Heinrich Bedford-Strohm

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Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (2011)
Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (2011)

Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (born March 30, 1960 in Memmingen as Heinrich Strohm ) is a German Evangelical-Lutheran systematic theologian with a focus on social ethics . Since October 30, 2011, he has been the regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and since November 11, 2014 Chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany .

biography

Family and studies

Evangelical parish hall in Buxach

Born in Memmingen in 1960, Heinrich Strohm spent his childhood in parsonages in Buxach near Memmingen and in Coburg in Upper Franconia . His father Albert Strohm was a Protestant pastor and later dean of the Evangelical Lutheran deanery district of Passau . He grew up in a theological family and received impulses from the Evangelical Lutheran community life. His brother Christoph Strohm is professor of church history at the theological faculty of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg .

After graduating from high school Casimirianum Coburg in 1979 and completing basic military service as a paramedic in Passau, Heinrich Strohm studied law, history and political science in Freiburg from 1980 to 1981 . From 1981 to 1988 he studied Protestant theology in Erlangen , Heidelberg and Berkeley . From 1989 to 1992 he was assistant at the chair for systematic theology and social ethics with Wolfgang Huber at the University of Heidelberg. He was given priority in work for the poor in 1992 . Doctorate towards a theological theory of justice . From 1992 to 1994 he was vicar in Heddesheim . He was ordained in Maple on December 21, 1997 .

Heinrich Strohm married the psychotherapist Deborah Bedford from Boston (USA) in 1985 . Since then, the couple has been called Bedford-Strohm. It has three sons. Bedford-Strohm is a member of the SPD , but has suspended this membership since his election as bishop.

Parish office and academic career

After the vicariate, Bedford-Strohm accepted a visiting professorship for social ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York as Visiting Teaching Fellow in the Bonhoeffer Exchange Program . This was followed in 1998 by the habilitation in systematic theology by the theological faculty in Heidelberg with a habilitation thesis funded by the German Research Foundation Community from Communicative Freedom. Social cohesion in modern society. A theological contribution.

Moriz Church in Coburg

From 1997 to 1999 and from 2001 to 2004 Bedford-Strohm was pastor at the Morizkirche in Coburg . His pastoral experience in the parish of St. Moriz was also an important basis for his work as a social ethicist. From October 1999 to September 2001 he was a substitute professor for systematic theology and ethics at the University of Giessen . For this he received the Wolfgang Mittermeier Prize of the University of Giessen in November 2001 for outstanding achievements in academic teaching.

On April 1, 2004, he accepted a call to the University of Bamberg as professor for systematic theology and contemporary theological issues. From April 2006 to September 2009 he was Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences at the University of Bamberg. In February 2006 Bedford-Strohm worked as theological advisor to the 9th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre . International guest lectures led him a. a. to the universities of Pretoria , Stellenbosch and Port Elizabeth (South Africa), Butare (Rwanda), Sydney and Canberra (Australia), Harvard and New York City (USA). In January 2008 he became the founding director of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Research Center for Public Theology at the University of Bamberg. From 2009 to 2011 he was the managing and responsible editor of the journal Evangelische Theologie (Gütersloher publishing house). He is still a member of the editorial team. Since January 2009 he has held an extraordinary professorship as Extraordinary Professor for Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology at the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa). After giving up the Bamberg chair due to the election of a bishop, the University of Bamberg awarded him an honorary professorship.

Bishopric and Council Presidency of the EKD

On April 4, 2011, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm was elected to succeed Johannes Friedrich as the new regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria . He was inducted into office on October 30, 2011.

From 2010 to 2013 Bedford-Strohm was Deputy Chairman of the EKD Social Chamber . He has been a member of the EKD Council since November 2013. On November 11, 2014, he was elected by the EKD Synod (7th session of the 11th Synod) with 106 of 125 votes, initially for one year after his predecessor Nikolaus Schneider took up office one year before the end of the electoral period had given up. In November 2015 he was confirmed in office with 124 out of 125 votes and has served six years.

Scientific focus

Bedford-Strohm's scientific work focuses on ecumenical theology , ecclesiology , bio , peace and economic ethics , the welfare state and theories of justice , creation ethics , Christian faith and modern society. The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Research Center for Public Theology , which deals with the reflection of questions of public relevance in the light of theological traditions, was established at his Bamberg chair .

