Erwin Gross (clergyman, 1870)

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Erwin Gross (born September 24, 1870 in Riga , Livonia Governorate , Russian Empire ; † February 10 (?) 1920 in Velikije Luki , Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic ), actually Johann Erwin Gross , also written Erwin Johann Gross , Latvian Ervins Johans Gross , was a German-Baltic clergyman. He is considered an evangelical confessor and is recorded on the Riga martyr's stone.

The dates in this article are based on the Julian calendar for the period up to 1918 unless otherwise noted .

Life

Youth and education

Erwin Gross was a son of the senior teacher Dr. phil. Robert Gross (born March 22, 1832, † 1902). He was baptized in the Riga Petri Church.

From 1877 to 1880 he went to the Frommsche elementary school and from 1880 to 1888 to the Riga city high school, which he graduated with the Abitur. From 1888 to 1893 he studied theology. On March 6, 1892 he joined the Dorpat Theological Association. He was a member of the Fraternitas Rigensis . He completed his studies as a candidate.

On October 8, 1893, after a corresponding examination, he was sworn in before the Livonian consistory. From 1894 to 1895 he spent his probationary year with Pastor Pohrt in Rodenpois in Livonia.

On September 24, 1895 he was ordained in Riga by General Superintendent Friedrich Hollmann . He then served as pastor vicar in Lennewarden in Livonia from 1895 to 1896 and as pastor adjunct in Roop in Livonia from September to October 1896 .

Pastor of Katlekaln and Olai

After he was appointed by the Riga City Goods Administration, which acted as patron , Erwin Gross was appointed pastor of the rural community of Katlekaln and Olai very close to Riga on December 6, 1898 by Provost Gaehtgens . Pastors Walter and Schröder assisted the provost. The city of Riga was represented by the city chief colleague and church mayor von Boetticher and other members of the city property administration. Afterwards there was a meal together. With Gross' inauguration all previous vacancies in the pastorship were eliminated.

In December 1898, Erwin Gross married Marie Kügler, a daughter of Paul Kügler.

On Sunday August 8th July / August 20, 1899 greg. at 10 o'clock, he organized a Bible festival in the Katlekaln Church, with Wilhelm Taurit supporting him.

In 1901 Erwin Gross got into a conflict about Adolf von Harnack's essence of Christianity , which he saw in contradiction to the usual Lutheran teaching and which he regarded as scientifically imprecise. Von Harnack restricts the power of Christ to his importance as a founder and example of religion, his incarnation, the forgiveness of sins through his vicarious death on the cross, his resurrection, his ascension, his omnipresence, his effective presence until the end of time and the power of the Holy Spirit reject von Harnack from.

Gross criticized a book review of Wilhelm Walther's book, Adolf Harnack's Essence of Christianity for the Christian Congregation , because this review would place this critical discussion of Walther with von Harnack in a too unfavorable light. He accused Magister E. von Schrenck, the author of the review, of prejudice for von Harnack and omissions. Von Schrenck called von Harnack the greater scholar and thereby manipulated the reader.

Von Schrenck commented on this by pointing out that the question could not be discussed in a daily newspaper in the detail desired by Gross. One should not judge like a defense lawyer or a prosecutor, but like a judge.

During the holiday season, Erwin Gross held church services on the beach in Bilderlingshof , once in German and once in Latvian on the same Sunday.

On August 20, 1903, his son Walter Robert Gross , who later became known as a paleontologist , was born in Katlekaln .

Erwin Gross raised money for the renovation of the church of St. Olai. Donors were members of his community, himself and, to a large extent, the city of Riga, which acted as the church's patroness. Just in time for the celebration of its 150th anniversary on Sunday, September 20, 1903, the church was reopened for services after a six-month break. Gross gave an altar speech on Ps 84: 1, 11 in the first Latvian service. (See Ps 84 : 1-11  LUT .) This was followed by the German service, in which he preached about 1 Cor 3 : 11-13  LUT . After the sermon he shared the history of the Church. (The actual anniversary was on July 25.)

Biblical anthology

In 1904 Erwin Gross wrote a book with biblical texts selected by him about God and the human soul (see chapter “Works”). His intention was to show that the human soul has been searching for God since ancient times. This is how the almost complete inclusion of the book of Job in the selection is justified , in which this becomes clearest. He also selected scriptures related to God's approach to this quest and the divine gift of knowledge of God, from the prophets to Christ as the center of that knowledge. Gross used Martin Luther's translation . The texts from the Psalms, the books of the prophets and Job were printed in stanzas .

