Eberhard Billick

Eberhard Billick OCarm (* 1499 in Cologne ; † January 12, 1557 in Cologne) was a controversial theologian and designated auxiliary bishop in Cologne.

Life

Billick entered the Carmelite order in 1513 and studied philosophy and theology in Cologne . In the Cologne monastery he became prefect of studies in 1525, first lecturer in 1528 and prior in 1536 . He has been a professor at the University of Cologne since 1540 , and was elected Provincial of the Lower German Order Province in 1542 and Vicar General of the Upper German Order Province in 1546/1547 .

Striving for a reform within his order, he was also considered one of the main leaders of the resistance against the Archbishop of Cologne, Hermann V von Wied , who wanted to introduce the Reformation together with Martin Bucer in the Archdiocese of Cologne . Woven in the fight against the Reformation, Billick took part in the religious talks of Hagenau (1540), Worms (1540/1541), Regensburg 1541 and 1546, and Augsburg (1547). Active at the Council of Trent in 1551 and 1552 , Billick was given the honor of giving an introductory sermon for 1552. Although Billick was also convinced of a necessary reform within the Catholic Church, he worked tirelessly for the preservation of the Catholic faith and in 1556 was appointed auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Cologne. But he could not take up the office because he died before his episcopal ordination .

Billick was a close ally of Johannes Gropper in the fight against the Reformation. Together with the Archbishop of Cologne Adolf III. von Schaumburg and Johannes Gropper, as Provincial of his order, he attended the Council of Trent in 1551, where he acted as a council theologian. On December 16, 1551, Billick gave a lecture on the Sacrament of Orders and delivered the New Year's sermon to the Council Fathers.

literature

• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Billick, Eberhard. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 591.
• Robert Haaß :  Billick, Eberhard. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, ISBN 3-428-00183-4 , p. 238 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Alois Postina: The Carmelite Eberhard Billick: A life picture from d. 16th century Herder, Freiburg i. Br. 1901.
• Leonhard Ennen :  Billick, Eberhard . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 639 f.