History of Christianity in Austria

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The history of Christianity in Austria describes the Christianization and the history of the Christian churches in the area of ​​today's Republic of Austria . The Habsburgs , who had ruled since the late 13th century, supported the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church and suppressed alternative religious communities that were therefore unable to develop for centuries.

Roman Empire

Roman provinces in Austria

The Christianity is probably by soldiers in the 2nd century Roman provinces Rhaetia , Noricum and Pannonia come. The rain miracle in Marchfeld (around 173) during the Marcomann Wars and the martyrdom of St. Florian (around 304) testify to the presence of Christians.

After the Milan agreement between the emperors Constantine and Licinius in 313, Christianity began to expand, especially in the cities, and the pagan places of worship were destroyed. The presence of bishops from Noricum at the Synod of Serdica (today: Sofia ) in 343 proves that the building of dioceses was started. Bishops' seats are documented for this time in Aguntum (near Lienz ), Lauriacum ( Lorch ), Teurnia (also: Tiburnia) (near Spittal an der Drau ) and Virunum (near Klagenfurt ); bishops in Carnuntum (near Petronell ), Iuvavum are not certain ( Salzburg ), Ovilava ( Wels ) and Vindobona ( Vienna ).

After the Battle of Frigidus on September 5 and 6, 394, Christianity became the only permitted faith in the Roman Empire .

Great Migration

From around 400 onwards, various Germanic tribes, most of which were Arians , invaded the Danube region during the Great Migration . Around 450 St. Valentin in Boiotro ( Passau ), in the east St. Severin founded a monastery in Favianis ( Mautern ) and helped the population. After Severin's death the Romans withdrew in 489 from the areas north of the Alps (Ufernoricum). In the south, the church structures in the kingdom of Odoacer (from 476) and in the Ostrogoths (from 493) were largely preserved.

In the 6th century, Slavs invaded the area east of Lentia ( Linz ), and the Avars settled in the east and south-east of present-day Austria . In the west the Bavarians settled from around 500 years on , around Brigantium ( Bregenz ) was the residential area of ​​the Alemanni . Since the immigrant tribes were pagans, the church structures were largely destroyed and the Christians were only a minority.

In 574 the bishopric was probably also moved from Augusta Vindelicorum ( Augsburg ) to Sabiona ( Säben near Klausen ). It is also possible that the diocese of Augsburg was abandoned and Säben was founded independently from Aquileia . As bishops of this time Materninus († around 578) and St. Ingenuinus († around 605) mentioned, who were responsible for the eastern part of the province of Raetia ( Vindelica or Raetia secunda ). There are almost no sources about the further history of this diocese until the 8th century.

Proselytizing after the Great Migration

Roman Catholic dioceses and archdioceses
to which parts of Austria belonged or still belong
founding Seat comment
before 70? Aquileia Repealed in 1751
before 343? Aguntum perished in the great migration
before 343 Lauriacum perished in the great migration
before 343 Teurnia perished in the great migration
before 343 Virunum perished in the great migration
around 450 Chur
before 500 augsburg
at 574 Sawing from around 932 in Brixen
585 Constancy Disbanded in 1827
739 Salzburg 798 Archbishopric (1st Bishop in Salzburg around 696)
739 Passau
739 Freising 1818/ 21 in Munich
1009 Raab (Hungarian: Győr )
1072 Cucumber from 1787 in Klagenfurt
1215 Chiemsee Disbanded in 1818
1218 Seckau from 1782 in Graz
1228 Lavant from 1859 in Marburg
1461 Ljubljana 1961 archdiocese
1469 Vienna 1722 archdiocese
1469 Wiener Neustadt Disbanded in 1785
1777 Steinamanger (Hungarian: Szombathely )
1785 Linz
1785 St. Polten
1786 Leoben Disbanded in 1859
1960 Eisenstadt
1964 innsbruck
1968 Feldkirch

The neo-Christianization started as early as the 6th century when the Franconian Empire had become Christian and tried to gain control over the Baiern and the Drautal ( South and East Tyrol ). They established the noble family of Agilolfinger around 550 .

Around 600 the Irish Scottish missionaries Agilus and Eustasius worked in the Bavarian Alpine foothills and Columban and Gallus in the Lake Constance area as messengers of faith.

