Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi

Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi. Photo from the 1920s.

Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi (born May 21 ^{. Jul} / 2. June  1886 ^greg. In the rural community Kurtna , Governorate of Estonia ; † 1. September 1941 in Kirov , Kirov Oblast , Soviet Union ) was an Estonian theologian and politician. He was the Evangelical Lutheran Bishop of Estonia from 1934 to 1939 .

Early years

Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi was born the son of the sexton and school teacher Mart Rahhamäggi (1858–1920) and his wife Louise Amalie (née Drellneck, 1862–1913). He first attended the schools in Jõgisoo and Keila . In 1905 he graduated from the prestigious high school of Emperor Nikolai I in the Estonian capital Tallinn . 1905/06 he worked as a tutor for the pastor and later provost of the parish of Hageri , Konstantin Adolf Thomson (1865-1938).

Study and pastor

From 1906 to 1913 Rahamägi studied Protestant theology at the university in Tartu, Livonia . In 1913 he spent his theological probationary year in Hageri. In April 1914 he was ordained a clergyman in Tallinn Cathedral . From 1914 to 1920 Rahamägi was pastor in Kaarma on the island of Saaremaa . In 1919/20 he was provost of Saaremaa.

theologian

1920 he led theological studies at the University in Berlin . In 1920/21 Rahamägi worked as a lecturer in systematic theology at the University of Tartu . From 1921 to 1926 he worked as a chair representative for the subject. In 1924 Rahamägi completed his doctorate in theology with a dissertation over a thousand pages at the University of Tartu.

From 1926 to 1934 Rahamägi was a full professor of systematic theology and dean of the theological faculty. From 1922 to 1934 he was also pastor of the Estonian-speaking community at the University of Tartu. From 1922 to 1931 Rahamägi was co-founder and editor-in-chief of the influential church newspaper Eesti Kirik .

From 1930 to 1933 Rahamägi was chairman of the Estonian abstinence movement ( Eesti Karskusliit ) founded in 1922 . In addition, he was active in numerous other clubs and societies.

Politician

In addition to his role as a clergyman and theologian, Rahamägi was also politically active in the young Estonian republic. He joined the Christian People's Party ( Kristlik Rahvaerakond ), which advocated a stronger position for the church in the highly secularized state and society. The aim was in particular to achieve a public law status for the church. A great success of the party was the successful referendum in 1923 , in which religious instruction was made compulsory in all Estonian schools against the will of parliament (with voluntary participation of the students).

Rahamägi was a member of the parliament ( Riigikogu ) in its first (1920/21) and fourth (1929) legislative period as a member. From March to December 1924 Rahamägi was Minister of Education of the Republic of Estonia in the cabinet of his party friend Friedrich Karl Akel . He held the same office from December 1924 to December 1925 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jüri Jaakson .

bishop

After Bishop Jakob Kukk died in 1933, Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi was elected by a large majority as the new bishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church ( Eesti Evangeeliumi Luteriusu Kirik ) in June 1934 . He held the office until 1939. From 1934 to 1939 he was also pastor at the Tallinn Cathedral.

On March 12, 1934, the incumbent head of state and government Konstantin Päts seized power in a bloodless coup . The parties were banned, and freedom of expression and freedom of the press were severely restricted. Päts left freedom of belief untouched. From 1934 Päts even strengthened the role and importance of the Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox Church in the state in several laws . Both Päts and Rahamägi took conservative positions on moral issues and opposed the alleged libertinism of the 1920s.

The church, led by Rahamägi, initially came to terms with the new circumstances. After a new constitution came into force on January 1, 1938, Rahamägi became an ex officio member of the State Council ( Riiginõukogu ), the second chamber of parliament, as an Evangelical Lutheran bishop .

In 1935, Rahamägi implemented a new church order with state support, which placed greater emphasis on the centralization of the church. Rahamägi sought another reform that wanted to divide Estonia into four bishoprics, with an archbishop in Tallinn as head of the church. However, he was unable to realize the plans.

In 1938/39 there was a deep crisis in the relations between state and church. The government called for a new church order that should give the state more access rights to internal church processes. The Church itself was divided on the question; Bishop Rahamägi finally rejected the draft and made numerous enemies in state circles.

Marital scandal and dismissal

Rahamägi was married to Edith Hendrikson (1893-1940) since 1914. She left her husband in 1937. The divorce suit caused by alleged (love) affairs in 1938, which was widely discussed in the Estonian press, caused a scandal. The Church was divided over whether Rahamägi could remain in office in the event of a divorce and an intended remarriage. In the autumn of 1939, the unpopular Rahamägi was then dismissed without further ado by the Estonian government, which took the marriage scandal as a pretext. In November 1939, the Evangelical Lutheran Church elected the compensatory Johan Kõpp as the new bishop.

In February 1940 the divorce between Edith and Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi became final. A few days later Rahamägi married the painter Melanie Kukk (born Kuljus, 1903–2000), the young widow of his predecessor, who died in 1933, in the episcopal office of Jakob Kukk . From then on, Rahamägi no longer played a role in the church.

Arrest and death

With the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi was arrested on April 26, 1941. Rahamägi and his wife Melanie were taken to the interior of the Soviet Union. On September 1, 1941, Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi was executed in Kirov prison. His grave is unknown.

Web links

• CV (EELK)
• Works in the holdings of the Estonian National Library

literature

• Eesti elulood. Tallinn: Eesti entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (= Eesti entsüklopeedia 14) ISBN 9985-70-064-3 , p. 399
• Veiko Vihuri: Hugo Bernhard Rahamägi. EELK teine ​​piiskop 1934-1939. Tartu 2007

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sulev Vahtre (ed.): Eesti Ajalugu VI. Tartu 2005, p. 101
2. ↑ Naistemaias piiskop, homoarmuke ja hüpnoosiseansid kirikus ( Memento of the original from March 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) 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.