Brother Roger

Brother Roger at the presentation of the Peace Prize of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, October 13, 1974

Brother Roger, 1991

Brother Roger Schutz ( French: frère 'brother; * May 12, 1915 in Provence , Switzerland ; † August 16, 2005 in Taizé , France ) was the founder and first prior of the ecumenical Community de Taizé .

Life

Brother Roger's real name was Roger Louis Schutz-Marsauche. He grew up in a reformed rectory. His father Karl Ulrich Schütz came from Bachs in the Zürcher Unterland , his mother Amélie Henriette Schütz-Marsauche from Burgundy . Roger was the youngest of nine siblings. His father fed Roger with a Catholic widow when he changed parish. In this way, he made it possible for him to go to a higher education that would not have been possible in his new place of residence.

As a high school student, Roger developed pulmonary tuberculosis . In his school days he described himself as a non-believer; because of his sister Lily's fatal illness, he began to pray again.

Study and first steps to start a community

He did not realize his original plan to become a writer after he was supposed to rewrite the manuscript for his first book for the publisher. Instead, he followed his father's advice and studied Protestant theology from 1936 to 1943 at the Reformed Faculty of the Universities of Lausanne and Strasbourg . He submitted his thesis under the title The monastic ideal up to Benedict (6th century) and its agreement with the gospel .

At the same time as writing it, he went looking for a house in which community life should be possible. In Frangy , Burgundy , he visited a farm that he turned down because of its proximity to the city of Geneva. He also turned down a property in Bourg-en-Bresse for the same reason. On August 20, 1940, he came to Taizé by bicycle , which at that time was home to around fifty, mostly poor, people.

Since Taizé was close to the demarcation line between the occupied north and south of France, he encountered many refugees. He hid some Jews and members of the opposition who wanted to flee from the National Socialists to the unoccupied south of France. In 1942 the Gestapo occupied the house and arrested the residents. Schutz, who had just brought a refugee to Switzerland, stayed there until Taizé was liberated in 1944. In the meantime he was able to finish his theology studies.

During this time in Geneva, a small community developed consisting of Roger Schutz and three friends, who welcomed many people into their apartment and talked about the possibility of community property. She wrote a catechism at the request of some workers with whom she had contact . In July 1944, Roger Schutz was ordained by the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Neuchâtel . The agreement was that he would not get a pastor's position, but would be responsible for missionary service outside the congregations and would not be paid by the church.

After Schutz was able to return to Taizé with his three friends in autumn 1944, he looked after war orphans, but also German prisoners of war, although the local population thought that was inappropriate at the time. There was also fatal abuse of a priest who fell victim to the anger and bitterness of war widows as a prisoner . Brother Roger described the period as "years when hatred begot nothing but hatred". The brothers also provided orphans with a home in another rented house. Roger's sister Geneviève looked after her like a mother.

Prior of Taizé

Brother Roger praying

This coexistence led to the establishment of the Taizé Community , of which Brother Roger was the first prior . On April 17, 1949, the first seven brothers from the Rogers helper made their first profession .

Brother Roger and Br. Max Thurian took part from 1962 to 1965 at the invitation of Pope John XXIII. participated as an observer in the Second Vatican Council .

On Easter 1970, Brother Roger announced a “ Council of Youth ”, the general assembly of which took place from August 28 to September 2, 1974. The “Council” made Taizé known worldwide. In 1979 the spiritual youth meeting was temporarily suspended in this form and later turned into a “pilgrimage of trust on earth”.

Ecumenism

Roger devoted himself intensely to his heart's concern, the reconciliation of Christians. Already in the first version of Taizé's rule he demanded: "Never resign yourself to the scandal of the division among Christians."

Relationship with the Catholic Church

At the exsequies of Pope John Paul II in April 2005, the then Cardinal Dean Joseph Ratzinger and later Pope Benedict XVI. Brother Roger taking communion . The gesture attracted worldwide attention, although according to canon law, communion can also be given to Christians of other denominations under certain circumstances. In an interview with the French daily La Croix in 2006, the French historian Yves Chiron claimed that Brother Roger converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1972 . The Taizé ecumenical community denied this. In the words of the prior Brother Alois, Brother Roger had received communion in St. Peter's Basilica for 25 years. The then Bishop of Autun , Armand LeBourgois , gave Brother Roger his first communion in 1972. Several witnesses from then could confirm this. "Anyone who speaks of conversion in this context does not understand Frère Roger's original approach."

