Berlin Convention
The Berlin Convention was a secret agreement between the Archbishop of Cologne, Ferdinand August von Spiegel, and the Prussian state , which was signed on June 19, 1834. It dealt with the question of so-called mixed marriages between Catholics and Protestants.
Prehistory and origin
After the Catholic Rhineland fell to Prussia in 1815, the question arose of how to deal with mixed marriages between Catholics and Protestants, which occurred much more frequently in this region than in Prussia. Roman Catholic priests linked the wedding blessing for an interdenominational marriage , following canon law , to the obligation of the Protestant part of the marriage to bring up children arising from the union in the Roman Catholic faith. As early as 1803, however, a Prussian declaration stipulated that children from mixed confessional marriages were to be brought up in the faith of their father; this was made in 1825 by cabinet orderextended to the western provinces. A secret papal brief from 1830, however, obliged the clergy to adhere to the canonical regulation.
Ferdinand August von Spiegel reached an agreement in negotiations with the Prussian plenipotentiary Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen in negotiations that had been carried out with the Holy See since 1828 and later with the bishops of the western Prussian provinces, the "Berlin Convention". This was initialed on June 19, 1834 , but remained secret.
content
The Berlin Convention interpreted the papal brief of 1830 very broadly. The convention resulted in little more than a “conviction review”, and no sanctions were laid down in it.
consequences
The diocese of Trier initially joined the convention. After the death of Spiegels, Bishop Joseph von Hommer revoked his consent shortly before his death in November 1836, which had consequences for the subsequent bishopric election in Trier. As a result, the dispute known as the Cologne chaos broke out .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Otto Büsch (Ed.): Handbook of Prussian History. Volume 3. Walter de Gruyter, 1992, ISBN 3-11008322-1 , p. 177
- ↑ The Ministry of Culture in its fields of activity school, science, churches, arts and medicine - presentation. Walter de Gruyter, 2010, ISBN 978-3-05008903-4 , p. 357
- ↑ From Church Society to Church in Society: Piety, State Action and the Early Politicization of Prussian Catholics (1815–1871). Walter de Gruyter, 2016, ISBN 978-3-11043737-9