Anselm Green

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Anselm Grün at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2015

Anselm Grün OSB (actually Willi Grün , * January 14, 1945 in Junkershausen as Wilhelm Grün ) is a German Benedictine priest , business economist , management trainer, author of spiritual books and speaker.

Live and act

Origin and career

Anselm Grün at the Kirchentag 2007 in Cologne

Willi Grün was born in the last months of the Second World War as the fourth child of the businessman Wilhelm Grün and grew up with six siblings in Lochham near Munich. His parents had an electronics store. His mother came from Dahlem in the Eifel and shaped the family language through her dialect . Both parents had several siblings who belonged to religious orders . At the age of 13 Willi came to the boarding school of Münsterschwarzach Abbey , where his uncle, Father Sturmius Grün (1904–1966), lived as a Benedictine. In 1964 he passed his Abitur at the Riemenschneider-Gymnasium in Würzburg and entered the novitiate of the abbey that same year , where he was given the religious name Anselm , which is reminiscent of Anselm of Canterbury . From 1965 to 1971 he studied philosophy and catholic theology in St. Ottilien and at the Benedictine college Sant'Anselmo in Rome . In 1974 Anselm Grün received his doctorate in theology , his dissertation deals with the topic: Salvation through the cross. Karl Rahner's contribution to today's understanding of salvation . From 1974 to 1976, Grün studied business administration in Nuremberg .

Spirituality and Economics

In the time of upheaval after the Second Vatican Council, Anselm Grün and other young confreres looked for new beginnings in spirituality . From 1970 he dealt intensively with meditation , group dynamics and psychology . He was inspired by the tradition of the old monk fathers , which he especially associated with the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung , and also devoted himself to Asian meditation techniques. His first book was published in 1976 and is entitled Purity of the Heart . Numerous other books followed. From 1977 to October 2013, Grün was responsible as cellarer for the economic management of the Münsterschwarzach Abbey with a total of 20 businesses (grammar school, bookstore , butcher , bakery , goldsmith , car repair shop , publishing house , printer , guest house, recollectio house, agriculture). His first job as a cellarer was to build a guest house so that people could come to the monastery.

Anselm Grün describes a cornerstone of his spirituality as the insight that one cannot “swindle” past oneself to God. Self-encounter and encounter with God conditioned and enriched one another. For green, Christian mysticism is a way to real incarnation and a deeper experience of God.

His writing activity contributes to the maintenance of the abbey. According to his own statements, he also invested profits from the monastery operations in stocks and bonds . He also lost money in the financial crisis , which led to criticism from within the order . However, it was only a temporary minus; Donations were not affected. Even after he relinquished the office of economic director in 2013, the monastery's financial investments are still entrusted to him. He also remained managing director of the monastery wholesalers for one world products and most recently also became the monastery librarian.

The Benedictine abbot Notker Wolf attests Grün's great personal undemanding: "His books have millions of copies, he could be very rich, but he doesn't need 50 euros in cash a month for himself."

Writing activity

According to his own statement, Anselm Grün writes on his books twice a week from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. His publications include more than 300 currently available titles with a total circulation of over 14 million books sold worldwide. This makes him the most successful German-speaking author of religious books. The books are mainly published by the abbey-owned Vier-Türme-Verlag as well as by Herder and Kreuz Verlag ; there are five to eight new publications per year. His writings have been translated into over 30 languages, 50 titles also into Chinese . Grün put the total circulation of his books in January 2020 at around 20 million copies.

For his seven-volume series The Sacraments , Grün was voted “Author of the Year” in 2003 by the Spanish Catholic online magazine Betania as the first foreign writer.

Grün is also editor of the monthly magazine Einfach Leben. A letter from Anselm Grün , which has been published by the Freiburg publishing house Herder since April 2006 and offers tips on spirituality and the art of living on a Christian basis. The texts are written by Grün and edited by Rudolf Walter, who contributes an interview to each issue and designs two themed issues a year with the help of other authors.

In February 2018 Pope Francis recommended that the priests and deacons of the Diocese of Rome should read Anselm Grün's book Midlife as a Spiritual Task if they were in a “ midlife crisis ” . Jorge Mario Bergoglio has long been a reader of Greens books and gave them away even before he became Pope.

Speaker and spiritual guide

Anselm Grün's work as a speaker includes an average of around 200 lectures per year at home and abroad. Occasionally he can also be seen on television, for example in the broadcast by Reinhold Beckmann or in the ZDF night studio .

Anselm Grün regularly organizes courses, for example in the guest houses of the abbey in Münsterschwarzach.

One focus of his work is the spiritual advice of managers from the private sector. Since 1991 he has also been working in the so-called Recollectio House of the abbey, where priests, religious and church employees who are in a personal crisis or situation of change are accompanied.

criticism

From conservative- evangelical side criticizes Alexander Seibel , green mix elements from Christian tradition, psychology and other religions to an esoteric doctrine of salvation ( syncretism ) and even standing practices of shamanism positive about what is rejected as unbiblical. Grün also relativized basic Christian beliefs in his books, e.g. B. the meaning of Christ's death on the cross, the miracles of Jesus or the identity of evil. He represents a transcendent humanism .

On the Catholic side he is sometimes accused of adapting himself too much to the zeitgeist or of taking too liberal positions. The theologian Barbara Stühlmeyer noted in a tribute to her 75th birthday that Anselm Grün sometimes lacked the gift of distinction and that, when crossing the border to esotericism, he made use of certain set pieces from different ideological and religious concepts that are not easily compatible with one another.

