Eberhard von Dienheim

Bishop Eberhard von Dienheim, contemporary painting in the Episcopal Ordinariate Speyer.

Family coat of arms in Siebmacher's coat of arms book

Eberhard von Dienheim (* around 1540; † October 9, 1610 ) was Bishop of Speyer from 1581 to 1610. His residence, however, was the Philippsburg in Udenheim.

origin

Eberhard came from the family of the Barons von Dienheim , named after the town of Dienheim . His parents were Johann von Dienheim, born October 22, 1508, † September 30, 1570, electoral Palatinate councilor, bailiff zu Kreuznach ∞ October 5, 1529 with Ursula Cratz von Scharffenstein , † 1584. Philipp Cratz von Scharfenstein, mother's brother, trustee bailiff zu Koblenz , as well as a local bailiff zu Trarbach and Kastellaun , was married to Anna von Schönenberg, sister of the Worms and Trier bishops Georg von Schönenberg and Johann VII. von Schönenberg .

The Mainz cathedral dean and provost Adolph Hund von Saulheim († 1668) was his great-nephew.

Life

Ascent to the cathedral chapter of Speyer

On July 29, 1553, Eberhard von Dienheim was accepted as domicellar in the cathedral chapter of Speyer and studied in Mainz , Heidelberg , Cologne , Freiburg im Breisgau and Dole . When he was a student in Cologne it was said that he had no preceptor and was a bit “stupid and weak”. And when he was about to travel back from Dole to the Chapter, he couldn't leave because the money carrier was robbed and the student couldn't pay his debts.

On April 28, 1561 he was admitted to the cathedral chapter and participated in the work of the chapter. Bishop Marquard von Hattstein endowed him with the rich benefice of cathedral singer in 1561 . Eberhard von Dienheim was also the cathedral scholaster in Worms and provost at the subsidiary St. German in Speyer . The cathedral chapter elected him on November 20, 1581 as the successor of the late Bishop Marquard von Hattstein and praised his bravery, his honorable conduct, his good morals, his reason and skill in a letter to the emperor. Delayed by the outbreak of an epidemic and the Cologne War , Eberhard von Dienheim was only ordained Bishop of Speyer in the castle church of Udenheim on January 1, 1584 by the Mainz auxiliary bishop Stephan Weber.

Church man and sovereign

In the electoral capitulations , Eberhard von Dienheim had to undertake to receive episcopal consecration after papal confirmation and, if possible, to administer the episcopal office himself, to visit the parishes or have them visited by the provosts, to ensure that clergy and lay people be instructed and well directed in Catholic doctrine and discipline. Without the approval of the cathedral chapter, he was not allowed to accept a new mendicant order in the city and only employ Catholic councilors and chancellors, and not even start building a new palace. This outlined the catalog of tasks for his term of office.

Vicar General Beatus Moses visited the rural parishes 1583–1588. The visitation protocols of the regional chapters Hambach and Weißenburg have been preserved and give a sad picture of the pastor's situation. They wore doublets and trousers, had wives and children and, in addition to their essential farm work, provided the community with the necessary religious services and sacraments with poor training. The entire tradition had suffered under the effects of the Reformation , and the anointing of the sick was "completely gone". The cathedral chapter and the bishop endeavored to take reform measures for the clergy: after the regional synod, there should no longer be any purchase of offices and unauthorized representatives in service according to the new deanery of 1588. Some pastors who lived in cohabitation were replaced by alumni of the cathedral chapter who had studied with the Jesuits . Bishop Eberhard had a new breviary printed at his own expense for the pastors' daily prayer, the wearing of the gown was prescribed and confession was reinforced. In 1599 he published a hymn book that contained the song Es ist ein Ros sprung for the first time . For Christian doctrine, Bishop Eberhard had the catechism of Petrus Canisius printed and distributed at his expense. The establishment of a separate episcopal seminary for the next generation of priests, however, did not take place due to financial difficulties. The reform measures for the improvement of the clergy and for the religious renewal of the people were varied and yet limited. The radical Reformation Anabaptists active in the diocese were not fought with the death penalty using imperial law (i.e. the Anabaptist mandate ) , but were driven from their homeland if they refused to revoke their Anabaptist-Reformation views - with the loss of their economic assets. The witchcraft but was still in the Palatinate and in many communities of the high pin at home.

Eberhard von Dienheim supported and promoted the reform that was being developed around the cathedral dean Andreas von Oberstein on the one hand and endangered it through its mismanagement on the other. He had entered the bishopric, whose annual income amounted to 15,000 fl ( guilders ), debt-free, in 1606 it had 126,000 fl (guilders) debt. Towns and villages had to be mortgaged and the bishop was assigned a coadjutor . On May 29, 1609, the cathedral chapter elected the cousin of the sick Eberhard von Dienheim, Philipp Christoph von Sötern, as coadjutor with the right to succeed the bishop instead of cathedral dean Adolph Wolff von Metternich . He lent the bishopric the necessary money for the trip to Rome for his confirmation, because no other donor could be found. Duke Maximilian of Bavaria called the von Sötern, who was rich in benefices and represented the interests of the Electorate of Mainz , the "undershirt of the Elector".

death

He died on October 9, 1610. His heart was buried in Udenheim, his body was handed over to the Speyer Cathedral .

coat of arms

The prince-bishop's coat of arms is usually quartered . The fields of the coat of arms alternate with the family coat of arms of the von Dienheim family, an upright, crowned lion in silver on red. In the opposite field is the coat of arms of the prince provosty of Weißenburg. The remaining two fields are occupied by the coat of arms of the diocese of Speyer, a silver cross on a blue background.

literature

• Ludwig Stamer: Church history of the Palatinate, III. Part. 1st half The Age of Reform (1556–1685) ; Speyer 1955; Pp. 87-170.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Johann Octavian Salver : Samples of the high German empire nobility , Würzburg, 1775, p. 534; (Digital scan with family tree)
2. ↑ Hans Ammerich : The Speyer diocese and its history , Volume 3: From the Reformation to the end of the old diocese ; Kehl am Rhein 1999; ISBN 3-927095-49-4 ; P. 12.

Web links

Commons : Eberhard von Dienheim  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry about Eberhard von Dienheim on catholic-hierarchy.org

predecessor	Office	successor
Marquard von Hattstein	Prince-Bishop of Speyer and Prince Provost of Weißenburg 1581–1610	Philipp Christoph von Sötern