Christian of Passau

Christian von Passau († September 1013 ) was the 19th bishop of the Diocese of Passau from 991 to 1013 . He was also the first bishop to have secular rule over the city of Passau .

Life

Christian possibly came from (then) Saxony and belonged to the cathedral chapter of Hildesheim . Since 991 Bishop of Passau, he received from King Otto III in 993 . a confirmation of the entire property of the Passau church with special mention of the abbeys Kremsmünster and Mattsee , the chapel of Ötting and the court of Reut. With this confirmation of ownership, the future emperor took the church of Passau under his protection. Also in 993 Bishop Christian received from Otto III. the granting of freedom of services to any person, especially the Duke of Bavaria , with the restriction that the Passau Church remained obliged to provide services to the royal and imperial authorities. The bishop was thus given direct empire and princely sovereignty.

In 996 Christian joined Otto's move to Rome and took part in his imperial coronation and synod. In 999 he received from Otto III. the market , customs , ban and coin law as well as the entire public authority inside and outside the city of Passau. This made him lord of the city with the privileges previously reserved for the king.

In 1002 he accompanied Duke Heinrich IV of Bavaria to the election of the king in Mainz and elected him as Heinrich II . In 1007 he took part in the Frankfurt Synod . He signed the founding protocol of the Bamberg diocese , and possibly he was still present at the consecration of the cathedral there in 1012 .

literature

• Christian Taubenberger: The pontificate of Passau bishop Christian (991-1013): A contribution to the history of the imperial episcopate in Ottonian times . In: Ostbairische Grenzmarken 45, (2003), pp. 31–46