Speakers

Join us for an enlightening series of presentations from leading experts in Shroud research. Our speakers include renowned scientists, historians, theologians, and scholars who will share their insights and discoveries related to the Shroud of Turin. Each speaker brings a unique perspective, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of this enigmatic relic.

Key Topics

Explore scientific discoveries, historical paths, theological reflections, medical insights, and environmental factors related to the Shroud of Turin. Our experts provide comprehensive knowledge, deepening your understanding of this enigmatic relic.

Tentative speakers include the following world-renowned experts:

Scientific Analysis and Discoveries

The latest technological advancements in Shroud research
The ongoing debate on radiocarbon dating results
Methods used to study the image and material composition

Historical Path and Provenance

Theories on the Shroud's origins and early history
Key historical events and figures associated with the Shroud
The Shroud's journey from Edessa to Constantinople and beyond

Theological Reflections and Implications

The Shroud's role in Christian theology and devotion
Symbolism and significance of the Shroud in religious art
Reflections on the Shroud's impact on contemporary faith practices

Medical and Forensic Perspectives

Analysis of the bloodstains and wounds depicted on the Shroud
- Insights into the crucifixion process and its portrayal on the Shroud
- The intersection of medicine, forensic science, and historical analysis

Geological and Environmental Factors

The impact of environmental conditions on the Shroud's preservation
Studies on the linen fabric and its resilience over time
Conservation efforts to protect and maintain the Shroud

Mark Antonacci

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Mark Antonacci

Bio

Mark has studied all aspects of the Shroud for more than 40 years. For over two decades, he has proposed that new, non-destructive or minimally-invasive tests be adapted and applied to the Shroud and various materials on it at their molecular and atomic levels. This testing would not only prove their ages, but what caused all the unique features throughout its unparalleled body images and blood marks. These new scientific techniques could even prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether an unprecedented radiating event occurred to the multiply-wounded, crucified corpse wrapped in this cloth, which not only encoded all of these features, but left unnatural and unforgeable evidence of when, where, and to whom all of these events occurred.

Mark is an attorney and has authored the two most comprehensive and substantive books on the Shroud, The Resurrection of the Shroud in 2000 and Test the Shroud in 2015. He is writing a third book titled The Shroud of Turin 101. Mark is also the founder and president of Test the Shroud Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation.

Nan Balfour

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Nan Balfour

Bio

Nan Balfour serves as a volunteer Shroud Ambassador for Pilgrim Center of Hope, a Catholic evangelization ministry located in San Antonio, Texas with a mission to provide opportunities to connect people to Jesus Christ and the Church.

Nan is a writer, speaker, and guide through the Who is the Man of the Shroud? museum exhibition permanently located at Pilgrim Center of Hope.

Nan presents on the Shroud locally at area churches, colleges and to women inmates at the county jail through her jail ministry. In 2024, Nan presented the talk, The Shroud as a Tool for Evangelization, at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

Nan, wife, mother and grandmother, lives in San Antonio with her husband, Bruce.

Presentation Summary

A Journey with the Shroud

A Journey with the Shroud is a presentation based on the Othonia-approved Shroud of Turin museum exhibition, Who is the Man of The Shroud? which is permanently displayed at Pilgrim Center of Hope, a Catholic evangelization ministry in San Antonio, Texas.

This PowerPoint presentation is a journey of discovery weaving through a variety of disciplines including photography, forensics, botany, anatomy, art, world history, archeology, geography and theology that have probed this ancient linen burial cloth called ‘the most studied artifact in history.’

A Journey with the Shroud highlights the many striking similarities between what is known about the Shroud of Turin and the image of the man it bears, compared with what is known about the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ as told through the Gospel narratives.

Questions are posed, evidence is provided, the intellect is piqued… but the answer to the exhibition’s title is left for each to ponder: Who is the Man of the Shroud?

Dr. Fred Baltz

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Fred Baltz

Presentation Summary

Probably John 20

Dr. Bruno Barberis

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Bruno Barberis

Cesar Barta

The Sudarium of Oviedo and Coincidences With the Shroud

Featured Speaker

Cesar Barta

Bio

Barta, César, Physicist, University Complutense, Madrid, 1981

César Barta has developed his professional activity in the nuclear and electronic fields. At the final period, he worked as a test engineer in space science for more than 25 years. He devotes his free time to research and dissemination on the Holy Shroud, having taught courses and attended conferences both in Spain and in other countries in Europe and America. He assiduously collaborates with national and international specialized magazines. He has been involved in Shroud research following its 1988 carbon dating, and he is a member of the Centro Español de Sindonología (CES).

