Holic group

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A Christian denomination is referred to as a Holic group , which is characterized by a strong seclusion and an intensive community life. It consists of individual residential communities which, through close ties, form their own religious community.

history

The group itself rejects a name for itself. She calls herself " Christian " or "the church". For better identification, outsiders refer to it as the Holic group (pronounced: Holitsch). Gottfried Holic (1943–2010), originally a Catholic, had a conversion experience in Vienna's Waldmüllerpark . After that he began to study Catholic theology . After a while he no longer felt at home in the Catholic Church and attended free and evangelical congregations. He did not find his religious home there either, but met with rejection through his ideas and offensive attempts at proselytizing. Some groups, who found him divisive, banned him and his friends from the house. The formation of the community in the late 1970s / early 1980s is attributed by outsiders to the initiative of Gottfried Holic, while the group itself decidedly denies that the intention to found a group existed from the beginning. “None of those involved had the intention of forming a group at the time. This thought was far from us. It is an act of human pride when someone wants to start their own group or church. "

The group came into being with a shared apartment on Eisvogelgasse in Vienna, in which Gottfried Holic himself was not involved. After the street name of the community, the members were initially also called "kingfishers". As a result of missions, further residential communities were established in other cities in Austria . In mid-2004, Gottfried Holic was excluded from the community because of a different understanding of the community.

Membership expulsions have increased since around 2007. As a rule, this exclusion took place against the will of the person concerned, and he wanted to be re-admitted to the group as soon as possible. The reasons for exclusion could be extremely banal. For example, one former member said that he was excluded because of his increased need for sleep. According to the group, the expulsion was due to dishonesty and lies, which went as far as the defamation of their former friend. During the phase of exclusion, the excluded usually live alone. Contacts with the outside world are limited to purely factual issues (work, errands, visits to the authorities). Group members who are still active reject contact with them because they are considered sinners. The excluded do not seek contact with other excluded people or even the rest of the world (e.g. their own parents) (except for factually necessary things) because they are also considered sinners. He does not want to pollute himself with them in order not to endanger the intended possible re-entry into the group.

Teaching

According to her self-image she wants to live consistently according to the Gospel according to the example of the first Christians. For them, important signs of true following of Jesus are: a lot of fellowship, daily prayer meetings and Bible reading together, the uncompromising fight against sin, the rejection of ministers and strong missionary commitment. The image of God represented by the group is described by critics as "legal". The “worldly” people outside the group are seen as selfish and haughty because they do not focus on God. In contrast, they see themselves as an alternative to the true followers of Jesus with a life that is as sinless as possible. Other Christian communities are denied that they really want to put the teaching of Jesus into practice. They are considered to be those who have not taken the narrow path of turning away from the world and worldliness and whose members are therefore for the most part not Christians.

In theology her main interests lie in questions of life (the relationship to God) of the individual or the community as well as the criticism of other denominations or religions based on their understanding of the Bible. For the other topics (e.g. Trinity , eschatology , ...), the mainstream theology of the large churches is usually adopted. The community is accused by former members of overemphasizing questions of the truth of faith and of completely misinterpreting or neglecting one of the most essential features of Christian faith, namely the love lived according to Paul and 1 Corinthians 13.

With their understanding of the atonement of Jesus Christ through his death on the cross, they do not stand on the basis of the atonement theory that is widespread in the Protestant area and is based on the medieval doctrine of satisfaction . According to their understanding, the death of Jesus is God's loving answer to the wickedness of people, but that God did not have to be reconciled through the blood of Jesus in order to be able to forgive sins.

Rites / actions

The baptism is a sign of a conscious decision of faith just as the First Communion and Confirmation. For this reason, adults who have already been baptized as children are baptized again when they join the group, unless they are already considered Christians in the eyes of the group.

Even if communion is sometimes celebrated, the community lives mainly from the daily meetings. They are designed quite freely (because one rejects rites) and usually contain Bible readings , critical discussions about what has been read or other topics of faith, singing (sometimes with simple instrumental accompaniment) and prayers. Special holidays (such as Christmas , Easter , birthdays ) etc. are rejected.

