Hans May (theologian)

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Hans May (1994)
Hans May (1994)

Hans May (born January 29, 1931 in Osnabrück ; † August 13, 2019 in Loccum ) was a German Evangelical Lutheran theologian and director of the Evangelical Academy Loccum from 1978 to 1994 .

Life

Hans May studied theology, philosophy and education in Münster , Basel , Heidelberg and Göttingen . After his vicariate he worked in Hildesheim first as a parish pastor, then in the school and youth pastor. This was followed by eight years on behalf of the EKD as a division leader for political education at the Institute for Film and Image in Science and Education in Munich. In 1978 he was appointed director of the Evangelical Academy Loccum by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hanover . He held this office for 16 years until he retired in 1994. During this time May became a member of the Vesper Society in San Francisco and joined its board of directors.

The Lutheran Thiel College in Pennsylvania awarded him an honorary doctorate in theology (DH). From 1994 to 2000 May was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Hanns Lilje Foundation in Hanover, which was set up in 1989 at his suggestion. He was a co-founder of the music initiative "Klingende Steine" and was part of the cultural life of the town of Rehburg-Loccum.

May was married to Marianne May, nee Schwegmann (1926–2019) for 63 years. The marriage resulted in two sons and a daughter.

Theological and political positions

The biography of Hans May "was shaped by early experiences with the abysses of German history in the 20th century. For him, the end of the war was connected with the shock that his youthful enthusiasm had allowed himself to be seduced by an inhuman system." The intellectual and spiritual mastery of this deep biographical break made him a convinced representative of a culture of remembrance committed to truth and enlightenment.

Based on Luther's Reformation theology, he understood Protestantism as an open system in which there cannot be one perfect truth, because all human wisdom and insight remain “piecemeal” (1. Cor. 13: 9). Bonhoeffer's distinction between the last and the penultimate was a reliable benchmark for him. Equally important to him was the biblical Exodus theme, the repeated departure towards a livable future. He saw the work on the future viability of society as a theological task and political obligation, which could neither be forgotten nor fixed in tradition. That is why the connection between religion, culture and democracy was the core of his understanding of theologically based contemporaneity.

Evangelical Academy Loccum

As part of his work as director of the academy, at his instigation - a few years before the series of UN climate conferences began - a first international climate conference was organized in Loccum. He also initiated a work area “ Ecology and Environmental Policy ”. Since the early 1980s, he has been campaigning for a fundamental transformation of the previous understanding of progress and a new explanation, including the discourse with the participating sciences.

May campaigned for an option of détente in relation to the East-West policy and a reconciliation with Poland, as well as for the settlement of the apartheid conflicts in South Africa . He supported new ways of solving problems and conflicts, as they were developed in the mediation process around the hazardous waste dump in Münchehagen . He shaped series of colloquia on religion and social change, the future of the church, the theological aspects of business ethics , peace as a task of the churches, as well as cultural identity and transcultural ethics . Ten years before the EXPO 2000 in Hanover, he considered the need for a new type of world exhibition and spoke about it at a conference. He was particularly committed to establishing the Hanns Lilje Foundation and the Center for Health Ethics at the Academy.

Publications (selection)

  • with Karin Lorenz (ed.): Future of the Church. Colloquia Series Church Understanding V. In: Review and Outlook. Rehburg-Loccum Evangelical Academy Loccum, 1988
  • Remember and create. Biblical Tradition and Political Culture . Lutherisches Verlagshaus, Hanover, 1996
  • Religion and the future of democracy . In the series: Protestant impulses for society and the church, Vol. 7, Lit Verlag Berlin, Münster, Vienna, Zurich, London, 2008
  • Belief and action. Lectures and essays , published on his 70th birthday, Evangelische Akademie Loccum (ed.), Loccum, 2001
  • Interpretation of life. A companion through Loccum Monastery . Self-published, Loccum 2015
  • Winter trip. Story of a passion. Try to understand them . Self-published, Loccum, 2018
  • Templates "Series of essays by Horst Hirschler in conjunction with Gerhard Isermann, Hans May and Hans Joachim Schliep: Axel Freiherr von Campenhausen: State and Church under the Basic Law, An Orientation" Templates. New Series 22 ". Lutherisches Verlagshaus ISBN 3-7859- 0685-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Evangelical Academy Loccum mourns the loss of former director Hans May. Accessed November 5, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Ecclesiastical gazette for the Evangelical Lutheran Regional Church of Hanover, No. 3 of September 30, 2019, page 95
  3. ↑ The Hanns Lilje Foundation. Retrieved November 5, 2019 .
  4. ↑ http://www.landeskirche-hannovers.de/evlka-de/presse-und-medien/nachrichten/2019/08/2019-08-19_1
  5. ↑ 50 B Academy Ordinance (VOEvAk) - Canon Law Online reference work. Retrieved November 5, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME May, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Evangelical Lutheran theologian
DATE OF BIRTH January 29, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Osnabrück
DATE OF DEATH 13th August 2019
Place of death Loccum