Greifswald consistory
The Greifswald consistory was from the 16th to the 19th century, the most important spiritual Court of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Pomerania .
The historical church court should not be confused with the Evangelical Consistory Greifswald , which arose after 1945 from the consistory of the Pomeranian Province in Stettin and served the administration of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church until the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany .
history
Duchy of Pomerania
Before the introduction of the Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania , Greifswald was the seat of the General Offizial for the area of the Diocese of Cammin west of the Swine , who exercised the episcopal judicial powers and mostly belonged to the University of Greifswald . After the Treptower Landtag of 1534, it took several decades for the Protestant regional church to develop its own structures. The Pomeranian church order of 1535 did not provide a legal basis for the establishment of consistories. In 1556, a consistory was set up in Greifswald, which met as a ruling body if necessary. With the resolution of the revised church order of 1563, permanent consistories were set up in the then Pomeranian parts of the country, which were on an equal footing with the court courts , the Greifswald for the partial duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast .
The respective General Superintendent of Pomerania-Wolgast, the same time the first theological professor at the University of Greifswald and the rectory at St. Nikolai cathedral held, was Präses responsibility of the consistory and the princes over. Usually the pastors of the St. Marien Church and St. Jacobi Church , also professors in the theological faculty, were appointed consistorial assessors . Then there were the two professors of the law faculty, the first of whom was appointed director of the consistory. There are no reliable references to the earliest meeting places of the consistory. After the construction of a new main building at the instigation of Duke Ernst Ludwig , rooms were allocated to the ecclesiastical court. Weekly meetings were held in the council hall.
Swedish Pomerania
During the Thirty Years War , the administration and the judiciary in Pomerania collapsed for a time. Under pressure from the Swedish military government, which recognized Pomeranian canon law, the Greifswald consistory resumed work in 1642. It was opened together with the court court , which had moved from Wolgast to Greifswald, in the former provost's office. At times, Greifswald was intended as the seat of a “consistorium speciale”, while a “consistorium generale” was to be set up in Stettin . As early as 1649, however, the Greifswald consistory was confirmed to be responsible for all of Swedish Pomerania . The proximity to the university played a decisive role in the final decision in favor of Greifswald in 1656. As early as 1653, with the establishment of the Wismar Tribunal, an appeal body was created. In 1667, a consistorial tax office was employed by order of the Swedish government . In 1692 the jurisdiction of the consistory was extended to include the Swedish military personnel in Pomerania, for whom a field consistory was previously responsible. Swedish canon law applied to them. During the Swedish-Brandenburg War , the consistory ceased its work in 1677; It was reopened in 1679. In the main recess of 1681 the final consistorial instructions were laid down. In 1704 a royal edict made the consistory censorship authority , without whose consent no theological writings were allowed to be printed in the country. The state estates of Swedish Pomerania built a new building for the consistory and court between 1708 and 1710. This has been preserved to this day; it is located at Domstrasse 20a, modified by renovations and extensions.
Towards the end of the 18th century, the consistory lost its importance as part of the general administration of justice. In the attempt to incorporate Swedish Pomerania into the Swedish State Association after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire , the church administration was significantly interfered with and the competence of the consistory was significantly restricted. However, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars and the occupation of the country by French troops, the orders could not take effect and were finally withdrawn in 1810.
Pomeranian Province
After the transfer of Swedish Pomerania to Prussia , the Prussian Ministry of the Interior planned to transform the consistory into an administrative authority. After various negotiations, supported by the city of Greifswald, the consistory was left with restrictions. When it was repealed in 1849 due to the ordinance on the "abolition of private jurisdiction and the former place of jurisdiction", the opportunity to continue as a church administrative authority was wasted. This task was taken over by the consistory of the province of Pomerania established in Stettin in 1815 . This was moved to Greifswald after the end of the Second World War .
literature
- Norbert Buske : The old Greifswald consistory - 300 years of church jurisdiction . In: Society for Pomeranian History and Archeology (Hrsg): Baltic studies . New series, Vol. 76, NG Elwert, Marburg 1990, pp. 48-80 ( digitized version ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reinhart Berger : Legal history of the Swedish rule in Western Pomerania. Konrad Triltsch, Würzburg 1936, p. 33