Otto von Gerlach

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Memorial stone on the Berlin Cathedral Cemetery  II

Karl Friedrich Otto von Gerlach (born April 12, 1801 in Berlin ; † October 24, 1849 there ) was a Protestant German theologian and pastor .

Life

Otto von Gerlach was the youngest of five children of Carl Friedrich Leopold von Gerlach (1757–1813), first Lord Mayor of Berlin, and Agnes von Raumer (1795–1877), brother of Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach (1795–1877) and Ludwig Friedrich Leopold von Gerlach (1790–1861).

Gerlach was a pupil of the Friedrichwerder Gymnasium and after the early loss of his father studied first law, then Protestant theology in Berlin, Heidelberg and Göttingen. He was under the influence of the Pietist revival movement and belonged to a. to the " Christian-German table company " Adolf von Thadden-Trieglaffs . In 1824 he played a leading role in founding the Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Missions among the Gentiles .

In 1828 Gerlach did his doctorate and habilitation and gave lectures at the Berlin University. In 1833 he took up a pastor's position in the parish of St. Elisabeth's Church, which was only completed in 1835, on Invalidenstrasse in Berlin. This was in a working-class district that was newly emerging in the course of industrialization , the so-called "Vogtland" (also "Voigtland"). Gerlach was convinced of the necessity of new forms of turning to impoverished people. He created the foundations of modern social work , e.g. B. with an employment association for unemployed craftsmen, especially weavers. He pushed through the construction of the Elisabeth Hospital and in 1842 was appointed by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. To the founding commission for the Bethanien model hospital . In 1841 the king had already sent him to England to study the ecclesiastical conditions in the growing industrial districts. In 1847 Gerlach was appointed by the king to be the fourth court and cathedral preacher . In 1848 he was appointed consistorial councilor in the consistory of the province of Brandenburg , and in 1849 honorary professor at Berlin University .

He married Pauline von Blankenburg (1804–1887) on June 23, 1835 , with whom he had ten children, six of whom died while he was still alive. In 1844 he became one year because of the abuse of a maid in death imprisonment convicted. However, he never served the sentence, but went on trips with his family.

tomb

During his assignment in the workers slums he fell seriously ill several times, including a. from smallpox and encephalitis. His health was permanently weakened. After several strokes, he died at the age of 48. He is buried in Dom-Friedhof II (right wall 1 - 69 - 77) in Berlin-Mitte.

Part of Otto von Gerlach's estate is now in the Gerlach archive at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg .

plant

Otto von Gerlach published some theological writings, including a. on ecclesiastical marriage law. 1835-1839 he published a multi-volume annotated edition of the Luther Bible ( The Holy Scriptures based on Dr. Martin Luther's translation with introductions and explanatory notes ), which was reprinted several times. He also translated theological works by John Wesley , Richard Baxter and Thomas Chalmers from English. He wrote numerous articles and reviews for the Evangelical Church newspaper .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Friedrich : "I became more ecclesiastical there and at the same time much freer". Adolf Sydow in England and Scotland 1841–1844 . In: Yearbook for Berlin-Brandenburg Church History , 60, 1995, pp. 137–154.
  2. ^ Klaus Duntze: Otto von Gerlach, the pastor in the Vogtland . In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 8, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 34–42, here p. 41 ( luise-berlin.de ).
personal data
SURNAME Gerlach, Otto von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gerlach, Karl Friedrich Otto von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Protestant theologian and pastor
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1801
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 1849
Place of death Berlin