Peter Lengsfeld
Peter Lengsfeld (born January 15, 1930 in Breslau ; † May 25, 2009 in Kirchzarten ) was a German Catholic theologian , university professor and Zen teacher.
Life
Peter Lengsfeld, son of the pediatrician Walter Lengsfeld in Breslau, attended the Magdalenaeum there until 1945 . After fleeing with his mother and four younger siblings from what was then the eastern zone to western Germany, he graduated from high school in Amberg / Upper Palatinate in 1949 . After two semesters at the Bischof Neumann School , he studied theology from 1950 to 1956 in the seminary in Rome , where he was ordained a priest in 1955 . He completed further studies in the priestly college Campo Santo Teutonico in 1958 with a doctorate . After serving three years as a chaplain inBerlin-Kreuzberg worked, Cardinal Döpfner released him for theological science. When Hans Küng was called to Tübingen , Hermann Volk Lengsfeld called to Münster in 1961 . From 1962 Lengsfeld became a research assistant at the Ecumenical Institute of the Westphalian Wilhelms University . After Lengsfeld began his habilitation thesis with Professor Volk, who was then appointed Bishop of Mainz, Prof. Joseph Ratzinger (2005-2013 Pope Benedict XVI.) Supervised it, which he also gave a positive assessment. In 1964 Lengsfeld completed his habilitation with his work Adam and Christ. The Adam-Christ typology in the New Testament and its dogmatic use by MJ Scheeben and K. Barth for dogmatics and ecumenical theology as full professor of ecumenical theology (as successor to Erwin Iserloh ). At the same time he was appointed director of the Catholic Ecumenical Institute. In 1992 he retired.
When Ratzinger moved to Tübingen in 1966, Lengsfeld took over his apartment in Münster. Ratzinger later thwarted Lengsfeld's scientific career.
Already at the Magdalenaeum in Breslau, Lengsfeld had compared the Luther catechism with the Catholic catechism page by page with a Protestant classmate whose father Richard Laabs was director of the Lutheran seminary in Breslau .
"It turned out that we were closer to each other than expected."
(Quote: Lengsfeld).
Services
Lengsfeld was one of the most prominent figures in ecumenical research. With his doctoral thesis on the problem of scripture and tradition, he gained international and interdenominational recognition, which also gave him an early call to the only chair for ecumenical theology in the German-speaking area. At first he mainly worked on Protestant theology of the 20th century, especially with Paul Tillich , Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann . Thus, in 1973, the memorandum on the reform and recognition of offices and later an expert opinion on the reform of the papacy emerged as important impulses that, however, received little attention.
In a second phase, Lengsfeld turned to the attempt to develop a comprehensive theory of ecumenical processes including social science findings. In this context he finally came across the understanding of the fundamental importance of spirituality and meditation for interdenominational and interreligious encounters, which from then on determined his work and life.
He now stayed more often in Japan and became a student of Yamada Ko-un Rōshi from Kamakura , the then abbot of the Sanbo-Kyodan- Zen line. From this he received confirmation as a Zen teacher in 1988. From 1992 he devoted himself entirely to this new task. From 1994 to 1999 he was the spiritual director of the Sonnenhof, a meditation center for Zen and contemplation near Schönau in the Black Forest. There he held most of his meditation courses in the years that followed. During his years as a Zen teacher, he translated the Koan collections Mumonkan and Hekiganroku , which are important for Zen training, into German with the comments of his teacher Yamada Ko-un Rōshi. In addition, he published essays on contemplation , Zen and mysticism and acted as editor of the festschrift for the 80th birthday of the Benedictine monk Willigis Jäger Mystik - Spirituality of the Future .
Publications
Peter Lengsfeld
- Lore. Tradition and Scripture in Protestant and Catholic Theology of the Present . Paderborn 1960.
- Adam and Christ. The Adam-Christ typology in the New Testament and its dogmatic use by MJ Scheeben and K. Barth . Essen 1965.
- The problem of mixed marriage. Towards a solution . In: Small Ecumenical Writings . tape 3 . Freiburg 1970.
- Ecumenical theology. A work book . Kohlhammer Stuttgart 1980, ISBN = 3-17-005416-3
- Ecumenical practice. Experiences and problems of different denominational spouses . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-17-008356-2 .
- To the deeper meaning of religion. Religious Talks in Asia and Elsewhere . Via Nova 1993, ISBN 3-928632-06-X .
- Mysticism - Spirituality of the Future. Experience of the eternal . Herder Freiburg 2005, ISBN = 3-451-28573-8
- A new focus in: How Zen is changing my Christianity . Ed .: Michael Seitlinger, Jutta Höchst-Stöhr. Herder, Freiburg 2004, ISBN 3-451-05499-X .
- Contemplation , in: Living Spiritually. 111 inspirations from mindfulness to chance . Ed .: Gabriele Hartlieb, Christoph Quarch, Bernardin Schellenberger. Herder, Freiburg 2002, ISBN 3-451-27904-5 .
Yamada Ko-un Rōshi
- Mumonkan. Zen Master Mumon's Koan Collection. The goalless barrier . Kösel, 1989, ISBN 3-466-20308-2 .
- Peter Lengsfeld (Ed.): The writing of the blue rock - Hekiganroku. The classic Koan collection with new Teishos . Kösel, 2002, ISBN 978-3-466-36593-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.uni-muenster.de/FB2/lösungen/oekumene/lengsfeld.html
- ↑ Vita Dr. Peter Lengsfeld (accessed on May 23, 2011)
- ^ Johanna Jäger-Sommer: Studied with the Pope , in: Publik-Forum 8/2005, page 55, April 29, 2005
- ^ Reform and recognition of offices
Web links
- Literature by and about Peter Lengsfeld in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lengsfeld, Peter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Catholic theologian and university professor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 15, 1930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wroclaw |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 25, 2009 |
| Place of death | Kirchzarten |