Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society
The Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Bible Society was founded in Ratzeburg in 1816 . Until 2016 it served as a Bible Society in the area of the Lauenburg Propstei in the Lübeck-Lauenburg parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, not to print its own Bibles, but above all to distribute Bibles printed elsewhere as well as Bible educational campaigns. From 1980 to 2012 she was a member of the North Elbian Bible Society . V. and was involved in the general assembly of the German Bible Society until 2016 .
Prehistory: The Ratzeburg Bible
As early as 1702 a Bible was printed and published in Ratzeburg , of which only very few copies have survived. So it happened as early as the beginning of the 18th century that "at the instigation of a Christian friend in Lübeck the Ehrenveste and art experience Mr. Sigismund Hoffmann, well-known printer in Ratzeburg, printed an invaluable Bible book neatly and neatly".
The text of this Bible corresponds to the Luther Bible printed by Kaspar Holwein in Stade in 1698 . The general superintendent of the duchies of Bremen and Verden, Johann Dieckmann (1647–1720) had rendered outstanding services to the so-called Stader Text . Dieckmann was indeed in large parts of the Lutheran orthodoxy because of his appreciation of Johann Arndt "truths Christianity" as a Pietist and because of its toleration of the Reformed as Kryptocalvinist fallen into disrepute, but his scientific Bible study and from Lutheran spätorthodoxen Lübeck superintendent was Georg Heinrich Götze appreciated positively . Above all, Dieckmann was a good orientalist and a forerunner of German philology .
The thoroughly revised text of the Stader Bible formed the basis not only of the Ratzeburg, but also of the widely used Canstein Bible . Undoubtedly it was the best Luther text, cleared of printing errors, that had also been compared with the Wittenberg Bible editions of 1557, 1565 ( Hans Lufft ) and 1575 (Schwertel) and the later Lüneburg editions. Spelling and punctuation appear normalized and standardized according to the "Concordanz-Bibel" by Friedrich Lankisch (1618–1669).
history
The year of foundation
It is not easy to give an unambiguous and indisputable date for the foundation of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society. The establishment was preceded by a long preparatory phase. As early as 1816 the Scottish pastor Dr. I visited Ebenezer Henderson Ratzeburg and suggested the usefulness of a Bible society. On August 18, 1816, in the presence of the Lauenburg superintendent Carl Johann Conrad Wynecken and a number of notables, including Count Cay Friedrich von Reventlow as governor for Lauenburg , it was decided to found a Bible Society. A draft statute was also accepted in principle.
Two years later, on October 29, 1818, in the presence of Dr. Henderson invited to a charter meeting. At this meeting the Bible Society, which already existed, had members and also collected contributions, was officially established. A third date would be June 30, 1819. On that day, the "Laws of Society" were affirmed by the members of the Bible Society. Since the meeting in August 1816 already had a decision-making character and a statute was accepted in principle, this year could be considered the year of foundation.
Establishment and approval
When Cay Friedrich von Reventlow, the older brother of Fritz Graf Reventlow in Emkendorf, accepted the office of governor and landdrost of the Duchy of Lauenburg, which had been won for Denmark , the spread of the biblically founded faith became his personal concern. Not only as the first official patron, but as a devout Christian, he promoted the spread of the Bible in every respect through the work of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society. He served as its president of this Bible Society for nearly twenty years. In 1834 he died as the last representative of the Danish-German aristocracy around Andreas Peter von Bernstorff .
In August 1816, Dr. Ebenezer Henderson, agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) and later professor for oriental languages in England, in Ratzeburg to encourage the establishment of a Bible society for the dissemination of the Holy Scriptures. Ratzeburg was a wise choice, because the churches of two countries were represented in this city: the church of the (then Danish) Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg and the church of the Principality of Ratzeburg, which belonged to the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz .
On August 18, 1816, the Lauenburg consistorial councilor and superintendent Karl Johannes Conrad Wynecken had a number of the respected residents of Ratzeburg meet with Dr. Henderson invited to his home. Dr. Henderson provided the congregation with a printed, general draft of the organization of a Bible society.
