August Eckhardt

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August Ottomar Eckhardt , also August Eckehardt (born April 20, 1868 in Riga , Livonia Gouvernement , Russian Empire ; † May 22, 1919 in Riga, Republic of Latvia ) was a German-Baltic clergyman. He is considered a Protestant martyr and is recorded on the Riga Martyrs Stone.

Life

Youth and education

August Eckhardt's father, Robert Eckhardt, who was secretary at the Livonian statistical committee, died early. His mother was educated and very religious but penniless. August Eckhardt went to the Walis private school until 1879, then from 1880 to 1885 to the Riga Gouvernementsgymnasium, where he passed the Abitur examination in December 1885 with grade 2, as did Oskar Schabert . Thanks to the help of relatives, he was able to study theology at the University of Dorpat from 1886 to 1891 . From February 12 to April 8, 1888, he was a member of the Dorpat Theological Association. He was also a member of the Fraternitas Rigensis . Eckhardt passed the exams at the consistory in Riga in 1891 and on December 13, 1892, the 3rd Advent, after his practical year, which he had completed from 1891 to 1892 with Pastor Pohrt in Rodenpois in Livonia, he was appointed general superintendent in the Riga Jacobi Church Friedrich Hollmann ordained pastor's adjunct in Sunzel . His vicariate in Sunzel lasted from 1892 to 1893.

At the Riga Cathedral

On Sunday May 30th Jul. / June 11, 1893 greg. at 2 p.m., August Eckhardt was introduced as the afternoon preacher at Riga Cathedral . He was also a religion teacher at the city secondary school. On February 11, 1894, he was accepted into the literary-practical citizen association . On April 22, 1894 he married Antonie Julie Heyer. On October 12, 1894, he was accepted into the Society for the History and Antiquity of the Baltic Provinces of Russia .

In 1897 he suggested the establishment of a Christian "home hostel" for migrant workers and the unemployed in Riga. On October 20, 1898, he gave a lecture on the subject, which was published in the Riga city papers. From 1898 to 1903 he was president of the youth club.

On October 18, 1905, under the influence of the Russian Revolution of 1905, he gave the Reformation sermon "Reformation - not revolution our slogan" in the cathedral. This sermon was published in November. (See chapter “Works”.) The proceeds were intended for the relief fund. In 1906 he became pastor of the Riga Cathedral. Big words did not suit him, but he filled his office with conviction. Eckhardt was more of a pastor than a preacher. He had a reputation for peacefulness, he should never have hurt anyone with words. But Eckhardt was considered decided. His theological outlook was liberal, but he was considered deeply religious. He did not follow fashion. The well-being of his community was his focus. Eckhardt took care of the numerous poor and comforted the sad.

On Monday, March 27th, Jul. / April 9, 1906 greg. , he gave a lecture on "Christianity and Church".

On December 12, 1906, he was elected to the inner circle of the literary-practical citizen association .

In 1907 he became editor of the Rigas Church Gazette . On February 7, 1907, the lectures for the association "Bethabara" were resumed. Eckhardt gave the first lecture entitled “Under the flag of tolerance”.

In December 1908 he called for participation in Christmas hospital trips. On December 12, 1908, he was re-elected to the inner circle of the literary-practical citizen association , as was on December 14, 1910.

On September 12, 1913, Eckhardt gave up his post as publisher and editor of the Rigas Church Gazette . His resignation was due to the fact that his views on the Apostles' Creed differed from those of the majority of the pastors of the Rigas District, who owned the paper. The pastors Erhard Doebler and Karl Keller became his successors as temporary editors.

Provost in a time of crisis

At the time of the Latvian War of Independence , during the occupation by the Bolsheviks , the Riga pastorate lost its leadership. On the morning of January 3, 1919, still in the dark, the Latvian and German pastors met and elected August Eckhardt as provost. During the ban on assembly, the pastors met secretly at Eckhardt's. His opinion carried weight at these meetings. His position on the question of whether the pastors should stay with their congregations or flee during this time was clear:

“As a pastor, I consider staying my duty and responsibility. Only an infinitesimally small part of Riga can save themselves, what will happen to the others if all those who could still be their guide and support grab the rabbit banner. I hope that God will give me the strength not to do anything that would make me blush in front of mine or my church. "

Eckhardt sang his prayer requests:

Give me an eye brightly hopeful in
spite of all the darkness of this time;
let me stand at the threshold of heaven:
a witness of your glory!

