Matthias Brotherhood

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Matthias brotherhoods are pilgrimage and prayer brotherhoods with the purpose of carrying out pilgrimages to the grave of the apostle Matthias in Trier . These brotherhoods have been making pilgrimages to the Apostles' Shrine since around the 11th century . The medieval pilgrimage tradition is still alive today.

General

Trier According to legend, the Roman Empress to Helena (* probably 248/250 in Drepanon, † August 18, 330 in Nicomedia ), mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine have commissioned the Bishop Agritius, among other valuable relics and the body of the Apostle Matthias to Convict Trier. After that, because of the troubled times, the relics were buried near the graves of the first Trier bishops Eucharius, Valerius and Maternus, i.e. in the Bering of St. Matthias . Then they were forgotten. First Emperor Heinrich III . got news of it around the middle of the 11th century. During research, the grave was found, left some relics to the emperor (so-called First Inventio), but closed the grave again.

So much for the report on the transfer ( Translatio ) and the first survey (Inventio) of the Matthias relics in Trier. The clarification of the processes presented leads to complicated church-political contexts. The fact is that a special veneration of the apostle before the 11th century in St. Matthias cannot be proven. Until then the only patron was St. Eucharius.

Pilgrims on foot on the way to Trier

In the course of the demolition work on the previous building of the current St. Matthias Church (previously St. Eucharius) in Trier, the relics of the apostle Matthias were discovered in 1127. After this information was disseminated, a stream of pilgrims began, whose catchment area stretches from the North Sea to the Alps.

This also explains the fact that the name St. Matthias prevailed for church and monastery; today the monastery is often called the Abbey of St. Matthias-St. Eucharius designated.

Historical research denies the existence of Matthias relics in Trier. However, this does not change the fact that St. Matthias Abbey was and remained the center of veneration for the Apostle Matthias.

Over the centuries, new pilgrimage groups and Matthias brotherhoods were formed. The pilgrimage that has grown over the centuries is still very much alive today. Every year pilgrims come to St. Matthias in over 140 groups, with most of them traveling at least three to four days to Trier. Many also return home on foot, covering 300 kilometers and more.

Reception of a group at the Matthias grave

Some of these groups can look back on a centuries-old tradition, around a third of them have emerged in recent years. The majority of the pilgrims come from the dioceses of Cologne, Aachen and Trier. Most of them come from the area around Mönchengladbach, Neuss and Krefeld. Others come from the Aachen, Jülich, Cologne, Bonn and Eifel region. Parishes in the vicinity of Trier have a tradition of day or night pilgrimages. Each pilgrimage has its own face and its own tradition. This does not only apply to the brotherhoods that have been making their way to Trier for centuries.

Most of the groups reach St. Matthias in the two weeks before or after Pentecost. This main pilgrimage season, which is grouped around the feast of the election of the apostle (Saturday after Ascension Day), is continued in autumn.

Districts and Brotherhoods

Eifel district

Middle Rhine district

Lower Rhine district

District of Rur

Schwalm-Niers district

literature

  • City-Cölln Roman journey and pilgrimage in Trier: ... according to the order of their 41 churches in Cöllen and so many stations after Trier ... Brotherhood / M. Müller, Cöllen 1762 ( digitized )

Individual evidence

  1. Archived copy ( Memento of November 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. Archived copy ( Memento from June 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. Archived copy ( Memento from June 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  4. Archived copy ( Memento from June 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  5. Archived copy ( Memento from June 24, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

Web links