history knowledge that was necessary for his Capadocian rock paintings studies, a universality that is sadly becoming all too rare in today's so specialist and so communications-obsessed twenty-first century world.

When carbon dating tests carried out on the Turin Shroud in 1988 were widely broadcast as 'proving' the cloth to be a medieval fake Lennox, unlike so many others, most admirably held steadfast to his own longstanding 'authentic' opinion, for me personally a most valued source of support and reassurance at a very difficult time. Throughout the decades that I have known Lennox I have felt privileged by his friendship. He invariably presented as a paragon of integrity, wide knowledge, quiet faith, gentle humour and sound sense. He richly deserved the long and full life that he enjoyed.

Even though I mourn the death of yet another old friend, I can only feel grateful to have known him, and to have learned that he died with dignity and peace on the 14th of February 2017. (Ian Wilson – February 24, 2017)'. Shroud News With this update we add ten more issues to Rex Morgan's archive, which will total 118 issues when complete. This update includes Issue #67, October 1991 through Issue #76, April 1993 with articles by such notable Shroud scholars as Isabel Piczek, Father Peter Rinaldi, Revd. Albert (Kim) R. Dreisbach, Orazio Petrosillo and Emanuela Marinelli, Brother Bruno Bonnet-Eymard, Robert Halisey, Remi Van Haelst, Dr.

Michael Clift, William Griffin, Prof. Alan Whanger and Mary Whanger, Revd. Charles Foley, Mary Warner, Ian Dickinson, Bro. Michael Buttigieg, FSC, and many more. Also included are two issues memorializing the passing of Group Captain Lord Cheshire and Father Peter Rinaldi. Our sincerest thanks as always to Stephen Jones for his extraordinary effort in scanning and optical character recognition of every page, Ian Wilson for providing the original issues and valuable input and of course, to Rex Morgan for his gracious permission to reprint them here on Shroud.com.

Posted June 8, 2017. We are pleased to announce that our page has been updated with a new listing for Shroud scholar, who is now available to speak to your group or organization.

Cheryl is an academic historian of medieval and early modern Europe, and holds the rank of Associate Professor in the Louisiana State University system, where she has taught for over twenty years. She has published in the field of sixteenth century studies, church history, and has a long-standing interest in the Shroud of Turin as both a historical artifact of great interest to secular scholars but also as a holy relic of Christianity. She brings her expertise as a lecturer to systematically explore the consensus of current scholarship on the Shroud for broad-based audiences. Welcome to our directory Cheryl! Posted June 8, 2017. The TRAC Center in Pasco, Washington This will be our last website update before this conference takes place at the TRAC Center in Pasco, Washington State, USA on July 19-22, 2017. Click on the above photograph to visit the newly updated conference website where you can find more details, register for the event, learn about travel, hotels and accommodations, view a video from the conference organizers and much more.

Conference organizer Robert Rucker was kind enough to provide us with a copy of the (as of May 21, 2017) which we are making available to you here. Note that the conference organizers have decided to permanently archive the papers here on Shroud.com, so we will be creating a dedicated page for the event (as we did with the ), which will become available in a future website update. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the conference myself, so STERA, Inc. Board Member Russ Breault, who is making several presentations at the event, will cover it for Shroud.com. We look forward to including his article and photographs in our next website update.

Posted June 8, 2017. The 51st Annual Jalsa Salana - July 28-30, 2017 Photo © 2015 Ahmadiyya Muslim Community On July 28-30, 2017, I will once again be attending and speaking at the 51st Annual Jalsa Salana Convention sponsored by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Hampshire near Guildford in England. For the last two years,, the highly respected 115 year old publication of the Ahmadiyya Community, sponsored a large marquee (tent) at the convention that featured Pam Moon's Shroud of Turin Exhibition (which she regularly displays around the U.K.), alongside a beautiful exhibit of ancient Qurans from the extraordinary collection of Quranic scholar Razwan Baig.

Shroud scholars that attended the last two conventions included David Rolfe, Hugh Farey, Simon Brown and Pam Moon's wonderful exhibition volunteers, Brenda and Stuart Benton and Luigi Antoniaz. And this year's event will be even bigger!

It will include an expansion of Pam's exhibition to feature not only the Shroud, but also a lifesize image and information about the Sudarium of Oviedo. Guest speakers this year will include Prof. Bruno Barberis, Past-President of the International Center for the Study of the Shroud in Turin, Italy, along with historian, linguist and noted Sudarium expert Dr. Mark Guscin from Spain and award-winning film producer and Shroud scholar David Rolfe from England. I am very pleased to see the Shroud not only becoming a regular part of the Jalsa Salana Convention and receiving a warm and gracious welcome from the entire Ahmadiyya Community, but also seeing the interest and participation of some of the world's top Shroud scholars, which is very encouraging. I look forward to spending some time together with these good friends and will report on the event in a later update.

It should be a good one! You can also get more information from the. In the meantime, you can read the articles I wrote about my participation in the last two Jalsas at the following links: • • Posted June 8, 2017.

The Polish Theological Society Just a few days before our anniversary update went online on January 21st, I received the following gracious letter from Milosz Grygierczyk, the Deputy Head of the Syndonology Section of the Polish Theological Society in Krakow, Poland: Dear Sirs, I am addressing you under the authority of the President of the Polish Theological Society, Father Professor Kazimierz Panus. I am the new Deputy Head of the Syndonology Section of the above-mentioned Society. We have been greatly impressed by the personality of Mr. Schwortz as well as the Shroud of Turin website, undoubtedly the most comprehensive and up-to-date website taking up the subject of the Shroud of Turin and its research. Therefore, our Section would be happy to establish permanent contacts between us, in order to be able to exchange information, views, as well as reports on the current studies on the Shroud. Should that proposal be of any interest to you, we will looking forward to your reply.

We are ready to share with you the results of conferences as well as academic research and articles on the Shroud that are currently being carried on in Poland, both by our Society as well as by other institutions. I understand that, so far there have been no regular contacts between us.

We would be happy to change the present state of play Sincerely yours, Milosz Grygierczyk Needless to say, I was very pleased to hear from Milosz and learn about his organization and promptly responded with the following reply: Dear Milosz, Thank you so much for writing and I am very happy to learn about the Polish Theological Society! Please send my warmest regards to Father Panus as well. I am very pleased to establish a permanent relationship with your Society and help promote and further the work you are doing in Poland via our website. I know that we have many website visitors from Poland. You may not be aware of it, but I have special place in my heart for Poland, as both my mother and father were born there! In fact, in 2011, I lectured extensively across Poland (in Warsaw, Poznan, Lodz, Czestochowa and Krakow) and returned in 2012 to speak in Gdansk, Warsaw and Wisznice (the village where my mother was born).

