Old Catholic Church in Germany

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Catholic diocese of the old Catholics
map
Basic data
Area : 357,104.07 km²
Membership : Union of Utrecht
Bishop : Matthias Ring
Assistant Bishop in honorary office :
 Pierre Whalon
Vicar General : Jürgen Wenge
Priests : 116
Deacons : 20th
Dean's offices : 7th
Parishes : 60
Parish offices : 42
Members: 15,556 (2017)
Members (previous year): 15,910 (2016)
Official Website: www.alt-katholisch.de

The Old Catholic Church in Germany (official name: Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany ) is an independent Catholic church within the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches .

Legal status

In Germany, which is old Catholic church , a public corporation (see also parafiscus ) and (except for some northern and eastern German states ) church tax enter entitled (confession feature: "ak", code "63").

distribution

The oldest community in today's Germany is on the North Frisian island of Nordstrand ; its origins go back to 1654. It was founded by Dutch Old Catholics from the Archdiocese of Utrecht who were busy building dikes .

Old Catholic parishes can be found in greater concentration in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg . The southern Baden parishes are located in the vicinity of the Christian Catholic parishes of Switzerland, with which they share the former membership of the reform-friendly, but abolished diocese of Constance in 1821 . In Bavaria , old Catholic parishes are mainly concentrated around the settlement centers of the German Bohemians and German Moravians after the Second World War. Old Catholic parishes are almost evenly distributed across Rhineland-Palatinate , Saarland and Hesse . In the traditionally evangelical areas of northern and eastern Germany, on the other hand, the parish boundaries stretch across large diaspora areas .

The old Catholic bishop has his official seat ( ordinariate ) in Bonn , there is also the episcopal Konvikt Johanneum and at the University of Bonn the old Catholic seminary with a chair for theology . Matthias Ring has been Bishop since March 20, 2010 . The cathedral church is the Namen-Jesu-Kirche in Bonn, which was given over to the old Catholic church after a renovation on June 2nd, 2012.

Distribution according to federal states

state
Parishes
established under state church law 		Parish offices Further
worship
stations 		priest Priestesses Deacons Deaconesses of which
clergy volunteers 		including retired
clergy
Baden-Württemberg 20th 13 20th 22nd 1 2 0 07th 6th
Bavaria 12 08th 19th 23 2 4th 2 19th 6th
Berlin with
Brandenburg and
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 		01 01 02 04th 0 1 0 01 2
Bremen 01 00 00 00 0 0 0 00 0
Hamburg 01 01 01 01 1 0 0 01 0
Hesse 04th 04th 05 10 1 1 0 03 4th
Lower Saxony 02 02 02 03 0 1 1 02 1
North Rhine-Westphalia 09 08th 09 26th 3 3 1 20th 2
Rhineland-Palatinate 04th 01 03 07th 2 2 0 06th 3
Saarland 01 01 00 01 0 1 0 01 0
Saxony 01 01 03 04th 0 0 0 02 1
Saxony-Anhalt 02 02 02 01 0 0 0 01 0
Schleswig-Holstein 01 01 00 02 0 0 0 00 1
Thuringia 01 00 02 00 0 0 0 00 0
assigned directly to the bishop 02 1 1 0 04th 0
total 60 43 68 1060 100 160 4th 67 26th0
The Old Catholic Resurrection Church in Passau

Old Catholic parishes usually have a few hundred members:

In 2017 the total number of members was 15,556.

administration

In contrast to the Roman Catholic Church, there is only one diocese in the Old Catholic Church in Germany. Its bishop is thus their highest representative.

Previous bishops:

  1. Joseph Hubert Reinkens 1873-1896
  2. Theodor Weber 1896–1906
  3. Josef Demmel 1906–1913
  4. Georg Moog 1913-1934
  5. Erwin Kreuzer 1934–1953
  6. Johann Josef Demmel 1953–1966
  7. Josef Brinkhues 1966–1986
  8. Sigisbert Kraft 1985-1995
  9. Joachim Vobbe 1995-2010
  10. Matthias Ring since 2010

history

After the First Vatican Council (1870)

Those Catholic Christians who did not accept the decisions of the First Vatican Council fell prey to excommunication . They then united to form parishes and finally local churches (dioceses) and elected their own bishops at congresses (synods), who were consecrated by bishops of the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands .

The main points of conflict were the dogmas of infallibility formulated at the First Vatican Council and the Pope's primacy of jurisdiction .

