Church property

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As a church property ( latin bona ecclesiastica ), in some cases, monastic property is referred to in the property of the church and asset objects located with its affiliated institutions.

species

They are divided into foundation goods ( Latin Dos ), with which the church was endowed as basic assets at the foundation , and newly acquired goods ( Latin Bona noviter acquisita ), which were only acquired later by the church. They are either intended for the benefit of individual church members ( Latin Bona particularia ) such as B. the church benefices ( Latin Beneficia, Bona beneficialia ), or intended for general church purposes ( Latin Beneficia communia ). The latter were also called Kirchenärar (church box , Latin Fabrica ecclesiae ).

history

Early Christianity

Even under the first Christian emperors, part of the secular temple property was transferred to the Christian church, at the same time it received great wealth through bequests , gifts , inheritances, etc., which were used for the benefit of the clergy , for church building and especially for charitable purposes. Later the church received state property through the princes , and the tithe introduced by law in the Franconian Empire further increased the church's income. Particularly during the time of the Crusades , the church property received a significant increase, which also benefited many charitable institutions, but also the higher clergy as well as the construction and artistic decoration of church buildings. At that time there were also disputes with the feudal lords of the church, who claimed the vacancy money and the legacies of the prelates and did not always grant the church property the expected protection.

Reformation time and later

During the Reformation , the church property suffered significant losses, with the sovereign princes, the vassals as well as the city households and individual church members having considerable parts of the church property. But some things were used for mild foundations, for the establishment of higher scientific institutions, etc. The legal provisions on the legal relations of church property form a section of canon law , and since the general church legislation appeared to be inadequate, the specific church legislation has dealt with it in particular. First of all, certain restrictions were placed on the right to acquire church property, something that had already happened in the 16th century through the amortization laws. So were z. For example, according to the law of 1833, all donations to domestic church institutions must be reported to the authority, and approval must be given for amounts exceeding 1000 thalers. In the Catholic countries this point was mostly arranged in the concordats .

Property right

The answer to the question about the subject of property was that the individual community or the institute in question was designated as the person entitled to property that was donated for special church purposes. However, their right of ownership is limited insofar as the preservation of church property and the prevention of any misappropriation is a matter for the higher church authority and the municipality is only entitled to administer it. The central and religious fund administered by the state is not owned by the community but by the regional church. The division of the ecclesiastical property among those leaving and remaining, as proposed by the free congregation in the event of separations , cannot therefore take place, because it would reduce the substance of the property in relation to the parish; just as little as the proposal to unite all church archives into a general main fund for church purposes, which violates the character of the local foundation. In the case of ownership of the property of expired spiritual foundations, d. H. those whose foundational determination can no longer be achieved, the earlier reversal law does not apply, but such church property can only be used again for church purposes under the authority of the state. In regard of the taxation of church property by the state formed since the stronger design of the control constitutions in Germany usually the principle of that the churches and ecclesial foundations of respect Dotalgutes were usually exempt from the ordinary state taxes through contracts, ceremonies or tradition, and only in In extraordinary cases, the sovereigns considered themselves entitled to use church property for taxation even without papal indult . In the more recent laws, the older privileges of the church and church foundations in this regard are sometimes retained, but sometimes also abolished, or at least limited to the buildings directly intended for worship and the dwelling of church officials.

administration

The administration of ecclesiastical property is entrusted to special ecclesiastical officials in each church, who initially lead them under the supervision of ecclesiastical superiors and indirectly of the state. The position of these ecclesiastical officials as well as their range of duties is very different depending on the legal nature and purpose of the managed foundation, etc. The chapters of the Catholic Church the administration is usually the provost or dean to: in the individual parishes are mostly church fathers ( aged people, Vitrici, Magistri fabricae ) ordered that appointed by the church leaders and with the direct participation in the pastor, after being the patron , administer the church property. Occasionally, however, the municipalities are also allowed to participate by appointing committees, electing senior citizens, etc.

In the Evangelical Church there is on the whole the same institution, only that the congregation already had the right to participate in the appointment of the church fathers through direct election and to participate in the accounting. In recent times, however, thanks to the new church parish regulations, the administration of church property has been transferred to the parishes themselves, which elect presbyteries , church colleges, etc. for this purpose . The responsibility of the administrators of church property is generally based on the rules on the responsibility of guardians. The particular rights, however, usually limit the sphere of activity of the same even more by referring the administrators to the necessary approval of the inspection or the church council for less important orders, but for more important ones, namely all sales, even apply for approval from the highest church authority. In the event of losses which the church has accrued through the mistake of its administrators, the damaged church has the right to be restored to its previous status. Another prerogative of church property is that lawsuits, which would otherwise expire in 30 years if the church is entitled to them, only expire after 40 years and therefore also the possession of church properties only after 40 years, not already 39 years ago. In the event that the church's own fortune should not be sufficient to maintain the church in its structural form, more general provisions were made especially by the Tridentine Council (Sess. XXI. 7). According to this, if these building costs cannot be covered from the Fabrica ecclesiae, the patrons and all those who receive income from the church, e.g. B. in the case of incorporated churches, the founders and monasteries in which they are incorporated. According to these, the parochials are to be called upon to pay contributions; but where even this means is insufficient, the community should be incorporated into another and the church building used for another decent purpose. These provisions formed the basis for the common law of both the Catholic and the Evangelical Church. However, numerous regulations were added to this question, which regulated the obligation in more detail. The duty of the Parochians is under common law z. B. to be understood only as a personal one; In the particular rights, on the other hand, it has mostly become a real burden with the nature of a property tax or even a real burden , for which purpose the properties of a corridor are sometimes divided into special hooves ( church hooves ).

In relation to branch congregations, the principle exists that they only have to contribute to the mother church if, for example, in the latter they have to wait for the service at times; otherwise the duty of the branches extends only to the maintenance of the subsidiary church and at most to the maintenance of the communal parish buildings.

See also

literature

  • Helfert, From the Church Property, 3rd edition Prague 1834, 2 vol .;
  • Evelt, The Church and its Institutes in the Field and Property Rights, Soest, 845;
  • Gründler, About the obligation to contribute to the preservation of the cult buildings, Nürnb. 1833:
  • Permaneder, Die kirchliche Baulast, 2nd edition, Munich 1856.

Web links

This article is based on a text in the public domain from Pierer's Encyclopedic Dictionary , 4th Edition from 1857–1865.
Please only remove this note if you have revised the article to such an extent that the text reflects the current state of knowledge on this topic, this is supported by sources and it meets today's linguistic requirements.