You can read the article I wrote about it at this link: (starting on page 7). We typically publish major updates to our website around four times each year, with smaller updates in between if important Shroud news breaks.

Our next major update goes online this coming Saturday, 21 January 2017 and marks our 21st anniversary on the internet. Consequently, I am in the final stages of the update and it is too late for me to add anything to it at this point in time. However, we should plan to do an introductory feature on your organization for our Spring update, probably sometime in May. And we are happy to publish the information in both English and Polish, since I am sure you can provide both. I thank you again for taking the time to contact me and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship between the Polish Theological Society and STERA, Inc. Warmest regards, Barrie Schwortz President, STERA, Inc. Since we first corresponded, Milosz has sent me a wealth of additional information about the Syndonology Section and the Polish Theological Society, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2014.

We thought it was important and wanted to share it with you here. Regarding the Syndonology Section he writes, '.we are in the process of a 're-birth' and have been re-organizing the Section. Its work has been slowed down in recent years due to its Head Priest Chmiel's serious illness and death last year. Our new Head Priest Piotr Listopad (the Polish Navy chaplain), took over the Section last year and I likewise joined last year. By working together with our old and new registered members as well as followers, and, of course, under the auspices of Father Kazimierz Panus - Head of the Polish Theological Society - we have been doing our best to give a new lease of life to the Section. I am the contact person for anyone wishing to contact the Syndonology Section and we have created a new e-mail address for that purpose:.' Here are links to more information about the Society: • by Milosz Grygierczyk (in English) • - 76-page illustrated excerpt from the 2014 90th Anniversary Book of the Society (in Polish) • (in English) • - Members of the Syndonology Section (in English) Posted June 8, 2017.

The 'Broken' Strand On Easter Sunday the History Channel aired a new program titled, 'The Jesus Strand: A Search for DNA,' although a better title might have been, 'The 'Broken' Strand.' The program's promotional materials implied that new testing was done on the Shroud of Turin to extract possible DNA from the cloth. In fact, here is a direct quote: 'In Turin, Italy, they were allowed to do tests on the Shroud of Turin, recorded in the Bible as the burial shroud that wrapped Jesus. 'The Vatican has only allowed two tests of it,' Basile said.

'They allowed us access to their testing, and we did some tests ourselves.' ' Yet the program itself was very obscure about the source of their data or where the samples came from. That prompted me to write directly to the Turin authorities to ask if any such new testing had been permitted. Their reply was immediate and explicit: 'No permission for a direct test has been given to anybody by the Vatican and there is no knowledge of any blood test made on 'official' samples.' So what samples were used in the making of the program? After watching it a second time and paying close attention, I realized that the samples used were from the dusts aspirated (vacuumed) from between the Shroud and the Holland Cloth by Prof. Giovanni Riggi in 1978.

The problem with those dust samples is that no provenance can be determined for whatever particles might be found in them. There is no way to be certain what was found came from the Shroud or the Holland cloth or somewhere else.

In fact, the Turin authorities declared years ago that they would not recognize any scientific research or accept any scientific conclusions based solely on those samples for that very same reason. Consequently, any claims made in this program are not truly supported by any credible scientific evidence. We have no idea if the DNA they tested was from actual Shroud blood or from any of the thousands of people who have handled it over the centuries (including me).

The only bright spot in the program was the interview with Dr. Mark Guscin regarding the Sudarium of Oviedo. Mark is an expert on that topic and has written extensively on it over the years. You can find his work via the Website Search Engine here on. Sadly, most of the program featured rather forced overacting by the two hosts and their so-called conclusions were obviously overdramatized and drawn out for entertainment purposes.

In the end, those conclusions are not supported by any credible science. This is why I have written multiple editorials warning people not to use TV 'documentaries' as a basis for their study of the Shroud.

This program is a perfect example of why I made that statement. Once again, another disappointing effort from the History Channel (where apparently, actual history is history)! - Barrie Schwortz Posted June 8, 2017.

Dorsal Backlit Transparency in PhotoGlow® Frame For more than ten years we have made available beautiful Shroud transparencies in backlit PhotoGlow® Frames. One of the main reasons for their popularity is that backlit images have a 400% greater dynamic range vs. A normal photographic print viewed with reflected light and consequently, allow the viewer to see dramatically more depth and detail in the image. We started by offering just a Small Shroud Face but soon added a larger Lifesize Face and a separate Shroud Ventral image. Over the years, many people also requested that we offer a Dorsal view to match the Ventral one. We have listened to our viewers and are very happy to announce that a NEW DORSAL VIEW IS NOW AVAILABLE on the page that is designed to match the Ventral in both size and image quality.

However, since the backlight technology has evolved over the years (from fluorescent bulbs to LED's) and the transparencies are now made digitally rather than photographically, it is possible that the density and color of the new Dorsal view may not perfectly match the density and color of the earlier Ventral versions. If you find that is the case, you can simply adjust the individual backlight brightness controls to obtain a matching result. Please understand that because of these variables, we cannot guarantee a perfect match. Also, we are still offering a major discount on the Small Shroud Face while supplies last. See the Website Store page for details and larger photos. Posted June 8, 2017. Light From The Sepulchre by Emanuela Marinelli and Marco Fasol Michela Marinelli (Translator), Agostino Vallini (Foreword) is the latest contribution by Emanuela Marinelli and Marco Fasol - Michela Marinelli (Translator), Card.

Agostino Vallini (Foreword) and the only book in today's update. Here is a brief description from the Amazon website: 'Is the Shroud indeed the burial cloth of Jesus, or is it a medieval fake? Do the Gospels narrate real events or are they mere legends? The answer to these questions is not secondary since it involves deeply our lives.

Certainly, the Shroud is the most studied archaeological find in the world, and the Gospels constitute the only key to its interpretation. This link between Shroud and Gospels, therefore, suggested to the Authors to combine the latest scientific research on the Shroud to an investigation equally scientific and documented on the reliability of the Gospels.' We are listing the book here but have also permanently archived it on the page (alphabetically by author). To make it easy to find the new additions, we have annotated each new listing with '(Added 8 June 2017)' so simply search for that phrase on the Booklist page. Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Gondolin Press (April 10, 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: ISBN-13: 9037 Posted June 8, 2017. Use of Digital Image Processing in the Analysis of the Shroud of Turin by Donald J. Lynn Image © 1976 Jean Lorre We usually begin this section with the most recent paper published and work our way down the list from there.

