Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

Pierre d’Arcis, Bishop of Troyes

In 1389, Pierre d’Arcis, the Bishop of Troyes, France, drafted a memorandum addressed to the Avignon Pope Clement VII. He openly challenged the authenticity of the shroud by claiming that an artist had admitted that he had ‘cunningly painted’ the shroud.

What are we to make of this? Isn’t this damning evidence that the shroud was faked? Knowing, as we do, that this was a time notorious for its unscrupulous market in fake relics, the bishop’s report seems to have a whiff of truthfulness to it. But the relic marketplace may also be the basis for doubting the veracity of the memorandum. Pilgrims were a source of revenue and people were flocking to Lirey rather than nearby Troyes. Pierre, interestingly, states that his intent was not competitive. Why? Did he realize that others were voicing suspicions about his motives? They were. Pierre claims that his predecessor, Bishop Henri de Poitiers conducted an inquest in which the painter had confessed.  Pierre doesn’t have firsthand knowledge of this artist, or if he does he doesn’t reveal it. The artist is unnamed. There is no evidence of such an inquest in contemporaneous documents. Pierre states that Henri had the shroud removed from the church because it was a fake. However other documents dispute this. It was, we read, removed from the church for safekeeping because of the war raging about the area.