Bring binoculars to the St. Matthias Abbey Church to see
architectural marvels German church still hosts active
Benedictine Abbey St. Matthias Abbey Church or Abtei St.
Matthias in Trier, Germany, is a beautiful 12th-century church,
part of an active Benedictine abbey and is still visited by many
Catholic pilgrims. The abbey houses the relics of St. Matthias,
the apostle who was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot as he was a
witness to the Resurrection. A Baroque facade was added to the
lower west front, which centers on a sculpture of St. Matthias
holding an axe. The figure holds an open book with a reference
to John 15:14: 'You are my friends if you do what I command.'
Matthias preached in Cappadocia, Turkey, and was martyred at
Colchis, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. He was sentenced
to be stoned to death but miraculously survived the ordeal. He
was later beheaded. Constantine's mother, St. Helena is reputed
to have brought St. Matthias' relics from Jerusalem and evenly
divided them between the Basil