Christoph von der Schulenburg (1513 – 9 September 1580) was a German nobleman. As bishop of

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum Lau ...

he converted to Protestantism.

Life

He was born at Warpke manor in

Schnega Schnega is a municipality in the district Lüchow-Dannenberg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...

, a member of the elder "white" line of the extensive noble ''von der Schulenburg'' family. In 1538, he received the prebendary of Nusse from Bishop Georg von Blumenthal, the Prince-Bishop of

. A short time later, he was appointed dean in

and Provost of Diesdorf Abbey. After the death of Bishop George, Christoph was unanimously elected as his successor by the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

on 22 November 1550. This incensed Duke

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

, who had attempted to have his seven years old son Magnus elected. Francis I sent a mercenary army into the bishopric, led by Volrad V of Mansfeld-Hinterort. On 23 May 1552, Volrad sacked the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of Ratzeburg. He forced those canons who had not fled to sign a declaration against Christoph and in favour of Magnus. Volrad stayed in Ratzeburg for two months; he refrained from burning down the cathedral in exchange for thalers. The canons borrowed this money from Nicholaus Bardewik, a mayor of Lübeck, and secured the loan with a part of the chapter's territory. Lübeck then began negotiating between Christoph and Volrad. An army led by George of Holle from Brunswick recaptured the bishop's seat Stove Castle in

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

for Christoph. Peace returned to the bishopric after the dukes Francis I of Saxe-Lauenburg and

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel concluded a treaty in Lüneburg on 7 June 1554. They agreed that the remaining issues would be sorted out in a court of law. However, on 5 October 1554, bishop Christoph abdicated, in favour of

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, the younger brother of Duke John Albert I of Mecklenburg, who had paid Christoph thaler. Francis I tried again to have his son Magnus elected, but the cathedral chapter elected Christopher of Mecklenburg instead. After his abdication, Christoph took up a position as cathedral provost. However, after a payment of guilders , he resigned from this post, and the possession of

Mechow Mechow is a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...

which it entailed. He had turned

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

some time earlier. He married Anna, a daughter of Otto von Estorff, at St. Mary's church in Veerßen (today part of Uelzen) on 24 January 1555. He remained provost of Diesdorf and became councillor to the Duke of Brunswick. He employed

Stephan Praetorius Stephan Praetorius (or Prætorius) (german: Stephan Prätorius) (, Salzwedel, Salzwedel) was a German Lutheran theologian and pastor. His life and work Prætorius was born in Salzwedel, Margraviate of Brandenburg. He was educated at the Univer ...

to educate his son Albert IV von der Schulenburg (b. 1558).Eckhard Düker: ''Freudenchristentum. Der Erbauungsschriftsteller Stephan Praetorius'', Göttingen: 2003, p. 68.
In 1572, Praetorius dedicated his ''Historiae familiares'' to father and son von der Schulenburg Albert IV was later raised to the rank of imperial count. Christoph died in

Diesdorf Diesdorf is a municipality (''Flecken'') in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Diesdorf is situated in the western Altmark about east of the border between Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony, which between 1 ...

Footnotes

References

* Gottlieb Matthias Carl Masch: ''Geschichte des Bisthums Ratzeburg'', F. Aschenfeldt, Lübeck, 1835,
Online
, pp. 495-502 * Georg May: ''Die deutschen Bischöfe angesichts der Glaubensspaltung des 16. Jahrhunderts'', Mediatrix, Vienna, 1983 * Karl Schmaltz: ''Kirchengeschichte Mecklenburgs'', vol. 2: ''Reformation und Gegenreformation'', Friedrich Bahn, Schwerin, 1936, pp. 114 ff

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulenburg, Christoph von der 16th-century German Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic Prince-Bishops of Ratzeburg German untitled nobility 1513 births 1580 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Christoph Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...