Georg Daniel Teutsch

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Georg Daniel Teutsch

Georg Daniel Teutsch (born December 12, 1817 in Schäßburg , † July 2, 1893 in Sibiu ) was a Transylvanian clergyman, teacher, theologian, historian and politician. He was Bishop of the Evangelical Church AB from 1867 to 1893

Life

Teutsch was the second of four children of soap boiler Martin Benjamin Teutsch and his wife Maria Katharina born. Born white. The family lived in Schäßburg's Baiergasse. He attended elementary school and the mountain school Schäßburg , where he passed the Matura on August 1, 1837 as an excellent student . He then studied history and Protestant theology at the University of Vienna from the fall of 1837, and continued one year later at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin . Since the father suddenly died, Teutsch had to interrupt his studies after four semesters for financial reasons. He returned to Schäßburg and earned his living as a tutor for the Hungarian noble family Magyay in Karlsburg and Baksay in Falkendorf . He used the access to the Karlsburger Library (founded by the Catholic Bishop Ignác Batthyány ) and the Brukenthal Library in Sibiu, both rich in manuscripts and books on the history of Transylvania . The Brukenthal library became Teutsch's study, where he continued his studies as an autodidact . Returned to Schäßburg in 1842, he completed his studies on 3rd – 4th January 1843 with a dissertation in history, pedagogy and theology, then he became a teacher at the Bergschule Schäßburg, vice-principal in 1845 and rector from 1850 to 1863. In 1863 Georg Daniel Teutsch changed from teaching to pastoral office and was first pastor of the evangelical community of Agnetheln . On September 19, 1867 he was elected Bishop of the Evangelical Church AB in Transylvania . He remained in this office until his death.

Georg Daniel Teutsch married Charlotte Berwerth in 1845, with whom he had a son and who died a year later. The second marriage to sister-in-law Johanna Wilhelmine Berwerth had nine children. One of his sons, Friedrich Teutsch , was also Bishop of Saxony from 1903 to 1932.

Sphere of activity

Teutsch's statue in Sibiu ( Adolf von Donndorf )

Teutsch's work in teaching, theology and politics was aimed at preserving the cultural, economic and territorial autonomy of the Transylvanian Saxons.

Teaching position

His first job, that of teacher, was at the Schäßburger Bergschule for 21 years, including 13 years as director / rector of the school (1842–1863). During his teaching post he reformed and developed the school system of the mountain school, which achieved national fame. In this school teachers and pastors were trained. The school time of the seminar was extended from 2 to 3 years. The organizational draft of the school reform , which remained in force until 1883, was approved by him and later brought into a final version on behalf of the senior consistory. He standardized the elementary school, grammar school and seminar instruction nationwide, whereby both the classical-humanistic instruction as well as the real subjects were considered equally. Later, as pastor and even more as bishop, he was to remain loyal to this first profession; After taking office in Agnetheln, he promoted the construction of a new school (which today bears his name) and worked for the expansion and legal regulation of teaching at elementary schools . The Hungarian School Act, enacted in 1879, which ordered the introduction of the Hungarian language in German-Protestant schools, aroused the special attention of Georg Daniel Teutsch and his colleagues. The unanimous protest was based on the fact that the majority of elementary school students never had an opportunity to use the language. There were concerns that this measure would encourage Magyarization . Towards the end of his life, the Hermannstadt Teachers' College was brought into being under his leadership. The progress of agriculture was a major concern of his life . The revolution of 1848/1849 in the Austrian Empire also belonged to the period as a teacher . He was captain of the Schäßburg vigilante group , which together with the imperial-royal army won the civil war against the ku landwehr led by Josef Bem .

theology

After taking up his office as pastor, he worked for the implementation of the new church ordinance , which he had a decisive influence on in 1861. The bishopric was moved back to Sibiu after his election as Bishop of Biertan . In accordance with the new church constitution, Teutsch subsequently promoted cooperation between the clergy and the secular. The people's church was completed and strengthened under his leadership as bishop. The visitations he carried out from 1870 to 1884 also contributed to this. He managed all the municipalities of the state church should visit except one, who in Kleinalisch, because of typhoid was locked. The reports that he made to the national consistory about its implementation reflected the state of the Church and the people at that time. They are a first-order historical document. The result of this visitation is not uniform; his reports on the different church districts reflect an extremely colorful and varied picture and illuminate all areas of the respective parish visited .

He could not prevent the fact that, in the course of the national movement among the peoples of Transylvania, the Magyar-Lutheran congregations, which had belonged to the Saxon church since ancient times, no longer felt at home in it and demanded their affiliation to the Lutheran-Magyar church of the Tisza district . Between 1876 and 1886, 16 Magyar-speaking Lutheran parishes were separated from the German-speaking Lutheran Church, ten of them from the Kronstadt church district.

As a theologian he endeavored to preserve what he believed to be the most noble of goods for the nation , faith in the gospel and in it freedom of the spirit, pure doctrine in the sense of the Lutheran creed . For him it was clear that law, administration and court alone could not justify the deeper values ​​of the community.

