Friedrich Heiler

Friedrich Heiler ( born January 30, 1892 in Munich, † April 18, 1967 ) was a German scholar of religion. His teachings were instrumental in the establishment of multiple religious studies.

Life

Friedrich Heiler family and education were Roman Catholic. 1911 Abitur at Wilhelmsgymnasium Munich. By 1917, he studied at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Munich and graduated with a thesis; a year later qualified as a healer in General Religious History in Munich. In 1919 met healers Nathan Soderblom, the main initiator of the later World Council of Churches, held in Sweden and six lectures on the essence of Catholicism.

By accepting the Lord's Supper was under both healer member of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, without ever seceded from the Roman Catholic Church to declare before a state authority - as it was in 1929 obligation by the Concordat and the immediate excommunication would have moved to - or its entry to explain in the Evangelical Church. He learned later Member of Parliament Anne Marie Ostermann and married her in 1921; they had three daughters. Dedicated healer from now on for Christian ecumenism.

From 1929 to 1933 and from 1947 to 1962 was Friedrich Heiler first chairman of today's high ecclesiastical union of the Augsburg Confession. As a sign of the unity of the church members to acquire the episcopal apostolic succession for high Founded in 1929, Church of St. John the Brotherhood asked him. Healer examined two years after a chance and found it after a long fruitless attempts in the Gallican Church. Healer and the members of the Brotherhood were hoping to resolve the biggest obstacle in the ecumenical movement by screwing acquisition of episcopal apostolic succession. Healers received on 25 August 1930 in Rüschlikon ( Switzerland ) the apostolic consecration by the Bishop Pierre Gaston Vigue, who stood about Joseph René Vilatte in a Syrian Orthodox line. Healer ( Bishop Name: Irenaeus ) even talked to in an article in the struggle to church.

During the period of National Socialism healer was because he was not willing to sign the Aryan paragraph, forcibly transferred to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Marburg, used by his friend Rudolf Otto as a religious scholar and was there also head of the religion Ethnography collection. 1934 led healers as the first Protestant conversation about faith with the Berlin Bishop Nicholas cash. Healer is co-founder of the Una Sancta Movement, which exists to this day. After his retirement healer was still working as a professor of religious history at the Faculty of Theology, and then moved to Munich, where he held further teaching.

He dedicated his whole life to the idea of ​​" Evangelical Catholicism " and the unity of the Church. He was editor of several journals: The High Church, One Holy Church, Ecumenical unity. Healers founded confraternities - the high Church St. John's Brotherhood (1929-1933; 1947 to present) and the Evangelical Franciscan Tertiaries (1931 to date) - and was the guiding spirit of the high ecclesiastical union. Healer was also a member of the interdenominational club for free Christianity.

He died after a long illness in 1967 in his hometown of Munich; His grave is located in Munich's East Cemetery. The grave inscription reads: ". A researcher of religions and her mystery / A teacher and priest of the Church of Christ / A herald of Christian unity and humanity / Ut omnes unum "

Work and teaching

Healers contributed significantly to the establishment of multiple religious studies. His doctoral thesis from 1917 examines the forms of prayer in the different religions and appeared to great acclaim in several editions. In Healer's writings different approaches can be identified, religious studies, ecumenical Christian and interreligious.

In their wanderings between Catholicism and Protestantism, he is among the essential stimulators of high Church movement in Germany. From texts and rites of different traditions, he put together a separate measurement liturgy, which he regularly celebrated in Marburg. It should be emphasized that healer has little endeavored to methodological differentiation of religious studies and theology, so that his work is strongly influenced by liberal theology, and that healers religious studies strongly mixed with a kind of philosophy of religion. Healer work was accompanied by the hope that the science of comparative religion could contribute to the understanding and agreement of the religions. The last chapter of his 1959 published book The religions of mankind, past and present contributes the heading " attempt at a synthesis of religions and a new religion of humanity ".

In his major work forms and essence of religion healer speaks at the beginning of religion as the strongest hold, the highest dignity, wealth largest and deepest happiness of man, and he is wearing in this work a comprehensive encyclopedic knowledge together.

Healer performs five conditions for Religious Studies at: The inductive knowledge of the religions and their phenomena, the study of the written sources of the religions, the direct experience of religion in mosques, temples, synagogues, etc., a universal attitude and a phenomenological method, under the healer sees an advance from the appearance of the "essence" of religion. Among the scientific requirements are special religious requirements, as healer assuming that one could religion is not merely rational - capture standards, but in need of reverence for religion, personal religious experience and the seriousness acquisition of religious truth claim - such as psychological or philological.

This personal approach healer is now problematized in the science of religion, as an intermingling of religious feeling and scientific analysis should be avoided. The difficulty that a phenomenon without contact with the perceiving subject also "objective" can not be adequately perceived, but remains.

Works

• The Buddhist contemplation. A religious-historical investigation. Reinhardt, Munich 1918; 2 A. ibid. 1922
• The prayer. A history of religion and religious- psychological examination ( = Diss Munich 1917). Reinhardt, Munich 1919; unv reprint of the 5th A. 1923 ibid. 1969
• The essence of Catholicism. Six lectures held in the fall of 1919 in Sweden. Reinhardt, Munich 1920 Revision as: Catholicism. His idea and his appearance. Reinhardt, Munich 1923; unv emphasis ibid. 1970

• Revision as: The Eastern Churches. Reinhardt, Munich 1971

• New edition ( = 3 A. ) Kurt Goldammer as: The religions of mankind. Reclam, Stuttgart, 1980; 7 A. 2003, ISBN 3-15-010460-2