Catacomb saint

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The catacomb saint Pankratius von Wil
Catacomb saint in Stams Abbey
Head reliquary of the catacomb martyr Dominicus ( Upper Swabia , 18th century)

Catacomb saints are unknown persons from the time of early Christianity , whose bones were removed in large numbers from the catacombs in Rome between the 16th and 19th centuries . Typically, such relics were later richly decorated with gold, precious stones and embroidery.

history

Up until the 7th century, the graves of the martyrs in Rome were considered inviolable and have been transferred to other churches since Pope Theodorus . It was only when the Lombards threatened Rome that relics were transferred from the catacombs to Roman city churches on a large scale. In the process of Romanization of the Frankish Empire in the early Middle Ages the transfer began of relics from Rome in reaching immediate convents and monasteries in the Frankish Empire.

The desire to own relics of martyrs was particularly great in monasteries or parish churches . To get relics, one had to turn to a curial prelate in Rome. If the church authority responded positively to this request, a catacomb was opened, the relic removed and a certificate of authenticity issued by a curial bishop. The relics and their gifts were transported across the Alps via pilgrims to Rome. This first collection of the holy body was called illation , and a document was drawn up about it by an apostolic notary . Another task was to find a convent that would decorate the relics. There the seals that were attached in Rome before the Illation were broken under witnesses. The bones were then cleaned and placed in a reliquary . In many bodies, not all of the bones were preserved, so that bones were subsequently carved out of wood. Precious fabrics, precious stones and gold wires were used for jewelry.

When the bishop's written permission was received, a date for the solemn translation was set. Most of these took place in solemn procession . The shrines were then placed on the cafeteria of an altar for popular worship .

In the iconoclasm of the Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries, Catholic church buildings were systematically robbed of their relics. The Holy See then ordered that thousands of bones be exhumed from the catacombs in Rome . It is unclear whether these bones belonged to people of greater importance to Christianity, but some may have been early Christian martyrs . Some of the catacomb saints have been identified with other saints of the same name and given their history. A name was assigned to the relics and they were mainly brought to the German-speaking areas north of the Alps . Relics were not allowed to be sold, but fees were charged for the time-consuming transport and decoration of the bones. This only came to a standstill around 1860, as canon law forbids the trade in relics.

For almost three centuries these relics were venerated as miracle workers and protectors of the communities, then in some places doubts about the truthfulness gained the upper hand. In the 19th century it became clear that the Catholic Church had never cataloged these saints. In a decree in 1878, the cardinal vicar called on the bishops to be skeptical about these relics, which led to the worship of the bones coming to a standstill in many cases. In many places the relics were then destroyed or hidden.

The collegiate basilica in Waldsassen has ten catacomb saints. These are full-body relics of early Christian martyrs who were brought to Waldsassen from the catacombs of Rome between 1688 and 1765. Even after the secularization of the monastery in 1803, the “holy bodies” retained the honor of the altars. The ten skeletons, decorated in elaborate filigree with gold and silver threads, pearls and false gemstones, are considered to be the richest reliquary of this kind and are still the special patrons of the church and the city. The so-called "Holy Body Festival" is celebrated on the 1st Sunday in August to worship the ten full-body relics, because Abbot Alexander Vogel received permission from the Abbot General of the Cistercians to hold his own festival (four saints were acquired during his term of office) which has been celebrated in Waldsassen for over 250 years .

Examples of the worship of catacomb saints

St. Domitia, St. Verena Monastery Church (red on the red)
Germany
Austria
Portugal
Switzerland
South-Tirol
Czech Republic

literature

  • Urs Amacher: Holy Bodies: The eleven catacomb saints of the Canton of Solothurn. Knapp Verlag, Olten 2016, ISBN 978-3-906311-29-6 .
  • Urs Amacher: Baroque body worlds. How Heinrich Damian Leonz Zurlauben brought the catacomb saint Christina from Rome to Zug. Olten 2010.
  • Hansjakob Achermann: The catacomb saints and their translations in the Swiss quart of the diocese of Constance. Contributions to the history of Nidwalden Volume 38. Stans 1979.
  • Paul Koudounaris: Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs. Thames and Hudson, London 2013, ISBN 978-0-500-25195-9 .
  • Andrea Polonyi: Catacomb Saints . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 5 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1996, Sp. 1298-1300 .

Web links

Commons : Catacomb Saints  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andrea Polonyi: Catacomb Saints . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 5 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1996, Sp. 1298 .
  2. ↑ Urs Amacher: "We gave Father Elektus the holy body of the Roman martyr Felix as a gift. The certificate of authenticity for catacomb saints called authenticity". In: Traverse. Journal of history . Chronos Verlag, Zurich 2017, ISBN 978-3-905315-72-1 , p. 170-178 .
  3. ^ Adolf Bründl: The catacomb saint Constantius in the parish church Lenzfried. In: Parish Council Sankt Magnus (Ed.): 350 years parish St. Magnus in Lenzfried. Kempten 1992, Agrar Verlag Allgäu, pp. 51-53.
  4. ↑ The ghastly glory of Europe's jewel-encrusted relics . In: The Telegraph , August 22, 2013
  5. ↑ Cf. Codex Iuris Canonici can. 1190.
  6. ^ Paul Koudounaris: Catacomb Saints: Revered - Denied - Forgotten. Grubbe Verlag, Munich, ISBN 978-3-942194-18-1 .
  7. ↑ https://www.pfarrei-waldsassen.de/heilige-leiber
  8. ↑ Gislind M. Ritz: The Catacombs saint of the monastery church to Altomünster . In: Toni Grad (Ed.): Festschrift Altomünster 1973 . Mayer & Söhne KG, Aichach 1973, p. 211 .
  9. ^ Verena Friedrich: Aufhausen - pilgrimage church Maria Schnee and parish church St. Bartholomäus and Dionysius . In: Peda art guide . No. 429/1998 . Peda Kunstverlag Passau, 1998, ISBN 3-89643-085-8 , p. 13 and 19 .
  10. ^ Hans Georg Wehrens: The city patron of Freiburg im Breisgau . In: Journal of the Breisgau history association "Schau-ins-Land" . 126 (annual booklet). Promo Verlag Freiburg, 2007, ISBN 978-3-923288-60-1 , p. 39-68 . Preview of: Freiburg historical holdings - digital , Freiburg University Library (shortened text), accessed on February 10, 2016.
  11. ↑ 900 years of the Augustinian Canons 'Monastery in Reichersberg, Augustinian Canons' Monastery in Reichersberg (ed.), Linz 1983, p. 270.
  12. ↑ https://hyperallergic.com/478674/whats-under-the-bejeweled-clothes-of-a-catacomb-saint/
  13. ↑ Urs Amacher: Holy Body. The eleven catacomb saints of the Canton of Solothurn . Knapp Verlag, Olten 2016, ISBN 978-3-906311-29-6 , p. 114-133 .
  14. ↑ Homepage St. Nikolaus Herznach , accessed on August 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ Urs Amacher: Holy Body. The eleven catacomb saints of the Canton of Solothurn . Knapp Verlag, Olten 2016, ISBN 978-3-906311-29-6 , p. 40-47 .
  16. ↑ Urs Amacher: Origin and distribution of the baptismal name Amantius / Amanz . In: Contributions to name research . tape 52 (2017) , pp. 169-176 .