Presentation Summary

Two Presentations:

The Sudarium of Oviedo and coincidences with the Shroud

The Sudarium of Oviedo was placed around the head of a crucified man who had been crowned with thorns and traumatized, making it consistent with Jewish traditions of preserving and burying the blood shed by the deceased. If it is the head cloth described in John 20, it sheds considerable light on the passage from the cross to the tomb. Its possible path between Jerusalem and Oviedo and the dating by carbon 14 are analyzed. the various coincidences between the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium of Oviedo are suggestive and lead to consider very likely that both cloths were used on the corpse of the same person.

Was the Shroud irradiated with neutrons?
The hypothesis of neutron irradiation of the Shroud has been proposed since 1988 to explain the radiocarbon dating of the Shroud to the Middle Ages. It has been developed and discussed by several researchers. We propose some nondestructive tests to elucidate whether or not the Shroud of Turin received a neutron irradiation.

Dr. Joe Bergeron

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Joe Bergeron

Russ Breault

Featured Speaker

Russ Breault

Bio

RUSS BREAULT has been researching and lecturing on The Shroud of Turin for over 40 years. His highly acclaimed presentation known as Shroud Encounter makes use of over 200 animated images and unfolds like a CSI investigation. He has presented nation-wide to hundreds of church audiences of all denominations. College and university presentations include Duke, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Cal State, West Point, and many others.

He has appeared in several nationally televised documentaries and news programs including:

ABC: Interviewed for Good Morning America and World News Tonight

CBS: Interviewed for Mysteries of the Ancient World

CNN: Consultant for Finding Jesus episode on the Shroud.

History Channel: The Real Face of Jesus—A highly acclaimed two-hour documentary for which Mr. Breault was both advisor and a primary expert.

History Channel: Interviewed for History’s Greatest Mysteries hosted by Laurence Fishburne

EWTN: Interviewed as a primary expert for the documentary, The Holy Winding Sheet.

Breault was a key consultant to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC for the development of a high-tech interactive exhibit on the Shroud in 2022 and was the most successful temporary exhibit in the museum’s history seen by over 85,000 visitors.

He has participated in numerous international conferences including the first United States Scientific Symposium in 1981 and three public exhibitions in Turin, Italy in 1998, 2000 and 2010.

He produced twelve episodes of The Shroud Report, a half-hour interview show with the world’s leading experts now seen on YouTube.

He is a long-time member of the Shroud Science Group, an international consortium of scientists and scholars dedicated to further research.

Filmed at Museum of the Bible, in 2023 he was awarded a gold Telly Award for Best Short Form Documentary based on his work with the Shroud of Turin.

Mr. Breault is the president and founder of the Shroud of Turin Education Project Inc., the mission of which is to: “Advance the knowledge of the shroud to a new generation.”

In June of 2024, Breault published his first book, SHROUD ENCOUNTER: Explore the World’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery. Available now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and from his website: www.ShroudEncounter.com

Presentation Summary

Seven Secrets of the Sacred Shroud covers a variety of historical, scientific and theological proofs that further demonstrate the authenticity of the Shroud and how it should impact faith.

Why are the scriptures silent on the Shroud after the resurrection? Is there a “smoking gun” reference in the NT hidden in plain sight?
New evidence that shows the Shroud originated in the Middle East.
The significance of the face.
Theology of linen.
The Shroud as a proof of purchase.
The biblical requirement of three witnesses.
The promise of transformation.

Following Seven Secrets will be a presentation called The Shroud as an Able Apologetic: How to use the Shroud to reach your world.

This is a discussion of how to engage people using apologetic principles to consider the Shroud and thereby consider Christ himself.

Tristan Casabianca

Shroud Encounter

Featured Speaker

Tristan Casabianca

Bio

Tristan Casabianca, a respected historian and alumnus of Aix-Marseille University and the University of Hamburg, brings his expertise in the history of law to the study of the Shroud of Turin. Casabianca has contributed to critical Shroud research, particularly around the authenticity of the artifact and the reanalysis of the results of the radiocarbon dating.

