Gerhard Omcke

Gerhard Omcke , also: Gerd (t) , Omeken, Oehmeke, Oemeke, Oemiken, Omcken, Omich, Omichius, Omke (* around 1500 in Kamen ; † March 25, 1562 in Güstrow ) was a Protestant theologian and reformer.

Life

He was the son of the judge Gerlach Omeken, who was very much appreciated by the Duke of Kleve . When the mother remarried after the father's early death, relatives took care of the son's education and sent him to study in Cologne in 1520 , then to Rostock , where he was matriculated on May 15, 1522. As a trainee to lawyer N. Löwe, he read Martin Luther's writings .

Through Slueter he came to the knowledge of the gospel. He wanted to hear Luther himself. So he moved to Wittenberg . When his relatives disowned him because of the change of faith, two Kremer brothers from Lübeck took him on. Whenever he had no roof over his head, he could come to her house. From Wittenberg he went to Büderich , where Brictius thom Norde was his chaplain.

Expelled from Büderich for the sake of his evangelical sermon, he turned to Lippstadt, recommended by Johann Westermann . Here he held the service “na gebruke der hilligen Wittembergischen Kerken” and had it held until the Soest council decided to appoint him. The attention had fallen on him because Soest wanted church rules and he had already tried his hand at Lippstadt in this regard. The painter Heinrich Aldegrever was sent to catch up with him.

On January 1, 1532 he arrived in Soest and immediately went to work. Essentially, he leaned on Johannes Bugenhagen's church order. He led the establishment of the Protestant church system in Soest with a firm hand. The reorganization was completed in three months. In stormy negotiations, the "Ordinantz" was read out to the congregation. Omeken did not allow himself to be weakened. Since he did not give in, his view finally found recognition.

However, he was not the man who, slowly building up the church, would have wanted or could continue to lead the Church in Soest. After all, he had grown fond of Soest and the local Reformation work. From Lübeck he sent the city a warning to stay with the gospel. In the next year he was appointed to the St. Nikolaikirche in Lemgo , but was just as unyielding here, so that he had constant differences with the council and was dismissed as early as 1535.

On the recommendation of his friend Urbanus Rhegius , he was appointed superintendent in Minden that same year . Rhegius also remained loyal to him later and dedicated the sermon he had given in Minden to him in 1539: "How to recognize the false prophets, and how to grasp them". In the fighting situation he was in the right place in Minden.

He was very active here, traveling to Schmalkalden on behalf of the city in 1537 , where he signed Luther's Schmalkaldic Articles , and negotiating the Eighth Declaration on Minden with Landgrave Philip of Hesse . Because of his severity, however, he could not stay here any longer. He fell out with the council and had to leave Minden. He spent the next ten years in the service of the Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg in Dannenberg and Gifhorn before he was called to Mecklenburg in 1548 .

First he worked in Schwerin , then as provost at Güstrow Cathedral and superintendent in Güstrow. Age hadn't softened him. Here, too, he was said to be intransigent and self-confident. No one could doubt his personal integrity and his zeal for the Church. In Güstrow he campaigned for the improvement of the church and school system and participated in the visitations in the country in 1552. During this time he wrote his writings on the visitations and on Christian consolation, which were printed in Rostock in 1551. His relatives erected a large epitaph for him in the parish church in Güstrow.

literature

• Johannes Omken: The life and the death of Ern Gerard Omken, who was provost of Gustraw and superintendent of the princes of Megklenburk. Rostoks Jakob Lucius the Elder Ä. Rostock 1568.
• Karl Ernst Hermann Krause :  Omcken, Gerdt . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, p. 346 f.
• Karl Krafft, the Westphalian reformer Gerhard Oemiken on his life story. In: Journal of the Bergisches Geschichtsverein. 30, 1894, ISSN  0067-5792 , pp. 267-273.
• Emil Knodt : Gerdt Omeken. A sketch of the history of the Reformation (= Christian witnesses from and in Westphalia 1, ZDB -ID 1160708-7 ). Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1898.
• Realencyklopädie for Protestant Theology and Church . Volume 11: Donation of Constantine - Luther. 3rd improved and increased edition. Hinrichs, Leipzig 1902
• Hubertus Schwartz : History of the Reformation in Soest. Rochol, Soest 1932.
• Karl Schmaltz : Church history of Mecklenburg. Volume 2: Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Railway, Schwerin 1936, S, 66.
• Robert Stupperich : From Oemekens effectiveness in Minden. In: Yearbook of the Association for Westphalian Church History. 48, 1955, ZDB ID 516766-8 , pp. 151-159.
• Robert Stupperich: Spiritual currents and ecclesiastical disputes in Minden in the age of the Reformation. In: Hans Nordsiek (Ed.): Between the cathedral and the town hall. Contributions to the art and cultural history of the city of Minden. City of Minden, Minden 1977, pp. 207-214.
• Irmgard Wilhelm-Schaffer:  Oemeken, Gerdt. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 6, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-044-1 , Sp. 1150-1151.

Web links

• Literature about Gerdt Omeke in the state bibliography MV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See alternative place of origin "Coloniensis" - "from Cologne" with Adolph Hofmeister : The register of the University of Rostock II. (Mich. 1499 - Ost. 1611) . Rostock 1891 , see entry on Gherhardus Omeken under "In Maio"; See also the original matriculation entry University of Rostock: Matriculation of the University of Rostock: WS 1419 - SS 1760 Rostock 2010 , left column, fifth entry from the top
2. ↑ Registration of Gerhard Omcke in the Rostock matriculation portal