by Christof Cremer

Conceptual approach - A blueprint for the 21st century

"Martin constantly reminds us that the Church is a diaconal, helping and healing Church. ... Jesus himself lives in Martin, who calls us to follow him and to act in his footsteps. ... The charisma of the Church ... is never independent of its perceptible and perceived form, of the concrete style of life and practice in which the spirit prevailing in it is expressed." (Gebhard Fürst, Martin of Tours, Icon of Charity, p. 111 ff.)

In his biography of Martin, Sulpicius Severus vividly describes Martin's charity when he gave half of his cloak to a poor man at the gate of Amiens. "When night had fallen and he (Martin) had given himself up to sleep, Christ appeared to him clothed in the part of the cloak he had given to the poor man. ... Truly, the Lord remembered the words he had once prophesied: 'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me'." (Martin of Tours, biography of Sulpicius Severus; ed. Joachim Drumm, p 25)

This design for a "Martins-Ornat" takes up these thoughts and translates them artistically. In the sharing, in the cutting of the cloak, the helping and healing church, which refers to Christ in its actions and is guided by his actions, becomes visible. And in and through the acting church, Christ himself becomes visible, tangible, experienceable, even comprehensible.

Pope Francis never tires of calling on and urging the Church - that is, the many people who profess to belong to this Church - to turn to the defenceless, the weak, the least of these and - like Martin - to share the mantles. Martin is a role model for the 21st century, in which so many have so little, in which so many are dependent on the care of others. Where people share, Christ becomes the light of the world.

Martin's robe, which - in addition to the real, warming cloak for the beggar - has also become a general symbol of charity and sharing par excellence - and this for one and a half thousand years now with an impressive history of impact in worldwide Christianity - this divided robe is now itself to become a striking symbol in form and design in the designs for Martin's robe.

Foreword by Bishop Gebhart Fürst

"Garments of salvation" by Wolfgang Urban

"Contemporary paraments - Martin's regalia as an example" by Wolfgang Stracke

further links:

Complete Bible for the 102nd German Catholic Congress in Stuttgart