Heiner Koch

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Heiner Koch (2013)

Heiner Koch (born June 13, 1954 in Düsseldorf-Eller ) is Archbishop of Berlin and Metropolitan of the Berlin Church Province.

Life

Koch grew up as the son of a judicial officer in the Eller district of Düsseldorf in the parish of St. Gertrud , where he was the KJG and altar boy leader. After graduating from the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf , he studied Catholic theology , philosophy and educational science at the University of Bonn and completed his studies with the state examination in educational science and the doctorate to become a Dr. theol. with a dissertation on liberation for being as a basic perspective of Christian religious education . Since the beginning of his studies, Koch has been a member of the theological association VKTh. Burgundia Bonn .

On June 13, 1980, his 26th birthday, he received the sacrament of ordination in Cologne Cathedral . Then he was chaplain at St. Martinus in Kaarst until the end of 1983 . In the following six years, pastoral care for young people was the central focus of his work. So he was initially city youth minister and BDKJ -Preses in the city dean of Neuss . From April 1, 1984, Koch worked as a university pastor at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and at the same time as a subsidiar to St. Paulus in Düsseldorf.

Koch had been responsible at the diocese level since 1989: in 1989 he was appointed head of the adult pastoral care department in the Cologne Vicariate General . At the same time he was diocesan women and men pastoral care worker and kfd diocesan president. On November 1, 1992, Koch took over the leadership of the pastoral care department in the Vicariate General. In October 2002 he was appointed deputy vicar general.

From 1989 to August 2006 Heiner Koch was also Rector Ecclesiae Church St. Assumption in Cologne Marzellenstraße from 1993 to 1998 he was also subsidiar on the High Cathedral of Cologne, and since 1 August 1998, he was employed as Resident Domkapitular the Cologne Metropolitan Chapter. Pope John Paul II appointed Koch chaplain to His Holiness ( Monsignor ) on September 19, 1993 and an honorary papal prelate on February 10, 1996 . From 1995 to 2014, Koch was responsible for the Federation of Historic German Shooting Brotherhoods as Federal President. In preparation and implementation of the XX. From 2002 to 2005 he was responsible for the World Youth Day in Cologne as its general secretary. As a magistral chaplain, he is a member of the Order of Malta .

Auxiliary Bishop in Cologne

Pontifical Mass with Edwin Frederick O'Brien , Cardinal Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher , in the Quirinus Minster in Neuss (2012)
Coat of arms as auxiliary bishop in Cologne

On March 17, 2006 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him . as titular bishop of Ros Cré and auxiliary bishop in Cologne . On May 7, 2006, Heiner Koch received his episcopal ordination from the Archbishop of Cologne, Joachim Cardinal Meisner , in Cologne Cathedral ; Co-consecrators were the Cologne auxiliary bishops Manfred Melzer and Rainer Maria Woelki . His motto Gaudete semper Dominus prope (“Rejoice at all times, the Lord is near”) comes from the Philippians ( Phil 4,4–5 EU  EU ). As auxiliary bishop was Heiner Koch in the archdiocese of Cologne Episcopal Vicar for Pastoral Southern District with more than 600,000 Catholics of the city of Bonn , the Rhein-Sieg district , the Rheinisch-Bergisch district , the district of Euskirchen and belonging to the Archdiocese of Cologne parishes of the district Altenkirchen ( Rhineland-Palatinate). Furthermore, he was episcopal vicar for pastoral care for foreign-speaking Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cologne and commissioner of the German Bishops' Conference for German-speaking pastoral care abroad and since April 25, 2012 Chairman of the Board of the Diocesan Caritas Association for the Archdiocese of Cologne eV

Bishop of Dresden-Meissen

Coat of arms as the bishop of Dresden-Meißen

On January 18, 2013 Benedict XVI appointed him. to the Bishop of Dresden-Meißen . The inauguration by the Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Berlin , Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki , took place on March 16 in the Dresden Court Church .

Apostolic Administrator of Dresden-Meißen

For the period between the appointment and the takeover of the Archdiocese of Berlin, i.e. June 8th to September 19th, 2015, Heiner Koch was appointed Apostolic Administrator for Dresden-Meißen with all episcopal rights. Because of diocesan reforms, the Congregation decided for the bishops to have full legal capacity to act for this transitional period in Dresden instead of the usual choice of a diocesan administrator with limited rights.

Archbishop of Berlin

Coat of arms as Archbishop of Berlin

On June 8, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Heiner Koch Archbishop of Berlin . He was introduced to his new office on September 19, 2015 in St. Hedwig's Cathedral by Bishop Wolfgang Ipolt von Görlitz, Koch's predecessor Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki handed him the bishop's staff from Alfred Cardinal Bengsch . In the sermon at his introduction, Koch argued that Christians should stand up for unborn, weak, poor and dying people and refugees not to be marginalized. The Archbishop admonished "if it is necessary to go out into the streets to show this".