Coming from Worms , St. Rupert first in Regensburg and then built the men's monastery of St. Peter around 696 and the women's monastery of Nonnberg around 714 on the ruins of the Roman city of Iuvavum (Salzburg) . He is therefore considered to be the founder of the city of Salzburg and the diocese of the same name .

The dioceses of Freising , Passau , Regensburg and Salzburg received papal confirmation through Boniface in 739 . The diocesan borders were also determined. From 767 Modestus evangelized the Slavs in Carinthia when Virgil was Bishop of Salzburg. During this time the monasteries Mondsee ( donated by Duke Odilo in 748 ), Innichen (769) and Kremsmünster (777) were established. The last two monasteries were founded by Duke Tassilo .

Charlemagne defeated the Avars from 791 to 796 and founded a mark in the east . The part north of the Alps was converted from Passau, while Carinthia, Styria and western Hungary were evangelized from Salzburg . In the newly established churches, diocesan membership can often be read off from the church patron Stephanus for Passau and Rupert for Salzburg. Around 800 the monasteries in St. Florian and St. Pölten were founded.

In 798 Salzburg became an archbishopric under Bishop Arno , to which the suffragan dioceses Freising, Neuburg , Passau, Regensburg and Säben were subordinate.

Many churches and monasteries in the northern foothills of the Alps were destroyed by the invasions of the Magyars from 900 . Rebuilding could only begin after the battle on the Lechfeld on August 10, 955.

In 976 Leopold I of the Babenberg family was the first margrave to be enfeoffed with the area east of the Enns . In the following decades the marrow was systematically expanded to the east as far as March and Leitha (1043), and later to the north as far as the Thaya .

The Bishop of Passau , Pilgrim , made a particular contribution to the church's reconstruction . He promoted the missionary work of the Magyars by the monk Prunwart (or Brun ) of St. Gallen, which was successful with the baptism of the Árpád prince Géza and his son Stephan in 975 or 985. However, the Árpáden Empire was not subordinated to the Diocese of Passau, but was able to achieve ecclesiastical independence through the establishment of the Archdiocese of Gran .

In the systematically cleared and populated areas, bishops and nobles built their own churches and parishes on their property . However, documents about the founding years are mostly missing. By the middle of the 12th century, this activity was largely over.

A tithe was collected from the faithful for the maintenance of the clergy and for social support . The priests were obliged to be celibate , but often did not keep it. Up to the middle of the 11th century, children from these illegitimate connections could enter the clergy, after which this was forbidden.

1072 which was Diocese Gurk in Carinthia was the first Salzburger own diocese founded. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land , Rome , Santiago de Compostela and Aachen have been common since the 11th century .

Numerous monasteries were founded as centers of pastoral care. Usually there were canons (associations of world priests ) in these places . The monasteries were usually centers of education (monastery schools), poor relief and culture (libraries, office rooms). Abuses and times of a decline in the religious spirit made reforms necessary again and again. Of Gorze outgoing from 1030 Gorze reform promoted an inner renewal in strict compliance with the Rule of St. Benedict . Above all, the bishops Altmann von Passau († 1091) and Conrad I of Salzburg († 1147) reformed existing monasteries and promoted canons' monasteries. The reform that came from Cluny fought against the individual church system and emphasized the celebration of the liturgy very strongly. Based on the Hirsau Monastery ( Hirsau Reform ), it did not take effect in Austria until 1120.

St. Margrave Leopold III. founded Klosterneuburg Abbey around 1108 and moved his residence there.

From the investiture controversy to the Reformation

In the investiture controversy (around 1100) the bishops of Passau ( Altmann , Ulrich I ) and the archbishops of Salzburg ( Gebhard , Konrad I ) mostly sided with the pope and were temporarily driven out of their dioceses by the emperor.

The Cistercians , a result of a reform of the Benedictine order, founded the first monasteries in Rein in 1129 and in Heiligenkreuz in 1133 .

From the 12th century onwards, the popes claimed the right to hold certain ecclesiastical offices (right of reservation) . The sometimes very high taxes that had to be paid to the Curia in Rome had a negative effect on the quality of the clergymen. In order to compensate for the high costs, many pastors tried to acquire benefices and often only employed poorly trained vicars or chaplains for pastoral care. This pursuit of property and the immoral way of life were a nuisance to the believers. Decrees and synods of the authorities could not remedy these abuses.