However, in this update we are doing just the opposite and starting with a rare, previously unpublished 1995 article by STURP imaging expert Donald J. Lynn of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (thanks to our dear friend Paul Maloney). Don had written the article specifically to be included in a multi-volume Shroud reference book Paul was writing and compiling but which, for a variety of reasons, has never yet been published. Fortunately, the topic of image processing recently came up on the online Shroud Science Group and prompted Paul to find a printout of the article.

He scanned it and sent it to us and we converted it to a text readable pdf file and are proudly publishing it here for the first time. We have also added three additional important legacy papers, the first by Dr. August Accetta that was originally presented at the 3rd International Dallas Conference on the Shroud of Turin in 2005 and which deals specifically with radiation and the head image of the Shroud. The second is a 2012 paper by Dr. Niels Svennson and Dr.

Thibault Heimburger and deals with the bloodstains on the Shroud. The third is a 2012 article by Kelly Kearse from Dan Porter's Shroud of Turin Blog that discusses cloning and the Shroud. Also included, as always, are links to many other papers and articles that were published more recently. All have also been permanently archived on the page (alphabetically by title) and the page (alphabetically by author).

• by August Accetta, M.D., Kenneth Lyons, M.D., John Heiserodt, M.D., PhD., John P. Jackson, PhD., Blair Farley, M.A.

- From the 3rd International Dallas Conference on the Shroud of Turin - September 8-11, 2005. Here is the Abstract: 'Previous studies using the collection of vertically aligned gamma radiation were able to convincingly demonstrate many specific similarities between nuclear images and Shroud images. The current study builds upon the foundation of these previous studies, however, with important modifications of technique, notably, summations of the coronal planes. Many of the complex and subtle details of the head and face images seen on the Shroud are elucidated, both qualitatively and quantitatively.'

[Editor's Note: We have also added a link to this article on the page]. • by Niels Svensson and Thibault Heimburger - Academic Journals, Scientific Research and Essays Vol. 2513-2525, 30 July, 2012. Excellent review paper on Shroud bloodstains. Here is an excerpt from the abstract: '.red stains of different size, form and density are spread all over the body image and in a few instances outside the body. Forensic examination by help of different analyzing tools reveals these stains as human blood.

The distribution and flow of the blood, the position of the body are compatible with the fact that the Turin Shroud Man (TSM) has been crucified. This paper analyses the already known essential forensic findings supplied by new findings and experiments by the authors.' • by Kelly P. Kearse - Shroud of Turin Blog, November 25, 2012. Great article by a real expert.

Here is the opening paragraph: 'The subject of a recent blog post about a comic book series that is now into its fifth issue, Punk Rock Jesus, involves a rather popular storyline regarding the Shroud: using DNA extracted from bloodstained threads to clone Jesus. Search on amazon.com and you will find over twenty fiction novels based on this premise; include those available exclusively as e-books and you can add about ten more. There has also been an Outer Limits television series episode, and a feature film released in 2010, “I’m not Jesus, Mommy”, centered on this idea.' Bevilacqua and M.

D’Arienzo - MATEC Web of Conferences 36, January 2015. Here is an excerpt from the Abstract: 'This paper synthetizes a series of works recently published in reference to medical studies regarding both the physical conditions of the Man who was wrapped in the Turin Shroud (TS) and the tortures to which this Man was subjected. An event that influenced the rapid course of the Passion and the cause of death of the TS Man was the fall under the weight of the cross. This Man shows, on the right side, shoulder lowering, flat hand and henophthalmos, revealing a violent blunt trauma, from behind, to neck, chest and shoulder, with the entire brachial plexus injury and muscular damage to the neck bottom with the head bent forward and turned to the left, on the cross, as he had a stiff neck.' • by Timothy R. Jordan, Mercedes Sheen, Lily Abedipour and Kevin B. Paterson - PLOS, October 28, 2015.

Here is an excerpt from the Abstract: '.recently, other reports have suggested that the Shroud also contains evidence of inscriptions, and these reports have been used to add crucial support to the view that the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus. Unfortunately, these reports of inscriptions are based on marks that are barely visible on the Shroud, even when images are enhanced, and the actual existence of writing on the Shroud is still a matter of considerable debate.' • by Anthony Luis Hernandez - Bethpage High School, Bethpage, New York, February 2, 2017 - An excellent STUDENT PAPER with an interesting perspective on Shroud research.

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail Anthony sent me: 'My project was a kind of meta-analysis of existing sindonological evidence, comparing how evidence in six areas of Shroud study affected both the authenticity and forgery perspectives on the Shroud's identity. I first presented my completed project before my research class about a month ago, and a week later my classmates and I went to the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair. Though my project did not place at LISEF, I was overwhelmed by the positive response my project received, dispelling many doubts I had had about judges being concerned over the subject matter.' Well done Anthony! Here is an excerpt from the Abstract: 'Over time, sindonology, the scientific study of the Turin Shroud, has expanded as a combination of academic disciplines, working together to come up with hypotheses as to the true identity of the Shroud. This investigation aimed to analyze the contributions of sindonology to two perspectives on the Turin Shroud’s identity, one being that the Shroud is a medieval forgery, the other being that the Shroud is the authentic burial cloth of Jesus.'

• by Giulio Fanti and Roberto Basso - International Journal of Reliability, Quality and Safety Engineering, Volume 24, Issue 02, April 2017. Here is an excerpt from the Abstract: 'As the 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud (TS) was debatable also from a statistical point of view, new dating methods have been proposed. This paper presents the result of an improved mechanical dating.

A recent cyclic-load machine has been improved to better fix fibers under test by using a special support designed for the purpose. The mechanical behavior of linen fibers of three different ages are measured and compared discussing these results in reference to the complex structure of aged linen fibers; the three samples are a linen fiber from an Egyptian mummy of 27th Century B.C.; a linen fiber coming from the TS, and a recent linen fiber.' • by Giulio Fanti and Giuseppe Zagotto - Journal of Cultural Heritage, Volume 25, May–June 2017, Pages 113–120. Here is an excerpt from the Abstract: 'Samples from the Turin Shroud (TS) furnished by STERA Inc. Have been analyzed and compared with both material coming from the TS and sticky tapes taken from a copy of the TS produced in 1656 and conserved at Palma di Montechiaro, Sicily, Italy.

