As today is the Reformation Day and a day before All Saints Day, one cannot escape pondering over some sdeeper issues. I do not consider myself an atheist, but rather an agnostic. To me, faith is a very personal matter. I figure that whoever truly has faith in her or his deity/deities and the related peaceful ideas and notions, is blessed.

There are some places that give me a special feeling and one of them is undoubtedly the chapel in the Trier Cathedral that holds the alleged holly robe. Though it might be easily mistaken for a fortress, Trier Cathedral (Dom St. Peter) in Germany houses an impressive collection of artworks, architecture and holy relics.

It is also of considerable historical significance, as the oldest church in Germany. Today, Trier Cathedral remains a working Catholic cathedral and an important Catholic shrine that still receives pilgrims.

Christianity first arrived in Trier as early as the late 100s AD, although local legend has it that the faith was established in the first century by a bishop sent by the apostle Peter himself.

The history of Dom St. Peter begins in Roman times, when a church was built by Constantine, the first Christian emperor, over the palace of his mother Helena. Construction began in 326 AD, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his reign (he also began St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to mark the occasion).

The Empress St. Helena is known for her pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and pious legend has it that she brought back the Holy Robe of Christ from Jerusalem and entrusted it to her son’s new church at Trier. The Holy Robe is the seamless garment said to be worn by Christ during the Crucifixion.

It first makes an appearance in written documents in the 12th century; it was first displayed at the church in the 16th century for a period of 23 days, during which more than 100,000 pilgrims came to venerate it. It has been periodically displayed since then, attracting ever-larger crowds. The last exposition of the relic, for three weeks in 1933, drew 2 million pilgrims. In 1959, the relic was sealed in a splendid shrine in its own chapel, where it remains today.
(Source)

The chapel is closed to the public and the shrine is brought out into the main Cathedral area only once in every few years, so I am grateful to the friend who let us in and allowed us to experience the special energy flowing from the shrine and – at least I thought so – crystals, each of them embedded in a beautifully crafted sculpture.

I hope you will enjoy the VideoCard and that at least some of the atmosphere will shine through.