Social ethical and theological focus

Political refugees and human dignity

Regional Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm spent Christmas Eve 2011 with refugees , visiting the initial reception center for asylum seekers in Munich. The bishop remarked: “I am very grateful to the refugees for their hospitality. Meeting them made a strong human impression on me. The label 'asylum seekers' hides the interesting and impressive personalities that live here. I would like to see a lot more attention for these people in our country. ”During a visit to the initial reception center in Zirndorf , Franconia , he criticized the accommodation. The facility is overcrowded; there is a lack of asylum counseling .

In 2012 Bedford-Strohm called for humane treatment and more respect for refugees. It is important that the asylum seekers feel that they have arrived in a constitutional state ; they would often have experienced difficult things. Bedford-Strohm advocated decentralized accommodation , as centralized accommodation often found little acceptance among the population and tended to promote the potential for aggression . In this context, Bedford-Strohm criticized the refugee policy of the CSU in 2018, especially the change in tone in the public debate. This threatens to lose empathy . At the end of 2018, he also criticized AfD members who “just want to protest”. These would provide legitimation and cover for those who “spread their right-wing radical ideas under the AfD logo”. From the ranks of the AfD leadership come "statements that are in deep contradiction to the Christian faith". Bedford-Strohm demanded a “clear edge against the devaluation of groups of people based on their religion”, but also more willingness to talk “across different opinions”. After the murder of the Kassel district president Walter Lübcke , Bedford-Strohm called on the AfD to clarify its relationship to right-wing extremism now at the latest . AfD sympathizers should be aware that they are "providing cover for right-wing extremists".

Due to his commitment to sea ​​rescue of refugees as part of the Rescue Together Initiative , he received death threats at the beginning of January 2020.

Political culture and ecological restructuring

Evangelical bishops , including Bedford-Strohm, call for a new political culture that does not punish the public display of weakness, but accepts it as part of being human. Politicians can be wrong and make mistakes. Human fallacies would be destructive if they had to be permanently hidden, said the bishop in his inaugural service in the Regensburg church . So he pleads for a new political culture of openness and an ecological restructuring of society . The basic rules of political culture should be that politicians put their mistakes on the table without being slaughtered at the same time . With a view to ecological reconstruction, unnecessary consumption of resources must be reduced. The ecology should be given sustainable consideration in corporate policy. The question of the future is: "How can we use the part of the budget for the use of the earth's natural resources that we are entitled to in such a way that we can lead a good life."

Civil Society and Dealing with Violence

The civil society need the churches for their ethical and social basic orientation , of Bedford-Strohm also referred to as "ethical dimension of depth." Because, according to the Bishop, political culture must be aware of its responsibility for the weak and take into account how decisions affect the “most vulnerable members” of society. As an example, the regional bishop refers to the development of the financial markets. In order to overcome violence or military violence , the regional bishop advocates the use of civil conflict solutions .

Importance of worship

With regard to the service , the bishop emphasizes the importance of a good sermon . One of the great goals of the Sunday service is that worshipers discover “how good it is to have a place and time at least once a week where everything else is neglected and Christians reflect together about God and the world and about themselves ". In view of the many challenges in everyday life, being a Christian means, according to Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the chance to take a “different path to happiness ”.

Sunday Social Ethics and the Role of the Church

Heinrich Bedford-Strohm speaks of the social ethics of Sunday . Because the “rhythms of life” include work , but also rest , according to the regional bishop. These rhythms need to be respected. People need days of rest that are not for commercialization. The question is "how the economy is shaped". In this respect, Sunday as a day off is something very important in order to finally “counter the pressure to subordinate everything to the economy”. In addition, Sunday is the day of worship . Thus he hides "his holiness ", as far as Heinrich Bedford-Strohm.

Are the churches threatened with a loss of importance ? Churches are “deeply rooted places” where people “draw strength” and “basic orientation”, according to the regional bishop.

Ecumenism

The further development of ecumenism was already a matter of concern to him as regional bishop. He emphasizes not only seeing what separates, but also what connects. “Faith in the one Christ ” and “ community experience ” are binding .

As regional bishop, he experienced many “impressive ecumenical services” in the first months of his term of office. He “looks to the future with confidence” and calls on all denominations to “be an authentic public church that thinks and feels ecumenically passionately.” “Persistent adherence to denominational divisions would obscure our testimony,” said Bedford-Strohm.

