Bertram Meier

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Bertram Meier (2017)

Bertram Johannes Meier (born July 20, 1960 in Buchloe ) is a German theologian , Roman Catholic clergyman and Bishop of Augsburg since June 2020 .

Life

Bertram Meier grew up in a mixed denominational family, his father Hans († 1989) was a very committed Protestant Christian, his mother Erna (* 1931 or 1932) is Catholic. She comes from the Sudetenland , the father was the second mayor of Kaufering , where Bertram Meier grew up with his sister. After graduating from high school , he studied philosophy and theology at the University of Augsburg (1978–1980) and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1980–1985). As an alumnus of the Pontifical College Germanicum et Hungaricum he received on 10 October 1985 in Rome by Cardinal Franz König , the ordination . In 1988 he became a member of the KAV Capitolina Rome in the CV . In 1989 he was at the Gregorian with the dogmatic thesis on the church understanding of the pastoral theologian and bishop of Regensburg Johann Michael Sailer for Doctor of theology doctorate . Meier was released from work as a chaplain in Neu-Ulm for training at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica ) and for the diplomatic service of the Holy See in Rome. Meier was then chaplain in Neuburg an der Donau , later also city pastor, dean and regional dean in Neu-Ulm.

In 1996 Meier entered the service of the Holy See and was head of the German-speaking department in the Vatican State Secretariat until 2001 . He was also vice-rector at the Campo Santo Teutonico , the German priestly college in Rome, and lecturer in dogmatics and ecumenical theology at the Gregoriana. In 2000 he was appointed cathedral capitular in Augsburg and after his return to Germany from 2002 to 2014 he headed the departments for the universal church , ecumenism , orders and professions in the diocese of Augsburg . From 2007 to 2014 he was clergyman of the Freising Bishops' Conference for the State Committee of Catholics in Bavaria . Since 2007 he has also been cathedral preacher at the Augsburg Cathedral and since July 9, 2012 cathedral dean .

From 2002 to 2011 Bertram Meier was chairman of the Christian Churches Working Group (ACK) in Augsburg. Since 2005, Prelate Meier has represented the seven Bavarian Catholic dioceses on the board of the Working Group of Christian Churches (ACK) in Bavaria, since 2013 he was its first chairman and was confirmed in the office in 2017. Since 2012 he has been a member of the delegation appointed by the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) for the ACK Germany.

In 2011 he was elected chairman of the Conference of Religious Officers in Germany. He was also appointed a member of the “Conference World Church” founded by the DBK. As a representative for universal church tasks at the diocesan level, he represented the Bavarian dioceses for five years.

Bertram Meier was elected in 2011 by the German Bishops' Conference for a term of five years (until 2016) as advisor to the sub-commission for missionary issues. Also in 2011, Bishop Konrad Zdarsa made him head of Department III Church Life in the Episcopal Ordinariate . In 2014 he was appointed head of Department II - Episcopal Pastoral Office and the management of the Ortisei conference hotel. In addition, Bishop Konrad Zdarsa appointed him Episcopal Vicar for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue. From April 2018 he was also Episcopal Commissioner for the Diocesan Council and for universal church tasks and (in the Diocese of Augsburg) Director for the Pontifical Mission Societies .

Bishop of Augsburg

On July 8, 2019, the Augsburg Cathedral Chapter elected him after the retirement of Bishop Konrad Zdarsa as diocesan administrator for the period of the vacancy . On January 29, 2020 it was announced that Pope Francis Bertram Meier has appointed the new Bishop of Augsburg. The taking over of the cathedra in Augsburg Cathedral and the episcopal ordination were planned for March 21, 2020 in Augsburg Cathedral, but were postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Meier then continued to lead the diocese as diocesan administrator until he was appointed Apostolic Administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis by Pope Francis on March 25, 2020 . This gave him all the rights that a diocesan bishop has and that do not require episcopal ordination.

On June 6th, 2020 he received the episcopal ordination by the Munich Archbishop Reinhard Marx . Co- consecrators were the Archbishop of Bamberg, Ludwig Schick, and Nikola Eterović , Apostolic Nuncio in Germany. The consecration service took place in Augsburg Cathedral (due to the pandemic under increased hygiene requirements). His vicar general he appointed Harald Heinrich , who was already the Vicar General of his predecessor Zdarsa. The nun Anna Schenck CJ becomes its head of office .

