Joseph (Adam) Lortz (13 December 1887 in Grevenmacher, Luxembourg – 21 February 1975 in Luxembourg) was a Roman Catholic church historian. He was a highly regarded Reformation historian and ecumenist. Beginning in the 1940s, Lortz made his ecumenical views available to general readers as well as to scholars in order to promote reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. His writings played a role in the thinking that manifested itself in the Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio (21 November 1964). What was not widely known, however, was Lortz's involvement with Nazism from 1933 until 1937.[1] His Geschichte der Kirche (1932) (History of the Church) portrayed the church of the 1800s and the 1900s as the bastion of divine truth and moral values amid what he considered the decay of Western society.
Lortz completed his doctorate at the University of Bonn in 1920. he had intended to also complete his Habilitation there under the direction of the patristic scholar Albert Ehrhard. Erhard, however, judged that the church had nothing to fear from modernism, whilst Lortz was a critic of modernity, an admirer of Pius X for his condemnation of modernism in 1907.[3] So for his further studies Lortz went to the University of Würzburg in 1923. In Würzburg he worked as a Privatdozent under Sebastian Merkle [de] and also served as a chaplain. In 1929 he received a post as a professor at the Collegium Hosianum at Braunsberg in East Prussia. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, he published a treatise on the "Catholic accommodation with National Socialism" (Katholischer Zugang zum Nationalsozialismus).[4] In 1935 he moved to the chair of general church history with special emphasis on the history of missions at the University of Münster. He had joined the Nazi Party in May 1933 and tried to leave in 1937. He was not permitted to leave and continued to pay membership dues until July 1944. [5]
After the war he underwent a process of de-nazification, and was allowed to return to teaching. But he lost his position at the University of Munster after the post was returned to Georg Schreiber whom Lortz had replaced by the order of the Nazi authorities.[6] Lortz taught at the University of Mainz from 1950 until his death in 1975. He was also director of the Institute of European History in Mainz in the department of Western religious history. His successor at that department, Peter Manns [de], was the editor of a centennial volume of Lortz's writings, published in 1987, and in his preface he touches on Lortz's history with the Nazis. Manns says that Lortz attempted to find a "legitimate" way for Catholics to connect to Nazism, an attempt he calls an error with grave consequences for which Lortz should be held culpable (and Manns includes no writings from that period in the volume). However, he argues that Lortz was not a Nazi himself, and that such is proven by his friendship with avowed opponents of the Nazis, including Clemens August Graf von Galen and Max Josef Metzger.[7]
He was a member of the Catholic fraternity K.D.St.V. Teutonia of the CV in Freiburg/Üechtland.
Many of Lortz's works engaged the issue of the relation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformation. His best known work remains The Reformation in Germany.
Among Lortz's better known students are Manns, Erwin Iserloh [de], Karl Pellens, Armin Lindauer, and Alex Schröer.
Gabriele Lautenschläger. Joseph Lortz (1887-1975): Weg, Umwelt und Werk eines katholischen Kirchenhistorikers. 1987, ISBN3-429-01119-1
Rolf Decot and Rainer Vinke, Zum Gedenken an Joseph Lortz (1887-1975). Stuttgart, 1989, ISBN3-515-05159-7.
Notesedit
^ abRobert Krieg, "Joseph Lortz: Renewing Western Civilization", in Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany, New York: Continuum, 2004, ISBN9780826415769, p. 56.
^Gabriele Lautenschläger. "Joseph Lortz". Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German).
^Ernst Klee: Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, 2nd rev. ed., Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN978-3-596-16048-8, p. 381.
^Manns, Peter (1987). "Einleitung". In Manns, Peter (ed.). Joseph Lortz: Erneuerung und Einheit; Aufsätze zur Theologie und Kirchengeschichte, aus Anlass seines 100. Geburtstages. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner. pp. vii–ix.
