Helmut Friedbert Richard Siegfried Echternach (20 March 1907 – 25 February 1988) was a German

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 ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

, and one of the leaders of the Lutheran High Church Movement in Germany. Born in Waltersdorf, Heiligenbeil District,

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

(now Pęciszewo,

Gmina Braniewo __NOTOC__ Gmina Braniewo is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Braniewo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, on the border with Russia. Its seat is the town of Braniewo, although the town is not part of the territory of ...

, Braniewo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship), as the son of a pastor, Echternach attended school and university in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

, graduating with the degree of the

Licentiate in Theology The Licentiate in Theology or (in Britain) Licence in Theology (LTh or, in Australia, ThL) is a non-degree qualification in theology awarded in Canada and previously awarded in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. A qualification simila ...

. He was ordained in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

in 1932. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Echternach moved to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and was called to be the pastor at St. Matthew's Church, Hamburg in 1946. One year later he founded an ecumenical discussion group within the Evangelische Akademie Hamburg for dialogue among

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 ...

and

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Christians. He also taught theology at the Kirchliche Hochschule Hamburg. In 1957 he was called to be the pastor of

St. Petri church St. Petri Church ( no, St. Petri kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in the large Stavanger Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Storhaug which lies near the centre of the city of Stavanger in th ...

in Hamburg. Together with W. Michaelis, Echternach inaugurated the

St. Ansgar Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North" ...

vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

, a form of Lutheran high church liturgical celebrations, in 1965, which have become quite famous. One year later Echternach founded the " Brotherhood of St. Athanasius", a religious High Church society of men, which regards Holy Orders and

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...

essential to the Church. Bruderschaften/Schwesternschaften/Kommunitäten - article in Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE), On 18 October 1966 Echternach was consecrated to the holy order of

episcopate 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 ...

by a bishop in

. He chose as his episcopal name Ignatius V (cf.

Friedrich Heiler Friedrich Heiler (January 30, 1892 – April 18, 1967) was a German theologian and historian of religion. Heiler came from a Roman Catholic family. 1918 he became ''Privatdozent'' in University of Munich, from where he 1920 moved to theological fac ...

). He was called as professor of systematic theology at the Université Européenne in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

on 1 August 1970 and retired from active ministry in 1973. He died in Hamburg.

References

External links

* 1907 births 1988 deaths People from Braniewo County People from East Prussia 20th-century German Lutheran bishops German Lutheran theologians German male non-fiction writers University of Königsberg alumni {{Germany-christian-theologian-stub