Kurt Stalder

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Kurt Stalder (born July 24, 1912 in Magden ; † December 27, 1996 in Bern ) was a Christian Catholic theologian. From 1960 to 1982 he held the chair for New Testament science , homiletics and catechetics at the Christian Catholic theological faculty of the University of Bern .

Career

Stalder grew up with four younger siblings in Magden AG. After attending the humanistic grammar school in Basel, he studied Christian Catholic theology in Bern from 1932 to 1936. He was ordained a diaconate in 1936 by Bishop Adolf Küry and ordained a priest in 1937 . His pastor was in Grenchen until 1950 , then in Bern until 1962. In 1959 Ernst Gaugler completed his doctorate as Dr. theol. with a work on The Work of the Spirit in Sanctification with Paul . This dissertation was published in book form in 1962.

In 1960 Kurt Stalder succeeded Ernst Gaugler as professor at the University of Bern. The Bernese government council appointed him associate professor in 1960 and full professor in 1962. He held his professorship for 44 semesters until his retirement in 1982. In addition, he was dean from 1964–1966 and 1971–1976.

Kurt Stalder had been married to Margareta Krams, the daughter of his predecessor in the rectory in Bern, since 1938. Three daughters were born to them: Verena (1942), Franziska (1946) and Maria Magdalena (1950).

Theological work

In his doctoral thesis, published as a book in 1962, Stalder dealt with the Pauline understanding of the work of the Spirit in the life of people who were newly called in Christ to communion with God. In this work, his peculiarity of placing exegetical investigations consistently in overarching systematic questions became clear for the first time.

Kurt Stalder was Co-President of the Christian Catholic - Roman Catholic Dialogue Commission (CRGK) from 1966 to 1993. This commission in turn sent him to the Evangelical / Roman-Catholic Dialogue Commission and the Orthodox / Roman-Catholic Dialogue Commission as a representative of the CRGK. He represented the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht from 1968 to 1975 in the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. 1974–1985 he was involved in the work of the Anglican - Old Catholic Theological Conference. In the Christian Catholic Church itself he was appointed to the Synodal Council from 1969 to 1981.

For his services to Swiss ecumenism, Kurt Stalder received an honorary doctorate from the Protestant theological faculty of the University of Neuchâtel in 1975, and the second honorary doctorate was awarded to him in 1993 by the Christian theological academy in Warsaw. In 1983, the Utrecht Metropolitan Chapter awarded him the St. Maartens partition, and in 1985 he received the Blaise Pascal Prize from the Old Catholic Archbishop's Seminary.

Stalder also took part in the ecumenical discussions about the papacy. In an essay on the occasion of the “Ecumenical Weekend” in 1974 in Zurich, he portrays the vision of the Petrine ministry as a “primus inter pares”, not with decision-making authority, but with a duty of service, as was the case with the Utrecht Declaration of 1889 sets out.

In his essay “Offices in the Church”, written in preparation for the 104th session of the National Synod in 1977, one of the core ideas of his theological considerations is expressed. Among other things, it says:

“In the implementation of the apostolic succession, the laity is jointly responsible for the apostolic ministry, just as, conversely, the apostolic ministry is jointly responsible for ensuring that the laity has the maturity for the independent deliberation and decision-making that is mentioned above. The apostolic office and the laity must be partners of equal dignity. "

Kurt Stalder also addressed the tension between theological science and the teaching office of the church several times; in his discussion "The ecclesiological and canonical content of the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches" he addressed the complex links between ecclesiology, canon law and authority - or their integration into it Old Catholic (Christian Catholic) theological and legal philosophical standpoints - position.

In 2000 the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference adopted a new statute, which replaced the Utrecht Convention from 1889, which had been amended several times. This statute of the Union of Utrecht, which has been in effect since January 1, 2001, is clearly shaped by Kurt Stalder's understanding of law.

Throughout his theological career, Stalder repeatedly raises the question: “How can man be free in his relationship with God?” This ultimately led to: the “double freedom” of God and man . Even in the 21st century, “his” theology is (posthumously) further researched and commented on, for example through a study that appeared in an ecumenical series in 2011:

“Even if Stalder does not explicitly explain this anywhere, his argumentation can always be reconstructed as a dialectical three-step: The starting point is human freedom in relation to God's freedom as well as in relation to the freedom of other people. This is followed by the attempt to overcome the competing contradictions that result from them and to convert them into opposites that complement each other. "

A comprehensive review of Stalder's life and thought as an exegete, clergyman, catechist, preacher and spiritual author, which theologians he influenced and which theologies he was influenced by - in his early days by Karl Barth, for example - is due to the abundance of the Materials still out.

Works

  • Experience the reality of Christ. Ecclesiological Studies and Their Significance for the Existence of the Church Today. Benziger, Zurich / Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-545-26192-1 .
  • Language and knowledge of the reality of God. Texts on some epistemological and systematic requirements for exegetical and homiletic work. Univ.-Verlag, Freiburg i. Üe. 2000, ISBN 3-7278-1241-9 (published posthumously by Urs von Arx ; additionally contains a short curriculum vitae, a directory of church and university offices and a comprehensive bibliography of Stalder's works)
  • The work of the Spirit in sanctification in Paul. Dissertation to obtain a doctorate from the Christian Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Bern. EVZ-Verlag, Zurich 1962.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Urs Küry (original), Christian Oeyen (ed.): The Old Catholic Church. Their history, their teaching, their concerns (= The Churches of the World. Series A: Self-portrayals of the Churches. Vol. 3). Third edition supplemented and provided with a supplement. Evangelisches Verlagswerk, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-7715-0190-3 , pp. 526-527
  2. ↑ Urs von Arx (ed.): Kurt Stalder: Language and knowledge of the reality of God. Texts on some epistemological and systematic requirements for exegetical and homiletic work. 1st edition. Universitätsverlag Freiburg, Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-7278-1241-9 , p. 443 .
  3. ↑ Urs von Arx (ed.): Kurt Stalder: Language and knowledge of the reality of God. Texts on some epistemological and systematic requirements for exegetical and homiletic work. 1st edition. Universitätsverlag Freiburg, Freiburg 2000, ISBN 3-7278-1241-9 , p. 437-441 .
  4. ^ Kurt Stalder: Conciliarity and Peter's function in the church. In: Heinrich Stirnimann , Lukas Vischer (ed.): Papacy and Petrusdienst (= Ecumenical Perspectives No. 7). Commissioned by the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg. Otto Lembeck Josef Knecht, Frankfurt / Main 1975, ISBN 3-7820-0334-9 , p. 62.
  5. ↑ a b Kurt Stalder: Experiencing the reality of Christ: Ecclesiological investigations and their significance for the existence of the church today . 1st edition. Benziger, Zurich - Cologne 1984, ISBN 3-545-26192-1 , pp. 133 .
  6. ^ Kurt Stalder: Theological Science. In: One hundred years of the Christian Catholic theological faculty at the University of Bern. Supplement to the International Church Journal, 4th issue, Stämpfli, Bern 1974, p. 215.
  7. ↑ Andreas Krebs: Redemption for Freedom. The “double freedom” of God and man in Kurt Stalder's theology . 1st edition. LIT, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-643-11007-7 , pp. 99 .
  8. ↑ Andreas Krebs: Redemption for Freedom. The “double freedom” of God and man in Kurt Stalder's theology . 1st edition. LIT, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-643-11007-7 , pp. 104 .
personal data
SURNAME Stalder, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss Christian Catholic New Testament scholar
DATE OF BIRTH July 24, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Maids
DATE OF DEATH December 27, 1996
Place of death Bern