Coat of arms of Bishop Bertram Meier

Motto and coat of arms

As a motto, Bertram Meier chose the Latin vox verbi - vas gratiae "voice of the word - bowl of grace" based on Augustinus von Hippo and Bernhard von Clairvaux . The coat of arms of the episcopal coat of arms is split into the colors red and silver, which the diocese of Augsburg has had since the Middle Ages. On the sign there is an open gospel book with the Greek letters Α (alpha) and Ω (omega), a reference to the Bible . An ear of wheat grows out of the book, the triple grain position of which is supposed to indicate the Holy Trinity . The ear creates a relationship with the pastoral theologian Johann Michael Sailer , who as Bishop of Regensburg also had the ear in his coat of arms. Bertram Meier had received his doctorate on the theology of Bishop Sailer in Rome. The coat of arms was designed by Franz Bernhard Weißhaar .

Supra-diocesan tasks

The General Assembly of the German Bishops' Conference (March 2 to 5, 2020) appointed Bertram Meier to the Ecumenical Commission and the World Church Commission . On June 24th, he was also sent by the Permanent Council of the Bishops' Conference to the Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany as a bishop's delegate .

Positions

In April 2020, Bertram Meier warned against too many “I-AGs” in the church, “People who only see themselves, yes, who sometimes celebrate themselves more than the crucified and risen Lord”; for him the church is a “search community” or a “GmbH - [apostolic] community with well-founded hope”, which is not allowed to “self-confidently maintain its own interests and privileges” or pursue navel gazing .

honors and awards

Fonts

  • The Church of True Christians: Johann Michael Sailer's understanding of the church between immediacy and mediation. Kohlhammer 1990, ISBN 3-17-011017-9 (dissertation)
  • Tree of life not torture stake. South German Verlags-Gesellschaft, Ulm 1996 (2nd edition), ISBN 3-88294-225-8
  • Women encounter Jesus: impulses from the New Testament. Johannes, Leutesdorf 1999, ISBN 3-7794-1422-8
  • Dare to believe more. Sankt Ulrich, Augsburg 2001, ISBN 3-929246-70-8
  • No time to hide God: impetus for a Europe from the power of Christianity. Unio, Fremdingen 2005, ISBN 3-935189-22-2
  • Walking, standing, sitting, lying down: a little theology of attitudes. Augsburg 2006, ISBN 3-00-020391-5
  • The cathedral preaches. , Kunstverlag Fink Lindenberg 2011 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-3-89870-585-1
  • Time and eternity. Christmas reflections. Christian Family, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-939168-13-3
  • Faithfulness and adoration. Dominus, Augsburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-940879-14-1
  • Light lanterns without intent. Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2014.
  • New evangelization - Church in practice. People - positions - perspectives. Festschrift for Bishop Dr. Konrad Zdarsa on his 70th birthday. Edited with Harald Heinrich and Gerda Riedl . Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2014, ISBN 978-3-506-76652-6 .
  • Stable smell, not aftershave! Thoughts on being a priest. Kunstverlag Josef Fink, Lindenberg 2015, ISBN 978-3-898-70970-5 .
  • Forced distance - sought closeness. Become a bishop in corona mode. Augsburg 2020, ISBN 978-3-00-065925-6 .

Web links

Commons : Bertram Meier  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dr. Bertram Meier becomes the new bishop of Augsburg. In: bistum-augsburg.de. January 29, 2020, accessed January 29, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Even the boy wanted to be a pastor. In: catholic-sonntagszeitung.de. February 14, 2020, accessed June 6, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Personal details : Meier confirmed in office. In: die-tagespost.de. January 10, 2017, accessed February 13, 2017 .
  4. ^ Prelate Bertram Meier appointed to national committees. Diocese of Augsburg , April 20, 2011
  5. ^ Cathedral dean Bertram Meier is the diocesan administrator. In: bistum-augsburg.de
  6. ↑ Bertram Meier in portrait: This is the new bishop of Augsburg. In: kathisch.de , January 30, 2019.
  7. ↑ Episcopal ordination is postponed. In: bistum-augsburg.de. March 13, 2020, accessed March 18, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Appointment as Apostolic Administrator. In: bistum-augsburg.de. Retrieved March 27, 2020 .
  9. ↑ bistum-augsburg.de: Personnel decision at episcopal ordination , June 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ Prelate Bertram Meier presents the coat of arms. In: bistum-augsburg.de. March 6, 2020, accessed March 24, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Bishop Bertram sent for the ACK Germany. Retrieved July 1, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Bertram Meier: Too many I-AGs in the church. In: neueruhrwort.de. April 19, 2020, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  13. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952. In: parlament.gv.at (PDF; 6.9 MB)
predecessor Office successor
Konrad Zdarsa Bishop of Augsburg
since 2020
personal data
SURNAME Meier, Bertram
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meier, Bertram Johannes (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Roman Catholic theologian, Bishop of Augsburg
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Buchloe