Xaver Marnitz

Xaver Marnitz , actually Carl Xaver von Marnitz , also Xaver Karl Marnitz written, Latvian Ksavers Marnics or Kārlis Ksavers fon Marnics even Iksa called (August 9 * ^jul. / 21st August  1855 ^greg. In the pastorate Pape village in Wolmar , Governorate of Livonia , Russian Empire ; † January 30 or 31, 1919 in the Latvian SPR , perhaps in the Biķernieki forest near Riga ), was a German-Baltic pastor. He is considered an Evangelical Lutheran martyr .

The dates in this article are based on the Julian calendar for the period up to 1918 unless otherwise noted.

Life

Career

Xaver Marnitz had German parents, but grew up in the country under Latvians , felt connected to them from his youth, without denying his own origins, and promoted their culture. Like Pastor Karl Schilling , murdered in 1905, Provost Ludwig Zimmermann , murdered in 1906, clergymen Hans Bielenstein , Alexander Bernewitz , Arnold von Rutkowski , Paul Fromhold-Treu , Christoph Strautmann , Karl Schlau , Eberhard Savary , who were executed by Bolsheviks in 1919 , Eugen Scheuermann and Wilhelm Gilbert and, like the pastors Gustav Cleemann and Erwin Gross , who died as a result of their imprisonment with the Bolsheviks, full members of the Latvian Literary Society . This was mainly carried by German-Baltic pastors and intellectuals. For the Latvians themselves, a higher education was hardly accessible at the time of the imperial Russian rule, their culture led a shadowy existence. Marnitz is said to have made no class differences in his behavior, as it was later said in an obituary in the Rigaschen newspaper , which characterized him as "straight-minded, faithful and fresh to life" and generally respected.

Xaver Marnitz was considered to be slow to learn, but once he had learned something, he kept it in his mind for a lifetime. Riding and working in the field suited him very well. He first attended the grammar school in Pernau from 1867 to 1873, later, from 1873 to 1876, the Gouvernements grammar school in Riga, from which he graduated with the Abitur. From 1876 to 1882 he studied theology out of conviction at the University of Dorpat , where he belonged to the Fraternitas Rigensis and from 1877 to 1878 to the theological association Dorpat. His financial resources were limited, but he seemed to be enjoying his student days. He completed his studies as a graduate student and passed the exams before the consistory in Riga in 1882. From 1882 to 1883 he spent his probationary year with Pastor Auning in Sesswegen in Livonia. After his ordination on February 20, 1883 by General Superintendent Girgensohn in Riga, he was Livonian parish vicar in the parish of Katlakaln- Olai . From October 1883 to 1892 he was pastor in Lasdohn (today: Lazdonas, Madonas novads ). From 1883 to 1889 and 1890 to 1892 he was also pastor-vicar in Stružan-Stirnian in Vitebsk Governorate (Polish-Livonia).

Marnitz stood up for people who had converted from the Protestant to the Russian Orthodox state church and now wanted to become Lutheran again. This naturally led to friction with the Orthodox Church. So he had to answer in court several times, defending himself. His knowledge of Russian was useful for this. In 1889 he was suspended from duty for a period because of these conflicts.

Pastor of Uexküll and Kirchholm

In 1892 Xaver Marnitz became pastor of the large congregation Uexküll - Kirchholm near Riga.

In 1893 he became director of the preacher widows and orphans fund of the Riga district.

On January 13, 1893, at its 572nd meeting in Riga, Marnitz was accepted as a full member of the Society for History and Archeology of the Baltic Provinces of Russia .

Another trial against Marnitz took place on July 8, 1893 in a closed session before the delegation of the Riga District Court in Wenden . He was charged with violating Articles 193 and 1576 of the Criminal Code because he had administered the sacraments to Orthodox Christians and had mixed marriages between Orthodox and other Christians without prior blessing by an Orthodox clergyman. The verdict was announced in public: Marnitz was found guilty of violating Articles 193, 1576 and 152 and was again suspended from his post for six months. He also had to pay the court costs of 25 rubles and 74 kopecks. The judgment was confirmed after an appeal to the courts in Saint Petersburg ; the Rigas District Court received the decision to fulfill the judgment in March 1894.

