Karl Völker (theologian)

Karl Völker (born December 1, 1886 in Lemberg , Galicia (today Ukraine ), † September 27, 1937 in Vienna ) was an Austrian Protestant theologian .

Völker came from a family of German descent, but grew up bilingual. After graduating from the German high school in Lemberg, he studied Protestant theology and philosophy at the universities of Vienna , Leipzig and Berlin . His most important teachers were Georg Loesche in Vienna and Adolf von Harnack in Berlin. After taking the candidate exam in Vienna in 1908, he received his doctorate in philosophy there in 1909 (dissertation: Protestantism in Poland depicted on the basis of local historiography ), obtained a theological licentiate degree in 1911 and qualified as a professor in 1913 in church history . Since he was not paid as a private lecturer, he took over the position of inspector at the evangelical theologians' home and gave religious instruction at secondary schools in Vienna. In 1919 he was appointed adjunct professor for church history at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna . In 1920 he was given the full professorship for practical theology , but in 1922 after the departure of Johannes von Walters he was appointed full professorship for church history, which he held until his death.

Völkers research focus was initially the Eastern European church history. His Church History of Poland from 1930 is still considered a standard work. Later he shifted more to the Austrian church history; so in 1932 he took over the chairmanship of the Society for the Study of Protestantism in Austria , whose yearbook he had been publishing since 1930. An overall presentation of the history of Protestantism in Austria remained unfinished. In addition to his academic work, Völker was also involved in the Protestant General Synod, in the committee of the Central Association for Inner Mission and in the Vienna Protestant School Association (since 1926 as deputy chairman).

The University of Breslau awarded Völker an honorary doctorate in 1921 ; the Polska Akademia Umiejętności appointed him a member.

Grave at the Vienna Central Cemetery

Völker was buried in an honorary grave in the Protestant cemetery at the Vienna Central Cemetery.

Fonts (selection)

• Tolerance and Intolerance in the Age of Reformation. Leipzig 1912.
• The development of Protestantism in Austria. Haase, Leipzig [a. a.] 1917.
• Enlightenment church historiography. Mohr, Tübingen 1921.
• Mystery and agape. The common meals in the old church. Klotz, Gotha 1927.
• Church history of Poland. de Gruyter, Berlin 1930.
• The coming about of the Austrian Protestant patent from April 8, 1861. In: Yearbook for the history of Protestantism in Austria 52 (1931), pp. 3-68.
• Georg Loesche. A contribution to the history of the Vienna Evangelical Theological Faculty. In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria 54 (1933), pp. 3–56.
• State thought and imperial idea in the history of Austrian Protestantism. In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria 56 (1935), pp. 3–51.
• The "storm petition" of the Protestant estates in the Vienna Hofburg. Reality and legend. In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria 57 (1936), pp. 3–50.

literature

• Paul Dedic: Karl Völker in memory. In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria 59 (1938), pp. 1–14.
• Erich Wenneker :  Völker, Karl. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 12, Bautz, Herzberg 1997, ISBN 3-88309-068-9 , Sp. 1547-1549.
• Rudolf Leeb : On the academic profile of the church historians teaching at the faculty and on the Austrian Protestant historiography. In: Karl Schwarz, Falk Wagner (ed.): Changing times and stability. Contributions to the history of the Evangelical Theological Faculty in Vienna 1821-1996 (= series of publications of the University Archives , University of Vienna ; 10). WUV, Vienna 1997, pp. 13–48 (on Völker: pp. 24–26).
• Ernst Hofhansl: Non enim satis est literas discere: The Viennese professors Skalsky, Völker and Entz as teachers of practical theology from 1885-1955. In: Karl Schwarz, Falk Wagner (ed.): Changing times and stability. Contributions to the history of the Evangelical Theological Faculty in Vienna 1821–1996 (= series of publications of the University Archives , University of Vienna ; 10). WUV, Vienna 1997, pp. 487-512 (on Völker: pp. 495-498).

Web links

• Short biography on the website of the Evangelical Cemetery Simmering