Presentation Summary

One historiography and the other one on the C14

Dr. Andrew Casper

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Andrew Casper

Nora Creech

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Nora Creech

Bio

Nora Creech has been interested in the Holy Shroud since the 1970s and is an experienced lecturer on the history, science, and pastoral implications of the Shroud. After earning an MBA, Nora worked in industry and raised her family. In 2018, she completed a Master of Arts in Faith and Culture from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX. This degree equips the laity to bring their faith into the public sphere to positively impact the culture. She then attended the year-long postgraduate course in Shroud Studies offered online and in English by the Pontifical University, Regina Apostolorum in Rome. Equipped with this background, Nora began assisting multiple organizations to develop and expand various Shroud exhibits and to develop educational materials on the Shroud. Nora is a part of the leadership team of “Othonia,” the international organization which educates people around the world about the Holy Shroud through exhibits, educational initiatives, conferences and lectures. Othonia has strong relationships with Shroud experts all over the world and is an authoritative source for the most up-to-date information on the Shroud, both from a historical and scientific perspective as well as the Holy Shroud’s links to the Gospel message.

Presentation Summary

Providing an Impactful Shroud Exhibit in your Community

Othonia has developed a beautiful, engaging, and inspiring exhibit entitled “Who is the man of the Shroud?” The exhibit can be established in a permanent location, or it can be a traveling exhibit that moves between churches, schools, and community centers.

This presentation will discuss the purpose and objectives of the exhibit and how it was developed. Nora will also discuss how this exhibit can be made available in your community.

Fr. Andrew Dalton

Shroud Encounter

Featured Speaker

Fr. Andrew Dalton

Bio

Assistant Professor of Theology, Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum

Fr. Andrew Dalton, a Catholic priest and Shroud scholar, bridges scientific discovery and theological insight. He holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Shroud Studies from the International Center of Sindonology in Turin and teaches at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome. A global speaker on the Shroud of Turin, he has lectured across Asia and serves on the Board of Othonia, promoting Shroud research. He authored Fulfilled Israel: Matthew’s Plerosis Paradigm.

Giulio Fanti

Shroud Encounter

Featured Speaker

Giulio Fanti

Presentation Summary

“The lightness with which the test of C14/1988 for the Holy Shroud in Turin were carried out and a new interpretation of the results obtained”. “The lightness with which the test of C14/1988 for the Holy Shroud in Turin were carried out and a new interpretation of the results obtained”.

I will probably also be able to carry out some work on the fluorescence of one of the types of blood I found on the Relic.

Alfonso Hermosilla

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Alfonso Hermosilla

Bio

Born in Cartagena, Murcia, (Spain) the 15th of January ,1962.

Medical and Surgery Degree in 1985 at the Medicine Faculty at Murcia University (Spain).

Family Medicine Specialist.

Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Forensic Anthropology at the San Antonio Catholic University (UCAM) of Murcia (Spain).

Forensic Doctor at the Legal Medicine Institute in Murcia (Assitant adress Cartagena) where also being Head of Section of Forensic Clinic, all submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Spain. (Government of Spain).

Director of EDICES, (Research Team of the Spanish Center for Sindonology).

Member of the Scientific Committee of the CISS, International Centre for Studies on the Sindone, in Turin, Italy.

Member of the Scientific Council of the Centre International D´Etudes sur le Linceul in Turin, France.

Presentation Summary

NEW FINDINGS ON THE SHROUD OF TURIN USING LEGAL AND FORENSIC MEDICINE

The investigation of the Turin Shroud using the methodology of Legal and Forensic Medicine has revealed the presence of a stain compatible with the exit wound of the spear in the right dorsal region. On the other hand, in the área of the syndonic image where the buttocks of the Man of the Shroud appear, there is a complex pattern of stains that do not appear to be blood; on the contrary, these stains are compatible with feces, and perhaps also urine.

RESULT OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OF THE SOUDARION OF OVIEDO AND THE SHROUD OF TURIN

The results of the criminal investigation and the anthropological and anthropometric research on Soudarion of Oviedo an Shroud of Turin show the fact that the body proportions coincide in both Soudarion and Shroud, which is why, together with the concordance of de criminal investigation on both canveses, the hypothesis that Soudarion and Sindone covered the same person gains strength, since the statistical probability that two different men had the same anthropometric proportions, and moreover, the same lesions, in the same body regions, is very remote.

