Hermann-Josef Zoche

Hermann-Josef Zoche

Hermann-Josef Zoche (born December 31, 1958 in Bremen ) is a German Augustinian father , theologian , philosopher and management consultant .

Life

Hermann-Josef Zoche first attended the Catholic St. Johannis School in Bremen and graduated from secondary school. In 1978 he passed his Abitur at the grammar school “An der kleine Helle” (today's old grammar school ). As a candidate for the priesthood for the Diocese of Osnabrück , he went to the " Philosophical-Theological University of Sankt Georgen " in Frankfurt, run by the Jesuit order . There he met Rupert Lay and deepened his knowledge of practical philosophy and logic with him. In 1980 he passed the theological intermediate examination (Philosophicum). He then joined a Benedictine monastery ofBeuron Congregation , the Benedictine Abbey of St. Mauritius in Tholey in Saarland. There it soon became clear, however, that he was not called to this lifestyle. Since there were no new paths to be found at first (and military service would have had to be fulfilled if his studies had been discontinued), he moved to Freiburg at the beginning of the 1980/81 winter semester to continue studying theology (main course). At the same time he enrolled in philosophy in order to switch to the main course with the intermediate examination recognized by Frankfurt and to have a second mainstay in addition to theology. After taking the early exams in theology and not yet completing his studies in philosophy, he switched to the theological doctorate in Augsburg, where he was also enrolled in philosophy from the 1984 summer semester.

Initial work on the Protestant theologian Paul Tillich led him to Erich Przywara , on whose theology of grace he wrote his dissertation. This is about contemporary models of thought about the old doctrine of nature and grace, i.e. H. about the connection of two opposites, namely divine grace and divine intervention in human activity on the one hand, and human freedom, which is also untouchable by God, on the other. The topic moves on the border between theology and philosophy, insofar as it is about the philosophically and religiously-philosophically old topic of freedom and determinism .

After completing his theological dissertation and completing his doctorate, he began his novitiate with the "Brothers of Life Together in the Southern Black Forest", whom he had already met during his Freiburg years. This community, which belongs to the Augustinian Canons , was canonically re-established in 1971 and continues the great tradition of the " Brothers of Common Life " from North Holland (Zwolle, Nijmegen, Windesheim) , which in the Middle Ages was the most widespread order in Germany today . Its members included such well-known theologians as Thomas von Kempen , the author of the "Imitation of Christ". The term and the fact of the “ Devotio moderna ” (transl .: contemporary piety) are associated with the “brothers of common life” , because the order already in the Middle Ages set itself the claim, the piety of people with the circumstances, requirements and to reconcile current living conditions.

It is precisely this claim that the revival of the order is trying to do justice to today. It is therefore on the spiritual line of the order that one of its members works in the field of economics, management and operational training, because where the Benedictines and Cistercians used to help the rural population with cultivation and, in addition to active help, whole countries spiritual formation and orientation Gaben ( Ora et labora ), the "contemporary piety" now also leads to the cultivation of businesses, firms, companies.

After completing his doctorate in his second major in philosophy in Freiburg, Father Hermann-Josef, as he is called after his ordination in 1987, began to pursue this goal. He got the decisive start with the support of Joseph Schmidt: first lectures at the entrepreneur days of the Schmidt College, the resulting seminars with Schmidt students, articles in the journal of the Schmidt College and first publications in the Schmidt publishing house (1990 "Conflict Sovereignty") , 1991 "Language Sovereignty - Communication" and 1993 "Language Sovereignty - Suggestions for a Better Language").

At one of these conferences, Zoche met the entrepreneur Roland Betz. Shortly thereafter, the "Betz Academy" was founded, which, with its combination of "independent entrepreneur and Catholic priest", was one of the most respected academies in Germany at the time. The idea of ​​the academy, with the more than 500-page textbook and extensive special material compiled by Roland Betz and Father Hermann-Josef, was to combine formal methods with internal and operational values. Both continued to pursue their first occupation: Betz had the largest Bavarian industrial agency, a branch office in Thuringia / Saxony and one in the Czech Republic, was himself a company manager, boss of 15 employees and active in sales; Father Hermann-Josef was a course pastor in the mountain health resort of Höchenschwand , was in charge of drug pastoral care in the border area between Germany and Switzerland on the Upper Rhine and in 1991 became pastor of the Catholic parish “St. Marien ”in Waldkirch near Waldshut , on whose grounds the religious house is also located. Since 2001 he has been head of the Maria Bronnen pastoral care unit and, since 2015, pastor of Gurtweil.

