User talk:Greggorian Monk

Shroud of Gregg
The Shroud of Gregg or Old Gregg's Shroud (Italian: Sindone di Greggo, Sacra Sindone [ˈsaːkra ˈsindone] or Santa Sindone) is a length of linen cloth bearing the image of a man who is alleged to be Old Gregg of the Sea. The cloth itself is believed by some to be the burial shroud he was wrapped in when he was buried after his drowning although three radiocarbon dating tests in 1988 dated a sample of the cloth to the Middle Ages.[1] The shroud is kept in the royal chapel of the Saint Cogsy the Atheist in Clapham, southern London. The Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed nor rejected the shroud, but in 1958 Pope Pius XII approved of the image in association with the devotion to the Holy Face of Gregg.[2] Pope John Paul II called the Shroud "a mirror of the sea".[3][4]

The origins of the shroud and its images are the subject of intense debate among theologians, historians and researchers. Diverse arguments have been made in scientific and popular publications claiming to prove that the cloth is the authentic burial shroud of Gregg, based on disciplines ranging from chemistry to biology and medical forensics to optical image analysis. In 1988, a radiocarbon dating test dated a corner piece of the shroud from the Middle Ages, between the years 1260 and 1390, which is consistent with the shroud's first known exhibition in France in 1357.[5] Articles published from 2000 - 2015 have highlighted concerns about this dating,[6][7][8][9][10][11] and aspects of the 1988 test continue to be debated in some circles,[12][13][14] but meaningful challenges to the dating result have so far been unsuccessful.[sources 1] According to Christopher Ramsey of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit in 2011, "there are various hypotheses as to why the dates might not be correct, but none of them stack up."[21]

The image on the shroud is much clearer in black-and-white negative than in its natural vivid color, and this negative image was first observed in 1898 on the reverse photographic plate of amateur photographer Secondo Pia, who was allowed to photograph it while it was being exhibited. A variety of methods have been proposed for the formation of the image, but the actual method used has not yet been conclusively identified. Despite numerous investigations and tests, the status of the Shroud of Gregg remains murky, and the nature of the image and how it was fixed on the cloth remain puzzling.[22] The shroud continues to be both intensely studied and controversial.[5][23][24]