In addition to teaching at monastery schools and cathedral schools, elementary instruction was also given at parish schools, and from the 13th century also at municipal schools.

Diocesan division of Austria around 1250

The Order of St. John established its headquarters in Mailberg in 1209 , the Teutonic Order was first mentioned in Bozen in 1202, and in 1210 the still existing branch in Vienna was established.

The first mendicant orders were the Dominicans in Friesach ( Carinthia ) in 1217 and the Franciscans in Vienna in 1230 . They were initially fought by some bishops because they were not under their jurisdiction. Margrave Otakar IV. Of Styria built the first Carthusian monastery in 1165 in Seiz (today Žiče , Slovenia ) . The Kartausen Mauerbach (1316), Gaming (1330) and Aggsbach (1380) followed much later .

The bishops of Brixen were also secular lords of Tyrol from the beginning of the 11th century . Their power was increasingly restricted by the Counts of Tyrol in the middle of the 12th century . The archbishops in Salzburg were more successful and were able to establish secular rule from around the middle of the 13th century.

Leopold VI. tried to establish his own diocese in Vienna around 1200, but failed because of the resistance of the Passau bishop. The Salzburg archbishops founded the Chiemsee diocese in their territory in 1215, the Seckau diocese in 1218 and the Lavant diocese in 1228 .

After the death of the last Babenberger, Frederick the Warrior , Austria was ruled first by Přemysl Ottokar and from 1278 by Habsburg Rudolf I , who established the rule of the Habsburgs , which lasted until 1918. In the period that followed, the Habsburgs tried to enforce their candidates as bishops in the dioceses of their domain, which they mostly succeeded in doing. In the Diocese of Passau they often came into conflict with the Wittelsbachers .

Secured reports on the occurrence of Waldensians , which u. a. Demanded poverty from the church exists from 1250 onwards. Around 1300 there are said to have been 80,000 followers in Austria. Most of them were converted by 1400, one cremation of 100 " heretics " is reported in 1397 in Steyr .

Rudolf the founder failed in his efforts to establish a diocese in Vienna. He had Vienna's St. Stephen's Church converted into a Gothic cathedral and built a cathedral chapter . He was able to found the University of Vienna in 1365 , but it did not receive a theological faculty until 1384 . It was a stronghold of nominalism , played an important role in the reform councils of Constance (1414–1418) and Basel (1431–1449), and until around 1450 was the leading university in the German-speaking area. Among the theologians, Nikolaus von Dinkelsbühl , Franz von Retz and Konrad Celtis are particularly worth mentioning.

The reform of the monasteries called for by the Council of Constance became effective in Bavaria and Hungary from 1419 by the abbot of Melk Nikolaus von Seyringer ( Melker Reform ), but could not prevail in the long term.

From the 14th century onwards, pilgrimages to local sanctuaries became common, although bishops tried to contain their excesses. In the 15th century the number of church holidays increased. There were 58 per year in Admont Abbey . Processions were popular, there were up to 20 in some parishes, the high point being the Corpus Christi procession.

The veneration of saints was promoted by legends and powers over the saints were established. ( See also : Fourteen Holy Helpers .) The veneration of Mary reached its climax with rosary prayers , the erection of Mary altars and numerous depictions of Mary. Pictorial representations of saints have been ascribed almost divine healing properties. The worship of relics was also widespread .

The believers looked for visible signs of salvation and wanted to secure their soul's salvation already in this world. One means of doing this were indulgences , which from 1500 on could also be acquired through monetary donations; foundations of masses (soul masses) or carved altars were also popular.

At the end of the 15th century high ecclesiastical offices (bishop, abbot, cathedral chapter) were reserved for the nobility. The excesses of medieval piety were recognized by the humanists and even by bishops, e.g. B. von Berthold Pürstinger , who called for a return to the sources of Christianity.

In the Hussite Wars from 1420 the north of Lower Austria was devastated. A temporary reunification of the Hussites with Rome succeeded the Brixen bishop and cardinal Nikolaus von Kues , who had to flee to Rome after disputes with Duke Sigismund of Tyrol .

