Heinrich Vogel (theologian)

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Heinrich Vogel (* 9. April 1902 in Pröttlin , county Prignitz ; † 26. December 1989 in Berlin ) was a German Protestant theologian , poet spiritual texts and songs as well as a composer of numerous motets and chamber music .

Life and career

Heinrich Vogel was the eldest son of the pastor at the village church in Pröttlin, Franz Ferdinand Vogel (1869–1953) and his wife Hedwig, née Kühne (1870–1948). He lived in the Pröttlin parsonage until he was six years old, who then moved to Neuenburg / Neumark (since 1945 Nowogródek Pomorski in Polish ) church district Soldin, where he started school. In his last year in office in Neuchâtel, his father taught Heinrich Vogel the subject matter for the Sexta privately. Heinrich Vogel and his younger sister Mechthild were able to attend a secondary school in a town from Easter 1912, according to their parents' wishes. This was made possible primarily by the appointment of his father by the Berlin Consistory of the Old Prussian Union to the Sophienkirche in Berlin with effect from April 16, 1912 . Heinrich Vogel was accepted into the quinta .

After graduating from high school at the Gray Monastery in Berlin , Heinrich Vogel studied theology in Berlin and Jena . In 1927 he became pastor in Oderberg (Mark), and in 1932 he took over the pastor's position in Dobbrikow near Potsdam.

Soon after the National Socialists seized power , Vogel became a member of the Confessing Church and its synodal in the Imperial and Prussian Synod. He fought uncompromisingly against the German Christians and was involved in the resistance against the Nazi state . In 1935 he became a lecturer at the ( illegal ) college of the Confessing Church in Berlin and was its director from 1937 to 1941. During these years he was imprisoned several times and was banned from writing by the National Socialists in 1941 .

In 1946, Vogel became professor for systematic theology at the Church University of Berlin , which was in West Berlin after the division of Berlin . In 1947 Vogel received an honorary doctorate from the University of Göttingen. From 1948 he was professor for systematic theology at the Humboldt University in East Berlin . The government of the GDR recognized him as an anti-fascist, and the Federal Republic honored him in 1973 with the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Heinrich Vogel was a member of the Synods of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and the Evangelical Church of the Union (EKU) for many years after the war . He was a co-founder of the Christian Peace Conference (CFK) .

Heinrich Vogel was an influential academic teacher and a widely recognized publicist. His experiences during the Nazi era established his commitment as a cross-border commuter between West and East. In such a field of tension, there was inevitably conflicting ecclesiastical politics with those in charge of the churches on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The thought of "loving the atheists dead" was not just a loose phrase, but Heinrich Vogel's motive.

Heinrich Vogel advocated a "Christocentric word theology" that culminated in praise and song. Numerous spiritual texts give expression to this, some of which can be found as songs in the Evangelical Hymnal (EG): It is dear to me that you hear me (No. 292), God calls you, priestly crowd (Hessen-EG No. 587) , Now shut up, you little crowd (West-EG No. 603) u. a. He also wrote several Christmas and Advent carols such as B. “A child walks in deep snow”.

Vogel retired in 1967. He carried out the preaching assignment given to him in 1947 until 1974. He continued to teach at the church university until he died in 1989 at the age of 87. His grave is in the Protestant churchyard in Berlin-Nikolassee .

Vogel had been married to his wife Irmgard († 1980) since 1928, with whom he had seven children.

Selected publications

  • The crisis of beauty , Berlin 1931
  • Theses on "cross and swastika". Theses of protest, question and request to the " Faith Movement of German Christians ". Pfälzisches Pfarrerblatt, 1933, pp. 35–37
    • Variant of cross and swastika, in Der Ring , H. 19, 1933, p. 305
  • Who rules the church? Theological existence today series, 15th Christian Kaiser, Munich 1934
  • Iron ration of a Christian. A lay dogmatics. Several editions 1936–1960
  • The supplicating Christ and other legends. Berlin, 1948
  • God in Christ. Berlin 1951
  • Lift up your hearts. New spiritual songs. Berlin 1952
  • Christ Triumphant. Oratorio. Berlin 1960
  • Collected Works. 4 volumes, Stuttgart 1982
    • in addition: Christology . 1st edition: Chr. Kaiser, Munich 1949; as GW 5: Radius-Verlag, Stuttgart 1983

literature

  • Kurt Scharf (ed.), Festschrift for Heinrich Vogel , Berlin / Stuttgart, 1962 (with bibliography)
  • Hauke, Rainer, Art. Vogel, Heinrich , in: Composers and songwriters of the Evangelical Hymnal (= Handbook for the Evangelical Hymnal, Volume 2), Göttingen, 1999, p. 334
  • Eberhard Jüngel , The Secret of Representation. A dogmatic conversation with Heinrich Vogel , in: Ders., Wortlose Truth. On the identity and relevance of the Christian faith. Theological Discussions III, Chr. Kaiser Munich, 1990, pp. 243–260 (laudation on Vogel's 80th birthday)
  • Klaus-Gunther Wesseling:  VOGEL, Heinrich. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 12, Bautz, Herzberg 1997, ISBN 3-88309-068-9 , Sp. 1554-1563.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive  on 2007-06-29)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ excerpt from Franz Ferdinand bird "At the end of the hike - Review of the Way" (Completed September 30, 1950 Typed copy (extract) in the parish archives of the Berlin Sophie Church, S. 4/5 in the original) Biographical details of Franz Ferdinand and Hedwig Vogel
  2. ↑ Announcement of awards of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Federal Gazette . Vol. 25, No. 103, June 5, 1973.
  3. ↑ History of the parish Berlin-Schlachtensee Digitalisat ( Memento of 28 December 2013, Internet Archive )
  4. ^ Archives holdings at the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate , Regional Church Council, Library & Media Center Speyer
personal data
SURNAME Vogel, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian, professor of systematic theology, poet and composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Pröttlin , Prignitz district
DATE OF DEATH December 26, 1989
Place of death Berlin