Frank Otfried July

Frank Otfried July, 2012

Frank Otfried July (born July 17, 1954 in Darmstadt ) is a German Protestant pastor and regional bishop of the Evangelical Church in Württemberg .

Life

After studying Protestant theology in Tübingen and Vienna (1975 to 1980), he was vicar in the parish of Betzingen from July to 1983 . He then became a scientific and theological assistant for the subject of philosophy of religion at the theological faculty of Heidelberg University . In 1987 he took over the management of the bishop's office in the Evangelical Church in Württemberg as personal advisor to the then Württemberg regional bishop Hans von Keler . In the same office he also served from Keler's successors Theo Sorg and Eberhardt Renz . From 1996 to 2005 he was the leading pastor and director of the Evangelical Diakoniewerk Schwäbisch Hall.

In the election of the bishop of the Württemberg Evangelical Regional Synod on March 10, 2005, July was elected in the first ballot for the Regional Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Württemberg. He was introduced to his new office on July 23, 2005 in the Stiftskirche Stuttgart as the successor to Gerhard Maier . As one of the last leaders of an EKD church, he will hold the office without a time limit until his retirement. One of the most important successes of his tenure in 2007 was the conclusion of a state church treaty between the state of Baden-Württemberg and his and the Baden regional churches .

In addition to his office as bishop, July has a number of other functions and honorary offices. From 2010 he was chairman of the Diaconal Council of the Diaconal Work of the EKD , which was merged into the Evangelical Work for Diaconia and Development (EWDE) in 2012 . He is still a member of its supervisory board today. He is also a member of the 40-member Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches and the Council of the Lutheran World Federation ; from 2010 to 2017 he was one of its seven vice-presidents. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the ProChrist evangelical association . July has been chairman of the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation since December 2018.

Awards

• On July 16, 2008 July was awarded the title of honorary theological doctor of the Evangelical-Theological Faculty of the Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen. This was intended to acknowledge his commitment to "ensuring the existence and quality of the theological faculties, their research and teaching, as well as his successful endeavors to combine church leadership and academic theology".
• On May 8, 2010 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg by Prime Minister Stefan Mappus .

Private

July is married to his wife Edeltraud. The couple have four children.

Publications

• with Edeltraud July: What moves us and what holds us: poems and prayers of our lives. Evangelical Society, Stuttgart 2012, ISBN 978-3-920207-71-1 (Edition Evangelisches Gemeindeblatt).
• The prayer of prayers: thoughts on the Lord's Prayer . SCM R. Brockhaus Verlag, Witten 2013, ISBN 978-3-417265385 .
• Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Sermons. Radius, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-87173-965-1 .

literature

• Hans-Joachim Eckstein , Evelina Volkmann, Gabriele Wulz (eds.): Ways of Wisdom - Perspectives on Church Leadership and Social Responsibility. Festschrift in honor of Regional Bishop Frank Otfried July. Radius-Verlag, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-87173-962-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DNK honors Bishop July as the new LWF Vice-President. EKD press release of July 30, 2010.
2. ^ Kuratorium ProChrist eV ( Memento from December 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), prochrist.org
3. ↑ Honorary doctorate for Regional Bishop Frank Otfried July , uni-protocol.de, message from July 16, 2008.

Web links

• Portrait of Frank O. July on the side of the regional church
• Frank Otfried July in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
• Episcopal reports, speeches, texts and sermons
• Interview with "Calando - Culture & Characters" , ERF Radio