Dr. John Jackson

Shroud Encounter

Featured Speaker

Dr. John Jackson

Bio

Director, Turin Shroud Center of Colorado (TSC)

Dr. John Jackson, a leading expert on the Shroud of Turin, has conducted many years of research on the relic. With a PhD in physics, he led the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), the most extensive scientific examination of the Shroud. He continues his work at the Turin Shroud Center of Colorado alongside his wife, Rebecca, exploring scientific and Jewish historical aspects, bridging history, science, and theology.

Dr. Kelly Kearse

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Kelly Kearse

Michael Kowalski

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Michael Kowalski

Bill Lauto

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Bill Lauto

Bio

Bill Lauto obtained Shroud studies certification from Rome’s university of Science and Faith, the Pontifical Atheneum Regina Apostolorum, and OTHONIA, the International Center of Sindonology of Torino. He started following Jesus’ Shroud when he was 14, and currently is an assistant to the director of OTHONIA’s Shroud Apostolate Group, English (SAGE). His research into geological, celestial, and environmental factors, from 2,000 years ago coincide with the descriptions presented in the Gospels.

As an environmental and energy scientist operating GoingTrueGreen.com, Bill has a B.S. from St. John’s University, Energy Certification from NYIT, and SUNY. Bill has lectured extensively on energy and the environment internationally, including the Pontifical University of Science and Faith in Rome.

Under BBVpublishing.com, Bill published the historical novel, Upper Room, The Way: 33AD to 57AD, the first of a trilogy, which follows Jesus’ Shroud from Jerusalem to Italy today. All net proceeds are donated to charitable causes.

Presentation Summary

Due to environmental changes in our climate, science has been able to acquire additional data that propels us toward a more realistic estimate of dates and times for when Jesus was crucified. This discourse will present a collaboration between historical weather conditions such as relative temperatures, conditions on the ground, locations for the celestial bodies, with current weather physics, to match pre-recorded prophecies along with accounts of recorded conditions that took place at the time of the scene. Documented both by apostles and secular historians.

Additionally, new data from various studies, illuminate previous research on solar events, palynology, historical political time frames, Jewish calendar of religious events, dust storms of seismic origin, and civil twilight for telling time. One supporting factor will be data from research that cites earthquake parameters and data derived from archeologists studying geological formations in newly exposed layers of the Dead Sea. By incorporating research from disciplines such as environmental psychology, and understanding human behavior in relationship to time, we can establish key components for elements of events that are relevant to the Shroud of Turin.

Dr. Gilbert Lavoie

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Gilbert Lavoie

Bio

GILBERT R. LAVOIE, M.D. is a specialist in internal medicine, and occupational medicine. His latest book, The Shroud of Jesus and the Sign John Ingeniously Concealed was published in 2023 by Sophia Institute Press. In 2019, Dr. Lavoie and Tom D’Muhala completed the organization of the photo collection of Vernon Miller, the official scientific photographer of the 1978 Shroud of Turin Research Project. This collection is available worldwide on the internet at www.shroudphotos.com. Dr. Lavoie recently worked with the internationally known sculptor, Pablo Eduardo to produce a three-dimensional replica of the image of the man of the shroud. This exhibit is at Ave Maria University.

Presentation Summary

A Medical and Scriptural Study of the Shroud of Turin: What does this all mean?

First, this paper presents empirical medical forensic data. This visual data establishes that the body of the man of the shroud was in three positions. Second, by placing these medical conclusions into the life of Jesus, a door is opened into new insights as to what John, the eyewitness, had written. This is John’s story, and it is only through his eyewitness of what he heard and saw that we can come to understand the meaning of the image of the man of the shroud. It all has to do with the sign that John ingeniously concealed. This will be discussed in detail.

Joe Marino

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Joe Marino

Bio

Joseph Marino has a B.A. in Theological Studies from St. Louis University. He has researched, written and lectured extensively on the Shroud since 1977. He is retired from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked in the library system.

He has attended and lectured at numerous international Shroud conferences. He has authored two Shroud books, including an eight-hundred-page work on the controversial 1988 dating. He has also authored over one hundred Shroud articles. He has appeared on numerous TV programs, radio programs and podcasts.

