Heinrich Steitz

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Heinrich Steitz (born January 24, 1907 in Fürfeld , Alzey district , Grand Duchy of Hesse ; † September 27, 1998 in Mainz ) was a German Protestant theologian .

Life

From 1927 to 1931 Steitz studied Protestant theology , German and history in Giessen and Jena . In 1927 he joined the Giessen Wingolf , to which he remained deeply connected until his death. In 1928 he became a member of the Jenenser Wingolf and 1950 of the Mainz Wingolf. Through the Giessen Wingolf, Steitz got in close contact with the then leading church historians and theologians in Hessen such as Ferdinand Kattenbusch , Gustav Krüger and Hans Waitz . At the Hessian State University in Gießen, Steitz passed his first theological exam in 1931 and his second in 1932, after attending the preacher's seminary in Friedberg . He received approval for teaching at higher schools in 1933 in Gießen. With a work on church history on the Hessian church and school regulations in the 16th to 18th centuries, Steitz was awarded a licentiate (Dr.) in theology in Gießen in 1935 and a doctorate in 1938 with a Germanistic work on district names. phil. PhD.

After his ordination in 1932, Steitz worked as a vicar in communities in Offenbach am Main , Worms and Petterweil (1935/37). He then became a high school teacher in Darmstadt . He was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1939. After being a prisoner of war in late 1945, he became pastor in Mainz-Bischofsheim and in 1950 dean in Groß-Gerau ; from 1956 he was pastor in Mainz-Gonsenheim .

Steitz was particularly committed to building up the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN) after the war. He was active as a synodal and a member of the constitutional and legal committee and brought many folk church-Hessian traditions into the EKHN.

In 1957 he completed his habilitation in the subject of church history in Mainz and was appointed adjunct professor in 1965 and finally full professor in 1971.

The culmination of his scientific work is the extensive history of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau , which continues to be regarded as a standard work of church history. This makes Steitz one of the most important representatives of Hessian church history research. After the war, in 1949, he brought the Association for Hessian Church History back to life. He served as first chairman in 1950/51 and then as vice chairman until 1979. In 1950 he was appointed to the Hessian Historical Commission in Darmstadt .

He was tirelessly active in evangelical adult education and wing golf. In 1972 he received the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 1983 the State Order of Rhineland-Palatinate . The Philipps University of Marburg awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1962 .

Heinrich Steitz died on September 27, 1998 in Mainz after a long illness.

Fonts (selection)

  • History of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau. Vol. 1-4. Trautvetter & Fischer, Marburg 1961–1971 (complete edition in one volume 1977).
  • The Nassau church organization from 1818. A contribution to the history of the church constitution. Hessian Church History Association, Darmstadt 1964.
  • Martin Luther at the Reichstag in Worms 1521. On the 450th anniversary of the Worms Reichstag in 1971. Evangelical Press Association, Frankfurt a. M. 1971.
  • Pastor Franz Joseph Helferich (1806–1881) and the revival sermon in Hesse. Verlag der Rheinhessische Druckwerkstätte, Alzey 1987.
  • Heiko Wulfert: Prof. D. Dr. Heinrich Steitz. Bibliography 1935-85 . JHKGV 37, 1986, pp. 147-154
  • Heiko Wulfert: Bibliographia Steitziana . In: Ebernburg-Hefte , Episode 21 (1987), pp. 131-139

literature

  • Karl Dienst : Heinrich Steitz and research on church history in Hesse. In: Yearbook of the Hessian Church History Association (JHKGV) 18, 1967

Web links

  • Entry on Steitz (with photo) in the directory of professors at the University of Mainz 1946–1973

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://web.uni-frankfurt.de/irenik/relkultur155.pdf
  2. ↑ Announcement of awards of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Federal Gazette . Vol. 25, No. 43, March 9, 1973.
personal data
SURNAME Steitz, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Fürfeld , Bad Kreuznach district
DATE OF DEATH September 27, 1998
Place of death Mainz