Written farewell words

August Eckhardt wrote a parting word for his community because he suspected that he could be arrested without being able to say goodbye beforehand. It was read out later at his funeral sermon. The text can be read in Oskar Schabert's Baltic Martyrs Book (see under "Literature"):

He thanked his congregation for their trust and admitted his lack of eloquence. He was happy that his sense of duty and not his lack of talents, as he believed, were the focus for his congregation, even though it was a big city congregation. He admonished the congregation not to forsake God in difficult times, but to take refuge in his arms. For himself, he expressed his hope that if he were to be arrested or killed, he would not become weak, but rather show the courage of the first martyrs. The community should also clearly confess to God. The readiness of all to martyrdom is the only hope for the congregation to get out of its evil situation. In a key sentence he formulated with an allusion to the words of Christ about the salt of the earth (compare Mt 5,13  LUT ):

“It cannot get any better as long as those who call themselves Christians are so terribly indulgent and bow to any direction that is a little more ruthless in pursuit of their goals. We also want to oppose a Christian ruthlessness - otherwise Christianity will be trampled underfoot by the people like a salt that has become stupid. "

In conclusion, he expressed his hope to see as many of his church members as possible before the throne of God as courageous confessors in the most difficult times.

arrest

On Sunday, April 6th, August Eckhardt was arrested by the Bolsheviks. There is an eyewitness report about the events:

Eckhardt was just holding the opening liturgy of the service in the cathedral. When the song of the day ended, the pulpit remained empty for several minutes, which worried the community. There was complete silence. Finally Eckhardt rushed to the pulpit and announced his arrest. He urged the community to keep calm and break up the congregation. He said God would protect him and asked the church to continue caring for the poor because he could no longer do so. Finally he prayed, blessed the congregation, left the pulpit and went to the sacristy. The congregation sat motionless. Then a woman began to sing , A strong castle is our God . Accompanied by this song, the provost was led away by armed men through the aisle.

Detention

August Eckhardt was imprisoned outside the city in a large cell in the Riga Central Prison, in which the pastors Erhard Doebler, Alfred Geist , Hermann Bergengruen , Theodor Hoffmann and Eberhard Savary were also held. All the hostages of the Bolsheviks were imprisoned here. Eckhardt was also a good pastor to those around him in prison. Some pieces of paper he wrote while in custody have been preserved. So he wrote:

“How nice to have a God who doesn't stop at dungeon walls. Even in prison, one cannot be deprived of one's confidence in the resurrection and in eternal life. "

And on April 22nd, 1919:

“You have to be ready for anything. We remain in God's hands everywhere. We want to stay upright. Goodbye to everyone, if not here, then up there! "

From the next cell in which the women were housed, Eckhardt and the other prisoners, Marion von Klot , heard the song "I don't know the way either, you know it" in the evening. The prisoners expected an amnesty on May 1st, but this did not materialize. They were torn between hope and fatefulness.

May 7th was Eckhardt's silver wedding anniversary. His fellow inmates tried to make the day a holiday for him. This is considered to be the last pleasant experience he had in this life.

On May 10th, Doebler wrote in one of his letters that morning and evening services were being held daily in all cells.

execution

On May 22nd, the prison was about to be stormed by a raid troop of the Baltic State Armed Forces , about which the prisoners knew nothing. Shortly before the Bolsheviks withdrew from Riga, the commissars entered the cell heavily armed and forbade any movement or word. Then some nobles were brought out. The iron door was closed again. August Eckhardt broke the silence ordered by the Bolsheviks with a loud prayer for those who were deported. For Eckhardt's life, prayer was a source of strength. Before he had finished praying, the door was opened again, at last he could still write poetry:

Yes, Lord, I really want it - want to
show myself as a true Christian,
but you will divinely
incline to my will.