The attention has been focalized to the many reddish particles contained in these samples that appear to be of many types, shape and sizes. Some of them seem to correspond to the so called “sub-micron particles” recognized by W. McCrone in the form of red ochre (iron oxide) and vermillion (mercury sulfide); the others, as described by many researchers of the STuRP like A. Heller, seem typical of blood.' Posted June 8, 2017. Shroud displayed on LED sign at Crosswind Church in Westminster, Maryland Photo © 2017 Deborah Reuter Earlier this year the Crosswind Church in Westminster, Maryland, obtained one of our Lifesize Shroud of Turin Replicas and displayed it in their church throughout the entire Lenten Season. They even included a photograph of it on their outside LED billboard and we are grateful to Deborah Reuter for sharing the above photo with us.

Now, let's get to some of the many Shroud related items that appeared on the internet since our Anniversary Update on January 21st. Our Next Update I don't have an exact date for the next update, but I do know it will occur in the Fall, probably sometime in September. I do know for sure that the next update will include a Special Feature on the Shroud and the Eastern Orthodox Church, reports on the 2017 Shroud Conference in Washington State and the Jalsa Salana Convention in England, more issues of Rex Morgan's Shroud News, the latest papers, books, articles and videos and of course, any breaking Shroud news.

To be sure you don't miss any important Shroud information as it occurs, check our page from time to time, since we now try and update it every week or so to keep you informed between our regular quarterly website updates. You can also join our and receive an e-mail whenever the site is updated or any important Shroud news breaks.

We hope you find this update interesting and useful and look forward to seeing you in the Fall! Thank you all again for being there and have a great summer!

The Shroud Billboard Project - Hilton Head, South Carolina Photo ©2017 William Kelly Today, January 21, 2017, marks our 21st anniversary on the internet! Another year has passed and the website continues to grow and thrive, thanks to you, our loyal visitors and friends! Our anniversary updates are usually large ones and often international in scope and today's update is no exception. In fact, the first five articles represent material from the U.S., Australia, Italy, England and Finland!

We start with news of an innovative Shroud billboard project here in the U.S. That has its roots in a similar recent project in Dublin, Ireland. This update also brings you five more issues of Rex Morgan's Shroud News, video links to the entire December 2016 Rome Shroud Conference, the latest issue of the BSTS Newsletter, Shroud news from Finland, along with links to many new books, articles, papers, videos and much more. Let's get started! Here is the Update Table of Contents: • • • • • • • • • • • • •. The Dublin Billboard that inspired the South Carolina project Click for larger view.

Photo © The Holy Face Project Last year I was contacted by Val Kelly of Hilton Head, South Carolina, who told me about a project where an organization in Dublin, Ireland published billboards of the Shroud face without any accompanying text or verbiage and created quite a strong public reaction. Val wanted to duplicate the idea near her home in Hilton Head with the help of her prayer group and asked me what it would take to obtain an image for that purpose. I liked the idea of a Shroud image without any text since each person who saw it would have to think about it and ultimately make up their own minds about what it meant. I agreed to provide the image and Val and her prayer group funded the production of a test billboard that will remain in place for one year. You can see the result in the accompanying photographs. The billboard, which receives over 19,000 impressions per week, is viewable on the way back from Savannah toward Bluffton/Hilton Head, approximately six miles south of the Route 46 traffic circle (one mile south of the Pink Pig Restaurant) on Rt. 315, with Bellinger Hill Road being the closest intersection.

According to Val, 'We plan on making presentations to the local Catholic churches to see if they would have interest in sponsoring additional, local billboards and then hopefully expand from there. I do have contacts in South Carolina and will investigate expanding further. It will take some time, but, will keep you in the loop on our progress.' I mentioned this project at the STERA, Inc. Board of Directors meeting in December and some concern was expressed about the placement of the Shroud image on a double billboard. The question was, what might it be paired with and what implications could that have? As you can see in the above photographs, there is an image of a flooded home in the lower billboard with the message 'Don't Wait.

And the sub-message, 'Make your emergency plan.' Frankly, I find the juxtaposition of the two actual billboards to be rather ironic, fitting and even complimentary! What do you think?

Board member Richard Orareo promptly did some further research on the Dublin billboard and provided us with the following information: 'The image of The Holy Face that we saw in the photograph was on Sarsfield Road in Inchicore, in outer Dublin. This billboard is one of many that is part of The Holy Face Project. Twenty eight are scattered throughout Ireland with 8 in Dublin. This project is a small part of the greater Human Life International, a Pro-Life Organization. Patrick McCrystal is the project manager. He organized a national prayer service in all 32 counties in Ireland that featured a large Holy Face banner at each service.

There was also a project that brought the Holy Face inside the bus system in Dublin. They estimate that more than 1,000,000 viewed the image within the 200 buses. McCrystal raised necessary funding through an appeal to the Human Life International membership. They raised more than €60,000.

Pam Moon also had a traveling Shroud exhibit that traveled from Dublin, to Cork, to Knock during 2014. Ireland has it 'going on!' - Richard' UPDATE: I am very pleased to report that as soon as this update went online we received a cordial greeting from Patrick McCrystal, the man who manages the Ireland Holy Face Project that inspired the South Carolina group. We have agreed to stay in touch and Patrick was kind enough to send me a copy of their newsletter, which includes many more details and photographs.

You can read it here:. He also provided us with a link to their new website,. We will keep you posted on everyone's progress. Posted January 21, 2017 Updated January 25, 2017. Official Conference Website (in Italian) As we announced in our last update, an International and Interdisciplinary Conference on the Shroud of Turin with the theme,, was held in Rome on December 13 - 14, 2016.

The event was sponsored by the Institute of Science and Faith of the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, in collaboration with the International Centre of Sindonology in Turin. Speakers included Prof.

Antonio Cassanelli, Prof. Gian Maria Zaccone, Mgr.

Giuseppe Ghiberti, Father Andrew Dalton LC, Father Nicolas Bossu LC, Father Rafael Pascual LC, Dr. Petrus Soons, Dr. Ada Grossi, Fr.

Gianfranco Berbenni OFM Cap, Prof. Bruno Barberis, Prof. Paolo Di Lazzaro, Roberto Falcinelli and many others. Hauppauge Alternative. Recently, the organizers released videos of the conference on YouTube so we are including links to them all below.

Most of the presentations are in Italian but a few are in English. Here are the links: • VIDE E CREDETTE: • VIDE E CREDETTE (1): • VIDE E CREDETTE (3): • VIDE E CREDETTE (4): • VIDE E CREDETTE: (Schwortz presentation in English begins at 1:26:30.