Russian Revolution 1905

Erwin Gross vigorously opposed the 1905 Russian Revolution with its atheistic and anti-clerical excesses. There were numerous threats against him that he ignored. He remained cool and calm, but the situation was very troubling for him. Under this impression, at the 71st Livonian Provincial Synod in August 1905, he asked what means the pastors should use to fight the socialist-anarchist movement. On Wednesday, August 24th, he gave a lecture on the socialist movement in this context and named the means that he thought should be used. He took the view that the movement was triggered by national aspirations, which was confirmed by other synodals in the subsequent discussion. Sermons, the press and tracts were mentioned as means of control. The question was forwarded to the Explosive Synods.

At the 72nd Synod in August 1906, Gross' question was discussed in detail. The reading of the Sprengelsvota showed that the means of preaching the Gospel, first mentioned by Gross, met with unanimous approval.

Pastor in Roop

From October 1907 Erwin Gross served as the successor to Pastor Peter Rosenberg in Roop, which was remote in the middle of the rural area. At first the community mistrusted him because he was of German-Baltic descent. He countered this with his conscientious work. In fact, the church increasingly embraced him. He devoted his free time to theology, in particular he studied social problems.

On December 26, 1907, he gave a speech at the social evening of the Roop Society, which met with some applause.

In addition to his clerical work, Erwin Gross, as well as pastor Karl Schilling , murdered in 1905, was provost Ludwig Zimmermann , murdered in 1906, clergymen Hans Bielenstein , Alexander Bernewitz , Xaver Marnitz , Arnold von Rutkowski , Christoph Strautmann , Karl Schlau , Eberhard , who were executed by Bolsheviks in 1919 Savary , Eugen Scheuermann and Wilhelm Gilbert and, like Pastor Gustav Cleemann , who died as a result of his imprisonment with the Bolsheviks, a full member of the Latvian Literary Society , which was dedicated to the study of the Latvian language, folklore and culture. Gross was elected the Livonian director of the company. The society was mainly supported by German-Baltic pastors and intellectuals. For the Latvians themselves, a higher education was hardly accessible at the time of the imperial Russian rule, their culture led a shadowy existence.

In February 1914, a correspondent for two Latvian newspapers claimed that Gross did not get up while singing the imperial anthem at a school party in Rosenbeck and was punished with six weeks of house arrest. Gross took legal action against this claim.

The difficult times began for Erwin Gross with the First World War . In 1915 he and his family were supposed to be deported to Siberia for alleged "Germanophilia". Shortly before the execution, the order was revoked. The closer the front got to Roop, the more the situation deteriorated. Gross' nerves were already attacked; he couldn't take the strain any longer. Several times he succeeded in forcing himself back to work, in the end he was supported by his diligent assistant Wilhelm Grüner . The first domination of the Bolsheviks became a captivity for Gross, from which the invasion of the German armed forces freed him.

During the Latvian War of Independence that followed, which began roughly at the same time as the withdrawal of German troops, the Bolsheviks came back to power. Erwin Gross tried to evade them by going to Riga in December 1918.

On January 3, 1919, Riga also came under the rule of the Bolsheviks. Gross then went back to his congregation and resumed his preaching office.

Imprisonment, abduction and death

Only a little later, on January 16, 1919, Erwin Gross was arrested and imprisoned in Wenden . There he initially lived under relatively tolerable prison conditions. He held devotions for his fellow prisoners and sang hymns with them. Several times he expressed his joy at what he called the valuable people he met here. He never complained about his fate. He was brought before a public tribunal. This was done because the area of ​​Wenden was dissatisfied with the death sentences passed in secret tribunal sessions. This public opinion also resulted in the pastor not receiving a death sentence, but instead being held hostage.

On May 12, he was taken to the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic, where he was to remain in protective custody. This time would be the hardest for the pastor. He had to change prison more often. During this time, in the summer of 1919, he sold his winter clothes to buy bread, as he hoped to be released soon.

In September 1919 a delegate from the Danish Red Cross named Lukyanov traveled to Moscow to inquire about a total of 43 deportees. Pastor Oskar Bidder , who was also one of the hostages, had since passed away. Gross was in Rositten at that time .

Velikiye Luki in the Pskov governorate became the final place of detention for him. The prison cell was designed for eight prisoners, in fact it was occupied by 40 people, including Gross. The floor consisted only of clay, which was constantly wet and softened and served as a place to sleep. Due to the confinement of the cell, the prisoners 'mud-smeared boots came in contact with other prisoners' bodies or faces at night. The pastor got sick with his stomach. The poor diet did not force him into bedridden only because he had received help for a certain time from parishioners who had fled to Velikiye Luki and friends from the Baltic States living in Russia who had heard of his fate.

Since he had sold his winter clothes, he was only dressed in a shirt and a summer overcoat in the winter of 1919/20. He was very cold, making the hunger even worse. His last known sign of life dates back to 1920, when he was dragged almost unconscious from the bathroom to his cell by prison soldiers who had to support him. This is how another pastor, imprisoned in the same prison but unable to meet with him, heard Gross exclaim:

"Help me!"

