Shroud of Turin, real or forgery?

Since it was originally created to be an "icon" and a focus for religious devotion, it is in that sense "real". It was not -the- shroud which actually wrapped Jesus however, so in that sense you could say it is a "fake"... but it was never supposed to be - only when the relic was transferred between the Orthodox church and the Catholic church was the fact of it's provenance lost. The Orthodox priesthood knew it was no more "real" than the other images/paintings on stained gl are the real Jesus or the real Saints -- and they made this fact quite clear. These things are symbols of their faith not "forgery", there is a great difference between them. Most people who think it is the real image of Jesus are making an error - the wiser ones point out that treating such a thing as significant would be bordering on Idolatry even if it were real.