Ferdinand Walter (theologian)

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Carl Ferdinand Maximilian Anton Walter (born September 30, 1801 in the pastorate Wolmar , Livonia Gouvernement , Russian Empire ; † June 29, 1869 in the Pernigel pastorate , Livonia governorate), was a Baltic German Evangelical Lutheran theologian who served as a pastor in Neuermühlen and Wolmar as well worked as general superintendent of Livonia .

Family and private

Ferdinand Walter came from a middle-class Riga family from which numerous doctors, educators and theologians emerged. He was the son of Hermann Johann Walter, district physician in Wolmar, and his wife Marie Elisabeth, born. Walter. The theologian Julius Piers Ernst Hermann Walter was his brother. The philosopher Julius Guido Wilhelm Hermann Walter was his son.

On May 11, 1832, Walter married Catharina Fowelin in Wolmar.

education and profession

Initially taught by one of his sisters in his parents' household, Ferdinand Walter later attended the public school in Wolmar and the grammar school in Dorpat . In 1819 he began studying theology at the University of Dorpat and continued it at the Abo Academy. There he received his doctorate in 1823 at the philosophical faculty . The following year he passed his exams at the consistory in Riga .

After several years of experience as a private tutor, Walter enrolled at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Berlin in 1827 . He stayed there until 1828 and attended lectures by Schleiermacher , Hegel and Neander .

In 1829 Walter was given the parish office in Neuermühlen. When the parish in Wolmar became vacant in 1833, however, he moved to his hometown. Walter, who worked for education all his life, succeeded in founding a teachers' college in Wolmar in 1839 . He held the parish office there until 1855.

In addition to his work as a parish pastor, he represented the interests of the Evangelical Lutheran Church towards the Russian Orthodox rule of the Empire from 1842 to 1848 as a member of the Evangelical Lutheran General Consistory . In this capacity he succeeded in preventing the planned conversion of the theological faculty of the University of Dorpat into a seminary . His work for the Consistory General ended when he had to defend himself in a court case against the accusation that he had insulted the Russian Orthodox Church in a sermon and was unable to face the upcoming re-election. The process ended with Walter's rehabilitation.

Walter was elected General Superintendent of Livonia in 1855 and confirmed in his office by Emperor Alexander II . Four years later he was appointed Evangelical Lutheran Bishop .

In his sermon at the opening of the state parliament on March 9, 1864, he advocated the Germanization of Estonians and Latvians . The Russian press accused him of separatist tendencies and attacked him violently. As a result, Walter was forced to resign as general superintendent. He spent his retirement in Dorpat.

literature

  • Arend Buchholtz : Walter, Ferdinand . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Historical commission at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Volume 41: Walram - Werdmüller . Verlag von Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig 1896, pp. 19-22 ( digitized version ).
  • Christian August Carl Döbner: Bishop Dr. Ferdinand Walter, Superintendent General of Livonia. A brief outline of his life and work . J. Bacmeister published by (Baerecke'sche Hofbuchhandlung), Eisenach 1871. Digitized
  • Heinrich Thimme: Church and national question in Livonia during the first half of the 19th century. The pastor and general superintendent Ferdinand Walter and his time . Ost-Europa-Verlag, Königsberg (Pr.) 1938. Digitized
  • Julius Eckardt : Russian and Baltic character images from history and literature . Volume 2. Verlag von Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig 1876, p. 479 ff.
  • Julius Walter : Bishop Dr. Ferdinand Walter because. Superintendent General of Livonia. His state sermons and his curriculum vitae. According to letters and records . Duncker and Humblot publishing house, Leipzig 1891. Digitized

Portraits

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Arend Buchholtz: Walter, Ferdinand . In: Historical commission at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie . tape 41 , Walram - Werdmüller. Publisher von Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig 1896, p. 19th ff .
  2. ^ Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Walter, Carl Ferdinand * Maximilian Anton. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
personal data
SURNAME Walter, Ferdinand
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Walter, Carl Ferdinand Maximilian Anton (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Baltic German Evangelical Lutheran theologian
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1801
PLACE OF BIRTH Pastorate Wolmar , Livonia Governorate , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 1869
Place of death Pastorate Pernigel , Livonia Governorate