List of the bishops of Dresden-Meißen

Coat of arms of the old diocese of Meissen

The medieval diocese of Meissen extended beyond the Upper Saxon core area of the margraviate of Meissen into Lusatia , so that when the Reformation was introduced in the Albertine duchy of Saxony in 1539, Catholic areas continued to exist. This list includes the bishops of the Meissen diocese up to the Reformation, the Apostolic Prefects of Meissen subsequently appointed for Lusatia, the Apostolic Vicars in the Saxon Hereditary Lands since the Saxon-Polish period, and the bishops of the Meissen diocese , re-established in 1921 , since 1979 Diocese of Dresden- Meissen . The auxiliary bishops in Meissen are not listed here .

The bishops in the Middle Ages and the early modern period

The following list gives a succession of the bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Meissen .

No.	bishop	from	to	description
01	Burchard	968	969
02	Volkold	969	992
03	Eido I.	992	1015	Eido was a contemporary of Bishop Thietmar von Merseburg .
04th	Eilward	1016	1023	Eilward was appointed by Emperor Heinrich II . During his time as bishop Hermann I was Margrave of Meissen.
05	Hugbert	1023	1024	Like his successor, Hugbert was ordained bishop by the Magdeburg Metropolitan Humfried .
06th	Dietrich I.	1024	1040	Dietrich I was the founder of the St. Afra Church . He took part in the Synod of Frankfurt convened by Konrad II in 1027 . Meißen and Lausitz became a theater of war between the emperor and Mieszko II. Lambert . The emperor destroyed temples and idols of the Wends and excluded those who did not want to profess the Christian faith from privileged positions.
07th	Eido II	1040	1046	Eido II appears in documents only as part of a donation from Emperor Heinrich III. to the Meißner Hochstift, which was suggested by the intercession of the Archbishop of Magdeburg Humfried and the Meißen Margrave Ekkehard I.
	Meinward			Older rows of bishops list a bishop Meinward for the period from 1046 to 1051 at this point . But it is a historically incorrect assignment of Bishop Reinward (1140–1150).
08th	Bruno I.	1046	1065	The existence of Bruno I is reliably proven by - only - three deeds of gift. Margrave of Meissen was to 1062 Wilhelm , the Otto I succeeded.
09	Purer	1065	1066	Reiner was consecrated by the Magdeburg Metropolitan Werner von Steusslingen . He was active as a bishop for only two years.
	Craft	1066	1066	Craft was provost in Goslar . The Kaiserpfalz Goslar with the Goslar Cathedral or the Goslar Pen had reached a heyday. Craft was elected bishop and received ordination. However, he died before his return to Meissen.
10	St. Benno	1066	1106
11	Herwig	1106	1119	Herwig is said to have been born in Wurzen in Gau Siusili , where he also founded the Wurzen collegiate monastery and was buried there. In 1119 a crusade began against the Sorbs , which had obviously been preceded by bitter disputes in the border region.
	Grambert			Older ranks of bishops list a bishop Grambert for the period from 1118/1119 to 1125 at this point . But it is a historically incorrect assignment of Bishop Reinward (1140–1150).
12	Godebold	1119	1140	Godebold was enthroned by the Magdeburg Metropolitan Rudgar von Veltheim . Godebold had a friendly relationship with his successor, Saint Norbert von Xanten . At a diocesan synod held in 1130, the Margrave Conrad I was present with his sons Otto , Dietrich , Heinrich , Dedo and Friedrich .
13	Reinward	1140	1150	Reinward was first provost of the cathedral in Meissen. He experienced the Second Crusade .
