Gerhard Feige

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Bishop Gerhard Feige
Episcopal coat of arms

Gerhard Feige (born November 19, 1951 in Halle (Saale) ) is a Roman Catholic Bishop of Magdeburg .

Life

After graduating from high school, Gerhard Feige studied Catholic theology in Erfurt at the August Hermann Francke School in Halle . On April 1, 1978 he received in Magdeburg by Bishop John Brown , the ordination .

As vicar he worked in Salzwedel and Magdeburg . He then worked from 1982 on the Philosophical and Theological Studies - today the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Erfurt - as an assistant. After his promotion to the doctorate in theology in 1988 and a year-long study trip to Rome he was a lecturer in Early Church History , Patrology . And ecumenical theology in Erfurt In 1994 he was appointed Professor of Ancient Church History, Patrology and Eastern Church Studies .

On July 19, 1999, Pope John Paul II named Gerhard Feige auxiliary bishop in Magdeburg and titular bishop of Tisedi . Gerhard Feige received his episcopal ordination on September 11, 1999 from Bishop Leo Nowak in the Magdeburg Cathedral of St. Sebastian . As co-consecrators thereby assisted the bishops Joachim Wanke of Erfurt and Paul-Werner Scheele from Würzburg . His motto is: Vigilate et orate (“Watch and pray”) and comes from the Gospel of Matthew ( Mt 26.41  EU ).

After the resignation of Magdeburg Bishop Leo Nowak for reasons of age was accepted by the Pope on March 17, 2004, the Magdeburg cathedral chapter elected Feige as diocesan administrator for the period of the Sedis vacancy .

On February 23, 2005, Pope John Paul II appointed him successor to Leo Nowak as diocesan bishop . The inauguration took place on April 16, 2005 in his Episcopal Church of St. Sebastian in Magdeburg by the Apostolic Nuncio , Archbishop Erwin Josef Ender , and the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Paderborn , Archbishop Hans-Josef Becker .

A special concern of the bishop is ecumenism and especially the relationship to Orthodoxy with a strong personal interest in the United Churches . As early as 1983 he was given permission to celebrate services in the Byzantine rite (see biritualism ). Since 1993 he has been a member of the Joint Commission of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Germany and the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. Even when he was a professor, regular seminar trips with students took him to Lemberg (Lviv) in Ukraine . See also Cardinal Ljubomyr Husar , Major Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church united with Rome .

In 1992 the German Bishops' Conference appointed Feige its delegate to the Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany . In addition, Bishop Feige is a member of the Ecumenical Theological Working Group in East Germany. Feige has been the new chairman of the Ecumenical Commission of the German Bishops' Conference since September 2012 . He succeeds Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who has been appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and was confirmed in his office at the autumn plenary assembly of the 2016 Bishops' Conference.

On July 22, 2014, he was appointed by Pope Francis to be a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity .

Viewpoints

In February 2014 Feige stood in solidarity behind the statements of Bishop Stephan Ackermann from the Diocese of Trier and also called for a reform of the doctrine of sexual morality . It is "finally time to face the unvarnished reality openly and to wrestle sensitively and fairly for responsible and life-serving solutions in the spirit of Jesus Christ". Responsible homosexuality should not be classified by the church as unnatural, the bishop said. In February 2019, Feige stated that he thought married priests were conceivable and that the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church was possible.

Web links

Commons : Gerhard Feige  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ German Bishops' Conference: Press release of September 20, 2016 - No. 175
  2. ↑ Nomine nel Pontificio Consiglio per la Promozione dell'Unità dei Cristiani , in: Press Office of the Holy See, Daily Bulletin of July 22, 2014.
  3. ^ Domradio: Bishop Feige criticizes the debate on Ackermann statements
  4. ↑ Katholisch.de: Bishop Feige: Priestly ordination for women will come
predecessor Office successor
Leo Nowak Bishop of Magdeburg
since 2005 		---
personal data
SURNAME Feige, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German clergyman, Roman Catholic bishop of Magdeburg
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Hall