Salzburg Abbots' Conference

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Salzburg Abbots' Conference (SÄK) is an association of the higher superiors of the Benedictine monasteries of the German-speaking area according to Art. 23 Perfectae caritatis of the Second Vatican Council and c. 708 Codex Iuris Canonici .

Historical roots

The historical roots of the SÄK lie in the 17th century. Bavarian, Swabian, Swiss and Salzburg Benedictine abbeys, at the instigation of Archbishop Markus Sittikus von Hohenems and Abbot Joachim Buchauer of the Salzburg Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter, founded a confederation that became the sponsor of the Salzburg Benedictine University. The confederation virtually went under in 1803 due to secularization . The university was downgraded to a lyceum by the Bavarian government in 1810 ; the former Prince Archbishopric of Salzburg was then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria , not yet part of the Austrian Empire .

In 1923/1924 the confederation was revived. The goal was to rebuild the Benedictine University. As a first step, a Benedictine college was opened in 1924 . In 1928 a Philosophical Institute under papal law was established, which in 1955 was aggregated into the Benedictine College of S. Anselmo . Under National Socialism , the work of the Confederation and the College came to a standstill. After the war, the rights of the confederation to the academic institutions were confirmed by contracts with the Salzburg archbishop and the state. But there were no activities worth mentioning.

The actual reactivation took place in 1956 by Abbot Primate Bernard Kälin OSB. The confederation gave itself statutes, in which it indicated the participation in the theological faculty and the philosophical institute as well as the promotion of a Catholic university in Salzburg as goals . All abbeys in the German-speaking area that followed the Regula Benedicti could become members . The goal of founding a Catholic university in Salzburg became obsolete when a state university was founded in 1962 .

founding

The legal form, which continues to this day, was decided after the second Vatican Council. In Art. 23 Perfectae Caritatis, the council had opened up the possibility for superiors to come together in conferences or councils. This legal form was taken up by the abbots. Abbot Pius Buddenborg drafted the relevant statutes. The aim was to clarify the previously unclear status of the confederation in terms of both canon law and civil law. In 1969 the abbots passed the new statutes , in 1970 the religious congregation granted the license to practice medicine with a few requests for changes. Members were no longer the monasteries themselves, but the superiors. The association body became a personal body . Collaboration in various fields and participation in the theological faculty in Salzburg were named as the purpose of the conference. From now on the association carried the German name "Salzburg Abbots Conference".

Current tasks

The SÄK works to ensure that the chairs of the theological faculty of the University of Salzburg are filled with Benedictines. In particular, the SÄK is responsible for the Philosophical Institute. The SÄK participates in the Katholisches Hochschulwerk, the international research center, it organizes the Salzburg University Weeks , the Easter conferences as meetings of abbots and publishes books.

Chairwoman of the SÄK

  1. Abbot Albert Schmitt , Grüssau-Wimpfen (1957–1970)
  2. Abbot Augustin Mayer , Metten (1970–1971)
  3. Abbot Odilo Lechner , St. Bonifaz / Munich (1972–1982)
  4. Abbot Christian Schütz , Schweiklberg (1982–1988)
  5. Abbot Clemens Lashofer , Göttweig (1988–1994)
  6. Abbot Bernhard Maria Lambert , Scheyern (1994–2003)
  7. Abbot Benno Malfèr , Muri-Gries (2003–2012)
  8. Abbot Theodor Hausmann , St. Stephan / Augsburg (since 2012)

Published writings

The Salzburg Abbots' Conference publishes the Monastic Book of Hours and the Monastic Rituals. In 1990 a German translation of Benedict's Rule was published, and in 1992 a German-Latin edition.

literature

  • Korbinian Birnbacher : Easter meeting of the Salzburg Abbots' Conference in Erfurt 17.-20. April 2001 . In: Erbe und Einsatz , 77 vol. (2001), pp. 257f.
  • Korbinian Birnbacher: Easter meeting of the Salzburg Abbots' Conference in Hünfeld 2.-5. April 2002 . In: EuA, 78 (2002), p. 238f.
  • Korbinian Birnbacher: Benno Malfèr new chairman of the SÄK . In: EuA, 79 (2003), pp. 253f. [Conference 2003]
  • Korbinian Birnbacher: Salzburg Abbots' Conference met in Seeon . In: EuA, 80 (2004), pp. 252f. [Conference 2004]
  • Korbinian Birnbacher: SÄK Easter conference in Freising . In: EuA, 81 (2005), p. 242ff. [Conference 2005]
  • Korbinian Birnbacher: Encounter in Eastern Germany. The Salzburg Abbots' Conference in Schmochtitz . In: EuA, 82 (2006), p. 326ff. [Conference 2006]
  • Korbinian Birnbacher: To be abbot today. SÄK Easter conference in fourths . In: EuA, 83 (2007), p. 318f. [Conference 2007]
  • Korbinian Birnbacher: Training today. Easter meeting of the SÄK in Salzburg . In: EuA 84 (2008), p. 308f. [Conference 2008]
  • Stephan Haering , The Salzburg Abbots' Conference (1970-1995) taking into account their previous history. A sketch on the constitution and contemporary history of the Benedictine German language. In: Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Salzburger Landeskunde 135 (1995), pp. 343–376.

Web links

The SÄK does not have a website. The SÄK participates in the editing of the magazine "Monastische Information". This journal can be viewed online [1] .