Ludwig Schneller (theologian)

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Ludwig Schneller (born April 9, 1858 in Jerusalem , † August 3, 1953 in Bad Ems ) was a German Protestant theologian . In addition to his duties in the pastoral office in Germany, he was committed to the Syrian orphanage .

Life

Ludwig Schneller was the second of the five children of the missionary and founder of the Syrian orphanage Johann Ludwig Schneller and his wife Magdalena Schneller nee. Bohringer. Ludwig grew up with the Arab boys in his environment. The father, who had worked as a teacher before his calling to be a missionary, was concerned about basic school education. In 1869 his parents sent him and his older brother Theodor to Germany, where they attended the Schorndorf Latin School until 1873 . Ludwig then lived in Esslingen am Neckar and Ludwigsburg and completed the last years of school at the grammar school in Züllichau .

He was matriculated in Tübingen and Berlin to study Protestant theology . As a student, he quickly became a member of the Tübingen Wingolf (1877), the Schwizerhüsli Basel (1878) and the Berlin Wingolf (1879).

In 1887 Ludwig Schneller married Katharina von Tischendorf, the daughter of Angelika geb. Zehme and Konstantin von Tischendorf .

Schneller's first job was as assistant preacher at the Berlin Garrison Church in 1881 . This was followed in 1883 by the pastor's office in Neutornow , where he first tried to collect donations on Palm Sunday 1884, when the house of a confirmant who had been confirmed on that day burned down, and in 1884 because of an appointment by the Berlin Jerusalem Society the Protestant parish and missionary office in Bethlehem . Schneller made efforts there to approximate the Anglican-influenced liturgy of worship to the Prussian. He initiated the construction of the Lutheran Christmas Church . When there was a legal dispute between Greeks and Protestants as a result of assaults, he assisted the Syrian orphanage founded by his father.

In 1889 Schneller returned to Germany and became a pastor at the Trinity Church in Cologne . His solidarity with the Syrian Orphanage found its expression since 1890 in the Good Friday Requests in which he appealed for donations for the facility, as well as in the 1891 taking over the chairmanship of the Stuttgart-based Mission Society of the Syrian Orphanage for the Holy Land. He informed about his work through several publications in which he described life in Palestine, as well as the publication of the magazine Der Bote aus Zion , today's Schneller, magazine about Christian life in the Middle East .

In 1898 he was able to accompany Kaiser Wilhelm II on his trip to Palestine and also guide him through Jerusalem.

In 1905 the mission company moved its headquarters to Cologne-Marienburg , where, thanks to Schneller's commitment, an administrative and residential building, the “Palestine House” ( Ulmenallee 96 ), also known as the “Schneller House”, was built.

In 1907 Schneller gave up his parish office and took over the full-time management of the mission society as a pastor. The collection trips he z. B. 1907/1908 in the USA allowed the expansion of the activities of the Syrian orphanage. International relations that resulted from it, allowed the stock of the house even then, when, after the takeover by the Nazis no funds could be transferred to Palestine.

In July 1908 the Theological Faculty of Heidelberg University awarded him the title of honorary doctor. In the 1920s he was awarded an honorary doctorate in theology by the University of Tübingen for his literary achievements.

In 1937, Schneller retired. Nevertheless, after the Second World War he initiated the establishment of an orphanage for war orphans in Vettelhausen. He spent his last years in Bad Ems .

Writing activity

Book cover: Ludwig Schneller, From my travel bag , 1901

Ludwig Schneller's literary activity made a significant contribution to the acquisition of supporters for the Syrian orphanage. In addition to editing the magazine Bote from Zion , he wrote a number of books.

His first book Do you know the country? wants to bring the biblical stories to life and help the reader to gain a deeper understanding by means of the descriptions of the landscape and the living conditions in Palestine. His other travel reports also serve this purpose.

In the book Tischendorf Memories, he describes the discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus by his father-in-law Konstantin von Tischendorf.

In his last book, Do you know him? he describes the life of Jesus. He wrote this book a second time after the first edition was almost completely destroyed by the Second World War.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hartmut Felsberg, Jakob Eisler:  Schneller, Ludwig. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 33, Bautz, Nordhausen 2012, ISBN 978-3-88309-690-2 , Sp. 1182-1189.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  2. ^ Anna Katterfeld: D. Ludwig Schneller. Verlag der St. Johannis-Druckerei C.Schweickhardt, Lahr-Dinglingen 1958, p. 147.
personal data
SURNAME Faster, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian and missionary
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Jerusalem
DATE OF DEATH 3rd August 1953
Place of death Bad Ems