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ST. MATTHIAS ABBEY, TRIER, GERMANY   March 11-26, 2015     Abbey Church of St. Matthias / St. Eucharius

ST. MATTHIAS Abbey in Trier is a very ancient Benedictine monastery belonging to the Congregation of the Annunciation, the same monastic congregation of which St. Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo is part.  The present abbey church and cloister buildings date from around the year 1148, however Benedictines have been in charge of the site since the year 977, and a community of Christian clergy were resident there since at least 450. Crypts beneath the cemetery may date from the earliest Christian community in Trier, around the year 270.

THE Benedictine community of St. Matthias is somewhat unique in that it has adopted a schedule of liturgical prayer that permits some of the monks to be employed daily in the city of Trier, serving both Church and the state: several have jobs with the diocese and local parishes; and one of the brothers, Br. Eucherius, trained as a lawyer and works as a judge in Trier.  The liturgy is alternately celebrated in German and Latin.

 

ABBEY CHURCH (Basilica of St. Matthias/St. Eucharius)

THE original Romanesque portal and exterior west end (c.1148) have been decorated by a baroque facade, completed in 1692, on which are statues of Christ, angels, and saints.  Among the saints depicted are Saints Benedict, Scholastica, Matthias, and the three legendary founders of Trier, the archbishops Eucharius, Valerius, and Maternus.

 

BAROQUE FACADE: (completed 1692)

 

SAINT BENEDICT	SAINT SCHOLASTICA

SAINT MATTHIAS	THREE FOUNDERS (Above Cemetery Entrance) (Saints Eucharius, Valerius, Maternus)

SAINTS EUCHARIUS, VALERIUS, and MATERNUS (Legendary Founders of Trier and St. Matthias Abbey)

THE abbey is responsible for the parish of St. Matthias, which was recently amalgamated with two other communities to form a single, large parish.

SAINT MATTHIAS PARISH CENTER

THE nave of the abbey church dates from a rebuilding project begun in 1127, when a Roman stone sarcophagus containing the relics of the Apostle Matthias were discovered by the monks.  A late medieval (c. 1480) statue of the Apostle marks the place where, beneath the head of the statue, the reliquary is kept in the Crypt of St. Matthias.

ABBEY CHURCH: NAVE	STATUE OF ST. MATTHIAS and ENTRANCE to CHOIR

THE contemporary choir and high altar were completed in 2007. A gothic choir screen (c.1230) that formerly enclosed the  monastic choir has been moved into the apse, which now serves as a baptistry.  The stained glass depiction of the crucifixion in the apse dates from around 1510, and gently glows high above the altar, providing a striking focus for meditation and prayer during the Divine Office and Mass.

ALTAR, MONASTIC CHOIR and NAVE (West End)	ORGAN (south transept)

APSE (Baptistry) and MEDIEVAL CHOIR SCREEN	EAST END (Apse) WINDOW (c.1510)

EAST END (Apse) WINDOW (center)	EAST END (Apse) WINDOW (detail, c.1510)

THE Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament incorporates a modern tabernacle and a stone antependium from the fifth century.

 

BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL	TABERNACLE and 5th CENTURY ANTEPENDIUM

→ The Abbey Church, Exterior and Interior

→ The Crypt of Saints Matthias and Images of Saints in the Abbey Church

→  the Crypt of the Widow Albana and The Holy Cross Chapel

→ The Monastery Cloister and Associated Rooms