Hermann Herlitz (10 June 1834 – 9 June 1920) was pastor of the Lutheran Trinity Church in East Melbourne, Australia, for 46 years from 22 March 1868 to 14 June 1914. He was president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Victoria and of the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod. Born to Jewish parents, he converted to Christianity in 1857.

Personal life

Herlitz was born on 10 June 1834 in Neiße,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

(now Nysa, Poland). He was the only child of Jewish parents although his father died before he was born. He attended a

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 ...

primary school from age 5, and a Catholic grammar school from age 10. He also studied Hebrew and Judaism until his bar mitzvah at age 13. Herlitz left school in his final year, at age 16. He then completed a commercial apprenticeship and worked as a clerk, bookkeeper and salesman for several companies over six years. After moving to London his money was stolen and he was forced to sell his belongings. He turned to Dr J. C. Ewald for assistance. Ewald was of Jewish descent and a graduate of the

Basel Evangelical Missionary Society The Basel Mission was a Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' (KEM), foun ...

and after three months of deliberation Herlitz was baptised by Ewald on 1 March 1857. After studying at the Basel Mission Society, Herlitz was ordained on 17 August 1862, and in January 1863 was the first of their graduates to arrive in Australia. Herlitz married Wilhelmine "Minnie" Feldmann on 27 September 1864; they had three surviving children. Herlitz was

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

on 25 July 1865; he died on 9 June 1920.

Grovedale

Herlitz's first position as a pastor was in Germantown (now known as

Grovedale Grovedale is a southern suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. At the , Grovedale had a population of 14,869. History Toponymy The locality was originally named ''Germantown'' because several families of German Lutheran origin had settled th ...

) in Victoria, Australia. After arriving in Victoria on 23 January 1863, Herlitz was advised that the Germantown congregation had revoked his call, with one group led by Pastor Peter Jacobsen occupying the church and

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

, while another wanted Herlitz to be their pastor. Herlitz arrived at Germantown in January 1863 and took legal action against the leaders of the congregation for breach of contract. A settlement left Jacobsen in control of the church and manse, while Herlitz received compensation for non-employment and loss of the manse. The conservative group supporting Jacobsen believed that the Basel Mission Society was unionistic and non-

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but sim ...

. Herlitz acted as pastor of the St Pauls congregation at Germantown, ministering from the school for five years.

East Melbourne

In February 1867,

Matthias Goethe Matthias Goethe (29 March 1827 – 25 October 1876), also known as Matthias Göthe or Matthias Goëthe, was pastor of the Lutheran Trinity Church in East Melbourne, Australia, for 14 years from 25 March 1853 to 15 December 1867. He helped form ...

requested six months' leave from his role as pastor of the Lutheran Trinity Church in East Melbourne. As a temporary replacement, Herlitz was invited to conduct two services a month at the Trinity Church and to edit ''Der Australische Christenbote'' (The Australian Christian Messenger). Goethe did not return to Melbourne; instead he sent a letter of resignation in December 1867. Two pastors, Herlitz and Friedrich Munzel, were considered as successors to Goethe with Herlitz chosen by lot; he became pastor of Trinity Church on 22 March 1868. In 1874 a new church was built on the site of the existing Trinity Church. This was followed in 1890 by a new manse adjacent to the church. Church services were in German. Herlitz proposed that some evening services should be in English to increase attendances but no change occurred. Due to poor health, Herlitz resigned on 14 June 1914 after 46 years as pastor of the Trinity Church.

Work

In addition to his work as pastor of the Trinity Church, Herlitz ministered several outlying congregations and was editor of the monthly ''Der Australische Christenbote'' from 1867 to 1910. Herlitz was president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Victoria (ELSV) from 1868 to 1914 and president of the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod from 1876 to 1914. The ELSV was part of the Victorian Council of Churches from the Council's formation and was the only Lutheran organisation to join. Herlitz was president of the Council from 1896 to 1897. Like many pastors from the Basel Mission Society, Herlitz regarded all protestant denominations as having a common goal of following God's teachings. Accordingly, Herlitz strove for unity among the Australian Lutheran congregations and was disappointed that his work was sometimes regarded as drifting away from traditional Lutheranism. Herlitz advocated for the union of Lutheran synods in the General Synod while opposing the idea that union could only involve groups following the strict confessionalism of the South Australian Lutherans.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Herlitz, Hermann (1834–1920), Australian Dictionary of Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herlitz, Hermann 1834 births 1920 deaths Australian Lutheran clergy German emigrants to Australia German people of Jewish descent People from Nysa, Poland Clergy from the Province of Silesia Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism German expatriates in the United Kingdom