The Utrecht Declaration of 1889 is the founding document of the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches. As President of the International Bishops' Conference, the Archbishop of Utrecht also holds the honorary primacy among the Old Catholic Bishops.

During the Third Reich (1933–1945)

Quite a few Old Catholics living at the time saw the " seizure of power " by the NSDAP as an opportunity for their church to raise its profile and attract members. Calls for a transformation of the faith in the sense of a " national Christianity " were also occasionally articulated (for example the abolition of the Old Testament ). These efforts found their organizational expression in the Catholic National Church Movement (KNB), but did not lead to the desired revisions. The KNB was able to record successes above all among the workers in the centers of coal mining and heavy industry ( Ruhr area , Upper Silesia ).

The scientific processing of the history of the Old Catholic Church in Germany during the National Socialist dictatorship has only recently come to an initial conclusion (see dissertation by Matthias Ring, published in 2008).

Until German reunification (1945–1990)

The altar book from 1888 for which Adolf Thürlings was responsible was followed in 1959 by a new altar book for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist , edited by lecturer Kurt Pursch and the liturgical commission. The readings from the Holy Scriptures were extended to four annual series and the number of prefations increased to 19. In particular, the intinction , that is, the immersion of the consecrated host in the chalice, was again generally permitted. Both altar books used the German language instead of the Latin liturgical language.

At the Second Vatican Council , due to the official invitation from Rome, an observer delegation of the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches was accredited, including the German Old Catholic theologian Werner Küppers . In the second half of the 1960s, a Roman Catholic / Old Catholic dialogue commission was established. Members sent by Julius Cardinal Döpfner were the theologians Peter Bläser, Heinrich Fries , Abbot Laurentius Klein and Erwin Iserloh , the old Catholic Bishop Josef Brinkhues nominated Werner Küppers, Fritz Herrmann and Ernst Hammerschmidt to this ecumenical commission.

In September 1973 the German Bishops' Conference in Fulda also took up the results of this dialogue and formulated an agreement on a conditional and limited communion of worship between the Catholic and the Old Catholic Church , which included the following points: 1. Mutual recognition of baptism, 2. Mutual Admission to the Eucharist, penance and anointing of the sick, 3. Validity of mixed marriages, 4. Mutual assistance in hospital pastoral care and at funerals, 5. Regulations for the conversion of a clergyman and 6. Creation of a commission for arbitration cases in the implementation of this agreement. From Rome, however, no ratification took place, but further conditions were requested. Even after the agreement was supplemented by further Roman conditions in 1974/75, the Vatican still did not promulgate the agreement.

The Würzburg Synod , which met in these years, was also under point 5.4.1. "Eastern Churches and Old Catholic Church" expressed positive comments about such a Roman Catholic / Old Catholic agreement.

As a supplement to the Eucharist book, a collection of Eucharist prayers appeared in 1979 and in 1983 a revised order for the Eucharist was published. This partial revision of the liturgy was under the direction of Bishop Sigisbert Kraft , who was also a lecturer in liturgy.

A discussion committee formed by the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany and the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics worked out an agreement in the 1980s on a mutual invitation to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist , which was finally signed on March 29, 1985. The agreement consists of 6 points, the last point is the actual invitation, where it is stated that in the Eucharist prayer the institution report is connected with thanks to the Father, the anamnesis and the epiclesis; the celebration of the Eucharist is presided over by ordained only; Appropriate handling of the leftover gifts is required and, finally, that the members of the churches involved are mutually invited to participate in the Eucharist.

On the part of the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference it has been possible since 1982 to ordain a woman into the diaconate; in Germany this was done for the first time in 1988.

Late 20th century (1991–1999)

In 1995 the Liturgical Commission and Bishop Joachim Vobbe published the first edition of the Eucharist book The Celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany . The Eucharist book contains, among other things, an expanded selection of Eucharist prayers, and coordination with the scriptural texts for Sundays and holidays was carried out. The reading cycle of the Holy Scriptures is based on a three-year rhythm, with the exception of a few solemn festivals and a few particularly marked Sundays.

In 1996, Bishop Vobbe consecrated Angela Berlis and Regina Pickel-Bossau as the first priestesses in the German diocese. In the pastoral letter written for the occasion, he expressed the conviction that “the core of the Catholic faith is neither touched nor changed by the ordination of priestesses”.

