"If Christ is risen - then nothing else matters” — Jaroslav Pelikan (1923-2006)
Have you ever heard of the Holy Shroud, commonly called the Shroud of Turin?
This coming Sunday, April 22nd, Mr. James Bertrand, a certified Shroud Presenter will be at our church to make a detailed power point Presentation on the Holy Shroud.
The Holy Shroud — the burial Shroud of our Lord — was taken to Antioch from Jerusalem in the first century because of the persecution in the Holy City. When the Persian army threatened Antioch, the Holy Shroud was taken by Patriarch Ephraemius of Antioch to Constantinople in AD 540, where it remained for more than six and a half centuries. In 1201, Nicholas Mesarites, the overseer of the Imperial Relic Collection, published an inventory of the relics kept in the chapel of the palace in Constantinople. The Holy Shroud was included in the inventory.
Just days before the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, by the Crusaders who were supposed to be peacefully passing through on their way to the Holy Land, Robert de Cari, a French knight, writes in his memoirs that he had seen the Holy Shroud as it was displayed every Friday in St. Mary’s Church “so that the features of Our Lord could be plainly seen there.” With the sacking of Constantinople, the Holy Shroud was looted, taken to France and then eventually on to Turin, Italy where it remains.
The Holy Shroud was a relic in the possession of the Orthodox Church for some twelve centuries before it was looted during the sack of Constantinople. If indeed authentic, the Shroud of Turin is a very important relic for all Orthodox Christians, and is perhaps the most important relic there is.
The Shroud of Turin is the most studied artifact in history. And as more information about the Shroud has been gathered, the wealth of scientific observations show an increasingly coherent story, which is consistent with the Gospels and authenticity. Each person can consider the information that will be presented and come to his or her own reasonable judgment regarding the Shroud.
James Bertrand has been teaching science for 37 years and has given over 130 Shroud presentations as a Certified Presenter for The American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud. Mr. Bertrand is an affiliate of the Turin Shroud Center in Colorado Springs, headed by the world’s foremost authority on the Shroud, Dr. John Jackson. Dr. Jackson's more than four decades of research have been summarized into a publication called The Critical Summary. Mr. Bertrand will present an overview of that document with high-resolution photos as part of a 60 minute power point Presentation to be given in our parish hall on Sunday, April 22 at Noon. This Presentation is open to the public and there is no charge to attend. A free will offering will be taken. A replica of the Holy Shroud will be on display. The Critical Summary containing his presentation and much, much more will be available for purchase after the presentation.
Sunday Matins is at 9:15 AM, with the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist at 10:00 AM, followed by the Presentation on the Holy Shroud at Noon, immediately after the Liturgy. Refreshments will be served during the Presentation. The public is invited and everyone is welcome to attend. Invite your family and friends. Join us for Worship and remain for the Presentation on the Holy Shroud, or just come for the Presentation, but come! The Presentation will be informative, edifying and may just change your life.
We hope to see you there!
HOLY CROSS ORTHODOX CHURCH
7545 Main Street
Ralston, Nebraska 68127
(402) 573-6558
