St. Mary indulgence
The church of St. Maria Ablass , first mentioned in 927, was a three-aisled basilica with a western square tower in the northern Cologne suburb of Niederich . Until 1804 it was the church of the St. Ursula women's monastery. It was abandoned in 1808 as a result of secularization and the abolition of the monastery, as it was not a parish church. She is remembered by the small Marienkapelle, the Maria-Ablass-Kapelle, formerly attached to it and still preserved today . The chapel is used today as the Church of St. Constantine and Helena by the Russian Orthodox community in Cologne.
location
The Marienkapelle, which is somewhat hidden between the mighty 1950s purpose-built buildings such as the Cologne Chamber of Commerce , the former Concordia House and some greenery, stands in the center of the city center on the small "Maria-Ablass-Platz".
history
A document from the year 927 attests to the donation of the Marienkirche to the women's monastery of St. Ursula, founded in Cologne in 922, by the Archbishop of Cologne, Wichfrid . The founder, who gave many of the monasteries and monasteries, is buried in the nearby church of St. Gereon .
Maria Ablass was first mentioned in 927 again in 1172, now as "s. Marie (-ae) prope virgines “(near the Ursulines). At the beginning of the 13th century it was named "s. Maria de campis vel avelasz ”(Maria from the field or indulgence) and later around 1220, she was called“ eclesia beate (-ae) dei genitricis Mariae ”. After all, from around 1300 onwards they were called “eclesia s. Marie (-ae) ad indulgentiam “(for indulgence).
Origin of name
St. Mary drain was a medieval tradition of Cologne's bishops following, one of the stations of the Way of annually between the Cathedral and St. Gereon on Palm Sunday held procession . After the bishop had "consecrated the palm" in St. Gereon , on the way back the procession was followed by a stop in the church of Maria Ablass with her image of Mary, which the faithful greatly venerated. There a sermon was given in front of the congregation and the indulgence associated with the procession was announced. Then they continued on the way to hold a solemn high mass in the cathedral.
Maria-Ablass-Chapel
In order to protect the Marian fresco on the outside wall of the church from the weather , an annex was built on the northern side of the parish church around 1431, from which the Chapel of Grace, first mentioned in 1528 and still preserved today, arose. The outer wall of the chapel that remained after the parish church was demolished in 1808 is now the south wall of the chapel. The miraculous image , which has been restored several times, was last revised after the Second World War by the Cologne artist Rita Paasche-Hecker (1915–1981). The chapel itself has also undergone several changes since it was built. Its east side was low in the 17th century as the chapel ship , a two-bay sacristy added. During a restoration in the 19th century under the direction of the Cologne architect Vincenz Statz, the west side received a neo-Gothic facade, the remains of which were torn down after the war ended in 1945.
Legend of the noble von Mauenheim
As in many old churches, a votive image was created for the St. Maria Ablass chapel as a token of thanks for being saved from an emergency . The large panel from the 18th century shows the central representation of the Blessed Mother with her child, enclosing small scenarios with explanatory information about the events. Among these retellings is also "Bruno, Knight of Mauenheim", who was captured as a crusader in the 13th century and is said to have been miraculously saved by St. Mary. The returnees "Bruno" prayed at the miraculous image and put his ankle cuffs next to the image of his savior.
Todays situation
North-west side, roof turret with a small bell
Renaissance portal from 1687
Sacristy extension on the east side
Outdoor area
The slate-covered building with a small turret is a three-bay , cross-rib vaulted chapel. Its south wall, like the whole building, is made of smooth, white exterior plaster, it has no decorations and is without windows on this side. The interior of the chapel receives daylight through the three Gothic-style windows on the north side. The smaller windows on the east side only illuminate the sacristy behind the altar area of the third chapel bay. The simple, unstructured western front adorns the middle, slightly raised over a few steps, by the preserved Renaissance portal from 1687.
inner space
The interior of the chapel remained unchanged except for the altered position of the altar stone. Only the furnishings were adapted to the requirements of the Orthodox rite. The interior of the chapel is illuminated with a window in each of its three sections. The chapel entrance has no vestibule , and you enter the church directly. The first yoke section of the chapel is separated by an old wrought iron grating. On the walls there are epitaphs , a chronological table probably left by the former Italian community with the listing of the history of the chapel and some devotional objects . To the left of the bars is a silver-colored baptismal font . An old baptismal font, which in 1615 by the pen St. Gereon from the former parish church "Maria drain" for the small Romanesque church Krieler Dömchen was purchased is still available there. The second section ends in front of the iconostasis, which is decorated on both sides with icons and partially opened during a service . The royal door of the iconostasis is a small swing door in the middle, with curtains on the right and left replacing the usual doors. It separates the church interior with the faithful from the altar and the holy of holies . The south wall is occupied by the large votive painting depicting the worship of the miraculous image. In front of the partition there are narrow consoles on which particularly revered icons lie. In the last third, the yoke section separated by the iconostasis, the altar stone formerly integrated into the east wall stands in the middle. There is also the medieval miraculous image in the upper right south wall.
- Interior
Iconostasis
altar
Entrance area
Marian devotion
Icons were inserted in the upper area of the east wall. A triptych by Bartholomäus Bruyn the Younger that used to adorn the center of the wall is now in the “Golden Chamber” of the Church of St. Ursula .
Use of the chapel
Missione Cattolica Italiana
After the chapel had been used for church services by the Missione Cattolica Italiana for a few years , St. Mary's Assumption became the Church of the Italians in Cologne in 1965 .
St. Constantine and Helena Church
Since the late 1970s, the historic Marienkapelle has been mainly used by the Russian Orthodox parish of Cologne, which was founded in 1973 and belongs to the Berlin diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church . It is called, taking into account Cologne's history, the parish of the “Saints Constantine and Helena Church”.
The church community, which is officially recognized as a religious community, does not receive any tax money or other subsidies . She bears all the costs for maintaining and maintaining the chapel and finances this from donations.
The clergy of the congregation looks after around 350 believers from Cologne and the surrounding area. The parish of St. Ursula continues to own the small, listed church.
Since the end of the 1970s, the small Marienkapelle has become the focus of church life in Cologne's Russian Orthodox community. Today, the interior of the St. Maria Ablass Chapel has also adapted to the style of an Orthodox church.
The first impression in today's chapel is determined by a large number of icons and the iconostasis. Those who are not familiar with the Orthodox Church also notice the carpeted floor and the lack of seating. The visitors following the liturgy stand during the service, only a few chairs are provided for elderly and sick believers.
Web links
- Page of the Church of Saints Constantine and Helena (Russian)
- St. Konstantin and Helena Church (Cologne) on the homepage of the Berlin Diocese
literature
- Adam Wrede : New Cologne vocabulary. 3 volumes A - Z. 9th edition. Greven, Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-7743-0155-7 .
- Manfred Becker-Huberti , Günter A. Menne: Cologne churches, the churches of the Catholic and Protestant communities in Cologne. Bachem, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-7616-1731-3 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Adam Wrede, Volume I, p. 13.
- ↑ Manfred Becker-Huberti, Günter A. Menne, p. 101
- ↑ Manfred Becker-Huberti, Günter A. Menne, p. 102
Coordinates: 50 ° 56 ′ 35.1 ″ N , 6 ° 57 ′ 5.8 ″ E