Honors

Publications (selection)

  • The sky begins in you - The knowledge of the desert fathers for today , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1994, ISBN 3-451-08823-1 , Verlag Herder, 2nd edition 2019, ISBN 978-3-451-06364-0 .
  • 50 angels for the year. A book of inspiration , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1997, ISBN 3-451-04902-3 .
  • Don't forget the best. Inspirations for every day , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2000, ISBN 3-451-04864-7 .
  • The little book of true happiness , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2001, ISBN 3-451-07007-3 .
  • The happiness of serenity in the ABC of the art of living , with photographs by Micha Pawlitzki, Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2005, ISBN 3-451-28630-0 .
  • The Ten Commandments. Signpost to freedom , four towers, Münsterschwarzach 2006, ISBN 3-87868-728-1 .
  • The great book of the Gospels. Jesus - Paths to Life , KREUZ VERLAG in Verlag Herder GmbH, Freiburg im Breisgau 2010, ISBN 978-37831-3475-9
  • with Willigis Jäger : The secret beyond all paths. What unites us, what divides us , four towers, Münsterschwarzach 2013, ISBN 978-3-89680-842-4 .
  • with Walter Kohl : What really sustains us. About successful life , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2014, ISBN 978-3-451-33292-0 .
  • Images of the soul. The healing power of the church year , Vier-Türme-Verlag, Münsterschwarzach 2016, ISBN 978-3-7365-0004-4 .
  • From peaks and valleys of life , Vier-Türme-Verlag, Münsterschwarzach 2016, ISBN 978-3-7365-0032-7 .
  • You can trust - words of confidence in times of illness , Vier-Türme-Verlag, Münsterschwarzach 2017, ISBN 978-3-7365-0045-7 .
  • Salvation through the cross - Karl Rahner's contribution to today's understanding of salvation. Facsimile edition of the dissertation from 1975, Vier-Türme-Verlag, Münsterschwarzach 2017, ISBN 978-3-89680-945-2 .
  • Don't miss your life , dtv, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-423-34908-6 .
  • Amazement - Discovering the miracles in everyday life , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 2018, ISBN 978-3-451-00657-9 .
  • with Ahmad Milad Karimi : In the heart of spirituality. How Muslims and Christians can meet , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 2019, ISBN 978-3-451-03131-1 .
  • The high art of getting older , Vier-Türme-Verlag, Münsterschwarzach 2020, ISBN 978-3-7365-0294-9 .
  • The small book of lust for life , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 2020, ISBN 978-3-451-00825-2 .
  • Quarantine! Instructions for use: How to live together peacefully at home , Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, 2020, ISBN 978-3-451-38869-9 .

documentary

literature

  • Werner Deppe, Monika Deppe: ways out or ways out. World religions, esotericism, sects . Christian literature distribution, Bielefeld 2002, ISBN 3-89397-290-0 (critical examination of Grün's teachings).
  • Anselm Grün: Trust in God's way. In: David Neufeld (ed.): Experiences in the ministry. If I could start all over again… Neufeld, Schwarzenfeld 2005, ISBN 3-937896-14-7 , pp. 66–73 (autobiographical article).
  • Freddy Derwahl : Anselm Grün. His life. Four towers, Münsterschwarzach 2009, ISBN 3-89680-432-4 (biography).
  • Notker Wolf (Ed.): Anselm Grün encounter. Four towers, Münsterschwarzach 2014, ISBN 978-3-89680-900-1 .

Web links

Commons : Anselm Grün  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Anselm Grün  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Stefan Hauck: Anselm Grün: Merchant and pastor. In: book journal . March 25, 2010, accessed June 22, 2019 .
  2. ^ Philipp Krohn: Father with government bonds. In: FAZ.net . December 8, 2008, accessed June 22, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Christmas interview with Father Anselm Grün. "The crib would be with the refugees". In: Katholisch.de , December 20, 2014, accessed June 28, 2019.
  4. ↑ a b c Vita on Anselm Grün's homepage, accessed in June 2019.
  5. ↑ a b Michael Hamacher: Father Anselm Grün. The mother's fascinating Eifel dialect. In: Kölnische Rundschau , October 7, 2010, accessed on June 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Christoph Gerhard: Change of cellar in the Münsterschwarzach abbey. Message dated October 21, 2013 on the abbey website, accessed November 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ Anselm Grün: The Faith of Christians. P. 150.
  8. ^ ZDF broadcast Markus Lanz from February 21, 2012.
  9. ↑ Monk Anselm Grün denies million gamble . In: Vatican News . May 8, 2018.
  10. ↑ a b c The "Typewriter of God": Father Anselm Grün is 75. In: Katholisch.de , January 12, 2020, accessed on the same day.
  11. ↑ Notker Wolf: Rules for Life. Freiburg 2008, p. 130.
  12. ↑ Einfachlebenbrief.de
  13. ↑ "Resisting Evil Temptations". In: Domradio , February 18, 2018, accessed on June 22, 2019.
  14. ↑ DasErste.de : Broadcast from Monday, January 2, 2006, the video for the conversation with Father Anselm Grün ( Memento from January 4, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ^ Father Anselm Grün in "Beckmann" from September 3, 2007 with video ( Memento from October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ Who is Anselm Grün? on alexanderseibel.de
  17. ↑ TOPIC , No. 07/2009.
  18. ↑ Anselm Grün: Redemption. Their meaning in our life. Kreuz-Verlag, 2004.
  19. ↑ The Theology of Anselm Grün - Between Psychology and Spirituality. Discussion in TOPIC, No. 01/2015.
  20. ↑ On the 75th birthday of Father Anselm Grün Die Tagespost, die-tagespost.de, January 14, 2020, accessed April 20, 2020.
  21. ↑ anselmgruen.de
personal data
SURNAME Green, Anselm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Green, Willi; Grün, Wilhelm (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German religious and author of spiritual books
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Junkershausen