Now some pastors had to step out, including Eckhardt, Bergengruen, Doebler, Hoffmann and Savary. Eckhardt and 32 fellow prisoners (see the list below) were led in an orderly manner through the long corridors under heavy guard to the prison yard. Soldiers of the Red Army, who formed the guard, were posted there and now shot all those who were taken out.

Immediately afterwards the soldiers and commissioners fled. A little later, an armored car from the Landeswehr made its way to the prison; the prisoners' relatives followed him into the courtyard. They were shocked by the sight they saw.

August Eckhardt chose Ps 16,6  LUT for his funeral : “I fell in love with the lot. I have become a beautiful inheritance! "

Works

  • Where does the soul find home, where rest? Evangelical parables and poems by Alexander Haken because. Pastor to Tambov and Ryazan. Collected by August Eckhardt , Jonck and Poliewsky, Riga 1898
  • Magister Herman Samson
  • Reformation - not revolution is our watchword , sermon of October 18, 1905, Jonck and Poliewsky, Riga 1905
  • A farewell word from Pastor August Eckhardt to his congregation , R. Ruetz, Riga 1919, idn 579324885 in the German National Library (with incorrect author assignment)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Am Gouvernements-Gymnasium in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 291, December 26, 1885 ( Eckhardt August | issueType: P )
  2. ↑ Church news. in the Düna newspaper , No. 294, December 24, 1892 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  3. ↑ Notes. in the Rigaschen city sheets , No. 27, July 8, 1893 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  4. ↑ From the minutes of the lit.-Prakt. Citizens' association in the Rigaschen city papers , No. 12, March 24, 1894 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  5. ^ Society for the history and archeology of the Baltic provinces of Russia in the Düna newspaper , No. 242, October 26, 1894 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  6. ↑ From the minutes of the lit.-Prakt. Citizens' association in the Rigaschen city papers , No. 21, May 28, 1898 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  7. ↑ Notes. in the Rigaschen city sheets , No. 50, December 17, 1898 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  8. ↑ Literary-practical citizen connection in the Rigas city sheets , No. 3, January 21, 1899 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  9. ^ Society for history and archeology of the Baltic provinces of Russia in the Düna newspaper , No. 85, April 13, 1899 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  10. ^ Society for history and archeology of the Baltic provinces of Russia in Riga in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 73, March 30, 1899 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  11. ↑ Literary-practical citizen connection in the Rigas city papers , No. 1, January 7, 1899 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  12. ↑ Notes. in the Rigaschen city sheets , No. 20, May 18, 1906 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  13. ^ The literary-practical citizen connection in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 287, December 13, 1906 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  14. ^ Resumption of the Bethabara lectures. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 24, January 30, 1907 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  15. ^ Resumption of the Bethabara lectures in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 25, January 31, 1907 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  16. ^ Resumption of the Bethabara lectures. in the Düna newspaper , No. 25, January 31, 1907 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  17. ↑ Local. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 290, December 13, 1908 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  18. ↑ 108th annual meeting of lit.-Prakt. Citizens' Association in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 289, December 15, 1910 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  19. ^ Change in the publication and editing of the "Rigaschen Kirchenblatt" in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 212, September 14, 1913 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  20. ↑ 'Christianity must be exterminated.' in the Rigaschen Post , No. 35, July 28, 1935 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  21. ↑ Literature. in the Libauschen Zeitung , No. 81, April 10, 1898 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  22. ^ The "Baltic youth publication" in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 147, July 3, 1902 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  23. ↑ Locales. in the Libauschen Zeitung , No. 149, July 4, 1902 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  24. ↑ Baltic youth publication in the Düna newspaper , No. 188, August 21, 1902 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  25. ↑ Reformation - not revolution, our slogan in the Düna newspaper , No. 243, November 4, 1905 ( Eckhardt | issueType: P )
  26. ↑ cover of the Dvina-Zeitung , No. 249, November 11, 1905th ( Eckhardt | issue type: P )

Remarks

  1. ↑ The dates in this article are based on the Julian calendar for the period up to 1918 unless otherwise noted.
personal data
SURNAME Eckhardt, August
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eckhardt, August Ottomar (full name); Eckehardt, August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Baltic clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH April 20, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Riga , Livonia Governorate , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH May 22, 1919
Place of death Riga , Republic of Latvia