To Exaudi , May 5th ^jul. / May 17,  1896 ^greg. , the foundation stone was laid for the expansion of the local church; Marnitz as the responsible pastor is mentioned in the text and signature of the document inserted therein.

In 1899 he donated 23 rubles to the ladies' group to collect donations for those in need .

In 1900 he became school inspector of the Riga district.

Revolutionary convictions were carried to Uexküll and Kirchholm from the large industrial city of Riga. Marnitz's church work was considered reliable, and he emulated his father as a pastor. He was considered open and straightforward, with which he made enemies among people with a different worldview. Marnitz often expressed his regret for his heated nature. He didn't seem to have any trouble speaking his mind openly.

Effects of the Russian Revolution of 1905

During the Russian Revolution of 1905 , Xaver Marnitz was severely threatened by revolutionaries, but remained with his community despite extreme danger. When friends tried to persuade him to flee, he said:

"We are there to do our duty, leaving the success to God, my family comes second and must not go over my office."

He interceded daily for parishioners who were responsible for church desecrations. He spent many nights in prayer for his church. In public he was captured by revolutionaries on the street and held in solitary confinement for two days. His salvation from this and other situations was seen as God's help; There was also a rumor that he was wearing armor that would protect him from all blows and stabs.

After the assassination of provost Ludwig Zimmermann took over representative whose term as provost of Riga's diocese because he was regarded as steadfast and prudent. Afterwards, like other country pastors, in September 1906 he was asked in threatening letters to leave his pastorate; otherwise he will also be killed. Other clergymen who did not comply actually paid for their decision with their lives. (see navigation bar) His tenure was considered the most chaotic that a provost had to contend with, but his work was considered brave and reliable. By persevering with his congregation, Marnitz increased the affection of his Latvian congregation members, as the Latvian pastor Behrsing later judged in his eulogy for the 25th anniversary of his office (see below). Marnitz did not appreciate paperwork, he was more practical and had a reputation for being able to make judgments. He got the best inspiration for his sermons while working in the fields. Marnitz was very close to home.

In 1907 Xaver Marnitz was officially provost of the Riga-Land district.

In April 1908 he celebrated his 25th anniversary as pastor. Numerous clergy from Riga and the country as well as many parishioners took part in the celebration, including the Latvian schoolmaster and church guardians. There was a feast; General Superintendent Th. Gaethgens read a greeting from the Livonian Evangelical Lutheran Consistory; Pastor Eberhard Savary spoke as representative of the pastors of the Sprengels and Pastor Ludwig Behrsing from Allasch ; In Latvian, he praised Marnitz's ties to the Latvians and how he stayed with his community during the revolution. City councilor W. von Bulmerincq spoke on behalf of the city of Riga, which was the patroness of the parish. A Latvian community leader thanked Marnitz on behalf of the community for his service and said: "As large as the crowd may be who believe they do not need such service - they too will one day be overcome." These words should later be used as the motto for Marnitz 'life can be seen. The celebration was simple and lasted until 8 p.m.

In 1911 Xaver Marnitz was awarded the pectoral cross together with Arthur Walter and other clergymen.

exile

Xaver Marnitz commented on the outbreak of the First World War :

"Now the big decision about our being and not being is made."

He expressed the hope that in the future his country would no longer be under Russian domination, which he viewed as oppression. This expectation was initially not fulfilled: from December 13, 1915 to 1917, the Imperial Russian state power banished him to Tashkent in Turkestan . He had done too much for a young man who was suspected of espionage. An old pastor said that of all the exiles he regretted his friend Marnitz the most, because others had something that would comfort them in exile, such as science, art or other personal talents. But Marnitz had gone beyond everything about his home, which he no longer had. In Tashkent, Marnitz wrote:

"I feel like bitterness when I realize that the wickedness of men has succeeded in breaking the most sacred bonds, and I feel angry at the thought that my growing children are strangers to me."

but also:

"God's ways become clearer to me and why I had to leave home."

So he learned how to see it, to bow to God's will.

return

The February Revolution of 1917 made it possible for Xaver Marnitz to return from exile; the German occupation of Riga, which had occurred in the meantime, delayed his return for another seven months. His longing for his home country was evidently so strong that he took the risk of returning by secret routes through the front lines.