A hallmark of the group is the emphasis on community. In her opinion, there are certain criteria in the Bible that characterize the true church of Jesus:

  1. a community of committed Christians, each made a personal choice for Christ
  2. no officers in the community: the officers would abuse their offices to maintain personal power. It is also absolutely asserted here that “a pastor does not have the Holy Spirit”. Actually, they are unnecessary, because every Christian can and should do what is necessary for the congregation, i.e. be a leader, organizer, preacher, etc. The elders, bishops and various other offices of the early Christian congregations, which are mentioned in the Pauline letters , should be considered in the context of the respective congregation situation, which in today's environment is different than in the first century. The church needs elders who have Christian virtues, experience, and teaching skills. In their manageable community, however, no formal appointment is necessary, as these things have gradually grown. On their website they describe themselves as follows: "We just want to be Christians, brothers and sisters who worship God as our common father and Jesus as our common Lord."
  3. Daily meeting, with Bible study: daily gathering of Christians for prayer, Bible study, sharing and singing in an informal manner guided by the Holy Spirit, be biblical. In their opinion, the celebration of certain Christian holidays (Easter, Christmas) contradicts apostolic and early Christian practice.
  4. Sharing of spiritual and material goods: This means that one also discusses personal things, both positive and negative (e.g. misconduct) with the other group members.
  5. no sinners in the church: However, only the "persistent sinners" are excluded from the church in order to maintain the separation between believers and unbelievers. However, one can be regarded as "persistent" if one insists on one's own opinion on a point of contention and does not submit to the opinion of the group. Other Christian communities are accused of failing to make this clear separation from "sinners". That is why they are denied being a church.

In the other Christian churches, the lack of these criteria is the reason why personal life is not shaped by faith. Individual positive traits are seen in people of different faiths, but put into perspective. A common prayer with Christians outside the group is rejected.

organization

The individual shared apartments keep in contact with one another through regular meetings. These usually take place weekly at the regional level and at longer intervals at the international level. Since the community rejects a hierarchical structure, there are no defined offices in it. However, the “older siblings” (long-term members) exercise a certain dominance. When discussing upcoming issues (in which everyone participates), their opinion often carries more weight due to their longer experience.

practice

The usual way of life is the community of committed Christians, who have all made a conscious decision for Jesus and live celibate. Material and spiritual things are shared in the residential communities. Since mission plays a major role in their self-image alongside the community, the members are often out in the evenings to do missionary work in other Christian communities. For this purpose, events are attended at which one meets interested (especially young) church-committed Christians, such as E.g. youth groups, Bible study groups, student congregations, evangelism or other major Christian events. The missionaries usually do not identify themselves as such, but present themselves as interested individuals. Another form of advertising is done using small posters on which cell phone numbers or e-mail addresses are offered as contacts for those interested in religion. Such a poster says z. B: "Is there someone here who is looking for God? We are Christians without a leader or institution who want to live together according to the example and teaching of Jesus."

They understand their lifestyle as missionary and claim to convey the principles of Christianity to atheists, Muslims and followers of other religions. Publicly available reports, however, only show a mission in the Christian environment.

In their private lives, the members try to align their lives as completely as possible with what they interpret as the following of Jesus. Life is focused on the community and is very much shaped by religion in all its practices. Because all luxury is considered a sin, their lifestyle is decidedly simple. The connections to the former circle of friends and relatives are severely restricted and sometimes even broken off after a period of membership. The financial questions are an exception: with regard to maintenance entitlement or inheritance, one is sometimes quite demanding towards people with whom one would otherwise refuse contact.

A practice that seems strange to outsiders is "fighting", for which fixed times are programmed at the meeting. The members wrestle in a playful way in a childlike manner. This presumably serves to reduce affects within the group, in which otherwise there is strict no marriage or partner.

distribution

The first shared apartment in Vienna was soon followed by others in other cities in Austria. Since the opening of Eastern Europe (1990), branches have also been set up in Hungary , Poland , the Czech Republic , the Baltic countries as well as Saxony and Berlin . Around 2000, the expansion continued towards southern Germany (Stuttgart and Munich) and the Netherlands .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sects and world views in Saxony. Holic. Retrieved July 26, 2011 .
  2. ^ Sects and world views in Saxony. Holic. Retrieved August 24, 2012 .
  3. ^ Opinion (of the Holic group) on G. Kluge, Die Holic group. Description of a sect Section II. Retrieved June 28, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Experience report of an exclusion. Retrieved August 24, 2012 .
  5. ^ Opinion (of the Holic group) on G. Kluge, Die Holic group. Description of a sect Section IX. Retrieved July 11, 2012 .
  6. ↑ Experience report of an exclusion. Retrieved August 24, 2012 .
  7. ↑ Presentation of the teaching of the Holic group. Retrieved August 24, 2012 .
  8. ↑ The love of Paul and the "bitter" love of the community. (PDF; 245 kB) Archived from the original on April 13, 2014 ; Retrieved June 28, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sekten-sachsen.de
  9. ↑ Jesus' death for us - a sacrifice. Retrieved February 11, 2013 .
  10. ^ Church services in the Holic group. Retrieved August 31, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Way of life in the Holic group. Retrieved August 31, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Way of life in the Holic group. Retrieved August 31, 2013 .
  13. ↑ Way of life in the Holic group. Retrieved August 24, 2012 .
  14. ^ Distribution of the Holic group. Retrieved August 31, 2013 .