How often has something been justified by, declared to be, or blessed as ‘in the name of’ some cause or other? How can it be that opposing armies and the use of weapons are ever ‘in the name of…’? This is a common thread in the history of different faiths. Good was created but evil was committed and all ‘in the name of…’ This thread is also found in the history of the Premonstratensian Abbey at Wadgassen. The abbey was built in the 12th century on unfertile, desolate moorland, which later evolved into the most powerful religious community in the Saarland. The history of the abbey records quite astounding achievements under the motto desertum florebit quasi lilium (‘the desert will bloom like a lily’); but also the harsh treatment of delinquents. The order had its own school, in which children were taught the seven liberal arts (which included music as well as geography and astronomy), but the poor were left to starve outside the abbey walls and were only allowed to eat from the members’ leftovers on feast days. The medieval witch trials demanded their pound of flesh, and one group that fell victim were ecstatic dancers who moved wildly to music—which was interpreted as the devil’s work. The result: a show trial that sentenced the dancers to death by fire. All in the name of…“
The year is 1789: Abbot Bordier is in the tenth year of his command. He does not yet know that he is to be the last abbot of an almost 700-year tradition. Not far from the abbey is the French border, which has long been making itself felt with the sound of gunfire, and the brothers continue to keep a nervous eye on it. The first portents of the French Revolution loom, but no one wants to believe it—that is, until the French pound the door down, storm the abbey and come right into the brothers’ chambers. In a blind fury, all the pipes of the abbey organ are torn out, icons beheaded with swords and brothers beaten death while numerous buildings are set on fire. The abbey church is in flames. A frantic and desperate escape begins. Abbot Bordier and a handful of brothers make their getaway via the River Saar, adjacent to the abbey, to the neighbouring village of Bous. They survive, but their life—the Premonstratensian abbey—is destroyed. While they flee towards Prague and the sanctuary of the Strahov Monastery, the abbey at Wadgassen is razed to the ground and becomes a stone quarry. The desert blooms once more, however. A few short decades later, a glasswork arises from the foundations of the abbey. As peace returns to the region, it brings jobs and a new vision for its people.
Ni mara ngapi kitu kimetetewa haki, kimeelezwa kuwa, au kimebarikiwa kuwa 'kwa jina la' sababu fulani au nyingine? Inawezekanaje kwamba majeshi yanayopingana na matumizi ya silaha ni "kwa jina la"...? Hii ni jambo la kawaida katika historia ya dini mbalimbali. wema uliumbwa lakini uovu ulifanywa na wote 'kwa jina la...' thread hii pia hupatikana katika historia ya Premonstratensian Abbey katika Wadgassen. Kanisa la Abbeye lilijengwa katika karne ya 12 katika eneo lisilo na rutuba na lenye ukiwa, ambalo baadaye lilikuja kuwa jumuiya yenye nguvu zaidi ya kidini katika Saarland. Historia ya makao ya watawa rekodi mafanikio ya kushangaza kabisa chini ya kauli mbiu desertum florebit quasi lilium ("jangwa litakua kama lily"); lakini pia matibabu makali ya wahalifu. Shule hiyo ilikuwa na shule yake, ambapo watoto walifundishwa sanaa saba (ambayo ilijumuisha muziki, jiografia na elimu ya nyota), lakini maskini waliachwa kufa njaa nje ya kuta za makao makuu na waliruhusiwa kula mabaki ya washiriki tu siku za sikukuu. Majaribio ya wachawi ya enzi za kati yalihitaji nyama yao, na kikundi kimoja kilichokuwa na madhara kilikuwa wachezaji wa dansi waliovutiwa ambao walihamia kwa wingi kwenye muziki - ambao ulitafsiriwa kuwa kazi ya ibilisi. Matokeo yakawa kesi ya kuigiza ambayo iliwahukumu wachezaji hao wauawa kwa moto. Mwaka 1789 ni mwaka wa kumi kwa Abbot Bordier kuwa na mamlaka. Hata hivyo, bado anaendelea kuwa mtawa wa mwisho wa kanisa hilo ambalo lina historia ya miaka 700 hivi. Karibu na makao ya watawa kuna mpaka wa Ufaransa, ambao kwa muda mrefu umekuwa ukionekana kwa sauti ya risasi, na ndugu wanaendelea kuuweka kwa makini. Matukio ya kwanza ya Mapinduzi ya Ufaransa yanaonekana, lakini hakuna mtu anayetaka kuamini - yaani, mpaka Wafaransa wanapobomoa mlango, kuvamia makao ya watawa na kuingia moja kwa moja katika vyumba vya ndugu. Katika hasira ya kipofu, mabomba yote ya chombo cha abbey yanavunjwa, icons kukatwa vichwa na panga na ndugu kupigwa kifo wakati majengo mengi ni kuweka moto. Kanisa la makao ya watawa limewaka moto. Kukimbia kwa hasira na kukata tamaa huanza. Mtawa Bordier na ndugu wachache wanakimbia kupitia Mto Saar, karibu na makao ya watawa, hadi kijiji cha jirani cha Bous. Wao kuokoka, lakini maisha yao - Premonstratensian Abbey - ni kuharibiwa. Wakati wakikimbilia Prague na patakatifu pa Strahov Monastery, makao ya watawa ya Wadgassen yameharibiwa kabisa na kuwa mgodi wa mawe. Hata hivyo, jangwa hilo linachanua maua tena. Miongo michache baadaye, kioo cha kioo kinainuka kutoka kwenye misingi ya makao ya watawa. Amani inapoirudisha eneo hilo, inaleta ajira na maono mapya kwa watu wake.