After two and a half years he met his family again. From the second half of 1918 onwards, he was able to resume his previous offices. His community had been in the battlefield; the church and pastorate had been completely destroyed. The population had been evacuated, and only a few community members remained. Xaver Marnitz tried very hard to bring the community back together and win it back. He did his job in the nearby Baldohn , from where he also served the community in Üxküll. He also visited the German soldiers in various camps in order to celebrate church services with them and had intensive contact with officers and other members of the German armed forces. To his great regret, he found that many of these did not correspond to the ideal that he had previously made of the Germans.

He stayed in Latvia when the German occupation ended. He saw the capitulation of the German Empire as a catastrophe for the Baltic States; he said:

"What matters to our little fate, but Germany must not go under, I live in the hope that it will find its way back to its God and rise again."

The Bolsheviks approached and the Baltic State Army was founded in Riga, which three sons of Marnitz also joined, about which he expressed his joy:

"If I weren't a pastor, I would also join the Landeswehr, in which there would certainly be a post for me, old fellow."

Marnitz remained in the Riga area and continued to look after the remains of his community, being aware of the impending danger:

"What one has preached all one's life, one must also be ready to prove in action."

In fact, his stay was to be his undoing. Only a short time before the Bolsheviks marched into Riga, a communist organization was recognized in a Latvian unit. In the Daugava some British warships that fired their barracks were. The communist unit surrendered and the leaders were sentenced to death under martial law. Marnitz was asked by the British to give the condemned spiritual assistance. He did so and gave some of them the sacrament before they were shot. The British Navy withdrew from Riga, which was open to the Bolsheviks.

Imprisonment and execution

On January 3, 1919, the Soviet-Russian occupation of Riga took place. Xaver Marnitz was charged with participating in the execution of the resistance fighters through the administration of the Lord's Supper. This interpretation and animosity with some parishioners, which originated from the revolutionary period in 1905, led to his arrest on January 12th and imprisoned on January 15th by the Bolshevik administration in the Citadel Prison in Riga. The cell was dark and he shared it with a Latvian officer who belonged to his community, among others. After his liberation, he reported that Marnitz was also active in pastoral care during this detention.

The events that followed are not known for certain; there are no documents written by Xaver Marnitz from this period; he had no contact with his family. The Bolsheviks made sure that family and friends in the community did not find out where Marnitz was. Only afterwards did his relatives know that he had been taken from his cell on January 30th. The Rote Fahne newspaper reported that he had been sentenced to death . The time of his execution was initially unknown, and the news of his death was spread as a rumor. In June, the night between January 30 and 31, before midnight, was found to be the time of death, and that he, like other Baltic clergymen and many other people, had been shot in the forest of Biieernieki . Even his grave or remains have not been found.

A pastor was imprisoned in another cell and heard at the door how two guards were talking about Marnitz's death: One of the two said that Marnitz had prayed for those who took his life on the way to the place of execution. The Rigasche Rundschau , which reported on it, ruled that, in terms of personality, Marnitz was not a passive sufferer, but a spirited man who had to overcome himself in order to be able to endure the martyrdom without resistance, which he succeeded.

Afterlife

In Riga alone, 3,654 death sentences like the one against Xaver Marnitz were carried out in the four and a half months of the occupation by the Bolsheviks; For example, Pastor Heinrich Bosse died on the morning of February 16, Pastors Eugen Berg and Theodor Scheinpflug and 60 other people on March 14, Pastor Paul Fromhold-Treu with 30 other people on March 16 , Pastor Paul Wachtsmuth and on March 20 On the morning of March 26, Provost Karl Schlau , Pastor Edgar Haßmann and 45 other people. On May 22, 1919, the Bolshevik occupation of Riga ended. Shortly before their escape, the Bolsheviks killed 32 prisoners, including Marion von Klot and the pastors Hermann Bergengruen , Erhard Doebler , August Eckhardt , Theodor Hoffmann , Eberhard Savary, Eugen Scheuermann , Theodor Taube and Ernst Fromhold-Treu . Numerous prisoners were taken to the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic and did not return for a year or two if they survived imprisonment.

When Marnitz's death became known, a Latvian parishioner wrote: “I cannot and will not believe that our pastor, who was more than a father to me, should no longer live among us. On the other hand, the Holy Scriptures had to be fulfilled in him so that the promise made to the righteous could also be fulfilled in him. "

In memory of Marnitz and other Baltic martyrs, the Riga Martyrs Stone was erected in the Great Cemetery in Riga in the 1920s next to the New Chapel . It was a black granite obelisk with the names of the pastors killed in the Riga Central Prison in the upper area (see the article about Marion von Klot , who was also killed in the process) and in the lower area the names of 32 other clergymen Victims, including Marnitz, were listed.