Petrus Soons presentation in English begins at 2:49:00). Since I was unable to attend the conference in person, I created a PowerPoint/video presentation titled The Contributions of the Shroud of Turin Research Project, which was presented on my behalf (see link #5 above).

Since it is difficult to see the screen clearly in the above video, I am including a link to a 640x480 mp4 video version of my presentation (84 MB), along with a separate link to a pdf version of the presentation script: • (This will take a few minutes to download). • Posted January 21, 2017. BSTS Newsletter No. 84 We are happy to report that the page of the website has been updated and the latest of the BSTS Newsletter is now online. This issue includes several in-depth research articles starting with Did Joan of Arc See the Turin Shroud?

By Hugh Duncan and The Pray Codex by Hugh Farey, the newsletter's Editor. It also includes a reprint of Pollen on the Shroud of Turin: The Probable Trace Left by Anointing and Embalming by Marzia Boi and an event article by Brenda Benton titled My First Visit to Jalsa Salana. Also includes news from around the internet and much more. Posted January 21, 2017. Official Website In our website update we announced that an will be held in Pasco, Washington State, USA on July 19-22, 2017. We wanted to remind everyone that the deadline for submission of papers is February 28, 2017 so there is still time to participate.

See our previous article or click on the above link to visit the conference website where you can find more details, register for the event, learn about travel, hotels and accommodations, view a video from the conference organizers and much more. In an e-mail on January 18, 2017, conference organizer Robert Rucker sent me the following update: 2017 Lecture Tour on the Shroud - With the conference on the Shroud of Turin () coming up July 19 to 22 in Pasco, Washington, Bob Rucker and Mark Antonacci are planning a lecture tour (mid-March to mid-April) to reach people at research facilities and population centers across 14 states. An outline of this lecture tour is available at and. As specific locations, dates, and times are arranged, they will be made available on these sites. Those interested in helping in this effort should contact Bob (H: 509-375-4770, C: 509-628-6894) or Mark (314-704-0537). Posted January 21, 2017.

By Tristan Casabianca (French language) Here is an excerpt from the description of the book on the Amazon France website (Google translation): 'In 2015, over one million people came to pray, or to simply pass an ancient linen cloth: the Shroud of Turin. The reason for its attraction is simple: it is deemed to have wrapped the body of Jesus of Nazareth after his crucifixion in Jerusalem. The reputation of the Turin shroud is old: it was at least in existence during the second half of the fourteenth century, at Lirey in Champagne. This book presents a rigorously consolidated statement and update of our knowledge on the shroud of Turin. It then assesses methodically different image forming hypotheses.

Tristan Casabianca was born in Bastia in 1982. A graduate in history of public law and political ideas as well as economic analysis of law (Universities of Aix-Marseille, Hamburg, Rotterdam), Tristan Casabianca is particularly interested in its academic publications (the Heythrop Journal, New Blackfriars) scientific and philosophical consensus on the shroud. Relying on traditional historiographical criteria, he has proposed, in 2013, a new method for assessing the Shroud of Turin.'

Paperback: 110 pages Publisher: Anima Corsa (2016) Language: French ISBN-10: ISBN-13: 9463 Posted January 21, 2017. • by Giovanni Fazio, Giuseppe Mandaglio and Antonio Anastasi, The Journal of The Textile Institute, Published online: 30 Nov 2016. Here is the abstract: 'In this paper, we revisit a pure stochastic process as a possible mechanism of the Shroud body image formation.

Successively, we make a comparison with another mechanism that uses the Maillard reaction as source of a ‘stochastic-like effect’ image. Both the mechanisms seem to be able to explain all the chemical and physical characteristics of the Shroud image. However, an experimental confirm of the possible colouration by the Maillard reaction could be, easily, verified.

On the contrary, for obtaining a pure stochastic effect, it is necessary to await the result of the experiment for years or decades. Indeed, the latency times, for the two images’ formation are very different.' • by Yannick Clement, Giovanni Fazio and Giuseppe Mandaglio, Chemistry Today, Vol. 34, November 2016.

Here is the Abstract: 'Recently, we have pointed out that the distribution of the yellowed fibrils on the Shroud of Turin, well represented by a linear regression between the image intensity and the cloth-body distance, has a stochastic aspect. In this paper, by a preliminary approach, we show that the chemical reaction between reducing sugar coming from the linen manufacturing procedure (mainly composed of crude starch and possibly also Saponaria officinalis) and some specific post-mortem gases like ammonia and/or diamines that could have been released by the corpse who was enveloped in the Shroud can yield a “stochastic-like effect” image. Moreover, we think the above reaction could also explain why the body image on the Shroud is a unicum.'

• by Liberato De Caro and Cinzia Giannini, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Available online 9 November 2016. Here is the Abstract: 'The Turin Shroud is traditionally considered the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, but carbon-14 analysis indicated a medieval date. Here, a digital restoring of the hands’ region of the Turin Shroud image has allowed to visualize anatomic details never seen before: the scrotum and part of the right hand's thumb. Additionally, the unnatural position of the right hand's thumb, adjacent to the palm of the hand, positioned below it and, consequently, almost fully hidden except for its protruding end, seems to denote a stress, which could be consequent to crucifixion. These results shed new light on the long-lasting scientific debate about the authenticity of the relic since the absence of the thumbs has been considered as one of the most important indirect proof that the Turin Shroud wrapped the body of a man who was crucified alive.'

• by Marzia Boi, Archaeometry, 28 October 2016. Here is the Abstract: 'This study proposes an alternative interpretation of the pollen grains found on the Christian relic of the Shroud of Turin, the majority of which belong to entomogamous plants. The examination of the images in the literature and the observation of modern pollen under light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy reveal that the most abundant pollen on the relic may be attributed to the genus Helichrysum (Asteraceae family) instead of Gundelia tournefortii. The other most important pollen found belongs to the Cistaceae-Cistus spp.—the Apiaceae—probably Ferula spp.—and the Anacardianceae—the genus Pistacia. These pollen grains could have come from plants used to obtain expensive and valuable substances that would have been the basis for the oils of Helichrysum, ladanum and galbanum, as well as for mastic and terebinth products; this fact has not been considered by previous authors. Ancient historical records give us references that could link the pollen traces to a mixture of balms and ointments employed for preparing the body for funeral and burial. For this reason, the palynological study reveals coherency with these historical records about the rituals, as reported on by the important scientists Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides, dating back to the first century ad.'

