70 Knights and Ladies of the Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem in Trier
Trier
About seventy members of the "Pariarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem" of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, a church united with Rome, that is, in complete ecclesial communion, have been making a pilgrimage to the Holy Tunic. The Melkite Greek Catholic Church is a guardian of the Byzantine Liturgy in the Catholic Church: the members of the Order were invited together with the leader of their Church, Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch.
Pastor Hans Wilhelm Ehlen has had to welcome numerous groups to the newly restored Church of Our Lady in Trier since its re-opening in 2011. Yet probably none of them dressed in such a colourful and ornate way as those of the Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. The German and Belgian members of the patriarchal lay-order, which has its headquarters in Aachen, appeared in their costumes as Ladies and Knights, to celebrate a solemn Mass of the Byzantine Liturgy and tradition. The chief celebrant was the leader of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church: His Beatitude the Grand Master and Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch.
The Grand Master Gregorios III, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Antioch and All the East (born in 1933) answered with a smile the question as to whether this was his first visit to Trier. In fact the Patriarch, resident in Damascus (Syria) is something of a Holy Tunic veteran: "I’ve known Trier since 5 August 1959, when I took part in the Pax Christi walk from Metz to Trier and the holy Tunic. Since then I’ve come back again and again."
The Undivided Robe is for him a symbol of the unity of Christendom, which symbolises the passion, but also the resurrection of Christ. Christians from West and East, the Patriarch suggests, ought to stand together, so that there is less violence – above all, especially in his homeland of Syria. "Alas, the situation is very tense there. Syrians should be able to look to the future together. That is why I tell Europe: help us, since you can give some people in the country more confidence and trust.. We can survive this crisis." The Patriarch and the members of the order were welcomed by Suffragan Bishop Jörg Michael Peters. The Melkite Greek Catholic Church has about two million faithful. The Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem carries out numerous aid projects in the Middle East, including projects of church conservation and preservation of holy sites, the construction of educational facilities and institutions of health care.

In conversation: Suffragan Bishop Jörg Michael Peters (left) and Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch in the Liebfrauenbasilika.
Source: Heilig Rock Wallfahrt Trier
German translated by V. Chamberlain
Vatican Radio: Christ’s Holy Tunic venerated in Trier
4 April 2012

Source: Vatican Radio