Cusanus Society

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Cusanus Society
legal form Registered association
founding April 26, 1960
Seat Bernkastel-Kues , Germany
Website www.nikolaus-von-kues.de
Cusanus birthplace and seat of the Cusanus Society

The Cusanus Society was founded on April 26, 1960 by citizens of the city of Bernkastel-Kues with the participation of municipal, state and church bodies, with the aim of " supporting the research of the intellectual work of Cardinal Nikolaus von Kues through ideal and material support and him to create a general and deeper effect. ”It is supranational and neither politically nor denominationally bound. The company maintains the Cusanus birthplace as a cultural meeting place and museum with a permanent exhibition on the life and work of Nikolaus von Kues. It consists of around 350 members worldwide.

prehistory

On May 5, 1951, members of the theological faculty in Trier and the business community founded the Unio Cusana, Society for Cusanus Research, in coordination with the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Emergency Association of German Science (today: German Research Foundation ) . The Unio Cusana was dissolved between 1958 and 1960.

The founding of the Unio Cusana and the later Cusanus Society is closely linked to the West and West German cultural policy of the post-war period: “The political and ideological instrumentalization of culture in the National Socialist period was followed by a humanistic cultural and educational policy in the West after the end of the war against the basis of Western values ​​and the German educational heritage, with the help of which the return to the Western European cultural community should be made possible or facilitated. ”In this context, in the eyes of Western post-war politicians, the preoccupation with the life and work of the philosopher, theologian and Church politician Nikolaus von Kues for a new cultural beginning in Rhineland-Palatinate. Cusanus was not only considered one of the most famous Rhineland-Palatinate personalities, but had also been the subject of international research since the middle of the 19th century and the critical edition of his philosophical-theological works published by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences since 1927 .

Before a separate research institute was set up, a Cusanus Society was to be founded at the suggestion of the Rhineland-Palatinate Minister of Education, Eduard Orth, and Ministerialrat Otto Wegner (1902–1984). The new Cusanus Society was to be the sponsor of the Institute for Cusanus Research (Cusanus Institute).

Foundation, tasks and development of the Cusanus Society

On August 26, 1960, the Cusanus Society was founded with its headquarters in Bernkastel-Kues, and on November 18, 1960 the Institute for Cusanus Research was founded in Mainz . The theologian Rudolf Haubst was in charge of the institute and, until 1967, also chaired the Cusanus Society .

According to the Articles of Association of November 4, 1994, the Cusanus Society is to perform the following tasks:

  • It is intended to support the St. Nikolaus Hospital (Cusanusstift) in the scientific development of Nikolaus von Kues' material legacy.
  • It should maintain the Institute for Cusanus Research at the University of Trier and the Trier Theological Faculty .
  • It should hold conferences and lectures, e.g. B. organize the biannual symposia of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cusanus Society and the Trier Cusanus Institute.
  • It is supposed to publish scientific literature about Cusanus and inform the public about Cusanus.

The Cusanus Society as a registered association includes: a. a board of trustees and a scientific advisory board. The general meeting is held once a year in Bernkastel-Kues. The board includes the director of the Institute for Cusanus Research, the Rector of the St. Nicholas Hospital and the managing director.

History of the Cusanus Society

During the first time under the chairmanship of Rudolf Haubst from 1960 to 1967, some projects could be realized, such as B. the microfilming of 314 manuscripts from the Cusanus library in Kues as well as other former manuscripts from the hospital in the British Library in London and the Royal Library in Brussels . The microfilms are now stored in the Institute for Cusanus Research in Trier . A significant event in the early days of the Cusanus Society was the anniversary celebration from August 8 to 12, 1964 in Kues on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of Nikolaus von Kues.

Above all, the district administrator of the Bernkastel-Wittlich district and later mayor of Bernkastel-Kues Helmut Gestrich shaped the Cusanus Society, which he headed as chairman from 1973 for more than 30 years. During this time u. a. the purchase and restoration of the Cusanus birth house in Kues between 1973 and 1980. The birth house has belonged to the city of Bernkastel-Kues since 1986, which grants the Cusanus Society an unlimited right of use.

In 1981 the Cusanus Institute moved from Mainz to Trier to the new institute building at Domfreihof 3, which was concluded on April 24, 1981 with a cooperation agreement between the Diocese of Trier , the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Culture and the Cusanus Society. Since then, the Institute for Cusanus Research has been an institute at the University and the Theological Faculty of Trier .

