Richard Alexander Georg Wühner

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Richard Alexander Georg Wühner (born September 16 . Jul / 28. September  1872 greg. In Tarvastu , Governorate of Livonia , Russian Empire ; † 3 or 4. May 1919 in Pskov , Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ) was an Estonian minister. He is considered a Protestant martyr and is recorded on the Riga Martyrs Stone.

The dates in this article are based on the Julian calendar for the period up to 1918 unless otherwise noted.

Life

Training and administration

From 1880 to 1882 Richard Wühner attended the Blumbergi School, from 1883 to 1884 the grammar school, from 1884 to 1886 the secondary school and from 1886 to 1890 again the grammar school in Tartu , from which he graduated with the Abitur. From 1891 to 1895 he studied theology at the University of Tartu . During this time he overcame his religious doubts. Since September 18, 1892 he was a member of the Theological Association Dorpat. He completed his studies as a graduate student. In 1896 and 1897 he passed the exams before the consistory in Riga. He spent his practical year from 1896 to 1897 in Sangaste with Theodor Siegfried Alexander Hesse and in Rõuge with Rudolf Kallas . On September 28, 1897 he was ordained in Tartu by Pastor Oehrn.

In 1897 he was pastor- adjunct of the Võru district . From 1897 to 1898 he served the Estonian St. Petri Congregation in Valga as pastor-vicar of the same district, from Sunday, January 10th July. / January 22, 1899 greg. , then as pastor, having been appointed by the Livonian consistory. His inauguration took place in the well-filled St. Johanniskirche without disturbances and was carried out by General Superintendent F. Hollmann, assisted by Pastors Paslack from Karula and Tiedemann from Hargel. Wühner thus succeeded Pastor Paul Andritz, who died in December 1897.

The city was on the border between the Estonian and Latvian language areas, today it is divided between the respective nations. The community had not been independent for a long time; Wühner had to work hard to build up. He also gave serious penitential sermons and then conveyed the message of the gospel. With the sermons of penance he drew the enmity of many.

His attitude towards the Estonian nation also alienated him from some parishioners. W. Zelm quoted in “Evangelium und Osten” Oskar Schabert's Baltic Martyrs Book (see chapter “Literature”) with a statement about Wühner: “He has always known his ancestry as an Estonian, but the kingdom of God was beyond all nationality.” He had so no inclination towards nationalism, which earned him numerous hostilities among the Estonians in his community, as many people wanted a pastor who would help to pursue nationalist goals. Despite the many opponents, he was able to serve his community undeterred by building up the structures and even more the religiousness of the community. He found special support from his missionary sexton.

Secondary employment, conflict with the director of the church school

In April 1901 Richard Wühner received permission from the Livonian governor to set up a library.

On June 13, 1902, Wühner was elected to a commission for the establishment of a Krons secondary school in Valga.

In October 1908, Wühner wanted to hold a children's church service with some women and children in the local Estonian church school. Headmaster H. Ollino had the doors locked when the group arrived, as he said he had no approval from his direct superior and no registration, and the church and the confirmation hall, which Wühner used for numerous events, was available. Wühner climbed into the classrooms through the window, with the words addressed to the attendant:

"In the window, if you like, but we have to get in."

Then he opened the door from the inside to the church. The Estonian newspaper “Postimees” attributed the incident to Wühner's “intolerant” sermons, which would alienate modern people from the Church. In a letter to the editor to the Estonian newspaper “Öigus”, Ollino insinuated that Wühner had wanted to avoid the children carrying the dirt into his house and, as a further motivation, that Wühner wanted to counter his dwindling influence on the church school. Ollino also noted that the school harmonium had stopped working properly since the deliberate prayer hour. The headmaster switched to the ministerial school in Marienburg.

On October 26, 1902, Wühner sent a request to the Valga city council to increase the annual support payments for the Estonian church school from 225 to 600 rubles and to allocate firewood. The city councilor Kruglow and the deputy of the Orthodox spiritual department spoke out against it, the latter because other church schools would not be given appropriate support. A lengthy debate broke out between the Russian and Estonian parties, while the Latvian remained silent. In the end, the support was only increased to 375 rubles and the firewood allocation was set at the equivalent of 35 dm³ per year.

On April 13, 1914 at 6 p.m., Wühner gave the festive sermon in St. Peter's Church in Riga on the occasion of the 26th annual festival of the Evangelical Association of Young Men.

Estonian war of freedom and imprisonment

During the Estonian War of Freedom , the Bolsheviks approached . In this life-threatening situation for him, Richard Wühner stayed with his community. He behaved according to the Bible verses Mk 8.35  LUT (“Whoever wants to keep his life will lose it”) and Mt 10.38  LUT (“He who does not take up his cross and follow me”). In his own words:

“How am I supposed to flee now that there is danger. What is all my preaching worth? If the Lord wants me to suffer, even to die, then I am ready. "

On the morning of December 18, 1918, the Bolsheviks entered Walk. Wühner was arrested at noon. He was on a death list drawn up by some Estonians in Saint Petersburg . The arrest was made by Estonians, while the detective was a Latvian. Wühner was presented to this. The inspector released him. There were no war crimes in Valga during these days.

