Franz Werner Schäfer

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Franz Werner Schäfer (born March 10, 1921 in Birsfelden , Switzerland ; † July 14, 2016 in Zurich ) was a Swiss clergyman and bishop of the United Methodist Church . From 1965 to 1989 he headed the Central Conference for Central and Southern Europe.

Life

In 1965 he was elected at an extraordinary central conference for six years to succeed Ferdinand Sigg, who suddenly died in office, as bishop of the Central and Southern Europe Central Conference of the Methodist Church . In 1972 he was unanimously elected bishop for life.

His first years in office were marked by the negotiations for a union between the Evangelical Community and the Methodist Church , which ended in 1968 with the establishment of the Evangelical Methodist Church. In Switzerland, this specifically meant that the Swiss Conference of the Evangelical Community was incorporated into the Geneva district. Franz Schäfer remained bishop of the united church.

In 1989 Franz Schäfer resigned for reasons of age. Heinrich Bolleter was elected as his successor .

Franz Schäfer was also involved in ecumenism . In 1972 and 1973 he took part in talks between the Methodist churches and the Roman Catholic Church.

Works

  • Confession and freedom in the church: a contribution to the self- image of the Evangelical Methodist Church in conversation with the denominational churches, 1978, ISBN 3-85628-000-6
  • Church on the Move: Bishops' Messages in a Changing World, 1989, ISBN 3-85706-256-8

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Former Methodist bishop has passed away

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schäfer, Franz Werner
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss clergyman and bishop of the United Methodist Church
DATE OF BIRTH March 10, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Birsfelden , Switzerland
DATE OF DEATH July 14, 2016
Place of death Zurich