The Shroud of Turin Exhibition, the world’s only complete public presentation of photographs and scientific investigation related to the “Holy Shroud,” reopened June 15, having moved to Atlanta’s Omni International Complex from its previous location in Peachtree Center.

The exhibit documents scientific study of the linen burial sheet which tradition holds as being the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. Focus of the study is a faint image which appears along the 14-foot length of the sheet; viewed from a distance, the image resembles the face and body of a man.

“Thirty-thousand people visited the exhibit during our five months at Peachtree Center,” reports Episcopal priest, Rev. Albert “Kim” Dreisbach, president of the Atlanta Center for Continuing Study of the Shroud of Turin, Inc. (ACCSST), the non-profit group which brought the exhibit to Atlanta. “The response was so encouraging that we hope to purchase the exhibit and give it a permanent home in Atlanta. The generosity of the Cousins organization and Omni International in allowing us the use of exhibit space brings us closer to that goal.”

Controversy has surrounded the shroud since its image was first described in the 13^th century by crusaders who viewed the cloth in Constantinople. Since 1578, the linen has been housed in the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista, Turin, Italy. It has been on public display only three times this century – most recently in the fall of 1978 when more than three-million pilgrims visited Turin.

During the 1978 exposition, more than 50 scientists (32 of them American), were invited to examine the image on the shroud. Using the most modern equipment and techniques, the scientific team has determined: (1) The image is that of a human being; (2) The image is that of a man who was beaten and crucified; (3) There are human blood stains on the linen; (4) The blood clots are undisturbed, thus the linen was not lifted from the body in any usual manner.

The sum total of findings has filled several books, yet the scientific team has been unable to explain how the image was formed. So, the controversy continues.

The Shroud of Turin Exhibit was originally intended for world tour, but its owners became concerned that repeated handling and shipping would damage the priceless photographs. It was at this point, in 1982, that Fr. Dreisbach and his group intervened.

Because of Atlanta’s central location, and status as a convention center, plans are now being made to establish the Shroud of Turin as a permanent exhibition, coupled with a world center of shroud research.

The exhibit is located in the Omni retail mall near the Omni International Hotel. Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The exhibit is closed Monday. A donation of $3 is asked, with discounts to students, senior citizens and group tours.