Udo Smidt

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Udo Gerdes Smidt (born July 1, 1900 in Groothusen ( East Friesland ), † April 18, 1978 in Detmold ) was a German Protestant Reformed theologian and, as a regional superintendent , was the leading clergyman of the Lippe regional church for many years .

Smidt, the son of a Reformed pastor, studied Protestant theology in Tübingen and Berlin and in 1925 became pastor of the Protestant Reformed congregation in Rysum (East Friesland), which belonged to the Evangelical Reformed Church in Northwest Germany . In 1930 he became Reichswart of the Federation of German Biblical Circles based in Wuppertal-Barmen . He opposed the inclusion of the student Bible circles in the Hitler Youth and instead declared their dissolution on February 5, 1934 with the so-called "gray letter". Until 1938, however, he still published the magazine Jungewacht .

Smidt returned to the service of his regional church and became parish priest in Bremerhaven-Lehe . There he joined the Confessing Church . In 1946 he became superintendent of Synodal Association VIII. In 1951 he took over a pastor's office in Wuppertal-Elberfeld and at the same time became director of studies at the reformed seminary . On April 15, 1958, the synod of the Lippe regional church elected him to the state superintendent. In this office he worked until 1970. In his retirement, he mainly dealt with theological publications.

In addition to his position as state superintendent, Smidt was a member of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany from 1961 to 1970 , also deputy chairman of the Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany and a member of the moderator of the Reformed Federation .

The Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Münster awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1961 .

His son Dieter Smidt became a physicist, Wolf-Udo Smidt also became a Protestant pastor and was secretary of the Bremen Evangelical Church from 1977 to 1989 .

Publications (selection)

  • Regem habemus. Pictures and testimonials from a German Christian student movement. Furche, Berlin 1925.
  • The Acts of the Apostles (= Bible help for the community: New Testament series; Vol. 5). Schloeßmann, Leipzig / Hamburg 1941; Oncken, Kassel 2 1951; 3 1959.
  • (as ed. with Walter Herrenbrück senior :) Why are you called a Christian? Lectures and essays on the Heidelberg Catechism in the anniversary year 1963. Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1965.
  • (as ed. :) Johannes Calvin and the Church. A reader with texts and topics. Evangelisches Verlagswerk, Stuttgart 1972. ISBN 978-3-7715-0143-3 .
  • (as ed. :) Documents of Protestant youth leagues. Changes between 2 world wars. Evangelisches Verlagswerk, Stuttgart 1975. ISBN 978-3-7715-0167-9 .
  • Pray with the Beatitudes. Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1974. ISBN 978-3-7887-0433-9 .
  • (as ed. :) Adolf Schlatter : The joy of faith. Voices and studies. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 1978. ISBN 978-3-579-03653-3 .

literature

  • Claudia Lepp: Unity taboo? the East-West community of Protestant Christians and the division of Germany (1945 to 1969). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-525-55743-4 , p. 1020.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Wilhelm Neuser State superintendent of the Lippe regional church
1958–1970 		Fritz Viering
personal data
SURNAME Smidt, Udo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smidt, Udo Gerdes (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Evangelical Reformed theologian
DATE OF BIRTH July 1, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Groothusen (East Frisia)
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 1978
Place of death Detmold