Walter Klimt

Walter Klimt (born July 9, 1960 in Vienna ) is a Baptist clergyman . As general secretary, he manages the business of the Federation of Baptist Congregations in Austria , acted as spokesman and council chairman of the interdenominational association of free churches in Austria and administers its finances (as of 2016).

Life

From 1980 to 1985, Walter Klimt studied theology at the Theological Seminary of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches , which at that time had its seat in Hamburg-Horn . He was recognized as pastor of the Federation of Evangelical Free Churches in 1988 after a three-year probationary period. In 1992, he was recognized as pastor of the Austrian Baptist Union .

From 1985 to 1992 Walter Klimt worked in the youth department of the Hamburg-Altona Baptist Congregation and then switched to the service of the Austrian Baptist Union. Here he initially worked pastoral and missionary among Viennese students. In 2002 he and his wife started a Baptist church plant, the so-called project: church . In 1998 the Austrian Baptist Union appointed him as its home mission representative and in 2002 as mission secretary. This service title combines the functions of a home mission commissioner and a general secretary.

In 2013, five Austrian Free Churches joined together under the name Free Churches in Austria - among them the Austrian Baptists. Walter Klimt was appointed as the first spokesman and council chairman of this association, who received state recognition in 2013.

Other areas of activity of Walter Klimt are the management of the diaconal aid association of Austrian Baptists and the collaboration with the World Council of Churches in Austria. He is a member of the Freedom and Justice Commission of the Baptist World Alliance .

family

Walter Klimt is a great-great-nephew of the Viennese painter and engineer Gustav Klimt . He is married to the Dormagen Baptist pastor Andrea Klimt, née Wormitt, who has been Professor of Practical Theology at the Elstal Theological Seminary since 2014 . They have two sons.

Publications

• Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer (Ed.): Fresh water on arid land. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Baptist Congregations in Austria (= Baptism Studies; Vol. 7). Oncken, Kassel 2005, therein by Klimt pp. 160–167 ( Heimatmission ) and pp. 176–186 ( Diakonie ).

Web links

• Brief biography of Walter Klimt on the website of the Free Churches in Austria ; accessed on August 27, 2013
• ORF Religion report on press conference, contains numerous statements by Klimt

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Since 1997 Wustermark-Elstal has been the seat of the Theological Seminary; see Elstal Theological Seminar (University of Applied Sciences)
2. ↑ Unless otherwise noted, the data and facts in the following section are taken from Klimt's short biography on the website of the Free Churches in Austria .
3. ^ Association of Baptist Congregations in Austria: Project Congregation
4. ↑ Website of the Elstal Theological Seminary: Teachers ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.