Concordat

A state church is an agreement between a state ( nation-state or member state ) and a religious community.

State church contracts with the Roman Catholic Church, more precisely, with the Holy See, called concordats (Latin concordatum, agreement, contract '). After a stern Roman parlance, the Holy See joins a concordat with a Catholic head of state, while the contracts with non-Catholic governments are called conventions. State church contracts with non-Catholic religious communities, particularly with evangelical churches, on the other hand is referred to as a church contracts.

Insofar as it is a non-Christian religious community, even ( ambiguous ) is sometimes spoken of a treaty (such treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Central Council of Jews in Germany ).

  • 3.1 Historical and currently in force concordats
  • 3.2 Church agreements of the German countries
  • 3.3 concordats in Austria
  • 3.4 State Church contracts in France

Meaning and legal nature

The so amicably created Contracting State Church Law provides a gentle balance of governmental and religious interests represents the rules are not set unilaterally, but are a matter of binding the Parties, which is state sovereignty and ecclesiastical self-determination, which follows from the separation of church and state alike. After the reunification of Germany, the Contracting State Church Law has won the conclusion of contracts between the new states and the churches in importance again.

Concordats

Concordats are subject to international law, although the Holy See is an atypical subject of international law. You are so far comparable to international treaties between states, but subject to a legal specialty. The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that concordats of the application of Article 32, paragraph 3 of the Basic Law ( " To the extent that states are responsible for the legislation, they can enter into with the consent of the Federal Government with foreign states Contracts" ) are excluded. This means that countries may, exceptionally, to act without the consent of the Federal. The Constitutional Court decided that this competence from Article 30 in conjunction with Article 70 of the Basic Law ( cultural sovereignty ) follow, Article 32 paragraph 3 of the Basic Law is not to be regarded as special. This is also the legal position under the Weimar Constitution; the Constitutional Convention at Herrenchiemsee did not want to extend the relevant provisions of the Basic Law on concordats because " the Vatican not a foreign state". As a result, as the concordats are treated equally with the other state church contracts. Since other religious and philosophical communities are not namely international legal capacity, no approval of the Federal there is already required by the wording of Article 32, paragraph 3 GG.

See also: Section " Past and currently in force concordats "

Church contracts

Other religious communities are not subjects of international law. Therefore Church contracts subject (only) to national law. Since the Protestant churches are corporations under public law in Germany, Church contracts are there public nature. Thus, it is possible the state to act contrary to the contractual obligations by changing its legal system. This does not change the fact that he then measured at the church contract acted in breach of contract.

In practice, church contracts are treated as treaties, so that the rules of international law are analogous to the application.

See also: Section " church agreements of the German countries"

History

Historically, the legal nature of contracts state church was controversial. As in the Middle Ages church and state were understood as a unit, the privileges theory saw the concordats concessions as the Church against the State. Later, when the churches were seen as subordinate to the state, the legal theory understood the contracts as collusive (and thus unilaterally modifiable ) state laws. Today, the prevailing view is, however, assume that there are real contracts. Through a parliamentary consent law state church contracts obtained the force of law.

Content

In State Church contracts, the instantaneous legal additionally guaranteed, so eg when the state of religious freedom, Ecclesiastical self-determination, protection of church before secularization or state services continue assures.

However, it is also where the state church law in force for that leaves room, specific arrangements are made. In particular, in the res mixtae, so where must work together state and religious communities, arrangements are common: about the cast of the theological faculties, religious education, pastoral care in the military, police, prisons, etc.

Sometimes also religious communities have undertaken to comply with certain minimum requirements for the training of their clergy to have involved government agencies with offices occupations or leave the church subdivisions (eg diocese ) unchanged.

Usually end the state church contracts with agreements that the contracting parties about problems will resolve by mutual agreement.

Individual state church contracts

Historical and currently in force concordats

Known are historical concordats

  • The Concordat of Worms (23 September 1122), where the investiture dispute was settled,
  • The Concordat of Bologna ( 1516),
  • The Concordat of 1801 ( Concordat for France between Pope Pius VII and Napoleon Bonaparte ) and
  • The Vienna Concordat ( 1448 ).

As a special Konkordatsära is considered by many historians the pontificate of Pope Pius XI. classified. The downfall of most European monarchies as a result of the First World War (1918 ) provided the opportunity for Catholicism, not only in 1929 to solve the Roman Question, but to negotiate a variety of concordats and complete. The Cardinal Gasparri, Pacelli and his successor, temporarily nuncio in Munich and Berlin, later Pope Pius XII. , Dominated this era.

Church agreements of the German countries

Had a role model among validity of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany ( after his place of signing, the monastery Loccum, named ) Loccumer contract between the State of Lower Saxony and the Protestant churches in Lower Saxony on 19 March 1955.

The validity of a state church contracts for the new federal states from the period before the establishment of the German Democratic Republic is controversial. The GDR did not recognize the contracts, although they do not often fulfilled.

In Germany the uncertainty resulted on the continuation of the convention concluded between the Holy See and the German Reich on July 20, 1933 Reich Concordat to the fact that over time less concordats were concluded, as was the case with the ( Protestant ) Church contracts. By ( the continuity of affirmative ) Judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court of 16 March 1957, in particular the accession of the GDR but has been observed also in the Roman Catholic area re- turning to the Contracting State Church Law.

Currently in Germany applicable concordats:

  • Bavarian Concordat of March 29, 1924
  • Prussian Concordat of June 14, 1929
  • Badisches Concordat of October 12, 1932
  • Reichskonkordat July 20, 1933
  • Contract of the State of Hesse with the Catholic dioceses in Hesse from March 9, 1963
  • Concordat between the Holy See and the countryside of Lower Saxony from February 26, 1965
  • Amendment Agreement between the Holy See and the State of North Rhine -Westphalia on 26 March 1984 ( see Article X particularity the possible Öffnungskausel )
  • Treaty between the Holy See and the State of Saxony of 2 July 1996
  • Treaty between the Holy See and the State of Thuringia of 11 June 1997
  • Treaty between the Holy See and the State of Mecklenburg- Vorpommern on 15 September 1997
  • Treaty between the Holy See and the State of Saxony -Anhalt on 15 January 1998
  • Treaty between the Holy See and the State of Brandenburg November 12, 2003
  • Contract between the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and the Holy See dated 21 November 2003
  • Treaty between the Holy See and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on 29 November 2005
  • Treaty between the Holy See and the State of Schleswig -Holstein January 12, 2009

In Germany, next to the church following agreements apply:

  • Contract between the Bavarian state and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria right of the river Rhine from the November 15, 1924
  • Contract of the Free State of Prussia with the Protestant churches from May 11, 1931
  • Agreement of the Federal Republic of Germany with the Evangelical Church in Germany regulating the Protestant military chaplaincy from February 22, 1957
  • Contract of Schleswig- Holstein with the Evangelical churches in Schleswig- Holstein on April 23, 1957
  • Contract of the State of North Rhine -Westphalia with the Protestant churches of the Rhineland and Westphalia on September 9, 1957
  • Agreement of Lower Saxony with the Evangelical churches in Lower Saxony on private schools by September 10, 1957
  • Contract of the State of North Rhine -Westphalia with the Lippe Church on 6 March 1958 supplement dated September 26, 1959
  • Contract of the State of Hesse with the Evangelical churches in Hesse from February 18, 1960
  • Contract of Rhineland- Palatinate with the Evangelical churches in Rhineland- Palatinate on November 3, 1962
  • Supplementary agreement of Lower Saxony with the Protestant churches from March 4, 1965
  • Agreement on the Protestant Chaplaincy Federal from 20 to 23 Juli/12. August 1965
  • Contract of Saarland from 1968 on the Theological Department of the University of Saarbrücken
  • Contract of Lower Saxony with the free religious Landesgemeinschaft Lower 8 June 1970
  • Final Protocol of Berlin of meetings with the Evangelical Church from July 2, 1970
  • Agreement between the Senate of Berlin and the Berlin Jewish community from January 8, 1971
  • Agreement on the ecclesial service of police officers (police chaplaincy ) in Saarland on 25 October 1978 ( also with Roman Catholic dioceses )
  • Of North Rhine -Westphalia Düsseldorf contract to higher education by March 29, 1984
  • Contract between the State of Hesse and the National Association of Jewish communities in Hesse of 11 November 1986
  • Agreement of the Free State of Saxony with the Ev. Churches in Saxony to control the pastoral activity in the prisons of 25 January 1993
  • Wittenberg contract of Saxony- Anhalt with the Evangelical churches in Saxony -Anhalt of 15 September 1993
  • Agreement between the Free State of Thuringia and the Jewish community country 1 November 1993
  • Guestrower contract between the State of Mecklenburg -Vorpommern and the Lutheran. Church of Mecklenburg and Pomerania State Church, 20 January 1994
  • Contract of Thuringia with the Ev. Churches in Thuringia of 15 March 1994
  • Contract of Saxony- Anhalt with the Jewish community in Saxony -Anhalt March 23, 1994
  • Contract of the Free State of Saxony with the ev country churches in Saxony of 24 March 1994
  • Agreement between the State of Saxony -Anhalt and the Ev. Churches in Saxony- Anhalt regulating the pastoral activity in the prisons of 24 March 1994
  • Agreement between the State of Saxony -Anhalt and the Ev. Churches in Saxony- Anhalt on the ecclesial service of police officers
  • Contract of the Free State of Saxony with the National Association of Jewish Communities of 7 June 1994
  • Contract for the provision in the ecclesial service for religious instruction in public schools in the Free State of Saxony of 7 September 1994 (completed with the Catholic dioceses )
  • Framework agreement of the Federal Republic of Germany with the Evangelical Church in Germany over the Protestant chaplaincy in the armed forces in the new federal states of 12 June 1996
  • Contract between the State of Brandenburg and the Protestant churches in Brandenburg 8 November 1996
  • Contract between the Jewish community in Hamburg and the State of Schleswig- Holstein on the promotion of Jewish life in Schleswig -Holstein, March 12, 1998
  • Contract between the state of Rhineland- Palatinate and the National Association of Jewish communities of the Rhineland- Palatinate on 8 March 2000
  • Contract of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen with the Evangelical Churches in Bremen of 31 October 2001
  • Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Central Council of Jews in Germany January 27, 2003
  • Contract between the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the North Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church November 29, 2005
  • Treaty of Berlin with the Evangelical Church of Berlin -Brandenburg -Silesian Upper Lusatia 20 February 2006
  • Protestant Churches contract Baden- Württemberg on 17 October 2007 ( with the Evangelical churches in Baden and Württemberg; replaces the agreement of the State of Baden with the United Evangelical Protestant State Church of Baden on 14 November 1932 - Sigmaringen - the contract of the Free State of Prussia the Protestant churches on May 11, 1931)

Concordats in Austria

On August 18, 1855 Emperor Franz Joseph I closed a concordat with Pope Pius IX. , The church and a far-reaching influence on education and marriage law zubilligte, but was terminated in 1870 by Austria.

On June 5, 1933, the Austrian government under Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss joined with Pope Pius XI. a new Concordat, which again the power of the Catholic Church in Austria strengthened and this was even partially granted constitutional status in the formal completion in 1934 ( concordat between the Holy See and the Republic of Austria [ and its Protocol ], Federal Law Gazette II No. 2/ 1934). The fact that the Concordat was part of the Austrian constitution, is referred to by Richard Potz as " common mistake ".

His continued validity after 1945 was controversial at first, but was recognized by the federal government in 1957, so it is formally still in force today. However, essential elements have been modified by subsequent part concordats, shall apply to civil marriage for Catholics.

State Church contracts in France

In France, in 1516 King Francis I. closed ( 1515-1547 ) and Pope Leo X the Concordat of Bologna. Thus, it was decided that France recognized the spiritual supremacy of the Roman Church over the French Church. In return, the state was entitled to appoint prelates. This concordat established a long tradition of joining the French crown and the papacy ( Gallican ). Another consequence of this Concordat was the classification of the Reformation ( Lutheran doctrine ) as a danger to the state and thus the beginning of the Huguenot persecution in France.

Criticism

Towards the conclusion of international agreements Church is argued that they had an undemocratic element because they are terminated only by mutual consent. This means that after a general election and the formation of a new government before a closed contract can only be canceled in violation of the law. Closes about a Christian conservative government signed a concordat with the Holy See, following a social democratic, socialist or liberal government can not cancel this. However, this criticism is, in principle, all contracts that always bind successor governments.

A second point of criticism concerns the limited participation of Parliament, which agree to a negotiated agreement as the state church at ( other ) international treaties only in whole or reject it as a whole, but its contents can not shape it.

Nation state Federal Constitutional Court of Germany Landeskirche Investiture Controversy Enrico Gasparri Loccum Abbey Protestant Reformation
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