Larry Clayton in the Tuscaloosa News:
Since [the travels of Constantine’s mother, the Empress Helena to places in Palestine ca. A.D. 326-328] many "pieces of the Cross" have surfaced, some perhaps genuine, most probably forgeries, but all "things" which carry much symbolic and spiritual meaning for those who believe. Then there is the Shroud of Turin.
No other Christian artifact in modern times is more controversial than the Shroud.
It has its own website which describes it as "a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist?"
It is, in fact, just a piece of cloth, albeit a very old one, that could be as old as Jesus. Miracles, healings and other manifestations are ascribed to the Shroud.
Does it, or does it not, have power? That depends upon your place in the religious cosmos, but it does surely have the power to recall for the believer the crucifixion and death of Jesus, a transcendent moment in the making of Christianity.
It has countless websites as Google search makes clear. Shroud.com is the leader of the pack, the biggest and oldest and the most comprehensive and the most objective site out there. And it has its own blog. You are reading it.
Larry Clayton: Our possessions help us remember our past | TuscaloosaNews.com