St. Brictius (Schöppingen)
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St. Brictius is a parish church in Schöppingen , a municipality in the western Münsterland in the northwest of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia .
history
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In the Saxon Wars (772–804), Charlemagne's armies conquered, among other things, the Münsterland . At intervals of day's marches, military bases were set up at “royal courts” and churches were built on them to become centers of missionary work. They were consecrated to Franconian saints - for example in Schöppingen to St. Brictius of Tours and successor to St. Martin (397-444). This happened between 785 and 792. During this time, the missionary work of the Münsterland began by St. Liudger .
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The Schöppinger Church was built on a conquered Saxon refugee castle, at the foot of which a spring, the “wave”, rises, which was the place of judgment and perhaps also a place of worship. The first church was about 8 × 15 meters and probably already built of stone. When Liudger was ordained the first bishop of Münster on March 30, 805 , the Schöppingen baptistery became the parish church. It is mentioned for the first time in the imperial charter of June 7, 838, in which Emperor Ludwig the Pious donated the churches to Reni ( Rheine ), Wateringas ( Wettringen ) and Stochheim in the Gau Scopingus (Schöppingen) to the Herford monastery.
The church was rebuilt around 1100. The mighty tower from this time still stands, which was raised by a bell storey around 1230 and received its current form with two stepped gables. Around 1390, the town of Schöppingen was built outside the Carolingian fortified church with ramparts and moats, two gates and a centrally located town hall. The church was now outside the fortified place. It burned down on April 30, 1453 in the “ Münsterischen Stiftsfehde ”, except for the tower and the surrounding walls - traces of fire can still be found on the tower today. The church was rebuilt as a two-aisled, Gothic hall church, with the main altar located exactly on the site of the old main altar.
In the Spanish-Dutch War (1566–1609) and the subsequent Thirty Years War (1618–1648) Schöppingen was badly damaged. The church was devastated and unusable. During the restoration, the wall paintings of the apostles and prophets as well as the vault painting (only rediscovered in 1930) were whitewashed. The altarpiece of the " Master of the Schöppingen Altar " was hung on the north side wall, it was now called the "Image of the bitter suffering of Jesus". A large baroque high altar and two side altars were erected (removed in 1876 and 1923, respectively).
At the end of the 19th century it was decided to demolish the church and replace it with a neo-Gothic church with a 75 meter high tower. Drafts are preserved in the parish archives, the money was already saved - when the First World War broke out and the plan was thwarted. During the inflationary period one had to be content with an extension, and so in 1923-26 the northern side wall of the previous Romanesque building was demolished and the northern, very wide aisle was added to the previous church to create as much space as possible. At the same time, the interior of the church was completely redesigned: the altarpiece was inserted into a new richly carved high altar that reached into the vault. The wall and vault paintings, which were soon rediscovered, were uncovered and restored.
After the liturgical reform of the 2nd Vatican Council, the interior was completely redesigned again in 1964-66: A new altar, ambo, tabernacle and priest's seat were set up, the altarpiece was given a new, simple arrangement. For the 1150th anniversary in 1988, the interior and exterior of the church were restored.
Patron saint: Brictius
The holy Brictius lived around 400 AD in Tours in the Roman province of Gaul . In 397 he succeeded St. Martin (the one in the cloak) as Bishop of Tours. 30 years later he was accused of being the father of an illegitimate child. As proof of his innocence, he was supposed to carry glowing coals in his coat to the grave of his predecessor Martin. He passed the test unscathed. Brictius died after 47 years as a bishop in 444 AD.
In front of the church
Mother of God on the linden tree (Gertrud Büscher-Eilert, 1948). The well with the pump represents the meeting of Jesus with the Samaritans . It reminds of the eternal life that Jesus gives through faith and baptism. The labyrinth shows that our life is a path to God with twists, turns and dead ends. Above the north portal is the story of paradise, above the south portal Jesus as a good shepherd is depicted.
Inner architecture
In the west two steps lead down to the baptistery. The late Gothic choir from 1509–1512 has a flat vault on high, strong columns. The wide north aisle, built between 1923 and 1926, is adapted to the late Gothic architecture of the church.
Furnishing
Baptismal font
In the middle of the baptistery is the simple baptismal font from the 15th century, which was reworked around 1830. Hubert Teschlade from Nienberge created the bronze lid depicting the fish catch in 1953.
painting
In the second yoke of the central nave there is still vault painting from the time the church was built. St. Brictius is depicted in the vault above the choir steps . In the choir head, Christ stands as the Man of Sorrows just above the altarpiece.
altar
The altar was created in 2003 by Karl Matthäus Winter from Limburg. Seven Old Testament events are depicted on the surrounding frieze.
Wall tabernacle
The wall tabernacle was also created by Karl Matthäus Winter . It shows God's self-revelation on the burning bush.
