The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-09-01
TREVES And ITS COAT.
Brief Sketch of the Ancient City to
Which Thousands are Turning.
THE GARMENT WORN BY CHRIST
On the Day OF His crucinxlon and
How it is Alleged to Have Been
Charlottesville Simple Faith of
Those VIE Believe In the Relic Not
Shaken.

the beautiful banks OF the river Moselle,
tributary to the Rhine, in Rhenish
Prussia, are expecting to receive and
accommodate in their midst no less
than 100000 OF visitors this fall. All
the railroads Of the province and neigh
boring districts have considerably in
creased their rolling stock and count
upon traffic Of at least $4,000 passen-
gers day. The old hotels have been
enlarged and 500 new ones erected; and
it would be difficult to find private
house that has not been arranged in a
manner calculated to accommodate as
many transient dodgers as possible.
With permanent population OF under
10000, or less than half Of the number
OF transients, it seems natural that the
whole city should have been trans
formed into something, like huge hos
te!ry, and that every man. woman, and
child should have donned walters
mantle.
Before sunrise, ut 4 in the morning,
the visitors begin forming in procession
to walk through the city, and the line
OF march is continued until long after
the sun goes down. 1t is reported that
no less than 100000 pilgrims we're in
line when the exhibition OF the holy
coat was opened. Opposition to the
exhibit is boisterous and widespread as
never before, not single paper OF note
siding with tho bishop. There ure even
orthodox Catholics who have openly
attacked the genuineness Of the coat
and probity OF its exhibitors. But it
all rebounds from the thick armor of
faith, which the pilgrims to the holy
shrine have drawn over their mental
eyes and ears. They keep up their
professions i'll q simplicity of faith as
childish and astonishing as the faith OF
the true believers was in the first cen-
turtles OF the Christian cru.
This Is not the first time, however,
that such an immigration of nations
has been experienced by the ancient
city. II is a periodical occurrence to
which the place has been used for about
fifteen centuries, an intermittent boom,
which has proved SO profitable to the
citizens as to make Treves one of the
richest cities in the country and, nat
urally, one OF the most Catholic in the
world. For this periodical influx OF
people and money is due to great relic
OF the Catholic church, namely, the
identical coat worn by Christ on the day
OF the crucifxion, kept in safe box in
the cathedral and exhibited by the
faithful periodically. There are those,
of course, who say 1t is not the coat
worn by Christ. But what does that
contradiction signify for those strong in
the faith?
The periods of exhibition are not reg
ular. The last occurred in 1874, or
nearly City years ago, when nearly
million and half Of believers made the
pilgrimage to the holy shrine. 1t was
Bishop Arnold who made the exhibit
ton at that time, and he was soundly
rebuked for so doing by Johannes Ronge
in October, 1874, Ronge was Roman
Catholic priest OF more liberal tenden-
cies than most OF his colleagues. SO he
was called upon to recant his hereto
disapproval OF the alteration bestowed
upon piece of apparel, and when he
refused excommunication duly followed
in December of the same year. He
received good deal OF public
sympathy and was able to organize
a small congregation OF his own in
the city OF Breslau, in Silesia, which
assumed the name of German Catho-
lies. The new creed was fashionable
for a time, congregations forming in
nearly 200 cities in about two years.
Soon, however, it came into collision
with the moro orthodox descendants
from Roman Catholicism called the
"Catholic Apostolic Christians" with
Johannes Czerski at one end and the
"Free Evangelical congregation" Of
Wislicenus and Rnpp at the other end.
German Catholicism then dwindled
down to dimensions 80 small that it
could no longer support Ronge, who
was compelled to emigrNte TO England.
He had not succeeded in damaging the
exhibit OF the holy coat at Treves in the
least.
This holy coat is the most precious
heirloom OF the bishopric OF Trcves, as
it has not only served to keep the Epis.
copal treasury flushed all tho time, but
also that OF the townspeople comfort
ably filled. 1t has been in possession
OF the cathedral almost from the day
when Christianity was first established
ut Treves, or about 800 A. d. From
the day Of It's arrivnlit was considered
as d miracle-worker, and the faithful
went there to be cured OF every sort OF
disease, bodily or mental. Whenever
the treasury Of the see was empty the
cont was exhibited, and the gifts OF the
pilgrims were SO plentiful as to enable
the archiepiscopal court OF Treves to
be among tile most brilliant OF the &C.
clesiastical courts OF the empire or OF
Christendom.
Treves is very old city. II boosted
OF being 1900 years older than Rome
Nearly 1000 years previous to the estab-
lishment OF the German empire Treves
had been an important city. It's arch
bishop became one OF the most inAucn-
tial OF the hierarchs OF Cristiandom. II
is not known at what date exactly
Christianity was introduced at Treves.
But one AgriCius is named in history
as bishop OF Treves about 3l4 A. d.
A few years later Emperor Constantine
tho Great, the legend SAYS, had seen in
the air at noontime flaming cross
with tho inscription: an this sign You
will conquer" This occurrence Is said
to have taken place on hillside in the
valley OF the Moselle, not far from the
famous castle OF Constantine few
miles distant from Trcves, when
he was leading his army to
war. This vision Is asserted TO have
been the cause OF tho emperor's decis-
ion to embrace Christianity. His
mother, Empress Helena, or Saint Hell
emu, was also Christian, and after her
son had become emperor, she took