The Berlin Conference of Bishops was the meeting of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

bishops of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

from 1976 to 1990. As was solidified after the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

in 1961 and was the division of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

prevented the participation of the bishops of the East of the

German Bishops' Conference The German Bishops' Conference (german: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz) is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrator ...

, the pastoral needs led to a separate meeting of the East German bishops, first of the Berlin Ordinarienkonferenz. In the following decades, the increased pressure from the government of the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

built on the

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism the phrase, preceded by the definite article and usually capitalized, refers to the S ...

, has its own Bishops' Conference as "auctoritas territorialis" and on July 10, 1974 submitted to the ambassador of the GDR in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

a formal proposal to the East German government, to lead talks at foreign minister level. Although the (West) German Bishops' Conference of this approach was regarded as not conducive to it on July 26, 1976 on the erection of the Berlin Conference of Bishops as an independent, not as a national bishops' conference of the German Democratic Republic. Great importance was attached to the wording of the statute of the German Bishops' Conference, being confirmed on September 25, 1976 by the Apostolic See. Article 1 designates the German Bishops' Conference as "the union of the bishops of the dioceses of

". According to this formulation, including the bishops were on the territory of the GDR continued to German Bishops' Conference. The Bishop of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

was represented officially a member of the German Bishops' Conference and sat by his vicar-general of West Berlin. In 1990, after the reunification of Germany,

and

were combined.

Chairmen

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Alfred Bengsch Alfred Bengsch (10 September 1921 – 13 December 1979) was a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Berlin from 1961 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967. Biography Alfred Bengsch was born ...

, Bishop of

(1976 - 1979) *

Gerhard Schaffran Gerhard Schaffran (4 July 1912, in Leśnica, Górny Śląsk – 4 March 1996, in Dresden) was Papal consistory and Auxiliary bishop of Görlitz, of Breslau for the see of Görlitz and Bishop of Dresden-Meissen. Life Schaffran was the son of ...

, Bishop of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

(1980 - 1982) *

Joachim Meisner Joachim Meisner (25 December 1933 – 5 July 2017) was a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was the immediate past Archbishop of Cologne, serving from 1989 until his resignation was accepted by Pope Francis in 2014. He previously served ...

, Bishop of

(1982 - 1989) *

Joachim Wanke Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

, Apostolic Administrator of the Episcopal Office of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

(1989 provisional) *

Georg Sterzinsky Georg Maximilian Sterzinsky (9 February 1936 – 30 June 2011) was a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the Archbishop of Berlin. Early life Sterzinsky was born in Warlack (earlier also Wurlacken, Warlaucken, now Worławki, Ols ...

, Bishop of

(1989-1990)

Structure

The canonical system on the territory of the

was complicated. Only the Diocese of Meissen was entirely on the territory of the GDR. The diocese also included

and

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

, formerly part of the Archdiocese of Breslau, was Archbishop Office, later

Apostolic Administration An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

. The other areas were to dioceses canonically established on the territory of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. These were Episcopal office. An appreciation of apostolic administrations remained in contrary to the wishes of the East German government. Specifically, there was the Bishop's office

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

, the Episcopal office in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, in

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

, the Episcopal office

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

, at

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, the Episcopal Commission for later Schwerin, to

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

and

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

were performed in real-Union Episcopal Office Erfurt-Meiningen.

External links

* http://d-nb.info/gnd/1052468-X/about/html * http://d-nb.info/gnd/4256391-4/about/html {{Authority control

Catholic Church in Germany Religion in East Germany