	Berthold			Older rows of bishops list a bishop Berthold for the period from 1146 to 1149/50 at this point . But such a bishop cannot be proven.
14th	Albrecht I.	1150	1152	Albrecht I is said to come from the Sorbian nobility. The contemporary historian and Freising Bishop Otto mentions him in connection with the dispute between Friedrich von Berg and Hermann von Horn over the bishopric in Utrecht. With the consent of the Pope, the diocese came under the protection of Margrave Konrad von Meissen . Just like the diocese of Naumburg , taxes and other claims were accepted in return. In 1152 the Roman-German King Conrad III. the bishop, who was known to be eloquent, on a diplomatic mission to the Greek emperor Manuel I. The bishop died on the way there or at his destination in Constantinople .
	Bruno II			Older ranks of bishops list a bishop Bruno II at this point , and, according to a different count, also Bruno I for the period from 1152 to 1154. But such a bishop cannot be proven. The cause of the error is evidently an incorrect dating of Bruno I (1046-1065).
15th	Gerung	1152	1170	Gerung settled immigrant Flemish farmers in Kühren and provided them with some privileges. Duke Vladislav II invaded the country due to border disputes with the margraviate of Meissen and wreaked havoc.
16	Martin	1170	1190	Martin was among the participants in the Third Lateran Council . The establishment of the Altzella monastery falls during his time as bishop. He died on the Third Crusade near the city of Tire .
17th	Dietrich II of Kittlitz	1191	1208
18th	Bruno II of Porstendorf	1209	1228
19th	Heinrich	1228	1240
20th	Konrad I. von Wallhausen	1240	1258
21st	Albrecht II of Mutzschen	1258	1266	see also Mutzschen
22nd	Withego I of Furra	1266	1293
23	Bernhard von Kamenz	1293	1296
24	Albrecht III. from Leisnig	1296	1312	Albrecht III. came from the castle counts of the Leisnig family .
25th	Withego II of Colditz	1312	1342	see also Colditz (noble family)
26th	Johann I of Isenburg	1342	1370
	Dietrich von Schönberg	1370	1370	Dietrich von Schönberg was elected bishop in 1370. However, this choice was initially not recognized in Rome. Dietrich died on the return journey from Rome after he had obtained confirmation of his election from Pope Urban V.
27	Konrad II of Kirchberg-Wallhausen	1370	1375
28	Johann II of Jenstein	1375	1379
29	Nicholas I.	1379	1392
30th	Johann III. from Kittlitz	1392	1398	Johann III. came from the von Kittlitz family . He was previously Bishop of Lebus (1382-1392). Due to his age, he gave up in 1398 and died in 1408.
31	Thimo from Colditz	1399	1410	see also Colditz (noble family)
32	Rudolf von der Planitz	1411	1427
33	Johannes IV Hoffmann von Schweidnitz	1427	1451
34	Caspar von Schönberg	1451	1463
35	Dietrich III. from Schönberg	1463	1476
36	Johann V. von Weißenbach	1476	1487	Johann V was a contemporary of Melchior von Meckau , who was provost of Meissen in 1482.
37	Johann VI. from Saalhausen	1487	1518	see also Saalhausen (noble family)
38	Johann VII von Schleinitz	1518	1537	see also Schleinitz (noble family)
39	Johann VIII von Maltitz	1537	1549	see also Maltitz (noble family)
40	Nicolaus II von Carlowitz	1550	1555	see also Carlowitz (noble family)
41	Johann IX. from Haugwitz	1555	1559/81	Johann IX. came from the von Haugwitz family . He was the last bishop of the diocese of Meissen, which became Protestant during the Reformation . In 1559 he appointed Johann Leisentrit as administrator of the remaining Catholic areas. In 1581 he gave up his office as bishop, switched to Protestantism himself and married a year later. He died in 1595.

