Paul Gordan

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Father Paulus Gordan OSB

Paulus Gordan OSB (born June 21, 1912 in Berlin as Günther Gordan ; † January 1, 1999 in Beuron ) was a German Benedictine monk of Jewish origin.

Life

Günther Gordan came from an educated, liberal, assimilated Jewish family in Berlin. He studied law, art history, philosophy and theology in Berlin, Paris, Breslau, Innsbruck and Freiburg im Breisgau.

In 1931 he converted to the Catholic Church by receiving baptism in Rome . In 1935 Günther Gordan entered the Benedictine Archabbey of St. Martin in Beuron and received the religious name of the Apostle Paul . In Beuron he made his monastic profession on June 24, 1936 . In 1938 he had to leave the country because of the increasing incitement to Jews in Germany. He was therefore ordained a priest in January 1939 in the Archabbey of Monte Cassino in Italy. He then spent several years in South America , mainly in Brazil and Chile .

After the end of the Second World War , he returned to Germany in 1948 and became Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission in Geneva, particularly campaigning for the displaced . From 1959 to 1968 he was appointed editor of the Benedictine Monthly in Beuron Abbey , which he renamed Erbe und Mission and for which he wrote numerous articles until the end of his life. As their editor he spent the time of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) as a reporter mainly in Rome. From 1966 to 1968 the Benedictine was also the representative of the Catholic Church at Südwestfunk Baden-Baden . In 1968 Abbot Primate Rembert Weakland appointed him his secretary and general secretary of the Benedictine Confederation . From 1980 to 1993, Father Paulus Gordan acted as chairman of the board of directors of the Salzburg University Weeks and during his tenure published the annual contribution and report volumes of the University Weeks. During this time he lived in the Archabbey of St. Peter in Salzburg .

In 1988 he was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st Class .

Paulus Gordan spent the last years of his life in his professed monastery in Beuron in the Danube Valley .

Paulus Gordan is the author of writings on literature, the history of the spirit, art and church, as well as on spirituality and the diagnosis of the times. From 1958 he also worked in the service of Christian-Jewish encounters , for example through his contributions to the magazine Freiburger Rundbriefe .

Fonts (selection)

  • with Werner Feger: The Day of the Monks , Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 1989 [meditative illustrated book on the life of the monks in Beuron]
  • with Werner Feger: In the valley of the monks , Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 2nd edition 1988 [meditative picture book on the Danube valley near Beuron]
  • Archabbey of St. Peter in Salzburg . In: Reinhard Rinnerthaler (ed.), Archabbey St. Peter in Salzburg. (The oldest monastery in the German-speaking area. A place of European art and culture) , Verlag St. Peter, Salzburg 1986, pp. 1–5, ISBN 3-900173-48-6 .
  • Saint Virgil of Salzburg (+784). Life and work , self-published by the Archbishop's Pastoral Office Salzburg, Salzburg 1984
  • (Ed.), Christian interpretation of the world. Salzburg University Weeks 1931-1981 . On behalf of the board of directors of the Salzburg University Weeks, ed. by Paulus Gordan, Verlag Butzon & Bercker / Verlag Styria, Kevelaer / Graz u. a. 1981, ISBN 3-222-11379-3
  • It is the Lord : 12 reflections on the pictures of the Stuttgart Psalter , Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 1976, ISBN 3-87071-025-X [spiritual and art-historical interpretations of miniatures of the 9th century]
  • In the spotlight: people . Spiritual Essays ed. by Bernd Jaspert , Kyrios-Verlag, Meitingen / Freising 1971, ISBN 3-7838-0066-8
  • Messengers of God . Nine image viewing, Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 1970, ISBN 3-87071-013-6 [spiritual and art-historical interpretations of angels - representations of art]
  • Witnesses of the future : radio speeches and leading articles from 10 years. Edited by Bernd Jaspert. Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 1969, [Essay on Church, Second Vatican Council and Society]
  • Revelation in the sign . Nine image viewing, Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 1966, ISBN 3-87071-011-X [spiritual and art-historical interpretations of images from the Hitda Codex , around 1000]
  • Gate of Heaven . Eight picture observations, Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 1965, ISBN 3-87071-010-1 [spiritual and art-historical interpretations of pictures from the Einsiedler Hours , 15th century]
  • Friendship with Bernanos , Hegner Verlag, Cologne / Olten 1959; New edition Wort und Welt Verlag, (authoritative people of our century, vol. 1) Innsbruck 1983, ISBN 3-85373-080-9

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Federal Chancellor's answer to the inquiry - p. 824 (pdf), accessed on February 7, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Gordan, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gordan, Günther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Benedictine monk
DATE OF BIRTH June 21, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1999
Place of death Beuron