One can determine the influence of the theologians of mediation , of mediation between eternal and temporal goods between the individual Protestant churches, of mediation between Christian faith and the cultural creations of the human spirit. This also met his liberal views , because in terms of canon law , the constitution , for which he had still advocated in his time as a secular, was adopted in its structure from a German Union Church. He called himself a rationalist . As such, in his dissertation on January 3 and 4, 1843, in the theological thesis, he had denied the Confessional Scriptures the property of being a norm of faith, and thus denied the existence of the devil. This was also the reason why he was later unable to understand the restorative movement of Catholicism and why he also rejected the restorative-denominational efforts in the Protestant churches.

His preaching activity shows how he understood the role of pastor and publisher; In his sermons he liked to speak of the development towards a higher goal into which the individual should place himself through his striving for a higher morality . He noticed that the reformers had opened the way to research , so that man would be able to foresee the development of his time in order to bring the sensual to free obedience under the moral in his work .

His preaching was mainly morally shaped; he spoke of the fatherly love of God who accepts the repentant child again. In addition, there was the emphasis on community, at a time when the isolation within the community was becoming more and more noticeable. His unbroken belief in providence, which has proven to be strong in his personal life and the fate of his own people, in his optimistic worldview contains few scruples and doubts as to whether his path would have been right.

For him, as a former teacher, right education , the old worldview and view of life counted first and foremost, so that faith could go hand in hand with them and not with “barbarism”. It is understandable, therefore, that he was a believer in historical theology. From the point of view of history, he sought to gain access to the tradition of Jesus and to understand the path of Christianity through history. For him the gospel was a historical greatness with an eternal content, a supreme divine spirit that worked in all directions of human development . Let it be Jesus who would stand for us with his warm heart. He was of the opinion that the Christianity of Christ confronts us in the New Testament and that his writings would bring us development to spiritual maturity.

Towards the end of his work his knowledge of the communion of life between the believer and the Savior came to the fore, because man, as “a breath of the divine spirit” , is destined to be children of God and to love brothers . He saw the historical development of mankind as a way that transforms earthly existence to the beginning of the kingdom of God , where the commandments of God, which call to love God and neighbor , are fulfilled. Because this happened in the church, which represents the earthly realization of the kingdom of God, he saw his life's work in the formation of this, the people's church , and left it as an inheritance for later generations.

As a bishop, too, he received many honors. From 1870 he was a board member of the Transylvanian Regional Studies Association , member of the central board of the Gustav Adolf Foundation from 1882, honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Law at the University of Berlin , and in 1884 he was made an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy in Jena . The invitation to the inauguration of the Castle Church of Wittenberg in October 1892 was a special honor for him .

politics

At the time when the "storm breath of Vormärz " is also noticeable in Transylvania from the west, the young Teutsch becomes a high school teacher in Schäßburg. His basic attitude is determined by the desire for freedom and progress, combined with a great love for the Saxon people. As a zealous employee of the "Wochenblatt" published in Kronstadt, he advocates innovations in the administration, the publicity of negotiations and free elections. On May 30, 1848 we find Teutsch in the Transylvanian state parliament in Cluj among the Saxon MPs who, moved by the momentum of the Hungarian revolution, vote in confidence in the promises made to the Saxons for the union of Transylvania with Hungary. When it subsequently became apparent that the majority of the predominantly conservative Saxons rejected this decision and the Hungarian Reichstag in Pest did not want to hear about promises, it was deeply disappointed and was forced to change the direction of its actions. Saxon vigilante groups were founded to oppose the revolutionary army. Teutsch becomes captain of the Schäßburg militia, which, however, is not used at all in the later battle of Schäßburg. After the suppression of the revolution there is only a temporary calm, then the contrasts break out again. Out of love for the Saxon people, Teutsch is now a resolute opponent of the union with Hungary, but he retains his progressive and liberal attitude. As pastor of Agnetheln, he becomes a member of the Schenker constituency in the state parliament in Sibiu (1863/4) and also represents the Saxon point of view in the Reichsrat in Vienna (1864/5), where he gains insight into some of the political backgrounds. As a result, the political events mean that the union is implemented and the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy is founded. At this point one could speak of another big disappointment, but Teutsch does not let that irritate him. He recognizes the given situation and, even under the new circumstances, resolutely advocates the rights of his people and his church. He becomes a Saxon member of the Hungarian parliament (1866/8) and is present at the royal coronation in Pest in 1867. In the same year he was elected bishop and as such was a member of the magnate house until the end of his life. The more than 25 years of his service as bishop are politically a time of tough struggle. Although the law stated the autonomy of church and school life, this was repeatedly called into question by the nationalist tendencies of the new government in Budapest. The heaviest blow was the so-called “shattering of the king's floor” in 1876, that is, the dissolution of the historical group rights of the Transylvanian Saxons. Teutsch tirelessly stood up for this, as a historian he had the tools and his strong sense of duty commanded him to stand up for the rights of his church and its members in accordance with his oath of office. He visited the highest government agencies no fewer than 32 times to express his concerns personally and was not discouraged when he achieved little or nothing. His clear argumentation and his strong personality earned him respect and so he was able to push through the possible in small steps. This included the existence of the German school system, which was subordinate to the Protestant Church and which was the most important pillar of the German population. Teutsch's personality also ensured that the church, which was tightly organized by him, was viewed by the people and also by the government as the representative of the Saxon group interests after the dissolution of the "royal soil".