Back in the cell, Erwin Gross finally starved to death at the age of 50. His exact date of death is unknown. In some cases February is assumed, while the above-mentioned official brother assumed March. However, the prisoners were so sealed off from the outside world that they had lost track of time.

Fonts

swell

literature

in order of appearance

  • Oskar Schabert : Baltic Martyrs Book . Furche-Verlag, Berlin 1926, p. 186 ff. ( Digitized version ). The report is based on the notes of the son Erwin Gross and the pastor N. Ozolins.
  • Art. Gross, Erwin Joh. In: Wilhelm Neander (Ed.): Lexicon of Baltic German Theologians since 1920 . Eberlein, Hanover, 2nd edition, edited. by C. Helmut Intelmann, pp. 61-62.
  • Harald Schultze and Andreas Kurschat (editors): "Your end looks at ..." - Evangelical Martyrs of the 20th Century , Evangelical Publishing House, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02370-7 , Part II, Section Russian Empire / Baltic States , P. 532.
  • Kārlis Beldavs: Mācītāji, kas nāvē gāja , Luterisma mantojuma fonds, Riga 2010, ISBN 978-9984-753-56-0 (Latvian).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Calendar reform by the Bolsheviks on February 1st July. / February 14,  1918 greg. , Declaration of independence of Latvia on November 5th jul. / November 18,  1918 greg.
  2. ↑ a b Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Erwin Gross. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
  3. ↑ From the parishes. in the Rigaschen city sheets , no. 44, October 22, 1870, online under Groß | issueType: P
  4. ↑ Notes. in the Rigaschen city sheets , no. 50, December 16, 1893, online under Groß | issueType: P
  5. ↑ In the patrimonial area of ​​the city of Riga in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 277, December 8th, 1898, online under Groß | issueType: P
  6. ↑ From the church report of the Rigas City Provost in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 22, January 28, 1900, online under Groß | issueType: P
  7. ↑ Called up. in the Rigaschen city sheets , No. 48, December 3, 1898, online at Groß | issueType: P
  8. ↑ Locales in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 174, August 7, 1899, online at Groß Pastor | issueType: P
  9. ↑ letter to Gross's ad. Harnack's Wesen des Christianenthums in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 209, September 13, 1901, online at Groß | issueType: P
  10. ^ E. von Schrenck: Answer to the author of the brochure "Dein Reich Come!" In the Düna newspaper , No. 224, October 1, 1901, online at Groß | issueType: P
  11. ^ E. von Schrenck: Brief explanation in the matter of Walther contra Harnack. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 212, September 17, 1901, online at Groß Pastor Groß | issueType: P
  12. ↑ beach services. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 177, August 8, 1903, online at Groß Pastor Pastor | issueType: P
  13. ↑ beach services. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 159, July 16, 1904, online at Groß Pastor Pastor | issueType: P
  14. ↑ beach services. in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 146, July 8, 1905, online at Groß Pastor Pastor | issueType: P
  15. ↑ Locales in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 212, September 18, 1903, online at Groß | issueType: P
  16. ↑ Locales in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 231, October 10, 1903, online at Groß Pastor | issueType: P
  17. ^ From the Christmas book market - for adults in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 282, December 11, 1904, online at Groß | issueType: P
  18. ^ The negotiations of the Livonian Synod on the Revolutionary Movement. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 213, September 27, 1905, online under Groß | issueType: P
  19. ↑ Domestic. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 160, July 17, 1906, online at Groß Pastor | issueType: P
  20. ↑ Domestic. in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 199, August 31, 1906, online at Groß | issueType: P
  21. ^ Roop. Change of pastors in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 240, October 15, 1907, online at Groß | issueType: P
  22. ↑ From the area around Riga in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 237, October 14, 1913, online under Groß | issueType: P
  23. ↑ The Roopsche Geselligkeitsverein in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 2, January 3, 1908, online under Groß | issueType: P
  24. ↑ The Latvian Literature in 1912. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 273, December 13, 1912, online under Groß | issueType: P
  25. ↑ Wolmarscher Kreis. An outrageous story of lies in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 39, February 17, 1914, online at Groß Pastor Groß | issueType: P
  26. ↑ The fate of the Russian hostages. in the Libauschen Zeitung , No. 213, September 23, 1919, online under Groß | issueType: P
  27. ^ German-Baltic Totenlieste. in the Libauschen Zeitung , No. 136, June 18, 1920, online under Groß | issueType: P
  28. ↑ Rigasche Rundschau , No. 5, January 8, 1905, online at Groß | issueType: P
personal data
SURNAME Gross, Erwin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Groß, Johann Erwin; Gross, Erwin Johann; Gross, Ervins Johans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Evangelical-Lutheran clergyman, German-Baltic confessor
DATE OF BIRTH September 24, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Riga , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH uncertain: February 10, 1920
Place of death Velikije Luki , Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic