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[German Version] (Sep 23, 1892, Halle an der Saale – Apr 1, 1975, Paderborn), since 1941 archbishop of Paderborn, was named cardinal in 1965, and retired from office in 1973. Jaeger's significance urging the Catholic Church's participation in the ecumenical movement is undisputed. Two institutions trace their foundation essentially to him. In 1946, together with W. Stählin, Jaeger initiated the Ökumenischer Arbeitskreis evangelischer und katholischer Theologen (ÖAK) and, in 1957, the Johann Adam M…

[German Version] (Jul 29, 1787, Geppersdorf [Linhartovy] – Mar 25, 1871, Berlin), of Moravian-Silesian nobility. After holding positions in both the bishopric and the state school system, at the instigation of the Prussian government he was elected prince bishop of Breslau in 1835 and was consecrated in 1836. His stance in the Prussian Church Dispute led to a confrontation with the diocesan clergy and with Rome: Sedlnitzki, an ecumenically minded supporter of the state church, wanted to maintain t…

[German Version] (Apr 9, 1811, Dortmund, Germany – Jan 13, 1883, St. Anton, Austria), Catholic philosopher and theologian and a member of the Society of Jesus from 1834. After studying philosophy, classical philology, and theology, Kleutgen was resident primarily in Rome from 1847 onward, fulfilling functions in his order and teaching rhetoric in the Collegium Germanicum. As an author, consultant for the Index Congregation (1850–1862, Index Librorum Prohibitorum ), and as a theologian at Vatican I, he contributed significantly to the establish…

[German Version] (Apr 8, 1695, Strzegom [Ger. Striegau], Poland – Mar 15, 1723, Jena), a poet of the transition period between Baroque and the Enlightenment. During his short and unsteady life (Protestant grammar school in Schweidnitz from 1710 to 1715, from 1715 study of medicine in Frankfurt an der Oder and Wittenberg, relocation to Leipzig in 1717, from 1720 short stays in Silesian towns with changing patrons) Günther managed to produce more than 600 ¶ poems, letters, and one drama under the pressure of permanent existential precariousness. The elaborate rhetorical…

[German Version] Aug 26, 1978 – Sep 28, 1978 (Albino Luciani, born Oct 17, 1912, Canale d'Agordo, Veneto). Luciani was from a northern Italian working-class family. In 1935, he was ordained priest for the diocese of Belluno, and became subregens (vice-director) of the seminary there in 1937. In 1947, he submitted his theological dissertation on A. Rosmini-Serbati at the Gregoriana in Rome, and became vicar general in 1948. As bishop of Vittorio Veneto (1958) and patriarch of Venice (1969), he was primarily interested in social and pa…

1. Historische Entwicklung 1.1. Antike und mittelalterliche Grundlagen 1.1.1. Anspruch und EigenartUnter Berufung auf das Jesuswort »Du bist Petrus, und auf diesen Felsen werde ich meine Kirche bauen« (Mt 16,18) versteht sich das P. als eine von Jesus Christus eingesetzte Institution, in der die prinzipielle Vorrangstellung, die Petrus innerhalb des Apostelkollegiums zugesprochen bekam, in Gestalt des mit exklusiven Vollmachten ausgestatteten, hierarchischen Oberhauptes der Römisch-katholischen Kirche weiter tradiert wird. Histor. betrachtet durchliefen die…

1. History 1.1. Antiquity and Middle Ages 1.1.1. Claim and characterCiting the quotation attributed to Christ, “Thou art Peter [Greek Pétros, “rock”], and upon this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16,18), the papacy saw itself as an institution founded by Jesus Christ, in which the implicit seniority of Peter among the group of the Apostles was perpetuated in the form of a hierarchical supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church, equipped with exclusive powers. Seen in terms of historical development, however, this …

1. Katholischer Klerus 1.1. DistinktionenIm Unterschied zum Protestantismus lebte im nzl. Katholizismus die ma.-feudale Vorstellung von der religiösen Elite als einem eigenen gesellschaftlichen Stand fort (Ständegesellschaft) [3]. Der Klerikerstand umfasste in Abgrenzung zu den Laien jenen Personenkreis, der – auf der Grundlage eines sakramentalen Amtsverständnisses – die Gewalt (lat. potestas) in der Kirche innehatte (Amt). Die Standesdistinktion nach außen wurde durch die Inanspruchnahme exklusiver Privilegien markiert (u. a. Immunität in weltlic…

1. Catholic1.1. DistinctionsIn contrast to Protestantism, in early modern Catholicism the medieval feudal notion of the religious elite as a separate social estate lived on (Estates, society of) [3]. The clerical class, as distinct from the laity, comprised those who – on the basis of a sacramental understanding of ministerial office – exercised authority (Latin potestas) in the church (Office). The outward distinction of the clerical estate was marked by the claim of exclusive privileges (e.g. immunity in tax matters and criminal cases, separ…

[German Version] I. Early Church – II. Middle Ages and Reformation – III. Modern Period and Today – IV. Chronological List of the Popes I. Early Church 1. Definition. If papacy is defined as the claim (based on Matt 16:16–19; 28:20; Luke 22:31f.; John 21:15–19) of the bishops of Rome as successors and heirs to Peter to leadership along with jurisdictional and magisterial primacy (I) within the universal church, papacy in the strict sense dates only from the Middle Ages in the Latin West. In the Early Church, the point at iss…