Joseph Wittig (January 22, 1879 – August 22, 1949) was a German Catholic

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 writer born in Neusorge, a village in the district of

Neurode Nowa Ruda ( cs, Nová Ruda, german: Neurode, szl, Nowŏ Ruda) is a town in south-western Poland near the Czech border, lying on the Włodzica river in the central Sudetes mountain range. it had 22,067 inhabitants. The town is located in Kło ...

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 ...

. In 1903 he received his doctorate of

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 ...

from the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, and was ordained a priest by Cardinal

Georg von Kopp Georg von Kopp (25 July 1837 – 4 March 1914) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Fulda (1881–87) and Prince-Bishop of Breslau (1887–1914). He was known for his anti-Polish views and pursued the German ...

(1837-1914). Subsequently, he worked as a chaplain in Lauban, and from 1904 studied

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

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 ...

as a member of the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

. In the meantime, he took part in a study trip to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. being accompanied by theologian

Franz Joseph Dölger Franz Joseph Dölger (18 October 1879, in Sulzbach am Main – 17 October 1940, in Schweinfurt) was a German Catholic theologian and church historian. He studied theology at the University of Würzburg, being ordained into the priesthood in 1902. ...

(1879-1940). After returning to Germany, he served as a chaplain in Patschkau, followed by similar duties in Breslau. In 1911 Wittig became an associate professor of

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

and Christian archaeology, and in 1915 was a full professor of

patrology Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

, church history and Christian art at the theological faculty of the University of Breslau. In 1917-18 he attained the office of dean at the university. Wittig is remembered for his work as a religious reformer at Breslau. His theological and literary ideas often placed him at odds with

Catholic Church 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 ...

hierarchy. In 1922 he was the author of ''Die Erlösten'' (The Redeemed), an article that was openly critical of church dogma, and in 1925 published a book that was an historical reconstruction of the life of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. This latter work, ''Leben Jesu in Palästina, Schlesien und anderswo'', was placed on the Church's index of banned books. In 1926 Wittig was

excommunicated 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 ...

from the Church, and forced to resign his teaching position at Breslau. It wouldn't be until 1946 that he was able to receive official reconciliation with Church hierarchy. Following his excommunication, he returned to Neusorge as a private scholar and writer. Here he was the author of numerous popular stories as well as religious-themed works. During this time period, he also worked as a

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

in the district of

. With

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Martin Buber Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism c ...

(1878-1965) and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...

Viktor von Weizsäcker Viktor Freiherr von Weizsäcker (21 April 1886, in Stuttgart – 9 January 1957, in Heidelberg) was a German physician and physiologist. He was the brother of Ernst von Weizsäcker, and uncle to Richard von Weizsäcker and Carl Friedrich von Weizs� ...

(1886-1957), he was co-editor of the magazine ''Die Kreatur'', which was founded by

Hans Ehrenberg Hans Philipp Ehrenberg (; 4 June 1883 – 21 March 1958) was a German Jewish philosopher and theologian. One of the co-founders of the Confessing Church, he was forced to emigrate to England because of his Jewish ancestry and his opposition to ...

and

Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (July 6, 1888 – February 24, 1973) was a historian and social philosopher, whose work spanned the disciplines of history, theology, sociology, linguistics and beyond. Born in Berlin, Germany into a non-observant Jewish f ...

References

* ''This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

'', whose references include biographical information
Joseph Wittig - Lebenslauf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittig, Joseph 1879 births 1949 deaths People from Nowa Ruda People from the Province of Silesia 20th-century German Catholic theologians German male non-fiction writers Academic staff of the University of Breslau University of Breslau alumni People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church