Karl Cardinal Lehmann and Bishop Joachim Vobbe signed an agreement in 1999, in which the procedure between the German Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Old Catholic Church is stipulated if a clergyman transfers from one church to another.

Beginning of the 21st century (2000-2010)

Theresiendom, north beach

Theologians from both churches and from various countries are represented in the International Roman-Catholic-Old Catholic Dialogue Commission , which was set up in 2004 ; the Archbishop of Paderborn Hans-Josef Becker (since 2012) and the Bishop of Würzburg Paul-Werner Scheele ( until 2009) and the old Catholic Bishop Matthias Ring (since 2012) and Professor Günter Eßer from Bonn appear.

Also in 2004, the 350th anniversary of the old Catholic parish with its St. Theresa Church was celebrated on Nordstrand . The parish, founded in 1654, was then part of the Archdiocese of Utrecht and thus carried out the separation from Rome that was carried out around 1723/25.

The third edition of the Eucharist was published in 2006; in comparison to the first edition from 1995, the rubrics in particular have been redesigned.

The Magdeburg Declaration on the mutual recognition of baptism between eleven churches was signed by the Old Catholic Church on April 29, 2007.

Since 2011

Since 2011, the Namen-Jesu-Kirche in Bonn has been the cathedral church of the old Catholic diocese. Also in 2011, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Bonn Agreement , with which the Anglican-Old Catholic Sacrament Community is agreed, an International Anglican / Old Catholic theological conference was held in Germany.

The handshake published for Pentecost 2012 . According to the preface written by the leading bishop of the VELKD Gerhard Ulrich and the old Catholic bishop Matthias Ring , Protestant and old Catholic congregations want to be a pastoral working aid, which has been suggested by the permanent Evangelical / Old Catholic dialogue commission that has existed since 2004 . The paper expressly points out that due to different ideas of church structure and historical bishopric in the apostolic tradition, there is a clear limit to the dialogue. Nonetheless, some ways are shown to deepen the existing community.

At an ecumenical meeting in February 2014, in which the chairman of the ecumenical commission of the DBK, the Bishop of Magdeburg Gerhard Feige, took part, the 15-year history of the agreement on the takeover of clergy between the German Bishops' Conference and the Catholic Diocese was highlighted of the Old Catholics . In some points of this Roman Catholic / Old Catholic agreement, the elaboration of clarifications is planned.

With the participation of the German Old Catholic Bishop, the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference was received in a private audience by Pope Francis in the Vatican in October 2014 . In the papal address, the work of the International Roman Catholic - Old Catholic Dialogue Commission (IRAD) and its report on the Church and Church Fellowship were recognized.

The report church and church fellowship in documents growing consensus appeared and is in 89 paragraphs represent past work of the bilateral commission. Differences between the two churches can be found about the fact that the Old Catholic Church and married priests and priestesses knows and divorcees continue to the sacraments allows. In dogmatics, too, there are some different understandings. A correspondence could be noted in the seven number of the sacraments and the appreciation of the apostolic succession . Further discussions are being held in this international dialogue commission, also with the cooperation of German theologians, on ecumenical questions not yet dealt with in the report.

The International Anglican / Old Catholic Coordinating Council (AOCICC) met again in July 2017 in the city of Königswinter (North Rhine-Westphalia). The council coordinates the activities of the Anglican Churches and the Old Catholic Churches.

liturgy

Spiritual Communities

Franciscan

From the beginning of the 1990s until the end of 2008, the “ Franziskus Hof Community” based in Zehdenick (near Berlin) was also looked after by the Berlin old Catholic community. The head of the institution at that time was incardinated as a deacon in the old Catholic diocese until March 4, 2009 . There are no official contacts with the new monastery being built on the site.

Cistercians

The “Ecumenical Cistercian Abbey of St. Severin” ( Order of Port Royal ) was under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Bishop of Old Catholics in Germany between September 2004 and October 2010.

Other

Since December 2012 there is a community in Munich with six members. This community still has no official status, so it is not yet recognized by the diocese as a monastic community. The members are involved in local community life and in various social areas. The income is generated through wage labor. The community is called Communitas in Via and has chosen the Benedictine Rule ( Regula Benedicti ) as its guideline.