John of Capestrano founded numerous Franciscan monasteries and in 1451 established a Franciscan province for Austria. From 1454 he collected a crusade army against the Turks through sermons in Vienna and Hungary , which won a victory near Belgrade in 1456 .

Emperor Friedrich III. In 1469, Pope Paul II established the Diocese of Vienna in the Passau diocesan area and the Diocese of Wiener Neustadt in the Salzburg diocesan area . Because Vienna was a poor diocese with few parishes, only Bishop Georg Slatkonia actually resided in Vienna from 1513.

Unless specifically mentioned, the following events relate to the Catholic Church .

Reformation and Counter Reformation

Memorial stone for the Baptist martyr Hubmaier

From the end of 1520, Reformation pamphlets were distributed in Austria, despite a ban by the authorities. Many believers, the lower clergy and especially monks took up this idea. Because the noble landlords converted to Lutheran doctrine and promoted the renewal of the faith on their estates and parishes, the Reformation was able to spread quickly. The following are mentioned in the first row around 1580: Dietrichstein , Liechtenstein , Rogendorf , Starhemberg , Zinzendorf , Polheim , Jörger zu Tollet and Kreusbach , Eyczing , Perckhaim , Perckirchen , Puchheim , Kirchberger , Zelcking , Mamming , Losenstein , Tschernembl , Salm , Strein , Rauber , Grabner zu Rosenburg and grandsons .

The Anabaptist movement was particularly widespread in Tyrol from 1525, and its ideas were spread by many Anabaptist missionaries, including Hans Hut , Balthasar Hubmaier and Jakob Hutter . With the beginning of the confessionalisation of the Anabaptist movement, the Hutterite communities (initially in Tyrol and Weinviertel) in Austria can be named as the Philippians (in Steyr, Linz and Gmunden). Characteristic features were the baptism of believers and the advocacy of a voluntary church . They were persecuted as heretics by the authorities from 1527. About 1000 martyrs of the Anabaptist movement were executed in Austria. The persecution only subsided after 1544. The Anabaptists found refuge in Moravia , where, under the direction of Jakob Hutter, the movement of the Hutterites living in community of property was born.

Ferdinand I tried to stop the decline in clergy and monasteries through visitations. Since he needed the estates to repel the Turks who besieged Vienna for the first time in 1529 , he was forced to make concessions.

In 1555, through the Peace of Augsburg , the rulers were given the right to determine the denomination of their territory; people of different faiths were no longer treated as heretics, but could be forced to emigrate. In practice, this had no consequences, as the aristocrats installed Protestant-minded pastors in their own churches and many parishes remained vacant due to the lack of young clergy. In the following years, both denominations existed side by side, but a strict separation into Catholics and Protestants was often not possible.

Petrus Canisius

Ferdinand I called the Jesuits to Vienna in 1551 . The future bishops and decision-makers were trained in their schools. Especially Petrus Canisius tried to strengthen the Catholic faith through sermons and his catechism .

Under Maximilian II , who ruled from 1564 to 1576 and granted the nobility the freedom to practice their religion with a religious concession, Protestantism reached its peak in Austria. On December 22, 1567 Maximilian issued by bypassing the Bishop of Passau, a general order for convents and monasteries in which he, among others, the abolition of concubinage ordered.

Although Maximilian's son and successor Rudolf II was rather religiously indifferent, the Counter-Reformation began around 1580 . Bishops who had been trained in Jesuit schools and abbots, who often came from abroad, began to implement the resolutions of the Council of Trent (1545–1563). Some of the reforms of the council, such as the establishment of the Vienna seminary , were not implemented until 1758.

In the course of the dispute between Emperor Rudolf II and his brother Matthias , Matthias had to reassure the estates that they would be free to practice their religion in the resolution of capitulation 1609 in order to achieve their homage. The following decade was another heyday of Protestantism in the Habsburg Danube countries, especially in the land above the Enns. In this context, the teaching activities of numerous well-known people, including Johannes Kepler , at the evangelical landscape school in Linz should be mentioned. The political architect of the opposition class politics was Georg Erasmus von Tschernembl .

When Ferdinand II took office , who had already vigorously promoted the Counter-Reformation in Inner Austria , the situation began to worsen. The estates of the Danube countries joined the rebellion in Bohemia through the Act of Confederation ( Confoederatio Bohemica ) in 1619 , but suffered a catastrophic defeat in the Battle of White Mountain . From this point on, the Counter Reformation finally prevailed in Austria. In addition to the Jesuits, it was mainly worn by Capuchins , Servites and Barnabites and was sponsored by the bishops Melchior Klesl in Vienna, Martin Brenner in Seckau, Georg Stobäus in Lavant, Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau and later by Markus Sittikus Graf von Hohenems in Salzburg.

The consequence of the defeat of the estates was the expropriation of the Lower Austrian rebels and the pledging of Upper Austria to Bavaria . The re-Catholicization carried out there by the Bavarians culminated in the Upper Austrian Peasants' War of 1626. After the defeat of the peasants, the Protestant nobles were given the choice of emigration or conversion , and the Protestant preachers were expelled.

From around 1600 Protestants emigrated from Austria. Their number is estimated at 100,000 to 200,000. A prominent example is Justinian von Welz , who emigrated with his parents in 1628 , who later became a pioneer of world missions in the Lutheran area. After the end of the Thirty Years War , Austria was predominantly Catholic from around 1650. In the Alpine regions, in Upper Austria and in Hungary, smaller groups were able to keep their faith as secret Protestants .

In 1631 Ferdinand II awarded the title of imperial prince to the Viennese bishops.

From around 1650, Marian veneration was promoted by means of Marian columns and an increase in the number of Marian pilgrimage sites. The strong emphasis on passion piety manifested itself in the establishment of crossroads , calvaries and field crosses. The discovery of the Roman catacombs led to an increased veneration of relics by the martyrs .

State Church and Josephinism

Development of the Archdiocese of Vienna

The unity of faith also freed up forces to defend themselves against the Turks. After the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, Hungary and Transylvania were conquered. Prince Eugene is known as a general, while the Capuchin Marco d'Aviano acted as a preacher and pastor on these campaigns. These successes were made visible to the outside world through baroque renovations and new buildings of churches and monasteries.

In 1722 Vienna was raised to the rank of archdiocese, to which the diocese of Wiener Neustadt was subordinated as a suffragan . In 1729 the area of ​​the new archdiocese was expanded to include parishes between Vienna and Wiener Neustadt .

About 20,000 Salzburg exiles were expelled from the Archdiocese of Salzburg in 1731 by Count Leopold Anton von Firmian and around 400 Protestants in 1837 under Friedrich Johannes Jacob Cölestin von Schwarzenberg .

Enlightenment and absolutism lead to ever greater interference by the state in church affairs. The first beginnings of Maria Theresia and her chancellor Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz can be seen from around 1750. Archduke and German Emperor Joseph II, who had ruled alone since 1780 , founded new dioceses ( Leoben , Linz and St. Pölten ), changed existing diocesan borders, abolished all contemplative orders and founded new parishes. The priests became civil servants. Even the journey of Pope Pius VI. to Vienna in 1782 could not dissuade the emperor from his reform plans. ( See also : Josephinism .)

His tolerance patents enabled Greek Orthodox , Protestants (1781) and Jews (1782) to practice their religion freely in private - with restrictions. The primacy of the Catholic Church continued to exist. In 1781 the Evangelical Church AB (also Lutheran Church ) and the Evangelical Church HB (also Reformed Church ) were constituted.

The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 ended the secular rule of the bishops of Brixen and Salzburg. In 1816 the Archdiocese of Salzburg became part of Austria.

As an opponent of the Enlightenment, Clemens Maria Hofbauer worked in Vienna from 1808. He strove for a religious renewal and exerted a great influence on scholars, artists, poets and diplomats, whom he gathered around himself in the Hofbauer circle .

liberalism

Since 1848 there have been several legal advances towards freedom of belief and conscience and towards the end of the state church . In 1848 the bishops of the Salzburg ecclesiastical province met for a synod. The Ministry of the Interior convened an Austrian bishops' conference and a Protestant church assembly for the first time in 1849. The Viennese Archbishop Joseph Othmar Ritter von Rauscher played a key role in the conclusion of a concordat with the Holy See in 1855 . The Protestant churches received full autonomy through the Protestant patent in 1861.

Austrian dioceses around 1850

The concordat was partially overridden by the liberal constitution of 1867. In a pastoral letter, Bishop Franz Joseph Rudigier called for resistance to the May Laws of 1868 , with which the state u. a. intervened in the ecclesiastical matrimonial jurisdiction. When Rudigier was brought before the court, there were public demonstrations by the Catholic population for the first time. The bishop was sentenced to prison but pardoned by the emperor. The dogmatization of the Pope's infallibility was the pretext for the government's cancellation of the Concordat in 1870. However, Emperor Franz Joseph was able to prevent an open culture war.

The Old Catholic Church was founded in 1870 and was recognized in Austria in 1877. The free churches that were established in Vienna at that time ( Baptists in 1869, Methodists in 1870, later Adventists) were not recognized and had a legally unclear status (the law on associations expressly did not apply to religious communities). Meetings in private apartments were repeatedly broken up by the police.

The Vienna church newspaper was founded in 1848 and the Reichspost newspaper in 1893 . At that time, numerous Catholic associations and many female religious orders also emerged.

Karl Freiherr von Vogelsang († 1890) founded the Christian Social Movement and influenced politicians such as Karl Lueger , the founder of the Christian Social Party , Franz Martin Schindler and Aloys Prince of Liechtenstein . The later Cardinal Anton Joseph Gruscha founded Catholic journeyman's and master's associations. Too large city parishes and the lack of understanding of the clergy nevertheless led to a religious alienation of the workers.

All-Austrian Catholic Days took place in Vienna in 1877, 1889 and 1905, in Linz in 1892 and in Salzburg in 1896. In 1912 the 23rd World Eucharistic Congress was held in Vienna from September 12th to 15th .

First republic

With the end of the Habsburg monarchy , the right of appointment and confirmation that the emperor had in the Catholic Church expired. The border changes led to a reorganization of the dioceses. From 1922 to 1949 the Archbishops of Vienna were also Apostolic Administrators of Burgenland . South Tyrol - and with it Bressanone as well - had become part of Italy after the First World War, which is why an administrator for the federal states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg with headquarters in Innsbruck was appointed from 1921 .

Since there was no Concordat in Austria , the Catholic Church tried to enforce its claims with the help of the Christian Social Party , with which it was also closely linked personally. Social democrats and communists were mostly atheistic and demanded a complete separation of church and state , like the free churches before.

In the political and often violent conflicts of those years, the Catholic Church was clearly on the side of the Christian Social Party. This was most evident in the person of the prelate Ignaz Seipel , who twice became Federal Chancellor of the Republic (1922–1924; the second time also Foreign Minister: 1926–1929). After the bloody crackdown on protests on the occasion of the Schattendorfer judgment in July 1927, he was nicknamed "Prelate without Mildness" by the political opposition . It was not least because of this polarization that the Catholic Bishops' Conference on November 30, 1933, banned priests from doing political work.

During this time the Canisiuswerk to promote the priestly professions, the sister association Caritas Socialis and the pastoral care institute were founded . Pius Parsch gave decisive impetus for the renewal of the liturgy from Klosterneuburg Abbey .

In 1933, Federal Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss established the Austro-Fascist corporate state based on Christian social doctrine , in particular the encyclicals " Rerum Novarum " (1891) and " Quadragesimo anno " (1931), with the abolition of parliamentarism . He therefore found support from the bishops and many Catholics. In the same year a new concordat was concluded between Austria and the Holy See. Since it was only ratified by the parliament of the corporate state in 1934, there were later doubts about its validity.

The Protestant Christians found it difficult to commit to the corporate state, since it favored Catholicism; many supported illegal National Socialism . When the authorized representative of the Protestant Church, Johannes Heinzelmann , criticized the National Socialist worldview in the New Year's Shepherd's letter 1937/38, his trust was withdrawn. He resigned from office in 1938.

In the Catholic Church, the Bishop of Linz, Johannes Maria Gföllner , rejected National Socialism in pastoral letters in 1929 and even more clearly in 1933. The shepherd's letter of the Austrian bishops in 1932 also warned of the consequences. On the other hand, many Catholics sympathized with National Socialism.

National Socialism

Connection in 1938 and subsequent changes

After the invasion of Hitler's troops Archbishop of Vienna signed Theodor Innitzer together with the other bishops on March 18, 1938 Solemn Declaration that the annexation of Austria in favor of the National Socialist German Reich. On April 9th, Superintendent Hans Eder wrote a similarly positive statement for the Protestant Church .

Within the Evangelical Church, there was initially strong sympathy for National Socialism. Protestant pastors were rejected as party candidates on principle; a church pastoral office was considered incompatible with NSDAP membership.

On October 7, 1938, Cardinal Innitzer preached Christ as the only leader at the Rosary Festival in St. Stephen's Cathedral . As a result, a rally was formed on Stephansplatz , which the National Socialists perceived as a provocation, and they devastated the Archbishop's Palace in Vienna the following day , while the police did not intervene.

From May 1, 1939, the churches in Austria were allowed to collect contributions ( church tax ). This law helped to withdraw approximately 300,000 Church members.

Overview 1938–1945

The hope of cooperation with the new regime was not fulfilled for the Christian churches. The National Socialists lifted the 1933 Concordat , dissolved Catholic and Protestant associations, closed numerous monasteries and took over 200 church buildings and foundations. In addition, more than 1,400 Church schools, homes and educational institutions were closed. Religious instruction in schools became almost impossible due to several harassments.

Between 1938 and 1945 a total of 724 priests and five evangelical clergy were arrested, 20 of whom died in custody or were sentenced to death and executed. More than 1,500 priests were banned from preaching. The suppression of the church resulted in the introduction of evening masses and an increased participation of lay people . Well-known Catholics who were executed for acts of resistance were Franz Jägerstätter and Maria Restituta (they were beatified in 2007 and 1998, respectively).

Innitzer founded the "Archbishop's Aid for Non-Aryan Christians", which helped Jews to leave Austria with the procurement of the necessary documents and organized legal advice and medical help. Evangelical Jews were helped by the Swedish Israel Mission in Vienna so that many could leave in good time.

Within the framework of the Evangelical Alliance , representatives from free churches, works (such as the YMCA ) and the Evangelical Church met regularly . The protocols obtained often show references to the time situation. The Baptist preacher Arnold Köster in particular repeatedly expressed criticism of the Nazi regime.

Second republic

After the end of the Second World War , the government again allowed religious education in schools. The Church Contribution Act of 1939 was not repealed and therefore has legal effect for the Catholic Church, the Evangelical Church AB and HB and for the Old Catholic Church in Austria. The Catholic association system was reorganized and summarized in the Catholic Action .

On December 21, 1957, the 1933 Concordat was recognized in principle by the federal government; on June 23, 1960, an additional agreement was signed, which was passed in parliament on July 12. On July 12, 1961, the parliament approved a corresponding law for the Protestant and on June 23, 1967 for the Orthodox Church . Since 1971, the state has paid full staff costs for teachers at denominational private schools.

Austrian dioceses since 1968

The diocese of Eisenstadt was established on August 15, 1960, the Innsbruck diocese on August 6, 1964, and the Feldkirch diocese on December 15, 1968 .

The Viennese Archbishop Franz König , who was in office from 1956 to 1985 , made a significant contribution to reconciliation between social democracy and the Church, was one of the fathers of the Second Vatican Council , established contacts with the Eastern Churches and was a pioneer of ecumenism . One of his ecumenical gestures was the repeal of the interdict that had existed since 1871 regarding the Old Catholic Church of St. Salvatore in November 1969 .

In 1965 a resolution by the general synod of the Evangelical Church A. u. HB the ordination of women , which was carried out for the first time on September 11, 1966. At first only unmarried women were admitted as pastors, it was not until 1980 that this provision was lifted.

Relationship between Catholics and Protestants by federal state (2001)

The so-called “ deadline solution ” for abortion , passed in 1973/74 with the votes of the SPÖ , led to violent protests from Catholic lay people and also from the bishops. The “ referendum for the protection of human life” initiated by Aktion Leben Österreich achieved over 890,000 valid signatures, but it was unable to bring about any change in the law.

The 1970s showed an expansion of free churches. In the decades that followed, there was strong growth, especially in the Pentecostal charismatic area and in migrant churches (e.g. Romanians and Africans).