Memberships (selection)

Church engagement

Heinrich Bedford-Strohm has worked in a large number of national and international church institutions. This includes the International Working Group for Bioethics of the World Council of Churches and the Chamber for Social Order of the Evangelical Church in Germany (Social Chamber ) . In addition, the regional bishop was chairman of the Society for Evangelical Theology and a member of the jury for the prize of the Luther cities The Intrepid Word from 2005 to 2011 .

Political commitment

Bedford-Strohm has suspended membership of the Social Democratic Party of Germany since his election as regional bishop . He is one of the supporters of the Charter of Fundamental Digital Rights of the European Union , which was published at the end of November 2016.

criticism

In October 2016, Bedford-Strohm visited the Temple Mount , the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall in Jerusalem with Cardinal Reinhard Marx . At the request of the Jewish and Muslim hosts, both of them temporarily laid their pectoral cross there. This was interpreted by parts of the public as a "denial of the cross" and criticized accordingly.

Awards

Bibliography (selection)

Monographs

  • Priority to the poor. Towards a Theological Theory of Justice. Gütersloher Verlags-Haus, Gütersloh 1993, ISBN 3-579-02010-2 . (At the same time: Heidelberg, Universität, Dissertation, 1992). 2nd edition with a new foreword, Leipzig 2018, ISBN 978-3-374-05504-3 .
  • Communion out of communicative freedom. Social cohesion in modern society. A theological contribution. Gütersloher Verlags-Haus, Gütersloh 1999, ISBN 3-579-02626-7 . (At the same time: Heidelberg, University, habilitation paper, 1998). 2nd edition with a new foreword, Leipzig 2018 ISBN 978-3-374-02769-9
  • Creation (Ecumenical Study Booklets 12). Bensheimer Hefte 96, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 978-3-525-87187-4 .
  • Asking about God in life. Ecumenical introduction to theology , Gütersloh / Freiburg 2004 (together with Ulrike Link-Wieczorek, Ralf Miggelbrink, Dorothea Sattler, Michael Haspel and Uwe Swarat) ISBN 978-3451285189 .
  • Take a position. Perspectives of a Public Theology , Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-532-62440-1
  • Whoever believes will be blessed, A Faith Conversation between Father and Son , Heinrich and Jonas Bedford-Strohm, Freiburg im Breisgau 2013 ISBN 9783451345876 .
  • May live - have to live. Arguments against euthanasia , Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-466-37114-3 .
  • Flying sparks. Faith rekindled . adeo, Aßlar 2015, ISBN 978-3-86334-072-8 .
  • compassion. A plea , Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3532624838 .
  • Everything changes. The world in the light of Christmas . Patmos, Ostfildern, 2016, ISBN 978-3-8436-0852-7 .
  • Freedom , Social Science Institute of the EKD, Hanover 2016.
  • Changing the world: What faith has to tell us today , Berlin 2016 (together with M. Käßmann) ISBN 978-3351036447 .
  • Love radically. Impetus for the future of a courageous church , Gütersloh 2017, ISBN 978-3-579-08529-6 .
  • Liberation Theology for a Democratic Society, Essays in Public Theology , Collected by Michael Mädler and Andrea Wagner-Pinggéra, Zurich 2018 ISBN 978-3643904584 .

Editorships

  • Teaching religion. Current location at the interface between church and society. Neukirchen-Vluyn 2003.
  • And the life of the future world. Of the resurrection and the last judgment. Neukirchen-Vluyn 2007.
  • Meaning of work - ethos of work. Contributions from theology and economics , CD, Neuendettelsau 2007
  • And god saw, that it was good. Creation and Finiteness in the Age of Climate Disaster , Neukirchen-Vluyn 2009
  • Public Theology series (together with Wolfgang Huber ), Evangelische Verlagsanstalt , Leipzig 2009.
  • Bliss. Theological speech on happiness in a threatened world, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2011.
  • The people of the Bible , Sunday paper edition, Munich 2016

Magazine articles

  • Freedom and commitment. On the way to an ecumenical social teaching. Herder Korrespondenz 58, 2004, pp. 406-410.
  • How political can the church be? . In: FAZ.net May 16, 2017.

