Johann Friedrich (5 May 1836 – 19 August 1917) was a German

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 ...

. He was prominent as a leader of the

Old Catholics The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...

Biography

He was born at Poxdorf in

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...

, and was educated at Bamberg and at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. He was ordained a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest in 1859. In 1865, he was appointed

extraordinary professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

theology 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 ...

. In 1867, he was appointed to the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

. He was a pupil of

Ignaz von Döllinger Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger (; 28 February 179914 January 1890), also Doellinger in English, was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility. Among his writings which proved con ...

.Friedrich, Johann
Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz In 1869 he went to the Vatican Council as secretary to Cardinal Hohenlohe, and took an active part in opposing the

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks '' ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the apos ...

, notably by supplying the opposition bishops with historical and theological material. He left

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

before the council closed. :"No German ecclesiastic of his age appears to have won for himself so unusual a repute as a theologian and to have held so important a position, as the trusted counsellor of the leading German cardinal at the Vatican Council. The path was fairly open before him to the highest advancement in the Church of Rome, yet he deliberately sacrificed all such hopes and placed himself in the van of a hard and doubtful struggle" (''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 1872, p. 1004). A sentence of

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

was passed on Friedrich in April 1871, but he refused to acknowledge it and was upheld by the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n government. He continued to perform ecclesiastical functions and maintained his academic position, becoming an

ordinary professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

in 1872. In 1874, he inaugurated the Old Catholic theological faculty at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...

and lectured there for a year. In Bavaria, in 1882, the Minister of Public Worship, yielding to

ultramontane Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by th ...

pressure, transferred him from his chair in theology to the philosophical faculty as professor of history. By this time he had to some extent withdrawn from the advanced position which he at first occupied in organizing the

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great Chu ...

Church, for he was not in agreement with its abolition of enforced celibacy. He died in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Works

Friedrich was a prolific writer; among his chief works are: *''Johann Wessel: Ein Bild aus der Kirchengeschichte des XV. Jahrhunderts'' (1862) –

Wessel Gansfort Wessel Harmensz Gansfort (1419 – October 4, 1489) was a theologian and early humanist of the northern Low Countries. Many variations of his last name are seen and he is sometimes incorrectly called Johan Wessel. Gansfort has been called one of ...

; a portrait of church history in the 15th century. *''Die Lehre des Johann Hus'' (1862) – The teachings of

John Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspi ...

. *''Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands'' (2 volumes, 1867–69) – German church history
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*''Tagebuch während des Vaticanischen Concils geführt'' (1871) – Journal of the Vatican Council
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''Documenta ad Illustrandum Concilium Vaticanum''
(1871). *''Beiträge zur Kirchengeschichte des 18. Jahrhunderts'' (1876) – Contribution to church history of the 18th century. *''Der Mechanismus der vatikanischen Religion'' (1876) – The mechanism of the Vatican religion. *''Geschichte des Vatikanischen Konzils'' (2 volumes, 1877–86) – History of the Vatican Council. *''Das Papsttum'' (1892) – The papacy. *''Johann Adam Möhler, der Symboliker'' (1894) – On

Johann Adam Möhler Johann Adam Möhler (6 May 1796 – 12 April 1838) was a German Roman Catholic theologian. He was born at Igersheim in the Bailiwick of Franconia of the Teutonic Order (from 1809 on part of Württemberg), and after studying philosophy and theolo ...

. *''Ignaz von Döllinger: Sein Leben auf Grund seines schriftlichen Nachlasses'' (3 volumes, 1899–1901) – Ignaz von Dollinger; his life on the basis of his literary estate.Johann Friedrich
de.Wikisource (bibliography)

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich, Johann 1836 births 1917 deaths People excommunicated by the Catholic Church People from Forchheim (district) German Old Catholics German Old Catholic theologians Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni 19th-century German theologians 19th-century German male writers 19th-century German writers 20th-century German theologians 20th-century German writers German male non-fiction writers