• [Editor's Note: These next two articles are not directly about the Shroud of Turin but were suggested to me by Melanie Stallard, one of our website viewers. This is what she wrote regarding the first article]: 'I just wanted to mention to you an article I read in the September issue of Science magazine about a new technology to read extremely damaged artifacts, called, 'virtual unwrapping.' I include the original article and citation below, but it occurred to me as I read the article to wonder if any application of virtual unwrapping could glean further information from the Shroud.' Since the technology mentioned in the article is far beyond my expertise, I thought I would include the article here to see if it can stimulate any interest or response from Shroud scholars. The first article is titled: by William Brent Seales, Clifford Seth Parker, Michael Segal, Emanuel Tov, Pnina Shor and Yosef Porath, Science Advances, 21 September 2016, Vol.

9, e1601247.• A few weeks later Melanie sent me a follow up e-mail that said: 'I have happened across another article that describes a technology perhaps you already know about, terahertz imaging, which was used at MIT Media Lab to attempt to read multiple pages of an unopened book. They used: (1) a terahertz camera that emits very high radiation, (2) an algorithm to detect the reflection of the radiation bursts caused by each page and (3) computational imaging to detect the images of the letters on each page. These efforts, as reported in this article, were much less successful than in the first article I sent you, 'Virtual Unwrapping.' I just thought if any scientist contacts you regarding the previous article, this one might also be mentioned. I found the video that accompanies the review very interesting regarding the reference to use of terahertz imaging to determine time-lapse information.' Here is the link: by Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office, September 9, 2016.

[Editor's Note: It is highly unlikely that any technology that 'emits very high radiation' could be considered 'non-destructive' or would ever be appropriate for use on the Shroud]. Posted January 21, 2017. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - A New Video From David Rolfe A number of new Shroud related videos have been released recently and we are including links to them here. The first is a new short film from award winning filmmaker David Rolfe and co-producer Pam Moon and is titled,. The video, inspired by the feature film 'Risen,' is beautifully produced and edited with an equally beautiful soundtrack performed by Tom Moon. This is a truly inspirational music video from the producer of the award winning 1978 film, 'The Silent Witness,' the first ever documentary on the Shroud of Turin.

David has graciously posted the 4 minute 20 second video on Vimeo at the above link to share it with all of us. He has also made available a new Vimeo link to his superb 2016 film, (which we featured in a on March 19, 2016, in case you missed it). Is the title of a recent audio only podcast interview with Mark on The Mind Renewed.com. Here is an excerpt from the description on their website: 'Arguing that new scientific tests might contest these findings and reveal the Shroud to be very probably the genuine burial cloth of Jesus Christ, Mark Antonacci proposes a scientifically-testable hypothesis that particle radiation emanating from the shroud-wrapped, crucified body may account for very many of the Shroud's features, such as full-length body images, still-red blood marks, erroneous carbon dating and more.'

Posted January 21, 2017. American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud Our good friend Jim Bertrand reports that the website for the recently formed is now online. Produced by Robert Siefker, the new website went online on December 28, 2016. According to the site, 'The possibility of strengthening faith, and potentially changing lives, is what prompted the founding of the American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud (ACHS).

The mission of the Confraternity is to develop ways that the Shroud, whether it is “authentic” or an iconic representation of Jesus’ passion and death, may illuminate and strengthen Christian faith.' 895,995 Visitors in 2016! (Click to see details) 2016 was another great year for Shroud.com web traffic, although we did not surpass our 2015 record of 1 million+ visitors. Of course, that year the Shroud was on public display and garnered considerable media attention which drove lots of extra traffic to our site.

Our final total for 2016 was 895,995 visits and we averaged more than 2450 visitors per day or around 75,000 visitors per month. In 2016 our visitors generated over 15 million hits, viewed nearly 12 million files, viewed over 2.3 million pages and generated 704 GB of bandwidth! You can see the details for yourself by clicking on the above graphic. We thank you, our loyal viewers, for your continued participation and support! Posted January 21, 2017. Lecturing at the 2015 University Series in Camarillo, California Since viewers often write me asking where and when I might be giving Shroud presentations, I am again including my upcoming schedule in case I happen to be in your area. If so, please drop by and say hello.

Also, please understand that as of this writing, the schedule is by no means complete and that many of the times and venues are still not finalized and subject to change. I will do my best to update them prior to the events.

• March 8 - 9, 2017 - I will again be speaking at the University Series™, an annual multi-parish adult education program held in Southern California each year during the Lenten season. The University Series™, an event created and organized by my dear friend Fr. Dave Heney, offers 90+ seminars connecting faith with real life in areas such as current events, contemporary moral issues, evangelization, faith and science, marriage and family, church history, scripture and prayer.

The 2017 season runs from March 2 to April 7 at twelve different parishes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. I will make three presentations, the first on Wednesday, March 8th at 7:30-9:00 pm at the St.

Mel Activity Center, the second on Thursday, March 9th at 7:30-9:00 pm at St. Mary's Church in Whittier and the third, a special lecture (not part of the University Series) at 9:30 am on March 9th at Our Lady of Malibu church. If you wish to learn more you can visit the where you can review each topic and sign up for the sessions. The charge to attend is $8 per person, but you can bring a friend for free!• March 24 through March 26, 2017 - I will be lecturing at Immaculate Conception Church, 2310 Robertson Ave., Norwood, Ohio (near Cincinnati).

The event is the premiere of a new Shroud Speaker Series organized by the Shroud Project of Cincinnati. On Friday, March 24, 2017, I will make two presentations to students, parents and teachers at the parish school, Immaculate Conception Academy.

I will give one public lecture on Saturday, March 25, 2017 (starting at 10:00 am) and one public lecture on Sunday, March 26, 2017 (starting at 11:00 am). You can register for any of the public lectures and see their complete 2017 speaker schedule on the special Signup.com website:. I hope to see some of you there!• April 4 through April 7, 2017 - I will once again be lecturing along with the at St.