After the Second World War , the stone was destroyed by the Soviet administration. In the course of efforts to restore the Great Cemetery, the Martyr's Stone was rededicated in 2006.

family

ancestors

The pastor profession had a long tradition in the Marnitz family. One of Xaver Marnitz's ancestors, Kaspar Marnitz, was a pastor in the Magdeburg area as early as 1641 . Part of the family emigrated to Livonia in the 18th century. There was a grandfather of Xaver Marnitz's pastor.

Xaver Marnitz's parents were:

• Ludwig Wilhelm Marnitz (born May 31, 1813 in Lemsal ; † July 27, 1872 in Karlsbad , Riga-Strand ), Pastor von Papendorf: He was known for knowing every congregation member from children to the elderly personally through his pastoral work .
• Alexandra Petronella Marnitz, née von Erdberg (born July 15, 1828 in Radzuni, Kovno Governorate ; † January 14, 1918 in Goldingen , Courland governorate ).

siblings

Xaver Marnitz 'siblings were:

• Half-sister on paternal side:
  • Christina Karoline Amalie Marnitz (* October 8, 1842 in the Papendorf pastorate; † August 16, 1845)
• Full siblings:
  • Theophil Friedrich Marnitz (born March 31, 1849 in the Papendorf pastorate)
  • Julie Bertha Elisabeth Marnitz (* May 5, 1850 in the Papendorf pastorate; † July 16, 1883 in Schoenen near Lucerne , Switzerland )
  • Bertha Annette Marnitz (born June 23, 1851 in the Papendorf pastorate)
  • Sophie Alexandra Marnitz (born April 12, 1853 in the Papendorf pastorate; † December 27, 1874 in Walk )
  • Robert Ludwig Marnitz (born June 6, 1857 in the Papendorf pastorate; † December 2, 1929 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf ), philologist and professor, father of Viktor von Marnitz
  • Ella Louise Marianne Marnitz (born March 12, 1863 in the Papendorf pastorate)

Wives and offspring

On December 4, 1884, Xaver Marnitz married Anna Emmeline Heß (* November 5, 1862 in Riga; † May 21, 1896 in Üxküll), a daughter of the architect Friedrich Wilhelm Heß and Karoline, née Schötzke. The following children were from this marriage:

• Hertha Elisabeth Marnitz (born October 20, 1885 in Lasdohn)
• Lucy Charlotte Marnitz (born September 20, 1886 in Lasdohn, † September 9, 1924 in Tolla, Estonia)
• Elsa Marie Marnitz (born July 28, 1888 in Lasdohn)
• Grea (Margarete) Olga Marnitz (born May 1, 1890 in Lasdohn)
• (Fritz) Ludwig Arnold Friedrich Marnitz (born December 25, 1892 in Üxküll)
• Harry Xaver Marnitz (born June 2, 1894 in Üxküll; † November 2, 1984), masseur and doctor, developer of key zone massage

At the end of 1918 Harry Xaver Marnitz joined the Baltic State Armed Forces , which, together with German Freicorps, fought unsuccessfully against Bolshevism after the collapse of German military power . The imprisonment and execution of Xaver Marnitz should be seen in connection with it. Another son from his first marriage was Friedrich Marnitz (* 1892).

Widowed in 1896, Xaver Marnitz married on February 10, 1898 at Gut Lehden near Kandau Wilhelmine Anna Else Berting (born February 9, 1867 in Riga- Hagensberg , † 1958 in Göttingen ) from Riga, a daughter of the farmer Georg Berting and Emilie Rühzen. From this marriage:

• Paul Martin Georg Marnitz (born December 30, 1898 in Üxküll; † April 7, 1920 in the field hospital in Rositten )
• Anna Lisbeth Marnitz (born September 20, 1901 in Üxküll)
• Meinhard Marnitz (born December 5, 1902 in Üexküll, † after 1962), SA leader

Xaver Marnitz left a total of eleven children.

Remembrance day

January 30th in the Evangelical Name Calendar .