The Fédération Protestante de France (Federation of Protestant and Evangelical Churches in France) and representatives of the Catholic Church made a similar statement. Brother Roger himself wrote with a view to his grandmother, who achieved an inner reconciliation with the Catholic Church: “Her testimony to life shaped me from a young age and as a result I found my identity as a Christian in it, in me the belief of my origins with the mystery to reconcile the Catholic faith without breaking with anyone. "

The ecumenical fraternity of Taizé today includes around 100 brothers from over 25 nations. These include Catholics, members of various Protestant churches and Anglicans .

death

The grave of Brother Rogers

During Vespers on August 16, 2005, four days before the 65th anniversary of his arrival in Taizé, Brother Roger was fatally wounded with a knife by a mentally ill woman in the Church of Reconciliation . The prayer continued to prevent panic. Roger died of the injuries a short time later.

At the Angelus prayer in Rome on the day after Brother Roger's death, Pope Benedict XVI said he was “deeply sad” and had received a moving letter from him on the day Rogers died, in which he wrote that he was wholeheartedly with the Pope and all participants of the World Youth Day in Cologne. For health reasons he could not come himself, but he felt in community with "all those who are now gathered in Cologne."

At the meeting with representatives of various denominations at the 2005 World Youth Day , which opened the day after Brother Roger's death, Benedict XVI paid tribute to Rogers' "spiritually lived ecumenism". The then Archbishop of Cologne, Joachim Cardinal Meisner, prayed with young guests on World Youth Day for Brother Roger. He then told reporters in front of the church that Brother Roger had not been able to come to Cologne for World Youth Day, but that he was now present like John Paul II, who had died a few months earlier.

The German brother Brother Alois was appointed as his successor as Prior of the Order . Brother Roger had chosen him eight years earlier. The Requiem was celebrated by Cardinal Walter Kasper , then President of the Papal Unity Council . Kasper praised Brother Roger as one of "the great spiritual figures" and as the spiritual father of "our time". Numerous representatives of the Christian denominations as well as government and state representatives took part. Brother Roger was buried in the cemetery next to the village church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Taizé.

The sources of Taizé

→ Main article : Communauté de Taizé # Sources of Taizé

Brother Roger's main work is the Taizé sources , which serve as a rule for the community. He worked on it again and again from 1941 on and completed it 60 years later.

Prizes and awards

In 1974 Brother Roger received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, right: Ernst Klett jr.

• April 9, 1974: Templeton Prize
• October 13, 1974: Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
• 1986: Honorary doctorate from the University of Warsaw
• September 21, 1988: UNESCO Prize for Peace Education
• May 4, 1989: Charlemagne Prize of the City of Aachen
• 1990: Honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven
• November 20, 1992: Strasbourg Robert Schuman Prize
• April 24, 1997: Notre Dame Award
• October 22, 2003: Dignitas Humana Award
• A street is named after him in Schutz's birthplace, Provence .
• In 2006 a street in Aachen was named after him.

literature

• Andreas Stökl : Taizé. History and life of the Taizé brothers. Siebenstern-Taschenbuchverlag, Hamburg 1975, ISBN 3-7970-0145-2 ; 5th edition, Gütersloher Verlagshaus Mohn, Gütersloh 1989, ISBN 3-579-03861-3 (At the same time dissertation at the theological faculty of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg 1973 under the title: The Communauté de Taizé ).
• José Luis González-Balado: Taizé - Brother Roger. Search for community. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1978, ISBN 3-451-07667-5 .
• Rex Brico: Taizé. Brother Roger and the community. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1978, ISBN 3-451-18797-3 .
• Marc Dannlowski: Taizé - Pilgrimage to Ecumenism. Logos Verlag 2004, ISBN 3-933828-98-8 .
• Kathryn Spink: Brother Roger, founder of Taizé. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2005, ISBN 3-451-28703-X .
• Christian Feldmann : Brother Roger, Taizé. Lived trust. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2005, ISBN 3-451-29103-7 .
• Regine Kuntz-Veit: Brother Roger - The goodness of the heart. Kreuz, Stuttgart, 2005, ISBN 3-7831-2742-4 .
• Michael Albus : Taizé. The simplicity of the heart. The Legacy of Brother Roger , 2006
• Yves Chiron: Brother Roger - founder of Taizé. A biography. Pustet, Regensburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7917-2200-9 (French original edition 2008 Editions Perrin, Paris).
• Beate Kolb, Werner Raupp :  Protection, Roger. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 30, Bautz, Nordhausen 2009, ISBN 978-3-88309-478-6 , Sp. 1325-1360.
• Sabine Laplane: Brother Roger. A way of trust. Neue Stadt, Oberpframmern 2010, ISBN 978-3-87996-769-8 .
• Klaus Hamburger: Thank you, Brother Roger. Personal memories of the founder of Taizé , adeo, Asslar 2015, ISBN 978-3-86334-068-1 .