History

Even as a student at the Schäßburg grammar school, Teutsch showed a particular interest in patriotic history and found inspiration not only from his teachers, but also in a printed booklet by the Hermannstadt grammar school teacher and researcher Johann Karl Schuller. During his studies in Berlin he heard the history of the Middle Ages and modern times from the famous historian Leopold Ranke. After his homecoming he continued his studies and wrote in a booklet “Notes on a history of the Saxons in Transylvania” (1839). As a private tutor in Karlsburg, he took the opportunity to study in the rich Batthyan library. In 1842 he took part in the first general assembly of the Society for Transylvanian Cultural Studies, which he supported with numerous contributions and of which he was director from 1869. In 1844 he wrote an “Outline of the History of Transylvania” and in 1846 he began the broadly based “History of the Transylvanian Saxons for the Saxon People” based on source studies, which appeared in print from 1852 to 1858 in ongoing issues. This work ended in the 17th century. It could not be continued because Teutsch was fully occupied with his church and political tasks in the following years, but it was already known to the Saxon people as the history of Saxony during his lifetime. Later his son completed the work.

Despite the multiple tasks and stresses to which Teutsch was exposed, the real historian stayed awake in him throughout his life. As early as 1862, while still rector of the grammar school in Schäßburg, he had published the first volume of the document book of the Evangelical Church AB in Transylvania, which contains a collection of documents from the 16th and 17th centuries. Around 20 years later, on the occasion of the Luther year 1883, he published “The Synodal Negotiations of the Evangelical Church AB in Transylvania in the Reformation Century” as the second volume of the document book. In the course of his life, 87 works and larger studies appeared in print, along with countless smaller contributions. The numerous portraits of Transylvanian personalities, which make a living contribution to the history and cultural history of Transylvania, also have a special quality. Time and again, Teutsch used his comprehensive historical studies to serve current debates. In questions of the reorganization of the church or the legal status of the Saxons, he was able to fall back on historical experiences and arguments again and again. Teutsch's work as a historian was perceived far beyond the borders of his homeland.

Descendants

The cellist Götz Teutsch is a great-grandson.

Honors

literature

  • Friedrich Teutsch: Georg Daniel Teutsch-story of his life. W.Krafft Verlag, Sibiu 1909
  • Friedrich Teutsch: History of the Transylvanian Saxons: For the Saxon people. IV volume (1868-1919). W.Krafft Verlag, Sibiu 1926
  • Ludwig Binder, Josef Scheerer: The bishops of the Evangelical Church AB in Transylvania II - part. The bishops of the years 1867–1969. Böhlauverlag, Cologne-Vienna 1980
  • Monica Vlaicu, Thomas Nägler: Letters to Georg Daniel Teutsch. Böhlau-Verlag, Cologne-Vienna, 1994, ISBN 3412108936 , ISBN 9783412108939
  • Friedrich Teutsch :  Teutsch, Georg Daniel . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 37, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1894, pp. 618-628.
  • Erich Wenneker :  Teutsch, Georg Daniel. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 11, Bautz, Herzberg 1996, ISBN 3-88309-064-6 , Sp. 733-736.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Friedrich Teutsch: Speech on D. Georg Daniel Teutsch. W. Krafft Verlag, Sibiu 1894
  • GA Schuller: Our Bishop D. Georg Daniel Teutsch, on the hundredth anniversary of his birthday. E. Dück Verlag, Hermannstadt 1918
  • Franz Herfurth: DG Teutsch. Speech given on December 12, 1893 in the hall of the Honterus High School in Kronstadt. W. Krafft Verlag, Sibiu 1894
  • Ulrich A. Vienna: Georg Daniel Teutsch - founding father of the Transylvanian Saxons . Siebenbürgische Zeitung (Kulturspiegel) of December 5, 2017, p. 5.

Web links

Commons : Georg Daniel Teutsch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Georg Daniel Teutsch  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "He clearly left the stamp of his spirit on the church" 200 years since the birth of Georg Daniel Teutsch , accessed on April 28, 2019
  2. ↑ Georg Daniel Teutsch in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
  3. ↑ see Schillerhaus (Leipzig)
  4. ^ Karl Adolf Cornelius: Georg Daniel Teutsch (obituary) . In: Session reports of the philosophical-philological and historical classes of the KB Academy of Sciences in Munich . Year 1894, p. 160 ( online [PDF; accessed April 27, 2017]).
personal data
SURNAME Teutsch, Georg Daniel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Transylvanian clergyman, teacher, theologian, historian and politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 12, 1817
PLACE OF BIRTH Schäßburg
DATE OF DEATH July 2, 1893
Place of death Sibiu