Scheyr Cross
The Scheyr Cross , also known as Scheyerer Cross, is a monstrance from the Scheyern Monastery that, according to tradition, contains a splinter of the Holy Cross . The monstrance is kept in the Heiligkreuzkapelle of the monastery church Heilig Kreuz und Mariä Himmelfahrt .
The Scheyerer cross relic is based on the shape of the Byzantine patriarchal cross ; that explains the two crossbeams. The upper bar symbolizes the inscription on the cross that was shown during the veneration of the cross in Jerusalem.
In Bavaria and Austria a so-called double cross is often referred to generally as a Scheyr cross .
History of the Scheyern Double Cross
According to the documents of the monastery, the cross particle first came during the term of office of Abbot Ulrich III. (1135–1160) entered the abbey, but it was only his successor in 1180 that exposed it to public veneration. On June 18, 1362, Scheyern is known as the "Monastery of the Holy Cross" at the Papal Palace in Avignon. At that time it was a “reliquary made of pear wood, surrounded with silver, gilded drifting”. From 1511 to 1513 the abbot at the time had the relic set in gold and precious stones in a Gothic style. In the years 1734–1757 it was replaced by the Augsburg goldsmith Herkommer with an ostensorium in the Rococo style made of silver, which is still preserved today . In 1901 further restoration measures were necessary and it was re-gilded.
Dimensions of the Scheyr Cross
In 1901 the monstrance was measured again: the cross is 18.5 cm high, the upper crossbar 4 cm wide, the lower 8.1 cm. The width of the trunk is on average 7.5 cm and it is 0.2 mm thick on average.