He was on the board of the Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association (STERA) founded by the late Barrie Schwortz. After the sad passing of Schwortz, he took over as editor of www.shroud.com and much of the administration of STERA.

Presentation Summary

A Report on the Current Status of the Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association (STERA)

In 1996, the late Barrie Schwortz, the Documenting Photographer for the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP), founded [http://www.shroud.com,]http://www.shroud.com, which has grown to become the most extensive and thorough Shroud site in the world. In 2009, Barrie founded Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association (STERA), to which he donated the site and his other Shroud materials, which also includes the collections of multiple prominent researchers. This presentation will report on the present state of shroud.com and STERA, and a vision that the STERA board of directors has for the future.

Jack Markwardt

Shroud Encounter

Featured Speaker

Jack Markwardt

Bio

Jack Markwardt attended Rutgers University and, at Albany Law School, he edited the Law
Review and received his Juris Doctor degree cum laude. While practicing law, he researched and
authored many Shroud papers which he presented to international Shroud symposia. He has
appeared on numerous Shroud-related broadcasts and, in 2021, he published The Hidden History
of the Shroud of Turin, a book detailing the history of the Shroud from the time when it covered
Jesus’ crucified body in his tomb to its acquisition by the House of Savoy in the middle of the
fifteenth century.

Tom McAvoy

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Tom McAvoy

Bio

Tom Mc Avoy received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1961. He received a Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 1964. He taught chemical engineering for 40 years, first at the University of Massachusetts (1964-1980) and then at the University of Maryland (1980-2004). Tom is currently Professor Emeritus in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Maryland. He has published over 200 scientific papers. These publications include three papers in refereed journals, and one conference paper on his research on the ultraviolet induced fluorescence images of the Shroud taken by STURP photographer Vern Miller.

Presentation Summary

Further Analysis of Ultraviolet (UV) Induced Fluorescence Photographs of the Shroud of Turin

STURP photographer Vern Miller took UV induced fluorescence photos of the Shroud. Unfortunately, Miller’s original images were lost. In 2019 a color corrected set of Miller’s UV photographs was made available. Further, two recent UV photos, that appear to be correct and unfiltered, were found. All these photos show that the UV induced fluorescence intensity varies with location on the Shroud. This variation indicates that the molecular structure of the Shroud’s linen also varies with location. Exposure to neutron radiation is one potential cause of this variation. This paper presents a discussion of UV photography of the Shroud, including recent results on information content and color of the images.

Pam McCue

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Pam McCue

Presentation Summary

” Power of a Traveling Shroud Exhibit” (Public Session)

William Meacham

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

William Meacham

Mark Niyr

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Mark Niyr

Dr. Pedro Peinado

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Pedro Peinado

Bio

– Member of EDICES (Research Team of the Spanish Centre of Sindonology)

– Responsible for EDICES data analysis in the study of Soudarion and Soudarion-Soudarion correlation.

– PhD student at the University of Oviedo. Thesis on the mathematical structure modelled in the Oviedo Shroud of Oviedo.

– PhD in Educational Technology. University of Murcia. University of Murcia (2018)

– Degree in Business Administration and Management. University of Murcia (2003)

– Master MBA. Murcia Business School (2003)

– Official Master’s Degree in Elearning and Social Networks. International University of La Rioja (2013)

– Mathematics and Research Methodology Teacher. IES Los Albares (Cieza)

– Giner de los Ríos National Award for Educational Quality. Secondary Education, Scientific-Technical Area with the project ‘Planting numbers’. Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (Spain) and BBVA Foundation, 2017.

Presentation Summary

Mathematical correlation of potentially duplicated surfaces in Turin Shroud and Oviedo Soudarion

Blood stains have been identified, both in Síndone and Sudarium, potentially originating from the same staining points, as they are located in similar anatomical positions.

In a first phase, the relative distances, linear and angular, were measured between 16 points, 8 on the front of the head and 8 on the nape of the neck.

Correlations were obtained with different indexes: Pearson, Spearman and Kendal with strong and very strong values.

When analyzed in the light of the methodology adapted on the basis of lophoscopy, a science that studies the papillary ridges for identification purposes, it is concluded that both cloths wrapped the same head, according to practically all the judicial systems in the world.