The coat of arms of the archbishop combines the coat of arms of the Berlin archbishopric with the episcopal coat of arms of Heiner Koch. The four fields show the coats of arms of the pre-Reformation predecessor dioceses of Brandenburg , Havelberg , Cammin and Lebus . The star in the heart shield is a symbol of the Mother of God Mary as the star of the sea and at the same time reminds of the star of Bethlehem , which led the wise men to the manger ( Mt 2.2  EU ) who are venerated in Cologne Cathedral . The flowing water refers to Christ as the source of eternal life ( Jn 4,14  EU ). The river "shows the close connection between the Archbishop and his home on the Rhine in the Archdiocese of Cologne, the Elbe , which flows through his previous diocese of Dresden-Meißen, and the Spree and Havel , the rivers of his current home, the Archdiocese of Berlin."

Supra-diocesan tasks

Heiner Koch was elected Chairman of the Commission on Marriage and Family at the 2014 autumn general assembly of the German Bishops' Conference . In the World Church Commission of the Bishops' Conference he chairs the sub-commission for Central and Eastern Europe (especially RENOVABIS). On September 20, 2016, he was confirmed in both positions. Furthermore, he was appointed a member of the Joint Conference of the German Bishops' Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics.

With Cardinal Reinhard Marx and Bishop Franz-Josef Bode , the 2015 Bishops' Conference elected him as a delegate for the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the World Synod of Bishops in October 2015 in Rome. In the German-speaking advisory group of this synod, Heiner Koch was elected as “relator”, who reported on the results of the linguistic circle to the synod plenum.

Positions

Marriage and homosexuality

Koch is considered an opponent of marriage for homosexuals. The Church understands marriage to be the union of man and woman. Sexuality is not just a question of sexuality: psyche, physicality, and cultural imprint of both sexes complement each other. "That is why we emphasize the particularly broad value of marriage as a two-sex community that also leads to the creation of new life." In August 2011, in a local conflict, he suggested that the life partner of a gay shooter king should not be next to, but a row behind, during the ceremonial rifle parade this should march.

At the same time, Heiner Koch emphasized that the Catholic Church, regardless of marriage, particularly appreciates “human relationships that are binding on others, especially in situations that are difficult and where it is no longer desirable to stay together”: “This also includes homosexuals Relationships". “Portraying homosexuality as a sin is hurtful. […] I know homosexual couples who live values ​​such as reliability and commitment in an exemplary manner. ”On the question of the admission of believers who are divorced and remarried to receive communion , he raises the question of whether such people, if they “Have a deep piety”, can be admitted to the Eucharist under certain conditions.

Together with the other participants in the German-speaking group at the Synod of Bishops on Marriage and Family in October 2015, Heiner Koch admitted guilt: “In the misunderstood endeavor to uphold church teaching, harsh and merciless attitudes have repeatedly emerged in pastoral work Have brought suffering to people, in particular to single mothers and children born out of wedlock, to people in premarital and illegitimate partnerships, to homosexually oriented people and to divorced and remarried people. As bishops of our church, we ask these people for forgiveness. "

Refugees and migrants

"Anyone who contributes to the exclusion and degradation of refugees and migrants with words or deeds cannot invoke Christianity," said Heiner Koch for the German Bishops' Conference in February 2016 in Berlin. "Misanthropy and xenophobia are not only in clear contradiction to the values ​​of our free and democratic basic order, but ultimately always testify to a deep disregard for the Christian message."

Comprehensive life protection

On September 17, 2016, he took part in the March for Life in Berlin and spoke a greeting. In view of the current political discussion on setting upper limits for refugee admission, he expanded the concern of protecting life beyond the problem of abortion to include the entire life of a person: “We do not determine which life is worth living from when. [...] We do not set any limits, we do not erect walls of life, not at the borders of Europe, not at the borders of cultures and religions, not at the borders of old age, illness, being handicapped or dying . We let live. And we ask the people: Let each other live, let the weak live, at the beginning and at the end of life, the refugees and the under-performing, the people in Aleppo and in the death row of the prisons of this world. "