Betz sold his companies towards the end of the 1990s and retired to Lake Garda as a privateer. With this step, the Betz Academy also expired. Since then, Zoche has worked as an individual speaker for a wide variety of companies and groups. His topics extend to "dealing with conflicts", "communication", "leading people", "value images and value change" as well as the entire area of ​​(economic) ethics.

He has published over 20 books.

Fonts

• Conflict sovereignty , Bayreuth (Schmidt-Verlag) 1989, 1992, 1995, 1997
• Linguistic sovereignty (vol. 1) - ideas and advice for a better language, Schmidt-Verlag, Bayreuth 1991, 1994 (out of print)
• Speech sovereignty (Vol. 2) - Communication, Schmidt-Verlag, Bayreuth 1993 (out of print)
• Success Makes Sense - A New Ethics for Entrepreneurs and Managers, Junfermann, Paderborn 1996,
• Jesus and the market economy - capitalism on the test stand of humanity, Knecht, Frankfurt 1999
• We have to talk to each other ... - practice language - hold conversations - resolve conflicts, Schmidt-Verlag, Bayreuth 2001
• Do We Get Our Child Baptized? - A guide for parents, Butzon & Bercker, Kevelaer 1999
• Say yes to your happiness - 60 small steps, Pattloch Munich 2001
• Dad what is death - A child asks about life, Pattloch, Munich 2001
• The Ten Commandments for Managers - The practical handbook for creating a value-oriented company philosophy, Schmidt-Verlag, Bayreuth 2001
• Jesus AG - A management consultant analyzes the oldest company in the world, Pattloch, Munich 2002
• I also see the world from the other side - The special gifts of left-handers, Ariston / Hugendubel, Munich 2002
• Role models shape world views - raise small children with Christian values; Sankt Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg 2002
• In good and bad days - church weddings and whatever else is part of happiness, Sankt Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg 2002
• The Aschenbrenners - First Disasters in Kleinzeisig, Pattloch, Munich 2003
• Say yes - 60 small steps to happiness, Sankt Ulrich Verlag, Augsburg 2003
• The Jesus AG (new edition of the book published by Pattloch in 2002), Reichl & Partner, Vienna 2005 (www.jesusag.com)
• The Bible Breviary for Managers , Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2007
• The seven deadly sins of our time , Econ-Verlag, Berlin 2009
• 100 meditations for managers ... and everyone who deals with people on a daily basis , Schmidt-Verlag, Bayreuth 2010
• Disasters in Kleinzeisig: Easter with the Aschenbrenners , Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2015
• New catastrophes in Kleinzeisig: Christmas with the Aschenbrenners , Katholisches Bibelwerk, Stuttgart 2015
• The Apostle - A Pauline Novel , Benno-Verlag, Leipzig 2016
• The pilgrim book for happiness: 40 impulses for a fulfilled life , Benno-Verlag, Leipzig 2017
• Nazarius - the heir of the apostle , Benno-Verlag, Leipzig 2017
• Lead and Silence - The Path to Christian Meditation , Benno-Verlag, Leipzig 2019
• Give God the most beautiful hour of the day - Christian meditations, accompanying book (as a set-up book) for the meditation book , Benno-Verlag, Leipzig 2019
• Holy crap! - Unheard of views of a country pastor , Benno-Verlag, Leipzig 2019

E-books

• May night: A story about the love song of the Cossack Levko / Rimsky-Korsakow , neobooks Self-Publishing, 2014
• Concert: A visit to the daughter , neobooks Self-Publishing, 2014

Web links

• Literature by and about Hermann-Josef Zoche in the catalog of the German National Library
• www.paterzoche.de/ Homepage of Hermann-Josef Zoche

Commons : Hermann-Josef Zoche  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files