Three-dimensional modeling of punctiform wounds in Oviedo Soudarion and their complementary ones in the Turin Shroud.

A mathematical model has been developed in two phases:

The first one, the parabolic modelling in the plane of the punctiform wounds (33) of the Oviedo Soudarion, belonging in hypothesis to wounds of a crown of thorns. In addition, 16 points were taken on the forehead of the Turin Shourd.

In the second phase, they were extrapolated to space by estimating the third coordinate of each selected point, thus generating a three-dimensional cloud of 49 points.

In addition to the three-dimensional modelling of the wounds, obtained by merging the points of the Shroud and the Soudarion, it is noteworthy that the dimensions of this model in space coincide with the anatomical measurements of the head in both cloths, obtained by our team, with a negligible error.

Alessandro Piana

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Alessandro Piana

Guy Powell

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Guy Powell

Bio

Guy R. Powell is a marketer, historian, Christian, and author of The Only Witness: A History on the Shroud of Turin, a historical fiction novel on the history of the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud of Turin, one of the most debated religious relics, is central to Powell’s research, which spans 20 years. His focus, especially over the past five years, has been on the history of the Shroud following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Powell enjoys speaking on the Shroud’s connection to the Gospels and its significance in Christian history, exploring both scientific and faith-based perspectives.

Presentation Summary

Tracing the Origins: The Evidence for Influence of the Shroud of Turin on Medieval Christian Art
This paper explores the hypothesis that the Shroud of Turin influenced medieval Christian depictions of Christ. By analyzing various Christ Pantocrator and other depictions from before the 14th century, the paper presents evidence suggesting that the Shroud predated the medieval period and served as a model for these depictions, despite the 1988 radiocarbon dating indicating a medieval origin (AD 1260 to AD 1390) for the Shroud.

Tracing the Origins: The Evidence of the Tradition of the Mandylion Through Analysis of Medieval Christian Art
This paper examines the tradition of the cloth and related images now known as the Mandylion. Throughout the ages it has been a venerated image of Christ’s face, possibly distinct from the Shroud of Turin, highlighting its portrayal in medieval Christian art. Through historical accounts and art analysis and contrasting it with the Holy Shroud it explores the Mandylion’s possible origins, traditions, and its journey from Edessa to Constantinople and possibly further. The study concludes that despite shared features and historical conflations, the Mandylion and the Shroud are, with a high probability, separate cloths with unique iconographic identities. It also concludes with a low probability that the Mandylion is an acheiropoieton made by Jesus as tradition espouses.

Christian Privitera

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Christian Privitera

Presentation Summary

colorimetric paper on the different colors of the Blood

David Rolfe

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

David Rolfe

Presentation Summary

The Shroud and the Seven Deadly Sins

Bob Rucker

Shroud Encounter

Featured Speaker

Bob Rucker

Bio

Robert A. Rucker (Bob) earned an M.S. degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, and professional engineering (PE) certificates in nuclear engineering and in mechanical engineering. He worked for 38 years in the nuclear industry performing nuclear analysis computer calculations for design of nuclear reactors, criticality safety analysis, and statistical analysis of experimental measurements. Since 2013, Bob has been doing research and presentations on the Shroud of Turin. He has written 39 papers that are available on the research page of his website www.shroudresearch.net, including papers 33 and 34 to explain the carbon dating and image formation.

Presentation Summary

“The VCRB Hypothesis to Explain the Image Formation and Carbon Dating”

The Vertically Collimated Radiation Burst (VCRB) hypothesis was developed by identifying 27 evidences related to images, then following this evidence where it led. The resulting hypothesis is consistent with the evidence related to the images, makes predictions that are testable and falsifiable, and can explain multiple mysteries of the Shroud. This hypothesis proposes that a radiation burst from the body caused a high frequency alternating current in the fibers that caused the discoloration on the fibers that caused the images. This radiation burst included neutrons that produced new C-14 on the cloth which shifted the carbon date in the forward direction.

Larry Stalley

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Larry Stalley

Bio

Larry Stalley served the Church as a teaching pastor for 44 years. As a Bible exegete and theologian, he has written extensively concerning cryptic references to the Shroud in the New Testament. He spoke on two texts (Gal 3:1 & Matt 12:38-45) at the Shroud Conference held in Canada in 2019. This time, he will be speaking on two other cryptic texts that, in his studied opinion, are even stronger witnesses to the existence of the Turin Shroud during the period of the Apostolic Church. His recently published book provides exegeses for multiple cryptic references to the Shroud by no less than four canonical authors: Divine Testimony: Hidden References to the Holy Shroud in the Bible, volume 7 in the Shroud series edited by Giulio Fanti and published by Jenny Stanford.