Already on September 20, 1816 the approval was given by Frederik VI. of Denmark and on October 1, 1816 by Grand Duke Carl von Mecklenburg-Strelitz . Thus the matter of the Bible Society became a public matter recognized by the state and placed under its protection, as the attitudes of the rulers expressed at the time on the occasion of the approvals clearly show.
Supports
After long consultations between the Danish governor von Reventlow and the two leading clergymen, consistorial councilor and cathedral provost Carl Gottlob Heinrich Arndt for the Principality of Ratzeburg and Wynecken's successor, superintendent Friedrich Christian Block for the Lutheran regional church of Saxony-Lauenburg , all pastors received on 13. April 1818 a printed request to endeavor to collect signatures for the planned Bible Society and to use them for contributions.
Of the 35 parishes (Duchy of Lauenburg 27, Principality of Ratzeburg 8), 33 parishes followed the call and made considerable contributions. The number of those who donated money was 1,091. Members and benefactors were made up of the well-to-do and the poor, craftsmen, farmers (“God's word mut holpen warden!”), Day laborers, widows, servants and maids. In the meantime, contributions had also been received from schools in the Principality of Ratzeburg and Duchy of Lauenburg. On November 26, 1818, 33 cathedral students in Ratzeburg also founded an association for the distribution of the Bible.
At a meeting on October 29, 1818, the Bible Society, which in itself already existed, was opened in the presence of Dr. Henderson officially founded. After Superintendent Friedrich Christian Block had given a report on the success of the previous efforts, a "narrow committee" of twelve members was formed to temporarily manage the company. The ministers of all congregations were asked “to send in a register of the people who applied for Bibles to them, whose poverty and righteousness were known to them, to determine whether they would receive the whole price, or a quarter, half, or three quarters of it was issued ".
On June 30, 1819, a general meeting was held in the Ratskeller hall in Ratzeburg to confirm the 14 paragraphs of the “Laws of Society”. Fifteen representatives from the Lauenburg and Ratzeburg communities took part in the event. "The purpose of the society is the dissemination of the Holy Scriptures according to the Lutheran translation without comments and explanations."
The new Bible Society received £ 150 from the BFBS in London, £ 100 from the Gilbert van der Smissen department store in Altona and £ 405 New Testaments for £ 50. The Schleswig-Holstein Bible Society initially bought 100 school and 50 handbooks, and 400 school Bibles from the Helwingschen Hofbuchhandlung in Lemgo . In the first year of activity, 492 Bibles were distributed.
Much good news came from the Bible Society study group and from the parishes. The first aid association was founded in Herrnburg , the second in Seedorf . In addition, the founding of aid associations in Lauenburg , Selmsdorf , Sahms and Hohenhorn were to be expected.
Lively correspondence and an exchange of the printed annual reports was maintained with the Bible Societies in London, Schleswig, Hanover, Hamburg-Altona, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen and Stuttgart. These reports were not only read, parts of them were printed in our own publications and also commented on. In the first years of its existence, the “narrow committee” met almost monthly either in the governor's house, in the princely provost's office or in the superintendent's office. The almost complete participation of the twelve committee members in the meetings is striking.
Bible festivals
While the first public Bible celebration took place in Ratzeburg Cathedral in 1820 , the second public Bible celebration was celebrated on June 27, 1822 in the town church of St. Petri in Ratzeburg. In 1823 it was noted with some satisfaction that 4,501 Bibles and 295 New Testaments had been issued in the past six years. Nevertheless, it was noted with concern and sorrow that there were several church congregations "in which up to now not a single or at least very few Bibles have come". The many letters and reports to the “narrow committee” on the work of the Bible Societies in Berlin, Dresden, Breslau, Greifswald, Rügen, Rostock, Hamburg, Lübeck, Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein are impressive and informative.
The third public celebration of the Bible Society was held again in the cathedral church on June 24, 1824. Two years later the fourth Bible festival was held again on June 22, 1826 in the town church. On March 15, 1827, the “narrow committee” decided to hold a collection for the work of the Bible Society once a year in all parishes (so in the parish of the Duchy of Lauenburg to this day), namely for the parishes in the Duchy of Lauenburg on Trinity Sunday (later also at the Reformation Festival), for the communities in the Principality of Ratzeburg at the Reformation Festival.