additional

  • Freedom to take responsibility. Festschrift for the 60th birthday of Wolfgang Huber. Gütersloh 2002 (as co-editor).
  • Continuity and upheaval in the German economic and social model. Yearbook Social Protestantism 1, Gütersloh 2007 (as co-editor).
  • Asking about God in life. Ecumenical introduction to theology. Gütersloh / Freiburg 2004 (as co-author).
  • Key ethical issues. Lifeworldly - systematically - didactically. Edited by R. Lachmann, G. Adam and W. Rothgangel, Göttingen 2006 (as co-author).
  • From “Mercy” to “Social Market”. On the economization of social welfare services (Yearbook Social Protestantism 2), Gütersloh 2008 (as co-editor).
  • Globalization (Yearbook Social Protestantism 3), Gütersloh 2009 (as responsible editor).
  • Nature Space and the Sacred. Transdisciplinary Perspectives , Ashgate, Aldershot 2009 (as co-editor).
  • Magic formula social market economy (Yearbook Social Protestantism 4), Gütersloh 2010 (as co-editor).
  • Working Worlds (Yearbook Social Protestantism 4), Gütersloh 2011 (as co-editor).
  • Eberhard Bethge. Comrade, interlocutor and interpreter Dietrich Bonhoeffers , Gütersloh 2011 (Martin Hüneke, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm).
  • Prophetic Witness. An Appropriate Contemporary Mode of Public Discourse? , Theology in the Public Square, Volume 1, Zurich 2011 (Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Etienne de Villiers).
  • Religion and Ecology in the Public Sphere , London 2011 (Celia Deane Drummond, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm).
  • Contextuality and Intercontextuality in Public Theology , Volume 4, Zurich 2013 (Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Florian Höhne, Tobias Reitmeier).
  • Whoever believes it will be saved. A conversation of faith between father and son , Freiburg im Breisgau 2013 (Heinrich and Jonas Bedford-Strohm).
  • Communicative freedom. Interdisciplinary discourses with Wolfgang Huber (ÖTh 29), Leipzig 2014 (Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Paul Nolte and Rüdiger Sachau).
  • Networked diversity. Church in the face of individualization and secularization. The fifth EKD survey on church membership, Gütersloh 2015 (Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Volker Jung).
  • Annual solution 2017 . Image motifs by Andreas Felger and Eberhard Münch. CD-ROM with images by Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and Hans-Joachim Eckstein, Asslar 2016.
  • Reconciliation and Just Peace. Impulses of the Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer for the European and African Context , Theology in the Public Square, Volume 9, Zurich 2016 (Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Pascal Bataringaya, Traugott Jähnichen).
  • Change the world. What Faith has to say to us today , Berlin 2016 (Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and Margot Käßmann), ISBN 978-3-96038-007-8 ( online )