Isidore Roman Catholic Church in Kanata, near Ottawa, Canada. The complete lecture and exhibit schedule and other details are also now available on website. I will be giving ten lectures over the four day schedule.• May 2 through May 5, 2017 - I will again be teaching my Shroud of Turin course in the Masters of Science and Faith program at the Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum in Rome.• July 28 through 30, 2017 - I will once again be in England and speaking at the 51st Annual Jalsa Salana Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Convention in Hampshire. Watch for an in-depth article about the event in our Fall Update in October.• September 29 through October 1, 2017 - My dear friend Dr. Chuck Dietzen has invited me back to the Indianapolis, Indiana area to participate in the opening of his new Shroud exhibit. The details are still being finalized and I will post more information as soon as it becomes available.• October 12 through 15, 2017 - My dear friend and brother Pete Schumacher has invited me back to lecture at his Shroud Exhibit and Museum (SEAM) in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

I will give one lecture on Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 6:30 pm at the Flickinger Theatre, 1110 New York Ave., Alamogordo, New Mexico and another on Saturday, October 14, 2017 at 6:30 pm at the Silver City Convention Center in Silver City, New Mexico.• December 1 - 2, 2017 - I have been invited to speak at a conference named 'The Real Presence: Eucharistic Miracles; the Holy Shroud; and Our Lady of Guadalupe,' in New Braunfels, Texas, hosted by the Fullness of Truth Catholic Evangelization Ministries in Texas. The event is being held at Sts.

Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 386 N. Castell Ave., New Braunfels, Texas 78130. Posted January 21, 2017 Updated September 15, 2017. I don't have an exact date for the next update, but I do know it will occur in the Spring, probably sometime in May. A lot will depend on my travel and lecture schedule, which is not yet finalized for this year.

Although I don't know the exact date, I do know for sure that the next update will include more issues of Rex Morgan's Shroud News, the latest papers, books, articles and videos and of course, any breaking Shroud news. To be sure you don't miss any important Shroud information as it occurs, check our page from time to time, since we now try and update it every week or so to keep you informed between our regular quarterly website updates. You can also join our and receive an e-mail whenever the site is updated or any important Shroud news breaks. We hope you find this update interesting and useful and look forward to seeing you in the Spring! Thank you all again for being there! It is deeply appreciated.

Aye, Barbara One of playboy's favorite leading ladies, the exotically beautiful miss Carrera, stars in the mickey Spillane thriller 'I, the jury' PHOTOGRAPHED FOR PLAYBOY BY MARCO GLAVIANO MAKE-UP BT RICHARD ADAMS pictorial essay By BRUCE WILLIAMSON while waiting for Barbara Carrera to show up for lunch at a swell French restaurant in New York, I am eying this blonde at the top of the curved stairs. Mickey Spillane would have loved her. Hair in a platinum pageboy, wearing a big, baggy, bright-red sweater over a body that just won't stop. Tight pants and heels.

Only a heel would think what I'm thinking. Slowly, the blonde turns.

Coming my way. Now her hand’s on my arm. 'Darling,' she murmurs, not quite suppressing a giggle, 'didn't you recognize me? Oh, I love it!” Photo: Enjoying a scenic stretch in the Caribbean, Barbara confesses she imagines intimate conversations whenever the camera's eye is on her.

To whom does she address this body English? 'Always a man.' In TV's Masada (right), she spoke volumes to Peter O'Toole.

Of course, the blonde is Barbara, the celebrated Latin supermodel who almost made blue-eyed blondeness obsolete and put brunette exotics on the fashion map. We sit at a quiet table at the back. She blows the bubbles off a glass of Cristal champagne, noting that life at the top isn’t so bad once you get used to it. 'I love luxury, but I take it for granted,” she says with a wide-screen smile. “Limousines, hotel suites, first class, Japanese massage and baths.

As a model, of course, one always has these things.' There’s not a hint of snobbery or condescension in what she says, the way she says it. The wig was a whim. Just for kicks. Yesterday I got caught in the rain, all soaked, and felt so good about getting wet I didn't want to go dry myself.

So I ran into a wig shop, tried this on, paid for it and walked out. This is a little like the way 1 looked in Condorman. What do you think? Am I convincing, darling, as a platinum blonde?' Good question. Am I fool enough to give her a straight answer? When you go to lunch with a girl like Barbara, you can stretch a point.

Photos: When photographer Morco Gloviano told her he wanted 'very sexy' pictures, Barbara said, 'Darling, that's what you're going to get.' Much cooler in 'I, the Jury' (below left, in black), she plays a bad lady whose sex clinic activities (below right) set the stage for blackmail.

One client's a psychopath (Judson Scott, below opposite) who forces Hammer's blonde aide (Laurene London) to don a red wig. Since she was first featured in playboy in 1977 as a former cover girl making a serious bid for stardom in her third movie. The Island of Dr. Moreau, Carrera’s career has been an upward curve leading to 'I, the Jury' by way of Centennial and Masada. It's nice to have predicted big things for an actress who almost never does anything small.

After the highly rated Centennial series on TV, she played a captive Jewess in the monumental Masada, which was beamed around the planet to more than 300,000,000 people and made her an instant celebrity in places where they'd never heard of Vogue. Now she's about to be seen as a murderous, predatory bitch in 'I, the Jury', the second movie version of Mickey Spillane's first novel, a perennial paperback best seller. Obviously, we have a bit of catching up to do. We try to resume where we left off as Barbara the Gorgeous went into orbit. She's still a California nomad but has traded her Beverly Hills apartment for a newer, bigger house in Bel Air. It's where I leave things I want lo find a year later,' she notes.

She is still an avid amateur painter when she can find time but has graduated from acrylics to oils and is doing her self-portraits in brighter colors these days. “I look at them to see my progress psychologically.” To bring nirvana a drop nearer, she now owns “a Saniadhi water tank that Burgess Meredith told me about.' Designed for deep relaxation, with 800 pounds of Epsom salts diluted in ten incites of aqua. 'You close the door, you’re in total darkness,” Barbara explains. “You become all mind, space, you don't feel your body anymore. You float like a cork on the Dead Sea. Once I fell asleep in it for five and a half hours; I was beyond the beyond.

It’s just like the one in Altered States, except that my spirit won’t do such evil things to me.' Photo: Carrera in a Caribbean skyscape (right) is a sultry reminder that some gentlemen prefer brunettes. Photos: Armond Assante, as Spillane's Mike Hammer, quizzes the clinic's top sister act (below left, the Harris twins, Leigh and lynette, uncovered for 'I, the Jury' by playboy) about a murder.

Below center. Hammer's girl Friday (London) gets a bead on the killer's ugly mom (Jessica James) and learns why he hates redheads. Below right, the psycho slasher strikes again, doing in the twins after laying them out in matched wigs.

