Nathan Homer Knorr

Nathan Homer Knorr ( born April 23, 1905 in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania), † June 8, 1977 ) was the successor of Joseph Franklin Rutherford as president of the Watch Tower Bible And Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

Life

At the age of 16 he became interested in the Jehovah's Witnesses ( former name: Earnest Bible Students ) to care. In 1922, he stepped out of the Reformed Church, and was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness in 1923 and began in the same year his work with world headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in New York.

On January 13, 1942, he was elected after the death of Rutherford as his successor as president of the Watch Tower Society. On 31 January 1953 he married Audrey Mock. Especially in the first years of his tenure, he was known for his frequent trips, where he visited groups of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the world.

In Knorr's tenure a number of organizational changes to the Jehovah's Witnesses were performed that shape the face of this religious community today. So the theocratic ministry school was founded in 1943 ( under its former name " course in the theocratic ministry " ) was introduced as of weekly course to help the individual Jehovah's Witnesses, express their faith other independently. In the same year a school for missionaries under the name was " Watchtower Bible School of Gilead " opened. Later, additional training courses for witnesses came Jehovah added with specific tasks within the religious organization (such as elders, ministerial servants, pioneers general ).

In 1946 he initiated the work on the New World Translation, which is since its publication of Jehovah's Witnesses are preferably used. In Knorr's tenure also arose some lessons, such as the refusal of blood transfusions, some of which are followed to this day of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In the early 1970s the leadership of the local church was reformed. From then on, the church leadership was perceived by a college equal " elder", the so-called elders. This principle has been transferred during the next few years on the management of the national and global level. Under his tenure, the first steps were taken to Jehovah to separate the spiritual guidance of the witnesses of the administrative management of the various organizations; This development culminated in 2000, when the last members of the " Governing Body " of Jehovah's Witnesses gave up their offices in the Watchtower Society.

Knorr died in 1977 from a brain tumor. An obituary appeared in The Watchtower of September 1, 1977, S.544.