Albert Helbing

Albert Helbing , (born May 5, 1837 in Oberacker , today Kraichtal ; † December 30, 1914 in Karlsruhe ), was a Protestant theologian and prelate and later President of the Upper Church Council of the Evangelical Church in Baden .

Life and work

Helbing grew up in Oberacker and Eichstetten am Kaiserstuhl , from 1852 in Freiburg im Breisgau , where his father was a Protestant parish priest. His mother died when he was three years old, but his father remarried. At the age of 12 he attended the Lyceum in Karlsruhe, later in Freiburg, where he passed the Abitur. From 1855 he studied theology in Heidelberg , later in Halle (Saale) and Tübingen . In the three university cities he became a member of the Christian student associations Heidelberger , Halle and Tübingen Wingolf . After his first exam he was at the Heidelberg seminary from 1860 and was a candidate for pastor in Baden. He completed his vicariate in Karlsruhe. At the end of the 1860s he was appointed teacher for several years at the Friedrichsschule Karlsruhe, a humanistic grammar school, newly founded by Grand Duke Friedrich, where he was also part of the board. In addition to religion, he taught history and German there. During his teaching activities, he also held several church services in the court church in Karlsruhe. For this he was given the title of “titular court preacher” in 1874.

When in 1877 court preacher Karl Wilhelm Doll became prelate of the regional church, Helbing was given the position of court preacher in Karlsruhe, he had just turned 40. He held this office for 17 years. From 1881 he was also a member of the regional synod . In 1882 he became part-time chairman of the regional church choir, which was co-founded by Helbing. In addition to his pastoral work, he was also active as a religion teacher. Although his health was in poor health, in 1894 he took over the office of the Dean of the City of Karlsruhe, which also included the cities of Bruchsal, Ettlingen, Rastatt, Gernsbach and Baden-Baden.

In 1900, Helbing was appointed prelate of the Evangelical Church in Baden as the successor to Friedrich Wilhelm Schmidt, who had retired for health reasons . He was spiritual director of the regional church and, along with the president of the upper church council, Friedrich Wielandt, belonged to the governing body of the regional church. When Wieland gave up his office in 1903, he proposed Helbing as his successor. Helbing was appointed President of the Upper Church Council on November 23, 1903 by the Grand Duke. At the time, this was unusual for a theologian, especially since there was another theologian in the leadership of the regional church, the prelate. His successor as prelate was Friedrich Karl Oehler . Helbing remained pastor of the grand ducal family during his tenure as president of the upper church council, although this office was otherwise reserved for the prelate. At the beginning of December 1914, Helbing suffered cerebral palsy and died a few weeks later of the consequences of this disease. His successor was Eduard Uibel, who held his office beyond 1918 (elimination of the sovereign church regiment ).

genealogy

In 1862 Albert Helbing and Clara von Bruns († 1906 in Karlsruhe), daughter of a Tübingen surgeon, married. The marriage came from Helene Helbing (1872-1959). The daughter and Otto Frommel married in 1899. They were the parents of Wolfgang Frommel and Gerhard Frommel .

literature

• Otto Frommel : President Helbing. A contribution to the history of the Evangelical Protestant Church in Baden . Ehrig, Frankfurt am Main a. Heidelberg 1922.