Honors

  • Honorary member of the Catholic student association KDSt.V. Burgundia (Leipzig) Düsseldorf in CV (1996)
  • Honorary member of the St. Sebastianus Schützenverein Düsseldorf-Eller e. V., founded in 1902 (2004)
  • Honorary Senator of the Düsseldorf Carnival Society “Weissfräcke e. V. "(2006)
  • Honorary officer and since 2007 "Regimental Bishop" of the Prinzen-Garde Cologne 1906 e. V. (2006)
  • Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (2007)
  • Honorary member of the Catholic student association KD St. V. Alania Bonn in the CV (2009)
  • Honorary Federal President of the Federation of Historical German Shooting Brotherhoods V. (BHDS)
  • Honorary member of the Association of St. Sebastianus Schützenjugend (BdSJ) (2013)
  • Bearer of the Grand Cross for the St. Sebastianus Cross of Honor of the Federation of Historic German Rifle Brotherhoods (2015)
  • Field chaplain and founding member of the Kaarst rifle group "Koch'sche Jonges"
  • Honorary member of the Catholic student union WK St. V. Unitas Berlin in the UV (2017)

Web links

Commons : Heiner Koch  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Auxiliary Bishop Heinrich Koch in conversation ( Memento from December 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Archbishop Dr. Heiner Koch - Apostolic Administrator of Dresden-Meißen. bistum-dresden-meissen.de, accessed on June 30, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Homepage of the VKTh. Burgundia ( Memento from September 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ List of offices. Association of the Historical German Shooting Brotherhoods, accessed on June 14, 2015 .
  5. ^ Nomina di Ausiliare di Köln (Germania). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, March 17, 2006, accessed June 8, 2015 (Italian).
  6. ↑ Institutional Schematism for the Archdiocese of Cologne. (PDF 935 kB) As of May 2009. Archdiocese of Cologne, Documentation / Information Department, p. 18 , archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; accessed on June 8, 2015 .
  7. ^ Nomina del Vescovo di Dresden-Meissen (Germania). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, January 18, 2013, accessed June 8, 2015 (Italian).
  8. ^ Habemus episcopum. Press release. Diocese of Dresden-Meißen, January 18, 2013, accessed on June 8, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Fully capable of acting. Interview: Cathedral Chapter Andreas Kutschke, Permanent Representative of the Apostolic Administrator, on the current situation in the Diocese of Dresden-Meißen. Diocese of Dresden-Meißen, accessed on August 19, 2015 .
  10. ^ Nomina dell'Arcivescovo Metropolita di Berlin (Germania). In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office , June 8, 2015, accessed June 8, 2015 (Italian).
  11. ^ Inauguration of Archbishop Dr. Heiner Koch: September 19, 2015, 11 a.m., St. Hedwig's Cathedral. In: press release. Archdiocese of Berlin, June 12, 2015, accessed on September 10, 2019 .
  12. ↑ domradio.de , September 19, 2015.
  13. ^ Archbishopric Berlin: The coat of arms of Archbishop Dr. Heiner Koch , accessed on August 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ a b Final press conference of the autumn general assembly 2014 of the German Bishops' Conference in Fulda. Press report by the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx. In: Press release No. 165. German Bishops' Conference, September 26, 2014, accessed on June 8, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Press release from September 20, 2016 - No. 175
  16. ^ German Bishops' Conference elects delegates for the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Lineamenta Theological Debate. In: Press release No. 030. German Bishops' Conference, February 24, 2015, accessed on June 8, 2015 .
  17. ↑ domradio.de: Schönborn and Koch coordinate German-speaking synod circles , accessed on October 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ a b Heiner Koch: Opponent of marriage for everyone becomes the new Archbishop of Berlin ( Memento from June 2, 2015 in the web archive archive.today )
  19. ↑ a b Family Sunday. Marriage is a provocation. Bishop Heiner Koch in the kathisch.de interview on Family Sunday. kathisch.de, January 19, 2014, accessed June 8, 2015 .
  20. ↑ Dresden Bishop Koch on homosexuals. Against hurtful treatment. domradio.de, February 21, 2015, accessed June 8, 2015 .
  21. ↑ kirchensite.de: Final report of the German synodals, October 21, 2015
  22. ↑ German Bishops' Conference, Press Release 022/11. February 2016
  23. ^ Archdiocese of Berlin, press release from September 15, 2015.
  24. ↑ Sankt Sebastianus Schützenverein Düsseldorf-Eller 1902 eV | Honorary members. Retrieved May 10, 2018 .
  25. ↑ NRW order for auxiliary bishop Koch - Rüttgers honors 18 citizens. "Impressive sign of solidarity". Domradio , March 21, 2007, accessed January 8, 2018 .
  26. ↑ Festival weekend in Berlin: Honorary member Archbishop Dr. Heiner Koch. January 8, 2018, accessed March 14, 2018 .
predecessor Office successor
Joachim Reinelt Bishop of Dresden-Meißen
2013–2015 		Heinrich Timmerevers
Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki Archbishop of Berlin
since 2015 		...
personal data
SURNAME Koch, Heiner
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German clergyman, bishop of the Archdiocese of Berlin
DATE OF BIRTH June 13, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Düsseldorf - Eller