literature

  • NN: At home in Bavaria and around the world. The new regional bishop pleads for an authentic church . In: Grüss Gott. Companion of the Evangelical Church on vacation and cure. Munich 2012, p. 12f.
  • Wolfgang Thielmann : This is how Protestant works - a portrait of Heinrich Bedford-Strohm . Herder-Verlag, Freiburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-451-34237-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Reinhard Bingener writes in the FAZ v. April 6, 2011 about Bedford-Strohm and his relationship with Huber: “To format theology in such a way that it finds connection with current ecclesiastical and political issues, Bedford-Strohm learned from the former EKD council chairman Wolfgang Huber, who is not only academic Teacher, but is now also a close friend. "
  2. ↑ Reinhard Bingener: Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. The public theologian. In: faz.net, November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: candidates for bishopric election suggested. Press and public relations / journalism (Head: KR M. Mädler). Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bayern-evangelisch.de
  4. ^ Heinrich Bedford-Strohm after his election as the new regional bishop of the Bavarian regional church , accessed on January 29, 2012
  5. ↑ New Protestant regional bishop. Church celebrities have come. sueddeutsche.de , accessed on October 30, 2011
  6. ↑ Picture gallery inauguration of the State Bishop Bedford-Strohm. Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria ( Memento from July 24, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  7. ↑ Message on the election of November 11, 2015 on the Münchner Merkur website , accessed on November 11, 2015
  8. ^ Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. Public theology. Knowledge transfer to global civil society. uni.vers 11/10/2006/30 (PDF; 25 kB), accessed on January 16, 2012
  9. ^ University of Bamberg , accessed on January 15, 2012
  10. ^ Regional bishop celebrates service with refugees , accessed on February 3, 2012
  11. ↑ Johannes Minkus, Klaus Honigschnabel: Regional Bishop visits refugees and asylum seekers in the Bayern barracks in Munich. Inner Mission Munich of December 24, 2011 ( Memento of February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 25, 2012
  12. ↑ St. Rochus in Zirndorf. Evangelical Lutheran Parish of Zirndorf. 19th Study Day Refugee Work and Church Asylum from January 21, 2012 , accessed on January 29, 2012
  13. ↑ Regional bishop calls the situation in the asylum reception center inhumane. adhoc news from February 12, 2012. Berlin. dapd-bay ( Memento from July 16, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  14. ↑ Johannes Minkus, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria from January 12, 2012 ( Memento from February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ↑ Bernhard Mann : Political Refugees. Sociological advice and public health approaches in collective accommodation. Studies on asylum counseling in the Zirndorf assembly camp under the direction of Eckhard Steinhaeuser and on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health and the Diakonisches Werk der EKD . GRIN-Verlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-638-86511-1 ; Similar: political refugees. Social advice in collective accommodation and questions about social integration . Foreword: UNHCR (High Commissioner for Refugees) . Frankfurt / M. 1983, ISBN 3-88129-725-1 .
  16. ↑ Time signals. Evangelical commentaries on religion and society with questions by Daniel Staffen-Quandt v. February 10, 2012 , accessed February 8, 2012
  17. ↑ Bedford-Strohm criticizes CSU: "Worry that empathy is lost" www.tagesschau.de, July 20, 2018
  18. ↑ Bedford-Strohm calls for a "clear edge". www.tagesschau.de, December 22, 2018
  19. ↑ Michael Stempfle: After the murder of Lübcke: New death threats against politicians. www.tagesschau.de, June 20, 2019
  20. ^ Bedford-Strohm - Death threats against EKD council chairmen. In: Deutschlandfunk . January 4, 2020, accessed January 4, 2020 .
  21. ^ Death threats against Bishop Bedford-Strohm after refugee ship initiative. In: Augsburger Allgemeine . January 4, 2020, accessed January 4, 2020 .
  22. ↑ Evangelisch.de of January 15, 2012 , accessed on January 15, 2012
  23. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Regional Bishop Bedford-Strohm: Germany needs an “ecological economic miracle” and a new political culture. EPV - Ev. Press Association for Bavaria )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.epv.de
  24. ↑ Fridays for Future allies itself with the Kirchentag. June 21, 2019, accessed June 23, 2019 .
  25. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Churches are the compass of society. Regional bishop and interior minister at the annual reception of the Protestant Academy. EPV - Ev. Press Association for Bavaria )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.epv.de
  26. ^ Bedford-Strohm: Business Ethics, Part 1. University of Bamberg , accessed on January 29, 2012
  27. ^ Bedford-Strohm: Business Ethics, Part 2. University of Bamberg , accessed on January 29, 2012
  28. ^ Heinrich Bedford-Strohm: What do Christian ethics say about military violence? , accessed January 29, 2012
  29. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Bishop Bedford-Strohm: Churches underestimate the effect of a good sermon. Evangelical Lutheran Church Mecklenburg of January 24, 2012. Source: idea )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kirche-mv.de
  30. ↑ Other ways to happiness? Bayerischer Rundfunk, January 5, 2012 ( Memento from July 23, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  31. ^ ZEIT-online with questions from Evelyn Finger , accessed on January 31, 2012
  32. ↑ Cardinal Marx and Regional Bishop Bedford-Strohm in conversation , accessed on February 7, 2012
  33. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria , accessed on February 23, 2012
  34. ↑ Bedford-Strohm calls for the further development of ecumenism. Münchner Kirchenradio from January 18, 2012 ( memento from January 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 19, 2012
  35. ↑ Cross-filing: https://www.evangelisch.de/inhalte/140018/06-11-2016/bedford-strohm-kreuz-jerusalem-reinhard-marx
  36. ↑ Martin Jarde: Bavarian regional bishop becomes an honorary citizen of Palermo. In: Bayerischer Rundfunk . October 4, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 .
  37. ^ Deutschlandfunk: Augsburg Peace Prize - Honor for Marx and Bedford-Strohm. August 8, 2020, accessed August 8, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Bedford-Strohm, Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Strohm, Heinrich (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH March 30, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Memmingen