An Evening with the Shroud of Turin: April Gathering of the Order of Malta Estonia

Every first Friday of the month, members of the Order of Malta Estonia, volunteers, friends, and the simply curious gather in the John Paul II Hall next to the Catholic Church in Tallinn’s Old Town. The aim of these gatherings is to get to know one another, exchange ideas, and introduce the activities of the Order in Estonia. But most importantly – to simply feel good among like-minded people.

Alongside good food and drink – not to mention great company – these meetings always include an intellectual and educational component. For each event, we try to invite a speaker to give a talk on a fascinating and meaningful topic.

The most important time in the Christian world is Easter, which takes place in April. Following that inspiration, the theme of the April 2025 gathering was the Shroud of Turin, presented by long-time Catholic Church member and photographer Allan Alajaan.

A History Full of Mysteries

History is full of mysterious discoveries, buildings, and relics to which archaeologists and scholars have yet to find definitive answers. The Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge, or sites of religious apparitions continue to reveal new layers to each new generation of researchers. Yet, the most thoroughly studied archaeological artifact in history is the Shroud of Turin.

It is believed to be the burial cloth that wrapped the body of Jesus of Nazareth after his crucifixion – and within which occurred the most significant event and greatest mystery in human history: the resurrection from the dead.

That’s a difficult concept to grasp, but scientists who have studied the subject summarize it as follows: the resurrection meant the miraculous transformation of Jesus’s dead body into a new form of existence, one that lies beyond our ordinary three-dimensional space-time.

The proof left behind is the image of a man on the shroud, which appears in clear detail when viewed in photographic negative. That famous image holds the core of the mystery – who is this man, and how was the image formed? Could this really be the authentic burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth?

Scientists have proposed that the image was formed by an intense burst of radiation. Recent studies have also confirmed that the blood stains and the bodily wounds on the man match perfectly with Jesus as we know from the New Testament. This leads to another haunting question: how could a medieval person have forged the shroud and its image, especially if even today’s advanced technology can’t replicate it?

Allan Alajaan explains the story of the Shroud’s scientific investigation: “Debate about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin began in 1988 when radiocarbon dating indicated it originated between 1260 and 1390 AD – more than a thousand years after Jesus's death, leading many to believe it was a medieval forgery.

Now, in 2024–2025, new scientific research has revealed that the 1988 sample was taken from a repaired edge of the shroud, damaged by fire and later restored with cotton thread. This means the sample used for dating did not represent the original fabric but a later repair. The new data significantly reinforce the conclusion that the Shroud indeed dates from the first century. So far, no scientific objections have successfully refuted these latest results.”

This is what makes the discovery so compelling. In the 21st century, humanity possesses technological tools the likes of which history has never seen. These tools have brought new discoveries, facts, and clarity to the investigation. Of course, skeptics remain – and this dialogue is exactly what drives scientific progress. There are those who agree that the shroud is something unique and inexplicable even to modern science, and those who still see only a clever medieval forgery.

We Should Be Grateful for Our Time

According to Allan, he began studying the subject more seriously in 1980, when a feature article and photographs about the 1978 in-depth scientific studies in Turin appeared in the June issue of National Geographic.

“I managed to get hold of the Finnish translation of researcher Ian Wilson’s book about the Shroud’s history and investigations,” he recalls.

As a professional photographer, Allan says we should feel fortunate to be living in extraordinary times – we are the first people in history who, two thousand years later, can see and study the real suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth on a computer screen, from anywhere in the world.

Also remarkable is the journey of the shroud throughout history and across regions: from Jerusalem to Edessa, then to Constantinople, Lirey in France, Chambéry in the French Alps, and finally to Turin. On such a long and dangerous journey, the cloth could easily have been lost or destroyed, but remarkably, it has survived through the centuries and is now kept in Turin Cathedral, in Italy’s former capital. It is only brought out for public display on rare occasions – typically once every 10 to 15 years.

The study of the Shroud’s origins is sure to continue. Believers and skeptics will not cease. New discoveries and conclusions will emerge. But one thing is certain – this is the most studied object in human history, and as time goes on, modern science will bring ever more fascinating revelations.