Another central point was the celebration of the 2001 anniversary year on the 600th birthday of Nikolaus von Kues. This was opened with the exhibition "Horizons - Nikolaus von Kues in his world" in the St. Nikolaus Hospital / Cusanusstift in Bernkastel-Kues and in the museum at Trier Cathedral .

The year 2014 was also significant for society, as it marked the 550th anniversary of the death of Nikolaus von Kues. The main festive event was the commemorative weekend in August. This included the celebration of a pontifical ministry with the bishop of Bozen and Brixen Ivo Muser as well as the conclusion of a friendship agreement between the cities of Bernkastel-Kues and Brixen .

In October there was an anniversary symposium of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cusanus Society on the subject of "The Roman Years of Nicholas of Kues", which was held at the Papal Institute of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome .

Publications of the Cusanus Society

Apart from individual publications, the Cusanus Society gives together with the Cusanus Institute in Trier

  • various text and book series as well
  • Periodicals such as B. the
    • "Communications and research contributions of the Cusanus Society" (MFCG) or that
    • "Cusanus Yearbook" out.

President of the Cusanus Society

  • 1960–1966: Rudolf Haubst, theologian, founding director of the Cusanus Institute; Co-founder of the Cusanus Society
  • 1967–1969: Wilhelm Breuning , theologian
  • 1970–1973: Wilhelm Steinlein , District President, State Secretary, General Director of the Landesbank and Girozentrale Rhineland-Palatinate
  • 1973–2004: Helmut Gestrich, lawyer, district administrator in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district, city mayor of Bernkastel-Kues
  • 2004–2007: Wolfgang Lentzen-Deis , theologian
  • 2007–2010: Christoph Böhr , philosopher, former Rhineland-Palatinate state politician
  • Since 2010 Wolfgang Port , Mayor of Bernkastel-Kues

Chair of the scientific advisory board of the Cusanus Society

  • 1961–1967: Josef Koch , theologian, philosopher, historian
  • 1967–1968 and 1970–1973: Maurice de Gandillac , philosopher
  • 1973–1992: Rudolf Haubst, theologian
  • 1992–2007: Klaus Kremer , theologian and philosopher
  • 2008–2016: Walter Andreas Euler , theologian
  • Since 2017: Wolfgang Port, Mayor of Bernkastel-Kues (interim chairman)

Honorary members of the Cusanus Society

Famous members (selection)

Other members of the Cusanus Society included a. Hans-Georg Gadamer , Raymond Klibansky , Harry Mulisch etc.

literature

  • Marco Brösch, Walter Andreas Euler: From unity in multiplicity. The Cusanus institutions worldwide. In: Voices of the Time 232, Issue 8 (2014), pp. 537–546 .; ISSN  0039-1492
  • Marco Brösch: 50 years of the Cusanus Society (1960–2010). In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), pp. 3–27; ISSN  1869-9502
  • Marco Brösch, Walter Andreas Euler: 50 Years of the Cusanus Society and Institute for Cusanus Research, Trier 2011 (Small publications of the Cusanus Society; Issue 19), ISBN 978-3-7902-1071-2 .
  • Walter Andreas Euler: The Institute for Cusanus Research at the University of Trier. History, present, future. In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), pp. 29–44; ISSN  1869-9502
  • Helmut Gestrich: The years from 1967 to the present. In: Access to Nikolaus von Kues. Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the Cusanus Society, ed. by Helmut Gestrich, in collaboration with the Institute for Cusanus Research in Trier, Bernkastel-Kues 1986, pp. 19–24.
  • Rudolf Haubst: About the beginnings of the Cusanus Society (1960–1966). In: Access to Nikolaus von Kues. Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the Cusanus Society, ed. by Helmut Gestrich, in collaboration with the Institute for Cusanus Research in Trier, Bernkastel-Kues 1986, pp. 9-18.
  • 600 years of Nikolaus von Kues 1401 2001, ed. by Helmut Gestrich and Klaus Kremer, with the collaboration of Alfred Kaiser, Trier 2003, ISBN 3-7902-0084-0
  • Hermann Krämer : Cusanus Society. Your establishment and objectives. In: Communications and research contributions from the Cusanus Society 1, 2. verb. Ed. (1968), pp. 7-13; ISSN  0590-451X
  • Hans Gerhard Senger: The scientific advisory board of the Cusanus Society from the perspective of a long-term member. In: The God-Thought of Nikolaus von Kues. Files from the symposium in Trier from October 21 to 23, 2010, ed. by Walter Andreas Euler, with the collaboration of Niels Bohnert and Alexandra Geissler (MFCG 33), Trier 2012, pp. 3–15, ISBN 978-3-7902-1594-6

