However: his predecessors on the episcopal throne of Würzburg did have the occasional moment of taste. So here are some pictures.
Crozier, 1400s
Crozier, 1750s
Crozier, 1790
Pectoral Cross, 1700s
Pectoral Cross, 1725
Episcopal Ring, 1250. This is one of the oldes ones I've ever seen.
Episcopal ring, 1700s. Bit too baroque almost and you have to know that this really means something, coming from me.
Episcopal ring, 1800s
Episcopal Ring, 1865. This one was given to the then bishop of Würzburg, Georg Anton Stahl, for his silver bishop's jubilee.
Episcopal Ring, 1879. The quality is bad, but the ring has to be in here because it has an amethyst, which is my favorite stone.
Episcopal Ring, 1900s
Episcopal Ring, 1924. This one belonged to bishop Matthias Ehrenfried of whose installation you've seen a series of photos two weeks ago.
Episcopal Ring, 1957. This one belonged to bishop Stangl and it is by far the least offensive thing he wore when it comes to bling.
3 comments:
"the ring has to be in here because it has an amethyst, which is my favorite stone."
It is also the most traditional stone for episcopal rings, since the name - αμεθυστoς - means "not drunk" and this is seen as a symbolic reference to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, 15: "For these are not drunk, as you suppose".
Sadly, most prelates today refuse to wear amethysts (or any precious stones), supposedly for reasons of evangelical poverty - unless, of course, they come from Africa and are the new President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/05rT0880eq9Fh/610x.jpg
Way to go, Card. Turkson!
Awesome! Thanks for the photo-link!
Rest assured: As soon as I become a prelate it's going to be like "Hey! This guy's got a pizza made of purple glass on his finger! Oh, wait! That's a ring!"
My grandfather's uncle was a Bishop in Germany about a century ago. His ring was given to me by my grandparents as a graduation gift. The ring has a large stone - about the same size of the one in the picture - plus is surrounded by some 3 carats of diamonds. The mounting is a heavy 14K rose gold that is craved with leaf and vine designs. The plate that holds the centre stone and accent stones has a rope of chasity around it.
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