Web links

Commons : Frère Roger  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

 Wikinews: Frere Roger  - on the news

• Literature by and about Brother Roger in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Brother Roger  in the German Digital Library
• Peter Aerne: Schütz [Schutz-Marsauche], Roger. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Website of the Taizé Community

Reports of death, funeral and obituaries

• Brother Roger , a contribution from Deutsche Welle
• Model for divided Christianity (article by the Evangelical Church Messenger) ( Memento from October 30, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
• Collection of press releases on the death of Brother Roger at kath.de.
• Brother Roger's funeral - photogalleries ( Memento from July 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
• Times Online Obituary

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jean-Claude Escaffit and Moiz Rasiwala: The history of Taizé Edition Taizé Herder, 2009 15
2. Jump up ↑ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé, Lived Trust, Freiburg a. a. 2005, 17.
3. Jump up ↑ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 18.
4. Jump up ↑ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 93.
5. ^ Sabine Laplane: Brother Roger, The Biography, Freiburg i. B. 2018, 152.
6. ^ ^{A b} Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 21.
7. ↑ cf. Sabine Laplane: Brother Roger, The Biography, Freiburg i. B. 2018, 111.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Taizé (ed.): Paths of trust, pictures with thoughts by Brother Roger, Taizé 2003.
9. ^ ^{A b} Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 23.
10. Jump up ↑ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 25.
11. ↑ cf. Sabine Laplane: Brother Roger, The Biography, Freiburg i. B. 2018, 154f.
12. ↑ Peter Aerne: Schütz [Schutz-Marsauche], Roger. In: Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz ., The year of ordination is given here as 1943.
13. ↑ , Jan Feddersen: The brother in the spirit. In: taz.de . August 18, 2005, accessed May 21, 2015 . 
14. ↑ "A cette époque, plus que jamais, la haine engendrait la haine" Brother Roger talking to young people during the celebration of the receipt of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, Frankfurt, 1974 (online = Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, 1974 Brother Roger. Retrieved on 21 . May 2017 .  )
15. Jump up ↑ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 26.
16. Jump up ↑ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé, Lived Trust, Freiburg a. a. 2005, 27.
17. ↑ cf. Christine Hober: Taizé . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 9 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2000, Sp. 1244 .
18. Jump up ↑ Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 38.
19. ^ Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 50.
20. ↑ cf. David Hober: Protection, Roger . In: Walter Kasper (Ed.): Lexicon for Theology and Church . 3. Edition. tape 9 . Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2000, Sp. 308 .
21. ↑ cf. Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé, Lived Trust, Freiburg a. a. 2005, 64.
22. ^ ^{A b} Brother Alois: An unprecedented step, interview with La Croix. In: taize.fr. September 6, 2006, accessed May 8, 2015 . 
23. ↑ Gill Daudé: Let's pay attention to the memory of Brother Rogers! - Taizé. In: taize.fr. September 7, 2006, accessed May 12, 2015 . 
24. ↑ Gérard Daucourt: Ecumenism is first and foremost an exchange of gifts - Taizé. In: taize.fr. April 25, 2008, accessed May 12, 2015 . 
25. ^ Communauté de Taizé (ed.): Brother Roger, Taizé, an illustrated book. Freiburg i. B. 2006, p. 16.
26. ^ The community today - Taizé. In: taize.fr. March 28, 2008, accessed May 17, 2015 . 
27. ↑ cf. Christian Feldmann: Brother Roger, Taizé - Lived Trust , Freiburg a. a. 2005, 72f.
28. ↑ ^{a b} Markus Nolte: kirchensite.de - online with the diocese of Münster: Brother Roger Schutz: The Messenger of Spring. In: kirchensite.de. May 12, 2015, accessed May 12, 2015 . 
29. ↑ Benedict XVI: “A spiritually lived ecumenism” - Taizé. In: taize.fr. August 17, 2005, accessed May 12, 2015 . 
30. ↑ See Brother Roger, de Taizé: Les écrits fondateurs, Dieu nous veut heureux, Taizé 2011, 9, 79.
31. ^ Peace Prize of the German Peace Prize 1974, Brother Roger. Retrieved May 21, 2017 .