The fifth public celebration, associated with the meeting of the Bible Society, took place on June 17, 1835 in the town church. The sermon was delivered by the new Superintendent Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Catenhusen , who spoke about the inestimable value of Bible dissemination.
In the meantime it had become a custom that the public Bible festivals were held alternately in the two main churches of Ratzeburg. The celebration on June 14th 1837 took place in the cathedral church, where the provost consistorial councilor M. Karl Genzken preached the sermon.
After nearly twenty years of existence, the Bible Society had 65 members and 136 benefactors. In order to promote Bible reading in the congregations, it was suggested "as has already been introduced by preachers in many congregations in our German fatherland, to spend one hour on Sunday afternoons on a public Bible teaching in order to convey a correct understanding of the word of God".
The high points in the life of the Bible Society were the Bible festivals held regularly every two years in Ratzeburg. On October 17, 1845, the President noted that “not only among us, but also in the neighboring countries of Mecklenburg, Holstein, and Hanover that surround us, the complaint was made that while the zeal for missionary activity grew more and more pleasant, it was more difficult to win hearts more profoundly for the work of the Bible Societies ”.
With the breaking of the connections to the BFBS through the apocryphal dispute , a special peculiarity developed in the continental Bible societies with regard to the distribution of the Bible. It consisted of feeling a responsibility not only for spreading but also for reading and understanding the Word of God. Accordingly, the use of the Bible in house groups was reported again and again and the service personnel were also recommended to read the Holy Scriptures.
Bible messengers
There were very different opinions in the “select committee” about the use and employment of Bible messengers . The Schleswig-Holstein Biblical Society began this type of work in 1838, which was viewed critically by some branch and neighboring societies, as they felt that their work was restricted by the activities of the Bible messengers. The Oberkirchenrat in Schwerin declared in 1851 that it was not permissible for an association to employ a colporteur who had to perform a church office. President Theodor Kliefoth had revoked the license of a BFBS colporteur in 1853, probably because he wanted to prevent Bibles from being distributed in Mecklenburg without apocrypha. Nevertheless, 28,000 Bibles were sold in Germany alone through Bible messengers.
The question was also raised among the members of the “narrow committee” in Ratzeburg, “whether it might be expedient to spread the Bible through the foundation of Bible associations and through colporteurs”. Obviously, the answer to this concern was given by § 4 of the 1854 revised laws of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society: "As a rule, the distribution is done by the Lauenburg and Ratzeburg preachers, as well as by the secretary."
The wording of the new draft of the laws corresponded more or less to the laws of June 30, 1819. However, it was stipulated that the “general assembly” would take place every two years after the Bible festival, which was alternately celebrated in St. Peter's and the cathedral had to take place, and that after the sermon one of the secretaries should give the report on the activities so far.
Changes and developments in the 19th century
When Superintendent Catenhusen died in 1853, it was not only the Bible Society that lost a faithful and conscientious director. For the Lauenburg church, too, he had undoubtedly been the most important superintendent until then. His successor, Superintendent Albert Robert Brömel , served the Bible Society as the Lauenburg director for over 30 years. From 1859 the Principality of Ratzeburg was represented by the Provost Johannes Rußwurm for the next thirty years .
What is remarkable is the obvious change in the social structure of the members and benefactors of the Bible Society. While in 1820 there were still many day laborers, servants, maids, court servants, shepherds, tailors and bricklayers among the members of the Bible Society, forty years later membership consisted almost exclusively of pastors, chamberlains, landlords, senators and officers. In this context, it is significant in terms of contemporary history that the nobility held a strong position in the Duchy of Lauenburg and that it was possible for them to save the state constitution, confirmed by a recess of 1702, beyond the age of absolutism and to maintain it until 1876.
The following names appear among the noble members of the Bible Society: District President Graf von Kielmannsegg , who served as President of the Bible Society from 1864 to 1868, District Administrator Graf von Bernstorff, Oberlanddrost Graf von Eyben, Privy Councilor von Moltke, Chamberlain von Plessen, Chamberlain von Lasson, wife von Bülow, Counselor von Oertzen, Head Forester von Wasmer, Major von Linstow and Court Judge von Hein.