Institutions and aid organizations

  • Old Catholic Diakonia in Germany V.
  • Alt-Katholisches Freizeitenwerk e. V.
  • Old Catholic Kindergarten St. Cyprian (Bonn)
  • Bischof Reinkens Foundation
  • Association of Old Catholic Women in Germany (baf)
  • Association of Old Catholic Youth (baj)
  • German Willibrord Society. Anglican / Old Catholic Circle of Friends V.
  • Mission and development projects in collaboration with Anglican churches
  • Solidarity Fund of the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany
  • Name of Jesus Church Foundation
  • Association for the promotion of young people with special social difficulties e. V. (Stuttgart)

Publications

Liturgical books

  • The celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics. Prepared for use in worship services by the Liturgical Commission and published by Bishop and Synodal Representation, Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2006, ISBN 3-934610-30-7 .
  • The celebration of the burial in the Catholic diocese of the Old Catholics. Prepared for use in worship services by the Liturgical Commission and published by Bishop and Synodal Representation, Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-934610-50-7 .
  • In tune . Hymn book of the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany. Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2003, ISBN 3-934610-21-8 .
  • God time. Prayer book of the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany. , Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-934610-85-9 .
  • The celebration of the partnership blessing. Prepared for worship use by the Liturgical Commission and published by the Bishop and Synodal Representation, Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2014, ISBN 978-3-934610-91-0
  • Lessonary. Own texts for the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany. Reading years A, B and C. Developed for use in worship by the Liturgical Commission and published by the Bishop and Synodal Representation, Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2013, ISBN 978-3-934610-68-2