In general, Barbara confines her own dark deeds to the sound stages of cinema. Having played a kind of glamorous Frankenstein monster in the 1976 Embryo, her second film, then a ravishing creature who’s transformed into a puma in Dr. Moreau, she has successfully dodged the perils of typecasting and evolved in I, the Jury as an altogether human, homicidal, dangerous dame of the old school. Advance reports indicate she is sensational—the kind of bad guy the good guys rather enjoy tangling with—as Mike Hammer’s nemesis. Charlotte Bennett. Bennett operates a sex-therapy clinic, with blackmail and murder on the side, and is ready to practice everything she preaches.

“I must confess,” says Barbara, “there’s something fun about having a license to be really bad. My first unsympathetic role, and I enjoyed it so much, though I tried to avoid the cliche of being bad, bad, bad. Even a wicked person can be interesting, with some nice moments, you know?

Otherwise, it's a bore, just as boring as a goody-good girl, whose personality has no other colors.” Photos: Above, left and right, Barbara blends sand, stone and skin in an environmental portrait of a lady whose thoughts as she posed here were 'quite interesting' fantasies about three different males of her acquaintance. She won't say who the lucky dawgs are. But they know.

Below, in character as the sex clinic's chief trickster, Barbara tries to trip Hammer by luring him into her bed and off her case. “1 think I have broken the Hollywood stereotype image of the Latin woman,' Nicaragua-born Barbara continues, crossing ha- fingers for luck. I'm playing a WASP.

I was a blonde Russian in Condorman, an Indian aging from 15 to 89 in Centennial. I feel Masada proved to people what 1 wanted to prove, that I am not just a glamor girl who wants to act but a real actress, and more an actress than a movie star.” Photo: Spillane's noted for his tough-guy lines, one of the most famous of which occurs in I, the Jury. As she's being plugged by Hammer, the svelte villainess sighs, 'How could you?' To which he replies, 'It was easy.' The torrid Carrera-Assante love scenes below don't look tough, either. Above and opposite, Barbara relaxes in the surf and a jeep, which, she said, made her feel like a schoolgirl on Saturday night.

High on Carrera's list of major peeves are the professional gossips who try to follow every move she makes with a decidedly mixed bag of eligible males. Actor Alex Cord, producer Robert Evans and the multimillionaire German aristocrat Maximilian von Bismarck dominate the roster of onetime suitors now relegated to her company of 'very dear friends.” Barbara will admit under pressure that Max was a pretty serious liaison for a time, though she adds, laughing quietly, 'he just recently married someone. A Spanish girl by the name of Barbara.' Carrera’s current crop of escorts, depending on which gossip sheet you follow, includes such headliners as shipping heir Phillip Xiarchos, actor Richard Gere and, often as not, the Russian ballet's defected superstar Alexander Godunov. Mentioning any name on her A list, however, makes Barbara bristle.

“I love secrets,” she says, 'and this gossip takes my secrets away. It's embarrassing, also an invasion of privacy.

If you're seen together with someone, that's one thing. But then they begin to quote falsely what he said about me, what I said about him, making everything up, calling this man or that man the love of my life. 'The truth, sort of sad in a way, is that I know lots of men, all over. A world of men, so many men, but no special one that I want. It's like water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. I think I’ve never really found that, because a relationship has to work both ways.

I don't know. When I'm feeling depressed, I sometimes wonder whether my generation even understands that kind of total commitment. Somehow, relationships aren't often taken seriously.” Being beautiful, famous and self-sufficient may prove death to romance for a sophisticated girl-about-town, in Barbara's opinion. “It's the combination of all those things. Men get frightened, then do silly things that disillusion me. Maybe they see my house in Bel Air and think: Oh, God, I’d never be able to keep her.

Or keep up with her way of life. The fact is, I don't need a man for how he can keep me. I make enough money.

What I need is total love and mutual respect.' And what does a man need to win Carrera? “Power is the greatest attraction for me, absolutely.

Men who are comfortable with themselves can handle me without being intimidated because they don't feel they have to prove anything. This isn't power in the sense of being a national leader or anything. Just the power a man has from believing in himself, from knowing there’s something he does extremely well. He may be artistic; I'm always attracted by that. I like a man with a sense of humor who stands on his own two feet.' Barbara’s notions about beauty are emphatically down-to-earth. “1 think some prejudice against beauty for actors is sort of disappearing now.

I'm grateful for that. I'm blessed to be living in an age when people consider my sort of appearance attractive.

Imagine if I’d been born in the days when obesity was the fashion? They'd have thought me very thin and ghastly'. But the fashion world's idea of glamor—where you're finished if you have one wrinkle or a blemish on your face—is an absurdity.

I know it sounds silly to repeat, but beauty finally has nothing to do with looks. It’s the beauty Mother Teresa has. She's funny-looking, with wrinkles you wouldn't believe, but the look in her lace is beautiful; she's so full of love that everything her eyes fall upon becomes beautiful, too. I'm not stupid, so I take advantage of what I have. But in 20 years, I'd like to be that kind of beautiful.' Meanwhile, the Carrera career is at a high point where she's more apt to be studying her lines than counting her wrinkles.

'Since Masada, which opened many doors, people have started to write for me, make deals around me—they send me scripts all the time.' Working with such seasoned actors as Peter O'Toole and Richard Chamberlain has fired her ambition to try a Broadway play, though Barbara's immediate goal is to form her own production company and launch several cherished projects. “I feel I've paid my dues and am ready to do more exciting things. I'd like to play Maria Callas in a film. I know the book about her and her life-—a very passionate woman, whose passion drew people toward her but also had a frightening side.

I'd like also to do another version of the life of Evita Pertin. So far, no one has done an Evita story with the flavor of a tango in it, and there's nothing so Argentinian as a tango.' More than any other idea on her agenda, Barbara yearns to do a remake of the life of Mata Hari. “Most of the earlier films about Mata Hari were done when censorship was very rigid, but the woman in her own right was a great courtesan whose allure was the way she got information as a spy—using her wits and her body ruthlessly. While I was filming Condorman. I stayed in Monte Carlo and met some people there who knew her. That was where Mata Hari lived and died—at the hotel right across the street from the Casino tie Paris, which was her hunting ground where she did all her numbers.

L'd love to do that as a feature, which has always been so cleaned up that it becomes just a spy story. I'd like to tell the truth of it, with all the splendor of the era... You see what I mean, darling?'

Silting erect, her nails curved like the talons of some elegant bird of prey, Barbara already is Mata Hari. Or probably any brightly plumed creature she chooses to be. I see what she means. She means business. [Source: Playboy Magazine, March1982, P.148-156.

Copyright © 1982 Playboy. All rights reserved.] The James Bond Playboy Dossiers.