Easter candlesticks
The Easter candlestick in front of the choir stalls is a work by Johann Pechau from Cologne from 1986. Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man in Paradise are depicted on the candlestick base and below the symbols of vices. Above, ears of wheat, grapes and Easter flowers grow towards the light. The angel points to the empty grave and the linen cloth. The Lamb of God commemorates the sacrificial death of Christ.
Sacristy door
The sacristy door dates from the time the choir was built (1509–1512). The wrought iron handle shows a hippopotamus.
Apostles cycle
The painted cycle of apostles is nowhere as complete as in Schöppingen and unique in northern Germany. The 12 apostles stand in pairs in painted niches in the sanctuary. In addition to their attribute, each person wears a tape with one of the 12 Articles of Faith .
The series begins with the apostle Paul, the patron saint of the diocese and cathedral in Münster. The order is chosen according to the assigned article of faith. Half-portraits of prophets and patriarchs look over the apostles from a gallery. Inscriptions above refer to the article of faith below.
The wall paintings were created after 1512 by an as yet unidentified master.
Winged altar by the master of the Schöppingen Altar
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The most famous piece of equipment in the St. Brictius Church is the painted winged altar by the unnamed master von Schöppingen , one of the most important works of late Gothic painting in Westphalia. When designing the winged altar, the “Master of Schöppingen” dispensed with the usual stories of saints and concentrated on the core of Christian preaching. He summarizes the two main events of salvation history in one view each: the Incarnation (Annunciation and Birth) on the outside of the closed altar wing and Redemption (Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Spiritual Mission) on the central panel and inside of the altar wing. Because it is always a single “event”, he was the first to paint the scenes not as individual pictures, but continuously. The Schöppinger Altar does not have a festive or weekday side like all other altar pictures of its time and in front of it, but two views corresponding to the Christmas and Easter festivities.
Fork cross
In the left aisle hangs the large forked cross with the crucified one larger than life. It was created around 1460. The original painting that has been preserved shows bluish veins and drops of blood on the pale skin. Christ wears a real crown of thorns on his head. The shape of the cross indicates the cross as the tree of life. The cross was carried in processions by the community for 500 years until 1960.
Way of the Cross
On the right side wall, the 14 stations invite you to look. The pictures were painted on canvas in 1890 and purchased in 1779. The 12th station "Jesus dies on the cross" was probably created around 1570 for the Kleinburlo monastery . A 15th station of the cross is an alabaster work . The creator of the work is probably Gerhard Gröninger (around 1620).
Passion reliefs
Three Passion reliefs made from wayside shrines are embedded in the side choir . Two are by Bernd Meiring (1631–1703), the middle one is from the 16th century.
Madonna with a halo
It is located on the right front column and is a work from 1480/90. The scepter in her right hand is a modern addition, the halo was added in the 17th century. In the crescent moon at the feet of Mary there is a Gothic quatrefoil with a crucifixion in enamel , which was made before 1300.
Others
Choir stalls from 1788
Ambo from 2003
Pietà in the baptistery from 1680
organ
There is evidence of an organ in Schöppingen as early as the 15th century. Today's organ is a work by Paul and Dieter Ott from Göttingen. It was created 1981–83, 41 stops and 2915 pipes. Its sound is based on the Westphalian organ building tradition of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Bells
Salvator bell from 1517 - Ton Des, 149 cm diameter, approx. 1900 kg
Inscriptions:
"Vivos voco, mortus plango, fulgura frango" - I call the living, I lament the dead, I break lightning
"Salvator is min name min gheluit si gode bequaim
de lively roep ick den doden beschrei ick
hagel un donder verstuer ick
henricus de tremona me facit anno xv'xvii "
(Heinrich von Dortmund created me in 1517)
Mary's bell from 1684 - tone Es, 133 cm diameter, approx. 1250 kg
Brictius bell from 1948 - tone F, 121 cm diameter, 1047 kg
Paulus bell from 1977 - tone AS, 98 cm diameter, 650 kg
inscription:
Vocor paVLVs
apeLLo pIos pIgros peCCatores
Deo eXhortante per Me
My name is Paul, I call the upright,
the defaulting and the sinners
God admonishes through me!
Petrus bell from 1977 - tone B, 87 cm diameter, 420 kg
Josef bell , acquired in 1948 - tone f, 54 cm diameter, 103 kg
The following melodies ring the bells:
"Gloria in excelsis deo": Paulus, Brictius, Maria, Salvator
" Te deum": Brictius, Paulus, Petrus
"Salve regina": Salvator, Brictius, Paulus, Petrus
Trivia
In the parish of St. Brictius, the custom of carrying a gate is still practiced during the Corpus Christi procession .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Wolfgang Böcker: "St.Brictius Church in Schöppingen, Church Leader in Word and Image", published by the parish of St. Brictius Schöppingen, 1st edition, Münster 2015
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 5 ′ 36 " N , 7 ° 14 ′ 12.8" E