Church newspaper

literature

  • Angela Berlis , Matthias Ring (ed.): Throwing anchor in heaven. Conjectures about Church in the Future. Festschrift for Bishop Joachim Vobbe. Books on Demand, 2nd edition Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-5957-1 .
  • Günter Eßer: The Old Catholic Churches. The Churches of the Present 5. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-525-87243-7 .
  • Lothar Haag: The sacrament of marriage. Old Catholic understanding of marriage in the past and present. Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2016, ISBN 978-3-934610-79-8 .
  • Wolfgang Krahl: Ecumenical Catholicism. Old Catholic landmarks and texts from two millennia. H. Neusser, Bonn 1970.
  • Matthias Ring (Ed.): ... that we too became complicit. Old Catholic pastoral letters and episcopal words in the Third Reich. Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 3-934610-14-5 .
  • Matthias Ring : Catholic and German. The Old Catholic Church in Germany and National Socialism. Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-934610-35-4 .
  • Johannes J. Urbisch: The history of the Old Catholic Church in Central Germany edition winterwork, Borsdorf 2012, ISBN 978-3-86468-388-6
  • Johannes J. Urbisch: The history of Old Catholicism in Silesia until 1945. Old Catholic Church Community Berlin, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-934610-74-9 .
  • Hans-Jürgen van der Minde: For an open Christianity. With a contribution by Eugen Drewermann: Church of the Future - Future of the Church. Kösel-Verlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-466-20382-1 .
  • Joachim Vobbe : Bread from the Stone Valley. Episcopal letters. Reflections on the seven sacraments from an old Catholic point of view, Alt-Katholisches Ordinariat, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-934610-63-3
  • Johann Friedrich von Schulte : Old Catholicism, history of its development, internal design and legal position. Gießen 1887, 2nd reprint, Scientia Verlag, Aalen 2002, ISBN 3-511-00169-2 .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal and State Statistical Offices: Territory and Population - Area and Population (status: October 22, 2008) , accessed October 24, 2008.
  2. ↑ a b c Number of members decreased. Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany, April 24, 2017, accessed on May 8, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Income tax registration 2017. Federal Ministry of Finance, accessed on 23 August 2018 .
  4. ^ Karl Kuenz: 350 years old Catholic parish . In: De Domo Nordstrandica . Festschrift for the 350th anniversary of the old Catholic parish of Nordstrand. Uthlande-Verlag, Nordstrand 2004, p. 29 .
  5. ↑ A short description of the history in the Third Reich with confession of guilt by Bishop Joachim Vobbe can be found here: Temptation and Error.
  6. ↑ Kurt Pursch: Old Catholic. An information . 2nd Edition. St. Cyprian, Bonn 1965, p. 44-46 .
  7. ^ Peter Bläser: The Conversation between the Roman Catholic and Old Catholic Church in Germany . In: Max Seckler / Otto H. Pesch / Johannes Brosseder / Wolfhart Pannenberg (eds.): Encounter. Contributions to a hermeneutics of theological conversation . Styria. Graz Vienna Cologne. 1972. ISBN 3-222-10701-7 . P. 525.
  8. ↑ Urs Küry: The Old Catholic Church. Their history, their teaching, their concerns . 3. Edition. Evangelisches Verlagswerk, Frankfurt / Main 1982, ISBN 3-7715-0190-3 , p. 421 .
  9. ^ Resolutions of the Würzburg Synod, 5.4.1. Eastern Churches and Old Catholic Church, page 214 Homepage of the German Catholic Bishops' Conference, accessed on May 3, 2014
  10. ↑ Paul Berbers: If we then eat of this bread ... The participation of the community in the sacramental action of the church . In: Angela Berlis / Klaus-Dieter Gerth (ed.): Christ Spes. Liturgy and Faith in an Ecumenical Context. Festschrift for Bishop Sigisbert Kraft . Peter Lang. Frankfurt / Main. 1994. ISBN 3-631-46621-8 . P. 25.
  11. ↑ Public Relations Working Group in the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany (ed.): Church for Christians today. Information about the Old Catholic Church . Hoffmann, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-87344-001-6 , p. 204 .
  12. ↑ Joachim Vobbe: For mutual benefit: Old Catholic Church and university seminar . In: Günter Eßer, Matthias Ring (ed.): Between freedom and bondage. Festschrift for the centenary of the Old Catholic Seminary at the University of Bonn (1902–2002) . Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2002, ISBN 978-3-934610-18-7 , p. 26.
  13. ↑ Joachim Vobbe: Bread from the stone valley. Episcopal letters . Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-934610-63-3 , p. 114 .
  14. ↑ Joachim Vobbe: Bread from the stone valley. Episcopal letters . Alt-Katholischer Bistumsverlag, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-934610-63-3 , p. 445 .
  15. ^ Agreement between the German Bishops 'Conference and the Old Catholic Church signed the homepage of the German Catholic Bishops' Conference, accessed on May 8, 2014
  16. ^ Church and church fellowship. Report of the International Roman Catholic - Old Catholic Dialogue Commission . Bonifatius Lembeck, Paderborn Frankfurt / Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-89710-456-3 , p. 50 .
  17. ^ Roman Catholic - Old Catholic Dialogue Commission met in December 2012 in Paderborn Homepage of the Archdiocese of Paderborn, accessed on April 27, 2014
  18. ↑ Old Catholic parish Nordstrand (ed.): De Domo Norstrandica. Festschrift for the 350th anniversary of the old Catholic parish of Nordstrand (1654–2004) . Uthlande, Nordstrand 2004, ISBN 3-00-013066-7 , p. 10 .
  19. ↑ The new old Catholic Eucharist has appeared on the homepage of Christians today, accessed on April 17, 2013
  20. ↑ Magdeburg Declaration by the Old Catholic Church signs the homepage of Christians Today, accessed on May 7, 2014
  21. ↑ 80 years of the Anglican / Old Catholic Bonn Agreement, homepage of Christians today, accessed on May 7, 2014
  22. ↑ Reaching hands. Working aid for the Protestant / Old Catholic Dialogue Homepage of the Old Catholic Church in Germany, accessed on May 8, 2014
  23. ↑ Roman Catholic / Old Catholic Encounter Homepage of the Old Catholic Church in Germany, accessed on May 8, 2014
  24. ^ Address by Pope Francis to the delegation of the Old Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Union of Utrecht. Holy See Press Office, October 30, 2014, accessed February 1, 2015 .
  25. ^ A b International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference: Working visit and private audience in Rome. International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference, November 16, 2014, accessed February 1, 2015 .
  26. ^ Church and church fellowship. Report of the International Roman Catholic - Old Catholic Dialogue Commission . Bonifatius, Lembeck, Paderborn, Frankfurt / Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-89710-456-3 , p. 14-18 .
  27. ↑ AOCICC in Koenigswinter. Old Catholic Church in Germany, July 10, 2016, accessed on July 10, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Krefeld municipality (PDF; 286 kB)
  29. ↑ Old Catholic Diakonia in Germany e. V.
  30. ↑ Old Catholic Kindergarten St. Cyprian (Bonn)
  31. ^ Bishop Reinkens Foundation
  32. ^ Association of Old Catholic Women in Germany
  33. ^ Association of Old Catholic Youth
  34. ^ Association for the promotion of young people with special social difficulties e. V. (Stuttgart)