Cassius and Florentius

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Window with portraits of Cassius and Florentius in Bonn Minster
Iskender Yediler: Cassius and Florentius in front of the Bonn Minster
Cassius in front of the minster
Florentius in front of the cathedral

Florentius and Cassius , two Roman soldiers of the legendary Theban Legion , are said to have lost their lives in the third century in Bonn during a persecution of Christians .

The legend

According to legend, the legion to which Cassius and Florentius belonged came from the eastern part of the Roman Empire , from what is now Egypt , and was led by Mauritius (Mauricius). At the end of the 3rd century , Emperor Maximian sent the legion to war against the Bagauden in Gaul . The reason for the decimation and eventual annihilation of the entire Legion, which is said to have consisted of 6,600 Christians, is said to have been their refusal to fight against Christian fellow believers. This took place first in an interim storage facility near Acaunus, near today's St. Maurice d'Agaume , and in Solothurn in today's Switzerland.

According to the legend, parts of the legion hurried ahead in today's Rhineland to suppress an uprising. Among them were Cassius and Florentius, who were then executed in Bonn with seven and twelve companions respectively. In Cologne , Gereon and 318 companions met the same fate, and in Xanten Viktor with 330 companions.

The place of execution in Bonn is said to have been "in unconsecrated ground" at the foot of the Kreuzberg . Where later the Endenicher "Murder Chapel" or torture chapel was located. Helena Augusta - the "Saint Helena" - is said to have recovered the bodies of those killed and buried them in a church she built over a cella memoriae . This church is supposed to be a forerunner of today's minster . Archaeologically verifiable are three late Roman sarcophagi lying at an angle to the church axis under the crypt of the cathedral church, including a cella memoriae from the second half of the 3rd century, which was erected on a late Roman burial ground. A hall church, 13.70 m long and 8.80 m wide, rose above this cult site by the end of the 4th century at the latest. Today the crypt and the long choir of the Bonn Minster are located there.

Cassius and Florentius are mentioned in writing in the " Martyrologium Hieronymianum ". "In 691 a document in Bonn named a basilica of Saints Cassius, Florentius and Companions for the first time." It was probably assigned to the Thebaic Legion even later. It is documented for the first time in the text “ Passio sanctorum Gereonis, Victoris, Cassi et Florentii Thebaeorum martyrum ” by an unknown author from the 11th century. Decades later it was the provost of the Cassius monastery in Bonn , Gerhard von Are , who in the 12th century added a third, Saint Mallusius , and Saint Helena to the two martyrs . This step by the Bonn provost of venerating three martyrs and adding Saint Helena as church donor was followed by the monasteries of St. Gereon in Cologne and St. Viktor in Xanten.

On May 2, 1166, Gerhard von Are had graves opened in the crypt in which the bones of the three martyrs are said to have been. The relics found there were shown in precious shrines to the faithful in the presence of the Archbishop of Cologne Rainald von Dassel on the high altar of the collegiate church . These shrines were stolen in the course of the Truchsessian War and have since disappeared. The relics were then recovered in simple containers on the high altar.

In 1643 Cassius and Florentius were named city ​​patrons and at the beginning of the 18th century the veneration of the original tombs of the martyrs under the crypt was still alive. This is evidenced by four black marble slabs donated by a canon in 1701 and placed over the sarcophagi in the crypt under the crypt. After the dissolution of the Cassius monastery in 1802 in the wake of the Napoleonic occupation of the Rhineland, the relics were obviously forgotten. In 1887 they were found by chance during a restoration of the minster that was taking place at the time on cupboards in one of the choir towers.

In 1971 a modern shrine by Hein Gernot with the relics was set up in the crypt of the minster .

Remembrance day

The liturgical day of remembrance of Cassius and Florentius - high festival in Bonn - is October 10th . The custom, which arose in the late Middle Ages, still exists today that the Lord Mayor of Bonn offers and lights a candle on this day in Bonn Minster in memory of the city's patron in the name of the city council; it bears the inscription: "Cassi, Florenti orate pro nobis - The Council of the City of Bonn" ("Cassius and Florentius, pray for us)".

Representations

Cassius and Florentius are portrayed in multiple ways in the interior and exterior of the Bonn Minster. You can usually see them as still relatively young men, whose uniforms and weapons identify them as Roman legionaries or medieval soldiers.

Busts from the 18th century

Cassius and Florentius busts - exhibited in Bonn Minster in October 2010

Two busts from the 18th century, originally used to display relics , were found in 2006 in the cathedral's granary. They are 62 and 74 centimeters tall and made of hardwood, possibly linden. The figures wear black armor . Gold coats are knotted on their shoulders. In the middle of the chest there are reliquary openings that were empty when they were discovered. The helmets and faces of Cassius and Florentius are black. The silver plating of the busts now also appears black because it has turned into silver sulfide . The edge of the armor, coat, plume and helmet edge are gold-plated.

The busts have been restored. They can be seen in a shrine in the high choir of the Bonn Minster and will be presented in the festival decade in October above the entrance to the crypt.

Sculptures in front of the minster

In 2002 Iskender Yediler photographed the heads of Cassius and Florentius in the church, recreated them as models, carved them in granite and placed them in front of the Bonn Minster .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Jürgen Kaiser: The Bonn Minster. History - architecture - art - cult. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2002, ISBN 3-7954-1425-3 ( Large Art Guide 213).
  2. ↑ www.bonner-muenster.de ; Leif Kubik: City Patron Festival in Bonn: Mayor and council bring candle offerings . General-Anzeiger Bonn , October 13, 2014; accessed on May 29.

Web links

Commons : Cassius and Florentius  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files