About Karapanagiotis’s Article “The Shroud of Turin: An Overview of the Archaeological Scientific Studies”

Abstract

The Shroud of Turin is an archaeological artifact that, due to its extraordinary characteristics, continues to stimulate scholarly interest, especially regarding the formation of the body image on the burial cloth and the mechanism responsible for it. Three main hypotheses have been proposed: (i) the work of a forger, (ii) a miraculous act of the Almighty, and (iii) an event governed by natural laws. Karapanagiotis’s article supports hypothesis (i), suggesting that the linen cloth is the work of an artist or forger. His article presents an overview of various studies on the Shroud, which he uses to argue that the burial linen of the Nazarene is a forgery. While we support the hypothesis of a natural formation process, we find it necessary to respond to Karapanagiotis’s claims. Notably, he cites one of our articles to refute the radiative hypothesis, but unfortunately he chooses the least appropriate one. In the scientific literature, there are other, more relevant articles of ours that effectively demonstrate the inadequacy and fallacies of this hypothesis. In this paper, we will cite these works, which draw upon both theological and physical perspectives to highlight the shortcomings of the radiative image formation mechanism.