SHENANDOAH - The planned arrival of a replica of the Shroud of Turin to St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church in Shenandoah is today, with volunteers to help set up the display inside the church for its two-week visit.
The Vatican-approved replica - one of nine such replicas - is on display beginning tomorrow at 9 a.m., with a Divine Liturgy at 10:30 a.m. to officially welcome its arrival. The church will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through March 8 to allow visitors to see the replica of what many consider to the be burial cloth of Jesus Christ.
Regular church services during the two weeks will be held during those times. The replica will be removed from the church on the morning of March 9, when it will be transported to St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, Wilmington, Del., for two weeks.
Monsignor Myron Grabowsky, pastor of St. Michael Church, Oak and Chestnut streets, arranged a media conference Tuesday inside the church with the Rev. Archpriest Daniel Troyan, director of Evangelization for the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia and chaplain of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great in Fox Chase Manor, on hand to answer questions.
Troyan spoke about the Shroud near the iconostasis, or icon wall, where the shroud replica will be displayed. The replica is the exact size of the actual shroud, which is a 14-foot-long, 3 1/2-foot-wide linen cloth bearing the front and back image of a scourged, crucified man. The replica is stored in a wooden cabinet that is used to transport it. The visit to Shenandoah is done in cooperation with St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church, Saint Clair, which is Grabowsky's other pastorate.
Even though it is a replica, Troyan said people do come because it does provide a connection to Jesus. The replica shrouds have been touched to the original Shroud of Turin.
"The difference that it has made to people who have come to see it is really astounding," he said. "For someone who might have questions about their faith will find the answers right there in the shroud. This is such a fascinating symbol for the church."
Troyan has been involved with the replica shroud for three years.
Troyan said that the wounds seen on the man of the shroud are described in the Gospels. He said that the image shows something significant that gives much weight that it is the image of Jesus.
"In the first century in Palestine, you were either crucified or scourged, never both. If scourged, they would scourge you within an inch of your life and send you back out so people would see what would happen to you if you broke the law," Troyan said. "Crucifixion was for capital punishment. The only person we know of in history who was both scourged and crucified was Jesus. Also, on the back of the Shroud, you can see the back of his hair comes into a ponytail in the middle of his back. The only men who wore ponytails at the time of Christ were men from Galilee, so we know the body that is on there is a Galilean."
Also on hand to speak with the media was Shenandoah Mayor Andrew Szczyglak, who is thrilled that Shenandoah is the venue for such an important artifact.
"Monsignor Grabowsky had notified me about a month ago that the Shroud of Turin was coming to Borough of Shenandoah," Szczyglak said. "He informed me that this was an honor to have it brought to our borough. He wanted me to be a part of it because of myself being the mayor. I told him I would definitely want to be part of it since this is something for the borough, will bring Christians together, and I said I would do everything possible to help him."
For more information, call the church at 570-462-0809 or visit the church's website at www.first-ukrainian.com.