Wilhelm Henke (theologian)

Wilhelm Henke (left) with Hermann Dietzfelbinger (right) and Reinhard Wester (center) at the General Synod of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany ( VELKD ) in Kiel in 1965

Wilhelm Henke (born June 23, 1897 in Bevern ; † September 3, 1981 in Bückeburg ) was a German pastor, theologian and from 1949 regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Schaumburg-Lippe .

Life

Wilhelm Henke studied Protestant theology in Göttingen , came to Schaumburg-Lippe in 1922 as a Gauwart of the Lower Saxon Bible study groups and was ordained pastor in 1923 . He took up his first pastor in Großenheidorn on the Steinhuder Meer. In 1924 he became pastor in Altenhagen / Hagenburg , in 1929 chief preacher in Bückeburg and vicar of the then state superintendent, whom he succeeded in September 1933.

In June 1936 he dissolved the regional church organs that had been imposed on the regional church in the church struggle and formed a new church government based on the Lutheran creed. In 1937 he was one of those who signed the declaration of the 96 Protestant church leaders against Alfred Rosenberg because of his writing " Protestant Rome Pilgrims ".

In 1949, Henke was given the title of regional bishop . As the longest-serving bishop, he was the leading bishop of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (VELKD) from 1948 to 1949. At the end of April 1966 he retired.

Awards

In 1956, Henke received an honorary doctorate from the Theological Faculty of the University of Göttingen. On his 25th anniversary in office in 1958, he was awarded the Great Federal Cross of Merit.

literature

• Werner Führer, Klaus Zastrow (Ed.): Bring this to mind. Regional Bishop Wilhelm Henke in memory . Bückeburg 1999

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Friedrich Siegmund-Schultze (Ed.): Ecumenical Yearbook 1936–1937 . Max Niehans, Zurich 1939, pp. 240–247.