Wendish Society of Preachers in Leipzig

This article deals with the historical Sorbian language association from 1716; The Landsmannschaft Sorabia-Westfalen Münster and the Sorbian student association Sorabija refer to this ; another Wendish preacher society in Wittenberg is also dealt with here.

The coat of arms from 1890

The Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig ( Sorbian Serbske prědarske towarstwo ) was founded on December 10, 1716 as a Sorbian language association with the Latin name Societas Lusatorum Sorabica at the University of Leipzig , with the aim of preparing the members for preaching in the Sorbian language . In 1806, the association was renamed the Lausitzer Predigerkollegium and in 1810 the Lausitzer Predigergesellschaft , as there was a German-speaking branch of students from Lusatia with equal rights in addition to the Sorbian-speaking Sorabicum.

Sorbian language association

Initially, only Sorbian-speaking students could become members:

"... consists of those members who understand the Wendish language as it is spoken in part of Upper Lusatia."

- Statutes of 1716

"... should consist solely of those members who are familiar with the Upper Lusatian-Wendish language, or who do indeed have to learn it."

- Statutes of 1766

The main purpose of the association was to provide mutual support in preaching in Sorbian:

"Their sole purpose is to practice Wendish preaching every Saturday afternoon in the Pauline Church, which has been assigned to them by the university, from 1 to 2 o'clock ..."

- Statutes of 1766

history

In 1716, Sorbian students of Protestant theology from Upper Lusatia at the University of Leipzig , Mosig, Bär, Bulitius and Kneschke, under the leadership of Masters Ast and Schirach, formed the "Wendish Preacher Collegium". Their intention was to prepare sermons in their mother tongue and to read them to one another in order to prepare for their future activities. Non-theologians joined the now so-called "Societas Sorabica" as extraordinary members in 1755. After 50 years, in 1767, the alumni of the "Oberlausitz-Wendish Preachers College" published an "Oberlausitz-Wendish Church History" and continued to promote the language and literature of the Sorbs. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Lusatian homeland and theological training were binding for society.

During the democratic March Revolution in 1849, the association became a member of the democratic student Sorbian Fatherland Association Serbska Lipa , and in 1875 the Maćica Serbska .

In the course of the 19th century it changed into an academic association, which in 1909 took on the name Sorabia - this was supposed to establish a reference to the Sorbian country and do justice to the founders of the society. This process resulted in the Sorabia being accepted into the Deutsche Landsmannschaft (DL) in 1934 .

With the dissolution of the Sorabicum Sorbian department within the Lausitzer Predigergesellschaft in 1899, it is no longer a Sorbian language association.

Known members

• Christian August Crusius (1715–1775), philosopher and theologian
• Georg Körner (1717–1772), pastor and Slavist
• Andreas Nitsche ( Handrij Nyča , 1731–1795), traveler and scholar
• Johann Friedrich Burscher (1732–1805), theologian
• Friedrich August Carus (1770–1807), psychologist, philosopher and historian of philosophy
• Christian Friedrich Stempel ( Kito Fryco Stempel , 1787–1867), pastor and poet
• Andreas Seiler ( Handrij Zejler , 1804–1872), pastor and poet
• Karl Friedrich Ferdinand Lachmann (1817–1881), Vice Principal at the Zittau High School
• Karl August Jentsch ( Korla Awgust Jenč , 1828–1895), pastor and literary historian
• Hermann Julius Robert Calinich (1834–1883), Evangelical Lutheran clergyman, author and Hamburg chief pastor
• Victor Schultze (1851–1937), Protestant theologian and professor of Christian archeology and church history (honorary member)
• Karl-Ernst Mucke ( Arnošt Muka , 1854–1932), writer and folklorist (honorary member)

successor

Although after 1899 there was no longer an association in the sense of the original statutes of 1716 and 1766, two student associations refer to the original Wendish Predigergesellschaft.

• The Landsmannschaft Sorabia-Westfalen Münster sees itself as the legal successor to the Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig and therefore as the oldest student union in Germany.
• The Leipzig Sorbian Student Association Sorabija sees itself as the successor to the Sorbian tradition of the Wendish Preacher Society.

Other Sorbian preaching societies

Members of the Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig, who continued their studies of Protestant theology in the cheaper Wittenberg , founded the Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Wittenberg (1749-1813) on the initiative of the German Sorabist Johann Gottlieb Hauptmann . They largely adopted the statutes from Leipzig. So they met every Saturday in the castle church for Sorbian preaching exercises. With the dissolution of their alma mater , the University of Wittenberg , the Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Wittenberg could not survive the turmoil of the Wars of Liberation within the Napoleonic Wars .

There were similar associations of Sorb theology students , for example, at the Wendish seminary in Prague in the form of the Serbowka , founded in 1846 , in which Catholic seminarians for priesthood met for language and preaching exercises.

literature

• Siegmund Musiat: Sorbian, Wendish associations. 1716-1937. A manual (=  publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 , p. 292-295 .
• Carl August Jentsch: History of the Lausitzer Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig and a list of all its members from 1716-1866 . Bautzen 1867 ( limited preview in Google book search).
• Adam Gottlob Schirach : A short draft of an Oberlausitz-Wendish church history . Ed .: Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig. David Richters Buchhandlung, Bautzen 1767 ( limited preview in the Google book search - Chapter IV. From the Leipzig Seminario to the Upper Wendish Priesthood).
• Rainer Haas: Societas Lusatorum Sorabica. History of the Lausitzer Preacher Society. Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2016, ISBN 978-3-7412-9108-1 ( limited preview in Google book search).

Web links

Commons : Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Siegmund Musiat: Sorbian, Wendish associations. 1716-1937. A manual (=  publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 , p. 21 .
2. ↑ ^{a b} Adam Gottlob Schirach : Short draft of an Oberlausitz-Wendish church history . Ed .: Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig. David Richter's bookstore, Bautzen 1767, p. 137–140 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
3. ↑ ^{a b} Siegmund Musiat: Sorbische, wendische clubs. 1716-1937. A manual (=  publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 , p. 20 .
4. ↑ Siegmund Musiat: Sorbian, Wendish associations. 1716-1937. A manual (=  publications of the Sorbian Institute . No. 26 ). 1st edition. Domowina-Verlag , Bautzen 2001, ISBN 3-7420-1835-3 , p. 34 f .
5. ↑ Adam Gottlob Schirach : Short draft of an Oberlausitz-Wendish church history . Ed .: Wendische Predigergesellschaft zu Leipzig. David Richter's bookstore, Bautzen 1767, p. 132 ( limited preview in Google Book search).