On January 31, 1919, about 5 km from Valga, heavy fighting broke out between bourgeois and communist Estonians. (See Battle of Paju .) The bourgeois forces were supported by Finnish units, and they were victorious. The communists had to leave, but arrested Wühner in the process. Simultaneously with the arrival of the bourgeoisie in Valga, Wühner was transported to Valmiera . The Russian commander released him and gave him a permit so that he could return to Valga through the front line.

When he tried to use this opportunity, Estonian Red Army soldiers who recognized him arrested him as an alleged spy. They ignored the pass. The pastor was taken to prison via Riga and Rēzekne in Pskov. The prison was overcrowded with people who had been arrested by the Cheka or who had actually committed various crimes. The information that a pastor had arrived from Livonia quickly spread among the prisoners. The differences between him and his fellow inmates were also apparent. He washed himself twice a day, let fresh air in his cell, cleaned the floor, complained about indecent language, talked about religious subjects, and even gave morning and evening devotions with his Bible.

Other prisoners thereby changed their behavior in a positive way. The pastor also became known outside the prison. People he didn't know at all provided him with, for example, a pillow or food. A Polish fellow prisoner, whom he was able to win over to the Christian faith, said of him: “He made no attempts at conversion for the benefit of Lutheranism, but instead campaigned for Christ, he read a passage from the New Testament and preached: His Lord!” His prayers particularly impressed the inmates. He asked not for retribution, but for enlightenment for the Bolsheviks and for peace among the peoples. Its audience was diverse, including Red Army soldiers, monarchists who had been imprisoned by the Cheka, socialists, speculators and criminals. They listened to him with devotion and submitted to his views. He was even given opportunities to escape, but he did not use them. He only wanted legitimate gifts that he could accept as gifts from God.

On May 2, 1919, on which Good Friday was celebrated in Russia , the members of the German Lutheran congregation in Pskow asked, with a petition signed by 150 people, to allow the Cheka, Wühner to hold a church service in their city at Easter , after the local pastor Drechsler had to go into exile, so that they had been without spiritual care for a long time.

Execution and burial

The result was that Richard Wühner, who knew nothing about the request, was to be executed . The details have been handed down by the Polish cellmate mentioned above. As a result, it is known that there was neither an interrogation nor a verdict. In his last days, however, Wühner became increasingly clear that he was going to die. His prayers lasted for hours.

On May 3rd or 4th, on Easter Vigil, the guard came to the door. He was excited, and he ordered in a trembling voice: "Wühner, to the office - without things." What was to follow now was clear to everyone present. The pastor said goodbye to his fellow prisoners. When he was led away he said:

"See, now God is calling me, farewell, my friends."

Then he was escorted to the place of execution by soldiers. He met an acquaintance to whom he said briefly:

"Now I am going to my Golgotha ."

Richard Alexander Georg Wühner was shot alone. Further details are unknown. Wühner had often asked God in prayer for strength so that he might die undaunted and un embittered. It seems that Wühner's way of dying actually made an impression on the firing squad; in any case, his corpse was not looted, as is usual. Even his pocket watch stayed with him. His remains were brought back to his home and buried there. It was Wühner's wish to do something extraordinary for Christ. Oskar Schabert judged in his Baltic Martyrs Book that this wish was fulfilled by his martyr's death.

The church and school servant Jöggi took a course as an itinerant preacher in Petrograd to take on the office of Pskov pastor, but was not recognized by the community. This ended the Lutheran church services in Pskov.

family

Richard Wühner's father, the landowner Hans Wühner (1836–1911), belonged to the Estonian national movement. His brother Theodor Hans Wühner (1868–1959) was a pastor in Karula. Richard Wühner married Adele Schasmin on December 18, 1898.

literature

Portrait photo

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walk. in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 10, January 14, 1899, online at Wühner | issueType: P
  2. ↑ Domestic. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 10, January 14, 1899, online at Wühner'S | issueType: P
  3. ^ W. Zelm: Twenty years ago. in Evangelium und Osten: Russian Evangelical Press Service , No. 5, May 1, 1939, online at Wühner | issueType: P
  4. ↑ Northern Livland. The following ventures, which originate from Estonians, in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 85, April 14, 1901, online under Wühner | issueType: P
  5. ↑ Walk. in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 135, June 18, 1902, online at Wühner | issueType: P
  6. ↑ Walk. Kronsrealschule. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 134, July 17, 1902, online at Wühner | issueType: P
  7. ^ Estonian press. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 272, November 22, 1908, online at Wühner Pastor | issueType: P
  8. ^ G. Haller: The Estonian Press 1908/9. in the Baltic Monthly , No. 07–12, July 1, 1909, online at Wühner | issueType: P
  9. ↑ Walk. in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 251, November 5, 1902, online at Wühner | issueType: P
  10. ↑ Evangelical Association of Young Men in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 81, April 11, 1914, online under Wühner | issueType: P
  11. ↑ Baltic countries. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 298, December 30, 1918, online at Wühner | issueType: P
  12. ↑ Konrad Veem Eesti Vaba Rahvakirik Dokumentatsioon ja leksikon EVR Stockholm 1988
  13. ↑ Eugenie von Rauch: German Church and School System in a Russian Provincial City , in the Baltic Monthly Issues , No. 1, January 1, 1937, Chapter 4, online under Wühner Pastor Wühner | issueType: P
personal data
SURNAME Wühner, Richard Alexander Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Evangelical Lutheran pastor, martyr in Estonia
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Tarvastu
DATE OF DEATH May 4, 1919
Place of death Pskov