Presentation Summary

The Holy Shroud as the Holy Place of the Messianic Tabernacle — Hebrews 9:11-12

What exactly was “the greater and more perfect tent” that Christ ministered in or “through” as the superior high priest? “The tent” has been a puzzle for centuries. Yet, it was a tent well-known to the addressees of the epistle. This exegetical paper surfaces plausible reasons for concluding the solution to this puzzle rests with the linen burial Shroud of Christ. The exegesis surfaces strong evidence demonstrating that the Apostolic Church was aware of the miraculous image on Christ’s burial Shroud! Furthermore, this paper reveals how the early Church perceived the Shroud theologically— associating it with tabernacle theology—and the exegesis also reveals the typological teaching that developed around the Shroud. The implication is monumental, as the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin no longer depends on forensic science and historical evidence.

Can I Get a Witness? The Image on the Shroud as “The Testimony that God Testified Concerning His Son” – 1 John 5:4-13

Perhaps the most enigmatic passage in the entire New Testament is the one associated with the Apostle John’s cryptic riddle: “This is the One who came by water and blood…” (1^st John 5:6a). What did the Apostle mean? Why is he so cryptic throughout the verses that follow? How has his statement been understood by interpreters historically? This presentation will address those questions. An in-depth exegesis will reveal why the most plausible solution to this puzzling passage lies with the Holy Shroud and its miraculous image!

Dr. Cheryl White

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Dr. Cheryl White

Bio

Cheryl H. White, Ph.D. is a professor of history at Louisiana State University at Shreveport, where she holds the endowed Hubert Humphreys Professorship. She serves on the board of directors of the Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association (STERA), and has published original research from the Vatican Secret Archives related to the history of the Shroud. Dr. White served as the historical consultant on the Shroud of Turin exhibit developed for the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., and has given several presentations there. She is a frequent guest lecturer for the Smithsonian Institution. Her most recent Shroud presentations include World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal and the National Eucharistic Congress last summer. She is a regular commentator for programming on The History Channel and features in an EWTN Shroud documentary.

Presentation Summary

The Shroud of Turin and the Royal House of Savoy
For over 500 years, the House of Savoy was owner and primary custodian of the Shroud of Turin. As a religious relic of primary importance in the Christian faith, this distinction offered more than prestige. It provided future scholars with a documented history that transects the spiritual and secular realms.

Janis Winchester

Shroud Encounter

Guest Speaker

Janis Winchester

Bio

Janis recently received a graduate certificate from the year-long Rome Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Science and Faith Institute, in Shroud Studies.

She attended the 2014 International Conference on the Shroud of Turin, in St. Louis MO. Presented information about the Shroud of Turin at the 2019 International Shroud Conference, Redeemer University, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. The 2017 International Conference on the Shroud of Turin, Pasco, WA. And, the 2018 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Janis is a Forensic Scientist (retired), with over 38 years in law enforcement working in the Crime Lab, Inspector General’s Office, and Training for Law Enforcement. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, and International Association for Identification. She has a BA from the University of Florida and an MS from the Florida State University. Janis has traveled extensively to study about the Shroud of Turin.

Presentation Summary

Who is the Man of the Shroud?

The history of one of the most studied artifacts – the Shroud of Turin – unfolds as a mystery with the puzzling question, “Who is the Man of the Shroud?”

It is interesting to note that people look at the Face of the Man of the Shroud and comment, “the Face looks so noble, peaceful, hopeful, and loving.”

Janis brings to light the fascinating and intriguing information about this burial cloth showing the impression of the Passion, Crucifixion, Burial, and Resurrection. The impressions correlate to the direct evidence in the Scriptures. The proof of the direct testimony of Jesus of Nazareth, and others witnessing the events and miracles add to the overwhelming evidence that each person may examine and evaluate.

Everyone is welcome to enjoy this presentation which highlights the clues found on the cloth. Decide for yourself, “Who is the Man of the Shroud?” and determine its significance in our time.