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PAGE 13—The Georgia Bulletin, September 1,1983
An Ecumenical Blessing Upon The Shroud Exhibit
BY GRETCHEN REISER
“Accept we pray, this
Exhibition of the Turin
Shroud, and grant that those
who look upon it may have
their hearts open to things
which can be seen only by the
eyes of faith. By the Holy
Spirit, use it to preach your
Gospel of Salvation with
power and grace to those who
have not heard it, turn the
hearts of those who resist it;
and bring home to your fold
those who have gone astray;
that there may be one flock
under one shepherd, Jesus
Christ our Lord. ” (Dedication
Prayer)
The many leaders of
Christian denominations in
Atlanta gathered on the
upper level of the Omni
Aug. 16 to dedicate the
photographic exhibit of
the Shroud of Turin.
It was a fulfillment of a
dream for Episcopal priest
Father Kim Dreisbach,
another one which has
unfolded since June 1981
when an Atlanta Center
for the Continuing study
of the Shroud of Turin
formed around the
passionate interest of a
few people.
Some nine months ago,
despite obstacles, the
Center succeeded in
bringing to Atlanta the
high-quality exhibit of
back-lighted photographs
and transparencies
showing the linen burial
cloth and explaining its
history and recent
scientific studies of it. The
cloth itself is kept in a
cathedral in Turin, Italy;
upon it is the image of a
crucified man, believed by
many to be the image of
Jesus after he was removed
from the cross and laid in
the tomb.
Since the exhibit came
to Atlanta last November
- first for a six-month stay
at the Peachtree Center
and now in donated space
on the upper level of the
Omni shopping mall -
Father Dreisbach had
hoped for an ecumenical
service to bless and
dedicate the exhibit. When
the service was arranged
and the schedules worked
out, the ecumenical service
fell on Aug. 16, the feast
day in the Greek
Orthodox calendar of the
Holy Mandylion, the date
on which the Shroud was
believed to have been first
exhibited in the city of
Constantinople in 944
A.D.
Archbishop Thomas
Donnellan officiated at the
reading of the Evening
Office of the Holy Shroud.
Bishop John of Atlanta,
the Greek Orthodox
bishop; Bishop Elect C.
Judson Child, Jr. of the
Episcopal Diocese of
Atlanta and Presiding
Bishop Frederick H.
Talbot of the African
Methodist Episcopal
Church co-officiated. The
American Lutheran
Church, the Lutheran
Church in America, the
Atlanta Baptist
Association, the Atlanta
Presbyterian Church, the
United Methodist Church,
Mount Paran Church of
God and the Christian
Council were also
represented.
Such a gathering was
believed to be a unique
event internationally in
showing ecumenical
support for the Shroud as
one means of drawing
people to the central
Gospel message of Jesus’
passion, death and
resurrection. The impact
upon Father Dreisbach, as
he left that evening, was to
DEDICATION - Episcopal priest Father Kim
Dreisbach, center, opens the service at which the
Evening Office of the Holy Shroud was recited
and the exhibit blessed by the bishops and clergy
assembled.
recall the faces of the
many people he has come
to read about and know
whose work and
dedication have sustained
interest in the Shroud over
the centuries, the priest
said. The thoughts
included “a prayer and a
hope that we could do
justice” to the task, he
noted. Among those
involved in setting up the
service were George O’Day
and Larry Melear, both
active in the archdiocese.
The photographic
exhibit was planned as a
part of the 1978 study of
the Shroud carried out by
a group of American
scientists with the
permission of church
officials and others
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DOCTORS
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Phone 493-5244
2160 Idlewood Road
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Your full-service community general hospital.
Jack B. Sartain, Executive Director
responsible for its
safekeeping. At the
conclusion of the
unprecedented study, the
exhibit was expected to
tour world museums, but
technical problems
prevented that from taking
place.
The Atlanta Center has
worked since to try to
keep the exhibit
permanently in Atlanta as
the centerpiece of a
research center and library
devoted to the topic of
Corporations
Personal Injury
Richard A. Rice
Attorney At Law
523-1087
1400 Bank of the South
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Shroud study. Using
donations at the exhibit,
the Center is now within
$10,000 of the $116,000
needed to buy the exhibit
and supporting materials.
Once enough money is
raised to buy the exhibit,
fund-raising is expected to
begin to find and staff a
permanent home for it.
In addition to support
from the religious
community the exhibit is
receiving increasing
attention from municipal
o fficials. Mayor Andrew
Young and his wife and a
representative of Gov. Joe
Frank Harris came on the
evening of the service.
Also present was ' Fulton
County Commissioner Lee
Roach who noted that the
exhibit, in its quality and
subject matter, could only
enhance, and reflect well
on any city where it was
housed. More than 30,000
people have toured the
exhibit since last
November.
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