Apostolic Prefect of Meissen

The cathedral monastery in Bautzen , seat of the Apostolic Prefecture

Since there was no sovereign present as an imperial fiefdom in the two Lusatia and the principle " Cuius regio, eius religio " therefore applied to the respective territorial lords , the Catholic denomination was able to hold here in some areas. Bishop Johann IX. had appointed Johann Leisentritt as diocesan administrator for the areas of Lusatia with his seat in Bautzen in 1560 for the diocesan area outside Saxony. In 1567 the Holy See established the Apostolic Prefecture of Meissen for the Diocesan area of Meißen in 1567 with Leisentritt as prefect. An Apostolic Prefect is the holder of a diocese on probation.

After its seat or location, the prefecture was also called the Apostolic Prefecture of Bautzen or Apostolic Prefecture of Lusatia, and after the Prussian annexation of Lower Lusatia and eastern Upper Lusatia, it was also called the Apostolic Prefecture of the (Saxon) Upper Lusatia. The prefecture for the (Upper) Lausanne areas of the former diocese of Meißen was held by the dean of Bautzen, whose episcopal function was mostly underlined by ordination as titular bishop from the 19th century .

Surname	from	to
Johann Leisentrit , as diocesan administrator until 1567, as Apostolic Prefect from 1567	1560/67	1586
Gregor Leisentrit	1587	1594
Christoph von Blöbel	1594	1609
August again from Ottersbach	1609	1620
Gregor Kathmann von Maurugk	1620	1644
Johann Hasius von Lichtenfeld	1644	1650
Martin Saudrius von Sternfeld	1650	1655
Bernhard von Schrattenbach , deputy administrator of the prefecture	1655	1660
Christophorus Johannes Reinheld von Reichenau	1660	1665
Peter Franz Longinus von Kieferberg	1665	1675
Martin Ferdinand Brückner von Brückenstein	1676	1700
Matthäus Johann Josef Vitzki	1700	1713
Martin Bernhard Just von Friedenfels	1714	1721
Johann Josef Ignaz Freyschlag von Schmidenthal	1721	1743
Jakob Wosky from Bärenstamm	1743	1771
Carl Lorenz Cardona	1772	1773
Martin Nugk from Lichtenhoff	1774	1780
Johann Joseph Schüller von Ehrenthal	1780	1794
Wenzel Kobalz	1795	1796
Franz Georg Lock	1796	1831
Ignaz Bernhard Mauermann	1831	1841
Matthew Kutschank	1841	1844
Joseph Dittrich	1845	1853
Ludwig Forwerk	1854	1875
Franz Bernert	1875	1890
Ludwig Wahl	1890	1905
Georg Wuschanski , as Dean's administrator	1900	1905
Georg Wuschanski	1905
Aloys Schäfer	1906	1914
Franz Löbmann	1914	1920
Jakub Skala , as administrator of the prefecture	1920	1921

The Apostolic Vicars in the Saxon Hereditary Lands

In 1708, the confessor of the Saxon Elector Friedrich August I , Karl Moritz Vota (SJ) was appointed "Apostolic Prefect" of the "Mission in Dresden and all of Saxony" for five years . It is uncertain whether these rights were extended, but he appears to have exercised them until his death in 1715.

As a result, the Catholics in Saxony came under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicar of the Nordic Missions or the Cologne Nuncio . There are no documents on the formal establishment of an Apostolic Vicariate for Saxony, but one can be assumed.

Surname	from	to
Ludwig Li (e) geritz , SJ	1743	1749
Leo Rauch , SJ	1749	1763
Augustin Eggs , SJ	1763	1764
Franz Herz , SJ	1764	1800
Johann Aloys Schneider	1801	1818
Ignaz Bernhard Mauermann	1819	1841
Franz Laurenz Mauermann	1841	1845
Joseph Dittrich	1846	1853
Ludwig Forwerk	1854	1875
Franz Bernert	1875	1890
Ludwig Wahl	1890	1900
Carl Maaz (Apostolic Provicer )	1900	1903
Georg Wuschanski	1903	1905
Aloys Schaefer	1906	1914
Franz Löbmann	1914	1920
Jakub Skala (administrator)	1920	1921

The bishops of modern times

On November 15, 1979, the name of the diocese of Meissen was changed to Dresden-Meissen . The following year, on March 25, 1980, Bishop Gerhard Schaffran moved the bishopric to Dresden. Bishops of Meißen and Dresden-Meißen were (since the re-establishment on June 26, 1921) and are in the scope of the areas of the previous Apostolic Prefecture Saxon Upper Lusatia and the Apostolic Vicariate of Saxony including Saxony-Altenburg and the two Russian principalities in Thuringia .

Surname	from	to
Christian Schreiber	September 18, 1921	August 31, 1930
Conrad Groeber	February 15, 1931	May 21, 1932
Petrus Legge	October 28, 1932	March 9, 1951
Heinrich Wienken	March 9, 1951	August 21, 1957
Otto Spülbeck	June 20, 1958	June 21, 1970
Gerhard Schaffran	September 21, 1970	July 31, 1987
Joachim Reinelt	20th of February 1988	February 20, 2012
Heiner Koch	March 16, 2013	June 8, 2015
Heinrich Timmerevers	August 27, 2016

literature

Ernst Gotthelf Gersdorf : Document book of the Meissen Monastery . In: Codex diplomaticus Saxoniae regiae . Leipzig 1864-1867.
Thomas Ludwig: The documents of the bishops of Meißen. Diplomatic investigations on the 10th – 13th Century. Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-412-25905-1 review
Ernst Friedrich Mooyer: Directories of the German bishops since the year 800 AD. Geb. Minden 1854. P. 64–65 .
Eduard Machatschek : History of the bishops of the Meissen Monastery in chronological order (...) . Dresden 1884. ( digitized version )
Heinrich Meier: The Apostolic Vicariate in the Saxon hereditary lands. (Studies on the history of the Catholic diocese and monastery 24). Leipzig 1981.
Siegfried Seifert: Diocese of Meissen. In: Erwin Gatz (ed.): The dioceses of the Holy Roman Empire . Freiburg 2003. ISBN 3-451-28075-2 . Pp. 427-436.

Web links

Commons : Bishops of Dresden-Meißen - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

↑ Entry on Diocese of Dresden-Meissen: Historical Details on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved July 25, 2016.

[1] Entry on Diocese of Dresden-Meissen: Historical Details on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved July 25, 2016.