Volkmar Herntrich

Volkmar Herntrich (born December 8, 1908 in Flensburg , † September 14, 1958 in Lietzow near Nauen ) was an Evangelical Lutheran theologian. Most recently he was regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Hamburg state .

Life

Since Herntrich came from an old pastor's family, the Protestant theology course was mapped out for him. In 1927 he enrolled at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität , where he was reciprocated in the Corps Borussia Tübingen in 1928 . He later studied in Berlin with Reinhold Seeberg and at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel . In 1930 he passed his exam. With a doctoral thesis with Ernst Sellin , he was awarded a Dr. theol. PhD. He was among the founders of the Pastors in Schleswig-Holstein and was one of the heads of the Confessing Church in the era of National Socialism . Shortly after his habilitation , his license to teach was revoked in 1934 . He then became a lecturer at the theological college in Bethel and held numerous guest lectures from 1934 to 1939 against ethnic religiosity and the rejection of the Old Testament in the Bible. Interrogations by the secret state police , arrests and imprisonment were the result. During this time he developed a close relationship with Friedrich von Bodelschwingh , the director of the Bethel Institutions . From 1940 he worked in Berlin-Dahlem as director of the Evangelical Reich Association of Female Youth in Germany, the Burckhardthaus . In 1942 he was elected chief pastor of the St. Catherine's Church (Hamburg) .

His special achievement is the organizational renewal of the church through his work to bring together the evangelical aid organization and internal mission . He was chairman of the Diaconal Council for both works. He made further merits by rebuilding the Alsterdorfer Anstalten and the Katharinenkirche, which had been destroyed by Operation Gomorrah . In 1945, Herntrich was acted as the successor of Regional Bishop Franz Tügel by the military government . But Tügel prevailed with his suggestion for Simon Schöffel . Herntrich was appointed to the provisional church government in autumn 1945 alongside Simon Schöffel and Theodor Knolle . In 1948 he became senior church councilor and deputy regional bishop. In 1949 he was appointed to the twelve-member council of the EKD . During that time, he strongly advocated the re-establishment of the Church University of Hamburg , which later became the theological faculty of the University of Hamburg . Here he became rector and professor of Old Testament exegesis.

Before his 50th birthday, he was elected bishop of the Hamburg regional church in 1956, making him the youngest of the German Protestant bishops. In the further course he became a member of the World Service Commission of the Lutheran World Federation and directed relief operations in emergency areas. 1958 prevented Herntrich attempt by the Ministerium , the ordination of women to introduce at the Hamburg State Church. On the way to a conference on questions of the European minority churches in Gdynia he suffered a fatal car accident near Nauen .

Honors

Grave slab in the Ohlsdorf cemetery

• Dr. phil. hc from Christian-Albrechts-University (1950)
• Honorary Doctorate from Capital University, Columbus, Ohio (1954)

Fonts

• Ezekielprobleme (= supplements to the journal for Old Testament science , issue 61) , Giessen 1933.
• The psalms as a source of strength for Luther . A contribution to the question of the Lutheran creed today , Gütersloh 1934.
• The Church of Jesus Christ and the Word of God. On the question of the “visible” and “invisible” church (= Confessing Church, volume 35), Munich 1935.
• The testimony of faith in the Old Testament and the confession of Jesus Christ , Gütersloh 1935.
• New paganism and faith in Christ , Gütersloh 1935.
• as editor: You shall be my witnesses. Devotional book of the Confessing Church , Gütersloh 1935.
• Jeremiah the prophet and his people. An introduction to the message of Jeremiah , Gütersloh 1938.
• Theological interpretation of the Old Testament? For a conversation with Wilhelm Vischer , Göttingen 1938.
• How does the Christian read the Old Testament? The biblical account of creation laid out by the community , Göttingen 1939.
• The praises of the church. Psalm sermons (= theological existence today 73), Munich 1940.
• The mystery of God's rule. An introduction to the Gospel of Mark. Part I, Berlin 1940.
• Amos the Prophet of God , Göttingen 1941.
• Hold us in firm faith. Daily devotions , Berlin 1941.
• The Biblical Story in Church Instruction. 100 catechetical meetings carried out , Hamburg 1946.
• as editor with Theodor Knolle : Scripture and Confession. Testimonies of Lutheran theology , Hamburg 1950.
• Isaiah the prophet . Cape. 1-12 ( The Old Testament German 17), Göttingen ³1957.
• And the sea is no more. Sermons on the texts of Revelation , Hamburg 1963.

literature

• Hans-Volker Herntrich (Ed.): Volkmar Herntrich 1908–1958. A diaconal bishop , Berlin 1968 (writings for diakonia and community education).

Web links

• Literature by and about Volkmar Herntrich in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kösener Corp lists 1960, 126/542.
2. ↑ Dissertation: History of the interpretation of the book of Ezekiel up to Kittel's history of the people of Israel .
3. ↑ Kurt Meier: The Evangelical Church Struggle. Volume 3: Under the sign of the second world war . Halle (Saale) 1984, p. 396 f. and 670 .
4. ↑ Women in the pulpit? The disputes over women's ordination and equal rights for theologians in the Hamburg regional church - PDF. Retrieved June 4, 2018 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Karl Dubbels	Chief Pastor to St. Katharinen in Hamburg 1942–1958	Hartmut Sierig

predecessor	Office	successor
Theodor Knolle	Regional Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Hamburg State 1956–1958	Karl Witte