Marc Boegner

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Marc Boegner

Marc Roger Boegner (born February 21, 1881 in Épinal , Département Vosges ; † December 18, 1970 in Paris ) was a doctor of theology and pastor of the Reformed Church of France , in whose organizations he held high positions. He published theological works. During the Second World War he campaigned for the persecuted and refugees , after the Second World War he again sought contact with the Evangelical Church in Germany and had been a member of the Académie française since 1962 .

Life

Coming from a Protestant - patriotic - republican family, Boegner was a son of the Prefect of the Vosges Department, Paul Boegner . A brother of his father was the pastor and founder of the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris Alfred Boegner , a brother of his mother the pastor and religious socialist Tommy Fallot . Boegner spent the first years of his life in Épinal before moving with the family to Orléans , where he met Charles Péguy . After completing his secondary education at the École alsacienne in Paris , he attended a preparatory class for the merchant marine at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux .

Due to the onset of myopia , however, he could not begin a career in the navy and then began studying law , which he graduated with a licentiate in 1901 . He then participated in the Faculté de théologie protestante de Paris a study of Protestant theology and ended this in 1905 with the promotion to the doctorate in theology with a thesis on the topic Les Catéchismes de Calvin, étude d'histoire et de catéchétique .

After his ordination , he succeeded his uncle Fallot as pastor of the parish of Aouste-sur-Sye in the Drôme department before he became a teacher at the mission house of the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris in 1911 . After receiving his doctorate in 1914 as a licentiate in theology, he served as a medic in the First World War. In 1918 he took over the parish of the Paris parish of Passy , which he held until 1953. Here in 1934 Pierre Maury became his colleague, with whom he soon developed a close friendship and working group. In 1929 he became known nationwide through radio sermons.

Boegner soon played a leading role in the development and organization of Protestantism, both nationally and internationally. From 1912, personally influenced by John Raleigh Mott , he was involved in the Christian Student World Federation (WCSF) and was chairman of its French branch from 1923 to 1935. His wish to unite Protestants was realized in 1929 when the Protestant League of France was founded , of which Boegner became president and remained until 1961. At the same time he was chairman of the National Council of the Reformed Church of France from 1938 to 1950, which - not least thanks to his commitment - had reunited after decades of fragmentation.

After the occupation of France by the Germans , Boegner temporarily settled in Nîmes in the unoccupied Vichy France in early 1941 . Although he was not an avowed opponent of ex-Marshal Philippe Pétain and later testified in his favor in the legal proceedings against him, in his positions he advocated improving the plight of the Jews in France and defending and saving them as well as numerous political refugees. He promoted the activities of the refugee aid organization CIMADE , which he founded in 1940 . He was the first leading clergyman in France to speak out against the persecution of the Jews. During this time he also worked with the German pastor Frederik J. Forell , who, as an opponent of National Socialism, was denied pastoral work in 1933 and who later fled to France. On November 26, 1987, Yad Vashem proclaimed him one of the Righteous Among the Nations .

After the liberation of Paris in the summer of 1944, Boegner returned to Paris, but continued to devote himself to his numerous honorary posts in French Protestantism and in ecumenism. From 1945 to 1968 he was chairman of the Société des missions évangéliques de Paris . One of the vice-presidents of the World Council of Churches , which is in the process of being founded, since 1939 , he played a leading role at its founding assembly in Amsterdam in August 1948 and served as one of its presidents until 1954. On February 1, 1950, he was also the initiator of the Conférence des Églises protestantes des pays latins d'Europe , an assembly of Protestant churches from Belgium , France, Italy , Portugal , Switzerland and Spain . As an ecumenical observer, he attended the third and fourth sessions of the Second Vatican Council .

Honors

Boegner has received honorary doctorates from numerous foreign universities (including Edinburgh and Toronto ) . In 1946 he became a member and in 1960 president of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques . On November 8, 1962, he succeeded François Albert-Buisson as a member of the Académie française and, as one of the oldest members ever elected (and as the first Protestant theologian), he held the second seat ( armchair 2 ) until his death . In 1964 he received the Grand Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor .

In 1980 the Rue du Pasteur Marc Boegner in the 16th arrondissement of Paris was named in his honor. A street is also named after him in the 9th arrondissement of Lyons .

Publications

In addition to his numerous offices, Boegner wrote several books. His most famous publications include:

  • The Unity of the Church. Coueslant, Alençon, 1914.
  • La vie et la pensée de T. Fallot. 2 volumes. Berger-Levrault et al., Paris 1914–1926;
    • Volume 1: La preparation (1844-1872). 1914 (Paris, Thèse de License, 1914);
    • Volume 2: L'achèvement (1872-1904). 1926 (Paris, Thèse de Doctorat, 1926).
  • L'influence de la Réforme sur le développement du droit international. In: Académie de Droit International de La Haye. Recueil des cours. Vol. 6, No. 1, 1925, ZDB -ID 128700-x , pp. 241-324.
  • Le Christianisme et le monde modern. Fischbacher, Paris 1928.
  • Les missions protestantes et le droit international. In: Académie de Droit International de La Haye. Recueil des cours. Vol. 29, No. 4, 1929, pp. 187-286.
  • Dieu, l'éternel tourment des hommes. Editions “Je Sers”, Clamart 1929.
    • God, the eternal torment of man. New York, London, Harper 1931.
  • Jésus Christ. Editions “Je Sers”, Paris 1930.
  • T. Fallot. L'homme et l'œuvre. Editions “Je Sers”, Paris 1930.
  • Qu'est-ce que l'Église? Éditions “Je Sers”, Paris 1931.
  • L'Église et les questions du temps présent. Editions “Je Sers”, Paris 1932.
  • La vie chrétienne. Éditions "Je Sers", Paris 1933.
  • Le Christ devant la souffrance et devant la joie. Editions “Je Sers”, Paris 1935.
  • L'Évangile et le Racisme. Éditions “Je Sers”, Paris 1939.
  • The problem of the chrétienne unit. Éditions "Je Sers", Paris 1946.
  • La prière de l'Église universelle. Éditions Berger-Levrault, Paris 1951.
  • La vie triomphante. Éditions Berger-Levrault, Paris 1954.
  • Le Chrétien et la souffrance. Éditions Berger-Levrault, Paris 1956.
  • Les sept paroles de la Croix: Éditions Berger-Levrault, Paris 1957.
  • Notre vocation à la sainteté Éditions Berger-Levrault, Paris 1958
  • L'Exigence œcuménique. Souvenirs et perspectives: Michel, Paris 1968.
    • A life for ecumenism. Memories and views. Josef Knecht et al., Frankfurt am Main et al. 1970.

In 1992 his son Philippe Boegner wrote the book Carnets du pasteur Boegner. 1940-1945. Fayard, Paris 1992, ISBN 2-213-02866-4 , containing diary texts and essays by Marc Boegner from 1940 to 1945.

literature

  • Jean Daniel Fischer: Marc Boegner. Spokesman for unity in French Protestantism. In: Günter Gloede (Ed.): Ecumenical Profiles. Bridge builder of one church. Vol. 2. Evangelischer Missionsverlag, Stuttgart 1963, pp. 279–287.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Research of the rues de Paris
  2. ↑ [1] .
personal data
SURNAME Boegner, Marc
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boegner, Marc Roger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French Protestant theologian
DATE OF BIRTH February 21, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Épinal , Vosges department
DATE OF DEATH 18th December 1970
Place of death Paris