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See the statutes of the Cusanus Society of November 4, 1994, § 2, under: http://www.nikolaus-von-kues.de/rund-um/die-gesellschaft/satzung/ (last access: October 22, 2015).
  2. ↑ Cf. Walter Andreas Euler: The Institute for Cusanus Research at the University of Trier. History, present, future. In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), pp. 29–44, here pp. 29–32.
  3. ↑ Marco Brösch: 50 years Cusa Society (1960-2010). In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), pp. 3–27, here p. 3f.
  4. ↑ Marco Brösch: 50 years Cusa Society (1960-2010). In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), p. 4f.
  5. ↑ See Marco Brösch. 50 years Cusa Society (1960-2010). In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), p. 5f .; Hermann Krämer: Cusanus Society. Your establishment and objectives. In: Communications and research contributions from the Cusanus Society 1, 2. verb. Ed. (1968), pp. 7-13, here pp. 8f. and Rudolf Haubst: On the Beginnings of the Cusanus Society (1960–1966). In: Access to Nikolaus von Kues. Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the Cusanus Society, ed. by Helmut Gestrich, in collaboration with the Institute for Cusanus Research in Trier, Bernkastel-Kues 1986, pp. 9–18, here p. 12.
  6. ↑ Cf. Marco Brösch: 50 Years of the Cusanus Society (1960-2010). In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), p. 6
  7. ↑ See the statutes of the Cusanus Society of November 4, 1994, § 2, under: http://www.nikolaus-von-kues.de/rund-um/die-gesellschaft/satzung/ (last accessed: 22 October 2015)
  8. ↑ See the statutes of the Cusanus Society of November 4, 1994, § 6-7, at: http://www.nikolaus-von-kues.de/rund-um/die-gesellschaft/satzung/ (last access : October 22, 2015).
  9. ^ Rudolf Haubst: About the beginnings of the Cusanus Society (1960–1966) . In: Access to Nikolaus von Kues. Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the Cusanus Society , ed. by Helmut Gestrich, in collaboration with the Institute for Cusanus Research in Trier, Bernkastel-Kues 1986, p. 13.
  10. ↑ See Marco Brösch. 50 years Cusa Society (1960-2010). In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), p. 14f. and Helmut Gestrich: The years from 1967 to the present. In: Access to Nikolaus von Kues. Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the Cusanus Society, ed. by Helmut Gestrich, in collaboration with the Institute for Cusanus Research in Trier, Bernkastel-Kues 1986, pp. 19–24.
  11. ↑ Marco Brösch: 50 Years of the Cusanus Society (1960-2010). In: Cusanus Jahrbuch 2 (2010), p. 17f. and Helmut Gestrich: The years from 1967 to the present. In: Access to Nikolaus von Kues. Festschrift for the 25th anniversary of the Cusanus Society, ed. by Helmut Gestrich, in collaboration with the Institute for Cusanus Research in Trier, Bernkastel-Kues 1986, p. 22f.
  12. ↑ See also the corresponding catalog Horizons. Nikolaus von Kues in his world. An exhibition for the 600th anniversary of his birthday. Catalog for the exhibition in the Episcopal Cathedral and Diocesan Museum Trier and in the St. Nikolaus Hospital in Bernkastel-Kues. May 19 to September 30, 2001, conception: Marc-Aeilko Aris, Trier 2001. For the anniversary celebration cf. in detail: 600 years of Nikolaus von Kues 1401 2001 , ed. by Helmut Gestrich and Klaus Kremer, with the assistance of Alfred Kaiser, Trier 2003.
  13. ↑ On the anniversary year cf. the articles in the Cusanus yearbook 6 (2014) and 7 (2015) as well as Marco Brösch: The Cusanus Jubilee 2014 - On the 550th anniversary of the death of Nikolaus von Kues (1401–1464). In: Bernkastel-Wittlich District Yearbook 2016 (in press).
  14. ↑ For an overview see: https://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=45114 (last accessed on October 23, 2015)