In the 1980s and 1990s there were repeated tensions in the Austrian Catholic Church; In particular, controversial bishop appointments, such as those of Kurt Krenn or the serious allegations against Cardinal Groër for abuse of children at the time , caused excitement and numerous resignations from the church. In addition, part of the church people tried in 1995, through the so-called church people's desire, to move the Catholic Church to rethink it in the direction of a more liberal position in socio-political and internal church areas.

On January 10, 1998, a law came into force that introduced a new category of so-called “religious denominational communities” for unrecognized churches or religious societies.

Pope John Paul II came to Austria for visits in 1983, 1988 and 1998 . On his last trip he spoke at the Wiener Heldenplatz sister Maria Restituta , Jacob Franz Alexander Kern and Father Anton Maria Schwartz saved . Pope Benedict XVI visited Vienna and Mariazell in 2007 as well as the Heiligenkreuz Abbey .

In 2013 five Protestant free churches ( Federation of Baptist Congregations , Federation of Evangelical Congregations , Free Christian Congregation , the Elaia Christengemeinden and the Mennonite Free Church of Austria ) merged to form the umbrella organization for free churches in Austria and for the first time achieved full state recognition as a church community.

See also

literature

  • Joachim Angerer: Klösterreich. History and present of the abbeys and monasteries in Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland . Brandstätter, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-85498-287-9 .
  • Rudolf Leeb et al. a .: History of Christianity in Austria. From antiquity to the present . Uebereuter, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-8000-3914-1 (standard work with 60 pages of literature).
  • Willibald M. Plöchl: The Viennese Orthodox Greeks . Publishing house of the Association of Scientific Societies in Austria, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-85369-530-2 .
  • Gustav Reingrabner : Evangelicals in Austria (exhibition catalog). Evangelical Press Association in Austria, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85073-675-X .
  • Gustav Reingrabner: Protestants in Austria. History and documentation . Böhlau, Vienna a. a. 1981, ISBN 3-205-07140-9 .
  • Alfred Stirnemann, Gerhard Wilflinger (ed.): Religion and churches in old Austria. International symposium in Salzburg . Tyrolia, Innsbruck / Vienna 1996.
  • Ernst Tomek: Church history of Austria . 3 volumes. Tyrolia, Innsbruck u. a. 1935-1959.
  • Karl Vocelka : Multi-denominational Austria . Religions in the past and present . Styria, Vienna a. a. 2013.
  • Wilhelm J. Wagner: The large picture atlas on the history of Austria . Krenmayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-218-00590-6 .
  • Josef Vodka: Church in Austria. Guide through their history . Herder, Vienna 1959.

Web links

General:

History of Christian Churches:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Josef Gelmi : Bishop Ingenuin von Säben. Brixen 2005, ISBN 88-88910-23-9 , pp. 20-28.
  2. ^ History of the Reformation in Austria; by Eduard Böhl in Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1902; P. 168
  3. ^ Fritz Laubach (ed.): Justinian von Welz. An Austrian as a thought leader and pioneer of world missions. All writings (studies on the history of Christian movements of the Reformation tradition in Austria; 4). Bonn 2010.
  4. ^ Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer : Free Churches in Austria since 1846. On the sources and on questions of method. In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria 124f (2008f) 270–302.
  5. ^ Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer: Viennese Evangelical Professors of Theology in the Mirror of the Gau-Akten. Documentation on Beth, Egli, Entz, Hajek, Hoffmann, Koch, Kühnert, Opitz, Schneider and Wilke. In: Yearbook for the History of Protestantism in Austria , 116, 2000/01, pp. 191–225.
  6. ^ ORF: The Church and the Resistance to the Nazi Regime , January 21, 2005.
  7. ^ Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer (Ed.): Evangelical Alliance in Vienna from the First Republic to the Nazi era (1920-45). Edition of the meeting minutes and programs (studies on the history of Christian movements of the Reformation tradition in Austria; 2). VKW, Bonn 2010.
  8. ↑ Law on the collection of church contributions in Austria, GBlÖ No. 543/1939 , RIS -Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes, accessed on February 14, 2015
  9. ^ Konkordat austria-lexikon.at, accessed on March 21, 2011
  10. ^ The Vienna District Museums, Old Town Hall, Salvatorkirche , The Vienna District Museums, accessed on February 14, 2015
  11. ^ ORF: Free churches in Austria officially recognized
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on July 17, 2005 .