After the death of Kardorffs in November 1864, the district president, Graf von Kielmannsegg, took over the top management of the Bible Society as president. The political situation for the duchy had fundamentally changed. The Duchy of Lauenburg had been a Danish crown domain since 1816 and as such had retained its old-fashioned still life. After the German-Danish war, the knighthood and landscape of the duchy decided to join the Kingdom of Prussia as an independent duchy, while respecting the state constitution . On September 13, 1865, Prussia recognized the state rights, twelve days later, in the presence of King Wilhelm I and Bismarck, the ceremonial homage of the estates took place in Ratzeburg .
At the general assembly on September 6, 1882, which followed the Bible Festival in the Ratzeburg Cathedral, 15 pastors were present to change the laws of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society. The 14 paragraphs of the amended laws were added to the 18th report for the years 1874–1883. It was decided that 1,000 copies of the "Laws" would be printed and distributed as soon as possible.
In January 1885 the first financial crisis loomed. In the years 1874–1882, income fell, both from contributions and from collections. Bible sales also decreased. A general assembly was called for June 25, 1885, to which 17 pastors, two rectors, a senator and a seminar leader appeared. The pastors were asked to remedy the deficit as soon as possible through donations. A year later the deficit was covered.
In the 19th report of 1888 it could be stated that the Bible Society had issued 32,680 Bibles and 584 New Testaments in the first 70 years of its existence. The reports of the next few years were largely determined by urgent reminders to the ministerial brothers both to pay contributions and to deliver collections on time.
On September 12, 1888, a Bible festival was held in the town church with a pastor from the principality as preacher. For several years, however, there were no other Bible festivals, so that in 1895 it was finally decided to combine the traditional Bible festival with the mission festival of the Principality of Ratzeburg on June 25, 1896.
Developments in the 20th Century
After eleven years, a Bible festival and a mission festival took place in Ratzeburg again in 1907.
A decisive turning point for the Bible Society occurred in the summer of 1910 with the preparation of a new statute. On September 20 of the same year, 26 members, including 23 clergy, two officials and a bookbinder, met and accepted the 22 paragraphs of the new statutes, which in many ways reflected the spirit of an association. On October 14, 1910, the Lauenburg-Ratzeburgische Bibelgesellschaft was entered in the register of associations in Ratzeburg under number 13.
Just a few weeks after the beginning of the First World War , the board of the Bible Society complied with the request of the Central Committee for Internal Mission to provide Bibles for distribution to soldiers in the field and in the hospitals. Since relations with the British and Foreign Bible Society, the parent company of all German Bible Societies, were strained by the war, the boards of directors of the German Bible Societies met in Halle .
In the post-war years, the problem of the grapes again arose. Of course one was aware that the spreading of the Traubibel signaled the transition from the charitable to the commercial way of spreading the Bible.
There is no doubt that the Bible Society was facing difficult times. The Bible Society's working capital saved over 100 years had been lost to inflation. In order to improve the economic situation, it was proposed, following the example of other Bible societies (e.g. the Eutin Bible Society ), to offer not only Bibles but also hymn books . However, this proposal was rejected because the statutes did not allow it.
It is difficult to determine the date when the Ratzeburger Dompropstei gave up joint responsibility for the Bible Society. On September 3, 1935, the nine-member administrative committee met in the state superintendent. This event was arguably the last time a multi-member management committee met.
At the beginning of the Second World War , the Bible Society distributed the Bible booklet produced by the Württemberg Biblical Society with selected biblical words, "Drum go brave on it," Bible words for soldiers .
The custom decided in 1835 to collect for the work of the Bible Society in the parishes at the Reformation Festival was abolished in 1940 at the latest, as it was collected on Reformation Day for the Gustav Adolf Society and the collection for the Bible Society was moved to October 27 or November 17 has been. Also in the following years there was no more collection at the Reformation Festival for the Bible Society.
