Counter-bishop
A counter-bishop is a bishop who, for reasons of power politics, faced another bishop of the same diocese in the Holy Roman Empire .
Usual elections for bishops in the Holy Roman Empire
When the previous bishop of a diocese died, the cathedral chapter met to elect a new bishop. If the election was unanimous, the newly elected bishop ( Elekt ) received episcopal ordination and was confirmed by the Pope . As a secular ruler, he also needed confirmation from the king .
The appointment as bishop was not only the installation into an office, which meant enormous secular power in a prince-bishopric , but also the elevation to a spiritual head for life. The election by the cathedral chapter was therefore almost irrefutable due to its symbolic power.
The position of the counter-bishop
The position of the opposing bishop usually arose because a minority in the cathedral chapter spoke out in favor of another person and, since it was not a decision by the majority , both were ultimately chosen in a so-called schismatic election. To what extent the two competitors received the consecration and recognition by the Pope remained open at first. In addition to the question of legality about which z. B. the curia decided, it was also often a political alliance question. Became the king of a rival king over or the Pope an anti-pope or was itself the ministry of the Bishop of the Metropolitan unclear, then unsafe situations with Bishop and counter bishop within a diocese could drag on for years. The question of who actually exercised power within a prince-bishopric plays a role that should not be underestimated. It happened that one of the bishops was driven out or established himself in a part of the diocese. There were also armed conflicts.
Examples of opposing bishops
Diocese of Eichstätt
- Whale Well (1149)
- Hermann von Schillingsfürst (1232)
Diocese of Naumburg-Zeitz
- Nicholas of Luxembourg (1349-1350)
- Nikolaus von Amsdorf (1542–1546), first Lutheran bishop
Diocese of Regensburg
- Henry III. von Stein (1340–1345)
Diocese of Würzburg
- Meinhard von Bamberg (1085-1088)
- Heinrich von Leiningen (1255–1256)
- Berthold I of Henneberg (1267–1274)
- Hermann II. Hummel von Lichtenberg (1333-1335)
See also
literature
- Alfred Wendehorst : The diocese of Würzburg. Part 2: The series of bishops from 1254 to 1455. In: Max Planck Institute for History (Hrsg.): Germania Sacra . New episode 4: The dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Mainz. Berlin 1969, ISBN 978-3-11-001291-0 .
- Heinz Wießner: The Diocese of Naumburg 1 - The Diocese 2. In: Max Planck Institute for History (Hrsg.): Germania Sacra . New episode 35.2: The dioceses of the church province of Magdeburg. Berlin / New York 1998.