The day of remembrance was first introduced by Jörg Erb for his book Die Wolke der Zeugen (Kassel 1951/1963, Vol. 4, Calendar on pp. 508-520). The Evangelical Church in Germany took over this Memorial Day in the then established name calendar year 1969th

literature

• ALBUM FRATRUM RIGENSIUM # 786
• Alfred Seeberg : Album of the Theological Association to Dorpat-Jurjew , Theological Association, Dorpat-Jurjew 1905, p. 55, No. 122
• Highest rescript in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 81, April 12th ^July. / April 25,  1911 ^greg. , online at Walter | issueType: P
• Oskar Schabert : Baltic Martyrs Book . Furche-Verlag, Berlin 1926. pp. 106–110 ( digital version , the report is based on the records of Xaver Marnitz's wife, Else Marnitz, née Berting, and his brother, Professor Ludwig Marnitz)
• Dr. Gerhard Mietens: The Rigaer Märtyrerstein (with picture) in: Deutsch-Baltische Genealogische Gesellschaft e. V .: DBGG-Genealogen-Echo No. 2, Bulletin July 2006, p. 12f
• Elisabeth Frommelt: Life picture of the last pastor at the first church in Livonia , Provost Xaver Marnitz in
  • Carl-Schirren-Gesellschaft (Ed.): Yearbook of Baltic Germanism 2008 , Lüneburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-923149-55-1
• Kārlis Beldavs: Mācītāji, kas nāvē gāja , Luterisma mantojuma fonds, Riga 2010, ISBN 978-9984-753-56-0 (Latvian)

Web links

• Xaver Marnitz in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
• Xaver Marnitz in the ecumenical name calendar
• C. Meinhard von Marnitz: The story of the family von Marnitz
• www.denkmal-aktuell.de/index.php?id=477&tx_csrdenkmal_pi1%5Bart%5D=99&tx_csrdenkmal_pi1%5Bddc%5D=114&tx_csrdenkmal_pi1%5Bdisp%5D=full&cHash=f3b857e13a41
• Xaver Marnitz in the Erik Amburger database
• Family data Xaver Marnitz 'at Genealogy.net
• Portrait photo of Provost Xaver Marnitz (second row from the bottom, far left)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Calendar reform by the Bolsheviks on February 1st ^July. / February 14,  1918 ^greg. , Declaration of independence of Latvia on November 5th ^jul. / November 18,  1918 ^greg.
2. ^ List of members of the Latvian Literary Society from 1901 ( Memento from September 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
3. ^ The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. 1914. ( Memento of April 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Locales. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 20, January 26, 1893, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
5. ↑ Domestic. in the Libauschen Zeitung , No. 157, July 14, 1893, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
6. ^ Pastor's Trials. in the Düna-Zeitung , No. 67, March 25, 1894, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
7. ↑ Certificate in the Rigaschen city sheets , No. 19, May 9, 1896, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
8. ^ The ladies' group for the collection of donations for those in need in the Düna newspaper , No. 145, July 3, 1899, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
9. ↑ Riga. in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 196, August 28, 1906, online at [1]
10. ↑ Uexküll (Rigascher Kreis). Jubilee. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 90, April 19, 1908, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
11. ^ Obituary Provost Xaver Marnitz †. in the Rigaschen Zeitung , No. 23, June 21, 1919, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
12. ↑ Twenty years ago. in Evangelium und Osten: Russian Evangelical Press Service , No. 5, May 1, 1939, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
13. ↑ "Xaver + Marnitz" & source = bl & ots = mccil25gOj & sig = RUneW4l4nmVsj2TvRfQGfKR2lbg & hl = en & sa = X & ei = HC3qUo3zA8HPtAa7qIGoCg & ved = 0CFYQ6AEwBw # v = OnePage & q = Propst% 20% 22Xaver% 20Marnitz% 22 & f = false Günther Schulz (ed.): Church in the East , Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1996 , ISBN 3-525-56385-X
14. ↑ Memorial plaques and monuments on the website of Domus Rigensis ( Memento from March 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Baltic genealogical tables. in the Rigaschen Rundschau , No. 291, December 24, 1926, online at Marnitz | issueType: P
16. ^ Frieder Schulz, Gerhard Schwinge (ed.): Synaxis: Contributions to the liturgy , Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1997 , ISBN 3-525-60398-3