Sergius Heitz

Sergius Heitz (actually Alfons A. Heitz ; born June 6, 1908 in Illkirch-Grafenstaden near Strasbourg in Alsace ; † October 7, 1998 in Düsseldorf ) was a German-French Roman Catholic and later Orthodox priest and theologian .

Life

Sergius Heitz was baptized a Roman Catholic on June 24, 1908 in the Strasbourg Cathedral and was given the baptismal name Alfons. After attending the Episcopal Gymnasium in Strasbourg from 1919 to 1924 , he studied philosophy and theology from 1924 to 1931 at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Strasbourg .

On July 16, 1931, Heitz was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in the Latin rite . After his time as chaplain , he was pastor in Hartmannswiller in Upper Alsace from 1935 to 1945 , where he founded an ecumenical working group between Lutherans and Catholics.

At that time he also worked on the Protestant magazine Church and Liturgy . Heitz was also the co- editor of the church weekly Der Sonntag , which was banned by the National Socialists in 1942. He was also involved in the publication of the hymn and prayer book for the diocese of Strasbourg , Jubilate .

From 1945 to 1947 he was student pastor in Paris and from 1946 to 1948 deputy vicar general for foreign Catholics in France . After a lengthy process, Heitz converted to the Orthodox faith and was accepted into Orthodoxy on June 24, 1948. Immediately afterwards he married Ilyena Alexandrovna Gregorian. In 1949 he was ordained a priest for the French-speaking faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate in Paris.

He was editor of the orthodox magazine Dans l 'Esprit et la Vérité , also lecturer at the Institute Orthodox Saint-Denis (of the Moscow Patriarchate). However, in autumn 1949 he became the chaplain in Rüschlikon / Zurich so as not to burden ecumenical relations. In May 1950 his son Sergius was born, who died immediately after birth. In the fall of 1950, Heitz had to return to Paris because Switzerland did not issue him with a permanent residence permit. In 1952 his daughter Olga was born in Paris .

In 1956, Archbishop Johannes von Shanghai and San Francisco , then Bishop of the Russian Church Abroad in Versailles , advised Heitz to move to Germany . He did this on the express instructions of the Romanian metropolitan Visarion Puiu , who was then in exile in Paris . In Düsseldorf , his new home, Heitz then founded a German-speaking community . Shortly afterwards he published the magazine Orthodoxie Today .

In 1966 he was appointed archpriest . From 1969 until his death, Heitz held Orthodox theological lessons on Saturdays in Düsseldorf, initially in a private apartment, and finally in the Alexian Hospital in Neuss. In 1972 Heitz was a participant in the State Council of the Russian Church in Sagorsk ( Sergijew Possad ), where he was awarded the miter by Patriarch Pimen .

In 1974 Heitz had to temporarily move to the Russian diocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the current exarchate of the Orthodox communities of Russian tradition in Western Europe ( Paris ). In 1992, however, he was reassigned to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

meaning

Sergius Heitz was one of the most important personalities of the German-speaking Orthodoxy , who was strongly influenced by him. According to his understanding, a conversion to Orthodoxy should not result in the convert giving up his own culture, mentality and language when he becomes Orthodox. He was concerned with the universal claim of the Orthodox Church. It has always been his life's task to create an area accessible to all Christians for Orthodoxy in the West, which is why he campaigned for the consolidation of German-speaking Orthodoxy.

Sergius Heitz was on friendly terms with Abbot Ildefons Herwegen von Maria Laach and Professor Johannes Pinsk in Berlin . He was also with orthodox theologians such as Chrysostomos Koronaios , the last director of the Seminary of Chalki , Patriarch Justin of Bucharest , Metropolitan Philaret , coregent of the underage Bulgarian Tsar , Archimandrite Benedict Ghiuṣ , the later reformer of Romanian monasticism and founder of the academic community “From the Burning Dornbusch ”(“ Rugul Aprins ”), friends.

The “ Orthodox Fraternity for German-speaking Congregations ”, founded by Heitz in 1973, endeavors to give his work duration and advocates German-speaking Orthodoxy.

Works (selection)

• Christ in you. Hope in glory. Orthodox book of faith for adult and adolescent believers. 4th revised edition, Edition Hagia Sophia, Wachtendonk 2016, ISBN 978-3-96321-033-4 .
• Mystery of worship . Vol. 1: Divine Liturgy and Liturgy of the Hours of the Orthodox Church. Luthe-Verlag, Cologne 1986. Vol. 3: The mystery acts of the Orthodox Church and the daily prayer of the Orthodox believers. ibid. 1988. Vol. 2 not published

Web links

• Obituary of the Orthodox Fraternity in Germany
• Death report