Christophorus Balbus

Portrait of the abbot in the Zehnthof chapel in Nordheim am Main

Christophorus Balbus (real name Johann Albert Balbus ; * May 27, 1702 in Volkach ; † July 22, 1766 ) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Münsterschwarzach from 1742 to 1761 .

Life

Early years

Christophorus Balbus was born on May 27, 1702 in Volkach as Johann Albert Balbus. His father was the Würzburg official cellar and church keeper Johann Peter Balbus, who was one of the richest people in the city of Volkach. Balbus mother was Maria Walpurga Knapp, who came from Freudenberg in what is now Baden. Christophorus was the eighteenth child of his father, as he was married twice. His brother Johann Wilderich, who later called himself Ambrosius , became abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Bronnbach .

The young Christophorus became a member of the Cäcilienbruderschaft in his native town in 1713. Together with his brother Ambrosius, he later supported this association through the annual donation of a Karolin . In 1719, Christophorus is also recorded as a pupil at the Volkach Latin School . In the same year he enrolled as a student of philosophy at the University of Würzburg .

His monastic career began in 1721, when he entered the Benedictine abbey of Münsterschwarzach after completing his studies. A year later, Christophorus Balbus made his profession . He was ordained a subdeacon on May 10, 1724, before becoming a deacon on September 22, 1725 . The ordination received Balbus on 29 March 1727 his first Mass he celebrated on 15 July 1727. At the same time he began further studies in Würzburg, where he primarily devoted to theology.

As abbot

After the death of his predecessor Januarius Schwab , Balbus was elected abbot on June 19, 1742. A total of 25 of around 30 votes were cast in his name. Balbus had recommended himself to be the monastery director, an office he had previously held for eight years. He received his confirmation on July 12, 1742, before he was appointed three days later, on July 15, by the Würzburg Prince-Bishop Friedrich Karl von Schönborn with the assistance of two abbots.

The construction of the new abbey church had been advanced well under its predecessor. Nevertheless, its completion in 1743 was credited to the new abbot. On September 8th, Prince-Bishop Friedrich Karl traveled from his Gaibach residence to the festively decorated Münsterschwarzach, where he was received by Abbot Christophorus and consecrated the new church building. In the following years Balbus completed the furnishings of the basilica and distributed the old altars to the monastery villages of Dimbach and Reupelsdorf.

In addition, Abbot Christophorus was very committed to the scientific life in his monastery. The abbey was already known for its theologians under its predecessors, and now it has achieved even greater fame. Soon all members of the convent were graduated theologians. Under Balbus, the monastery library was also equipped with new works. Balbus also promoted the establishment of a German Benedictine academy and was assistant to the Corpus Academicum in the Franconian Empire .

With the rich harvests of previous years, the tithe farms of the monastery in Nordheim and Sommerach had been expanded. Balbus expanded it again and had a chapel built in Nordheim, which was furnished with stucco by Johann Michael Feuchtmayer and frescoes by Andreas Dahlweiner . The abbot also made rich presents to his hometown Volkach: the former high altar of the Münsterschwarzach basilica was moved to the Maria im Weingarten church in 1748; From then on, the pilgrimage of the Pietà was on it.

During the Seven Years' War the abbot had a hundred Austrian hussars billeted in the monastery to be safe from Prussian attacks. In the last years of the war, however, Prussians attacked the abbey. At that time, however, on August 11, 1761, Christophorus had already given up. The reason for this was a stroke flow in 1760, which led to right-sided paralysis and speech disorders. On July 22, 1766, the retired abbot Christophorus Balbus died at the age of sixty-four.

coat of arms

The coat of arms at the Sommeracher Zehnthof

The abbot coat of arms of Christophorus Balbus is borrowed from the Balbus family coat of arms . Description : "In gold two lowered black rafters, on the upper one a black eagle." Due to the abbot's lively building activity, his coat of arms is on several buildings in former monastery villages, some in modified versions. At the Zehnthof in Sommerach, only a lowered rafter is shown. As Helmzier a Abtskopf is appropriate to point out even at the Abbey during two crossed behind the helmet cover rods. A version on the former monastery mill was renewed in 1960.

literature

• Gerhard Egert: The Volkach patrician family Balbus. A contribution to family research in Franconia . In: Mainfränkisches Jahrbuch für Geschichte und Kunst 40 . Wuerzburg 1988.
• Kassius Hallinger: Chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach a. M. (1390-1803) . In: Abtei Münsterschwarzach (Ed.): Abtei Münsterschwarzach. Works from their history . Münsterschwarzach 1938.
• Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . Münsterschwarzach 2002.

Web links

Commons : Christophorus Balbus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gerhard Egert: The Volkach patrician family Balbus . P. 31.
2. ^ Kassius Hallinger: Chronology of the Abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 119.
3. ^ Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian monastery . P. 53.
4. ^ Kassius Hallinger: Chronology of the Abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 120.
5. ↑ Bernhard Peter: Schelfenhaus Volkach , accessed on March 29, 2014.

predecessor	Office	successor
Januarius Schwab	Abbot of Münsterschwarzach 1742–1761	Sebastian Cönen