On July 21, 1941, pastor Wilhelm Waldemar Meyer from the Schleswig-Holstein Biblical Society approached the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society with the suggestion "whether it might be inclined to unite with us, since there should only be one Bible Society in each regional church" . But since the parishes of the Mecklenburg cathedral provost in Ratzeburg still belonged to the Bible Society, this step was not taken.
On November 1, 1941, the executive committee of the Biblical Society according to § 16 of the statutes of 1910 consisted of the state superintendent and the second pastor at St. Petri-Ratzeburg as clerk, bookkeeper and accounting officer. This management model held its own until November 2016. The last amendment to the statutes was decided on November 6, 1989 and entered in the register of associations of the Ratzeburg District Court.
A Bible exhibition in 1974 provided the framework for Bible studies on the subject of “The Word Remains” in the Ratzeburg city church of St. Petri. In the fall of 1987 two Bible exhibitions took place in Ratzeburg. The work of the Bible Society, namely the dissemination of the Word of God, has proven itself steadily in the eighties, when around 500 Bibles and 150 parts of the Bible were sold annually.
On October 27, 1991, the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society celebrated its 175th anniversary with a festival and thanksgiving service in the St. Petri Church in Ratzeburg, followed by a lecture on the work of the Biblical Society and the publication of a commemorative publication on the occasion.
Bible shops and celebrations
On March 3, 2000, a Bible shop was opened at Schrangenstrasse 3 in Ratzeburg. The offer of the Bible Shop includes the entire range of the German Bible Society. Bibles, children's Bibles, biblical books for children and young people, non-fiction books, gift books, computer Bibles and much more can be purchased in the Bible Shop .
Another offer from the Bible Shop is a portable book table that can be borrowed for church and school celebrations. In addition, the volunteers of the Bible Society come to other parishes to present recommended children's Bibles or new publications, for example.
On May 12, 2001, the Bible Society invited to a twelve-hour festival around the Bible in the St. Petri Church in Ratzeburg. Interested visitors were invited to read their favorite text from the Bible. In the evening there was a panel discussion on “What does the Bible mean to me in my life?”.
On January 26th, 2003, the Bible Society celebrated a festive service in the St. Petri Church in Ratzeburg with the participants of the "Bible Discovery Tour 2003" for groups of children and young people. A Bible festival for adults followed on April 5, 2003 in the House of the Bible Society, Schrangenstr. 2, in Ratzeburg. The sermon on the next day on the subject of “Family Stories ” was given by Provost Peter Godzik .
resolution
On November 16, 2016, following an evening service in the Ratzeburg St. Petri Church, thanks were given for 200 years of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society and the association was dissolved. The Bible pedagogical work will be continued in the Schleswig-Holstein Bible Society .
swell
- Hermann Augustin (Ed.): Lauenburger Land, respect the word of the Lord! Festschrift for the 175th anniversary of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society 1816–1991 , Ratzeburg 1991
- Peter Godzik (Ed.): History of the North Elbian Bible Societies , 2004 (online at pkgodzik.de) (PDF; 411 kB)
literature
- Wilhelm Gundert: History of the German Bible Societies in the 19th Century (Texts and Works on the Bible 3) , Bielefeld: Luther 1987, pp. 154 f., 171, 318.
Individual evidence
- ^ Organization chart of the German Bible Society, on www.dbg.de (accessed on June 10, 2013)
- ↑ From the preface by Georg Heinrich Götze , quoted by Otto FA Meinardus : On the Ratzeburg Bible of 1702 , in: Hermann Augustin (Ed.): Lauenburger Land, eighth of the Lord's word! Festschrift for the 175th anniversary of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society 1816–1991 , Ratzeburg 1991, p. 41 ff.
- ^ Hermann Augustin (Ed.): Lauenburger Land, eighth the word of the Lord! Festschrift for the 175th anniversary of the Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Biblical Society 1816–1991 , Ratzeburg 1991
- ↑ http://www.ln-online.de/Lokales/Lauenburg/Ein-Geschaeft-mit-Geschichte-und-vielen-Geschenkideen
- ^ Peter Godzik: Familiengeschichten , in: ders .: Shine like heaven's shine. Signs of life from the Lauenburger Land , Steinmann Verlag, Rosengarten b. Hamburg 2008, pp. 112–115