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Joseph Adam Lortz 13 December 1887 in Grevenmacher Luxembourg 21 February 1975 in Luxembourg was a Roman Catholic church historian He was a highly regarded Reformation historian and ecumenist Beginning in the 1940s Lortz made his ecumenical views available to general readers as well as to scholars in order to promote reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants His writings played a role in the thinking that manifested itself in the Second Vatican Council s Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio 21 November 1964 What was not widely known however was Lortz s involvement with Nazism from 1933 until 1937 1 His Geschichte der Kirche 1932 History of the Church portrayed the church of the 1800s and the 1900s as the bastion of divine truth and moral values amid what he considered the decay of Western society The grave in Luxembourg City Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 Further reading 4 Notes 5 External linksLife editJoseph Lortz was the second youngest of seven children Having graduated from the Gymnasium of the benedictine Abbey of Echternach he studied philosophy and theology at the Gregorian University in Rome from 1907 to 1910 1 and at the University of Fribourg from 1911 to 1913 Here he was influenced by the professor and patristics scholar Johann Peter Kirsch who advised him to study the patristic apologist Tertullian and the church historian Pierre Mandonnet He was ordained to the priesthood in 1913 at the Notre Dame Cathedral Luxembourg From 1913 to 1923 he lived in Bonn where the church and Reformation historians Heinrich Schrors and Joseph Greving de influenced his further intellectual development 2 In 1917 he became scholarly secretary to the editorial board of the Corpus Catholicorum series Lortz completed his doctorate at the University of Bonn in 1920 he had intended to also complete his Habilitation there under the direction of the patristic scholar Albert Ehrhard Erhard however judged that the church had nothing to fear from modernism whilst Lortz was a critic of modernity an admirer of Pius X for his condemnation of modernism in 1907 3 So for his further studies Lortz went to the University of Wurzburg in 1923 In Wurzburg he worked as a Privatdozent under Sebastian Merkle de and also served as a chaplain In 1929 he received a post as a professor at the Collegium Hosianum at Braunsberg in East Prussia After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 he published a treatise on the Catholic accommodation with National Socialism Katholischer Zugang zum Nationalsozialismus 4 In 1935 he moved to the chair of general church history with special emphasis on the history of missions at the University of Munster He had joined the Nazi Party in May 1933 and tried to leave in 1937 He was not permitted to leave and continued to pay membership dues until July 1944 5 After the war he underwent a process of de nazification and was allowed to return to teaching But he lost his position at the University of Munster after the post was returned to Georg Schreiber whom Lortz had replaced by the order of the Nazi authorities 6 Lortz taught at the University of Mainz from 1950 until his death in 1975 He was also director of the Institute of European History in Mainz in the department of Western religious history His successor at that department Peter Manns de was the editor of a centennial volume of Lortz s writings published in 1987 and in his preface he touches on Lortz s history with the Nazis Manns says that Lortz attempted to find a legitimate way for Catholics to connect to Nazism an attempt he calls an error with grave consequences for which Lortz should be held culpable and Manns includes no writings from that period in the volume However he argues that Lortz was not a Nazi himself and that such is proven by his friendship with avowed opponents of the Nazis including Clemens August Graf von Galen and Max Josef Metzger 7 He was a member of the Catholic fraternity K D St V Teutonia of the CV in Freiburg Uechtland Many of Lortz s works engaged the issue of the relation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformation His best known work remains The Reformation in Germany Among Lortz s better known students are Manns Erwin Iserloh de Karl Pellens Armin Lindauer and Alex Schroer Works editKatholischer Zugang zum Nationalsozialismus kirchengeschichtlich gesehen 1933 2nd 3rd ed 1934 Die Reformation Kyrios 1947 The Reformation A Problem For Today The Newman Press 1964 Geschichte der Kirche in ideengeschichtlicher Betrachtung 1935 15th and 16th eds Aschendorff 1950 Die Reformation in Deutschland Volume 1 Voraussetzungen Herder 1949 5th ed 1965 Volume 2 Ausbau der Fronten Unionsversuche Ergebnis Herder 1949 4th ed 1952 Bernhard von Clairvaux Monch und Mystiker Steiner 1955 with Walther von Loewenich and Fyodor Stepun Europa und das Christentum Zabern 1959 ISBN 3 8053 2046 9 Geschichte der Kirche in ideengeschichtlicher Betrachtung Volume 1 Altertum und Mittelalter 21st ed Aschendorff 1962 Volume 2 Die Neuzeit 21st ed Aschendorff 1964 The Reformation in Germany 2 vols New York Herder and Herder 1968 ISBN 0 232 48386 8 with Erwin Iserloh Kleine Reformationsgeschichte 2nd ed Herder 1971Further reading editWilhelm Baum 1987 Lortz Joseph Neue Deutsche Biographie in German vol 15 Berlin Duncker amp Humblot pp 188 188 Gabriele Lautenschlager 1993 Lortz Joseph Adam In Bautz Traugott ed Biographisch Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon BBKL in German Vol 5 Herzberg Bautz cols 241 244 ISBN 3 88309 043 3 Erwin Iserloh and Peter Manns eds Festgabe Joseph Lortz 2 Glaube und Geschichte Grimm 1958 Erwin Iserloh Joseph Lortz 1887 1975 Historisches Jahrbuch 94 1974 pp 505 507 Gabriele Lautenschlager Joseph Lortz 1887 1975 Weg Umwelt und Werk eines katholischen Kirchenhistorikers 1987 ISBN 3 429 01119 1 Rolf Decot and Rainer Vinke Zum Gedenken an Joseph Lortz 1887 1975 Stuttgart 1989 ISBN 3 515 05159 7 Notes edit a b Robert Krieg Joseph Lortz Renewing Western Civilization in Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany New York Continuum 2004 ISBN 9780826415769 p 56 Gabriele Lautenschlager Joseph Lortz Biographisch Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon BBKL in German Krieg p 57 Ernst Klee Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich Wer war was vor und nach 1945 Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag 2nd rev ed Frankfurt am Main 2005 ISBN 978 3 596 16048 8 p 381 Krieg pp 77 78 Krieg p 78 Manns Peter 1987 Einleitung In Manns Peter ed Joseph Lortz Erneuerung und Einheit Aufsatze zur Theologie und Kirchengeschichte aus Anlass seines 100 Geburtstages Stuttgart Franz Steiner pp vii ix External links editLiterature by and about Joseph Lortz in the German National Library catalogue Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Joseph Lortz amp oldid 1173817156, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
