Erwin Kreuzer (February 24, 1878 – August 20, 1953) was fifth

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Old Catholic Church in Germany. He was ordained in 1900, and served parishes in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

, and

Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...

, as well as

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

before consecration as bishop. He was elected bishop in March, 1935 and consecrated on May 8, 1935 by Adolf Küry with the assistance of Henricus van Vlijmen and John Hermannus Berends. In December 1935, Kreuzer took an oath of episcopal allegiance to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

including the following paragraphs: :"I am ready to take the obligation that shall bind me in my responsible position to particular loyalty to the commonwealth and the Führer. Not as though I felt that either the Church I represent or I myself needed binding by an oath, rather does my own heart urge me to be loyal. Yet do I welcome this hour since it gives me the opportunity of bearing my solemn witness to the fact that our Church knows itself to be intimately allied with the people. .. :"Our Church is rooted and grounded in Christ's Gospel and in the traditional heritage of Old Catholicism. But at the same time it realizes how close is the relationship with what is to be developed and strengthened in our people by the Third Reich, namely the national commonwealth that shall embrace all members and confessions of the people. It is thus that I, as Bishop of my own Church, do not hesitate to welcome the era of the Third Reich with sincere devotion. We are specially grateful to it because it respects the individuality of our minority in point of number. :"As for myself it shall be my most earnest endeavor to uphold, cherish, and advance the obligation of national loyalty and allegiance to the State and to its Führer." (Cited in ''The Living Church'', April 18, 1936, p. 498.) Kreuzer was preceded by Georg Moog and succeeded by

Johann Josef Demmel Johann, typically a male given name, is the German language, German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin language, Latin form of the Greek language, Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew language, Hebrew name ''Johanan (name ...

References

*Obituary in ''

The Living Church ''The Living Church'' is a magazine based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing commentary and news on the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. In continuous publication since 1878, it has generally been identified with the Anglo-Catho ...

'', 1953 *C. B. Moss, ''The Old Catholic Movement: Its Origins and History'' *

Matthias Ring Matthias Franz Johann Ring (born 22 February 1963 in Wallenfels, District of Kronach, Upper Franconia) is a German theologian and the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of the Old-Catholics in Germany. He attended elementary school in Wallenfels fr ...

: „Katholisch und deutsch“. Die alt-katholische Kirche Deutschlands und der Nationalsozialismus. Schriftenreihe des Alt-Katholischen Seminars der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. Herausgegeben von Angela Berlis, Günther Eßer und Matthias Ring, Reihe B (Darstellungen und Studien), Band 3, Bonn 2008, , S. 80. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreuzer, Erwin 1878 births 1953 deaths German Old Catholics German Old Catholic bishops German male non-fiction writers 20th-century German bishops