Marc Boegner, commonly known as ''pasteur'' Boegner (; 21 February 1881 – 18 December 1970), was a French theologian, pastor, essayist, notable member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

and a notable voice in the ecumenical movement.

Biography

Marc Boegner was the nephew and disciple of the Lutheran pastor Tommy Fallot, who founded

Christian socialism Christian socialism is a Religious philosophy, religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

in France. Born in

Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

in 1881, Boegner was educated in

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

in a rural parish in Aouste-sur-Sye in

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

, in 1911 he became professor of theology at the House of the Missions of Paris, and in 1918 went on to the Parish of Poissy-Annonciation where he remained until 1952. In 1928, he inaugurated the sermons of Protestant Lent on the radio, which contributed to his notoriety. There he preached on the unity of Christians. In 1929, he became the first president of the

Protestant Federation of France The Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France'') is a religious organisation created on 25 October 1905, which united the main Protestant Christian groupings in France. In 2023, the current president is Christian Krie ...

(''Fédération protestante de France''), a position he held until 1961. In 1938 he became the first president of the national council of the

Reformed Church of France The Reformed Church of France (, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in France to ...

(''l'Église réformée de France''), a post he held until 1950. He was on two occasions the professor at the Academy of International Law at The Hague. Between 1938 and 1948 he was president of the administrative committee of the provisional

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

in formation. After the council had been formed he became one of its co-presidents, a post he held until 1954. In 1955 Marc Boegner presented a television show called ''

Présence protestante ''Présence protestante'' is a France 2 religious programme that presents Protestant Christianity. It has been produced since the 1950s broadcast every Sunday morning since October 9, 1955. History ''Présence protestante'' debuted on October 2 ...

''. Boegner actively worked, during the occupation, in an open way as well as clandestinely, to try to improve the lot of the Jews, and even defended and saved a number of them. His compassion extended also to many political refugees. He intervened with Pierre Laval, in vain, to ask him to give up including Jewish children younger than 16 years in the deportation convoys. In 1943, he condemned the forced sending of workers to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

under the STO. Against violence and the armed struggle, he let his faith and conscience choose against joining the Maquis in an early stage. His action to help the Jews during the war made him be awarded the

Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

in 1988. Having met six times, in the middle of his resistance work, Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

, he was decorated with the

Order of the Francisque Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

and was named a member of the National Council of

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

. He remained, at the time of his questioning in the Allied lawsuit against the old leader, on 30 July 1945, to testify for the good intentions and the goodwill expressed by Pétain in the difficult circumstances of France - a lenient idea of Pétain's actions, today contradicted by authors and some historians. After the war, he continued his fight for unity while taking part in the ecumenical movement (''mouvement œcuménique''). He was also a Protestant observer during the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(1962–1965) during which he staged a public dialogue with Cardinal Bea in Geneva. He also met

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. The ecumenical movement is the subject of his last book published in 1968 (''The Long Road to Unity'', Eng. trans. 1970). Boegner died in Paris.

Works

*''Les Catéchismes de Calvin, étude d'histoire et de catéchétique'', thèse de doctorat soutenue devant la faculté de théologie protestante en 1905 *''The Unity of the Church'' (1914) *''La Vie et la pensée de T. Fallot'', 2 vol. (1914–1926) *''L'Influence de la Réforme sur le développement du droit international'' (1926) *''Le Christianisme et le monde moderne'' (1928, recueil de prédications) *''Les Missions protestantes et le droit international'' (1929) *''Dieu, l'éternel tourment des hommes'' (1929, recueil de prédications) *''Jésus-Christ'' (1930, recueil de prédications) *''T. Fallot, l'homme et l'œuvre'' (1931) *''Qu'est-ce que l'Église ?'' (1931, recueil de prédications) *''L'Église et les questions du temps présent'' (1932) *''La Vie chrétienne'' (1933) *''Le Christ devant la souffrance et devant la joie'' (1935, recueil de prédications) *''L'Évangile et le racisme'' (1939) *''Le Problème de l'unité chrétienne'' (1947, recueil de prédications) *''La Prière de l'Église universelle'' (1951) *''La Vie triomphante'' (1953) *''Le Chrétien et la souffrance'' (1956) *''Les Sept paroles de la Croix'' (1957) *''Notre vocation à la sainteté'' (1958) *''Ténèbres et Lumières aux abords du Calvaire'' (1960, recueil de prédications) *''L'Exigence œcuménique des Églises. Souvenirs et perspectives'' (1968)

Memberships and decorations

Ecclesiastical

*President of the French Federation of Christian associations of students (1923–1935), *President of the Protestant Federation of France (1929–1961), *President of the national council of the reformed Church of France (1938–1950), *President of the Company of the evangelic missions of France (1945–1968), *President of the oecumenical Movement of the Christian Churches (1948–1954).

Other

*Member of the

Académie des sciences morales et politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

(1946) *Member of the ''Académie française'' (1962). To date, Marc Boegner remains the only Pastor to ever be elected in the ''Académie française''. *

(1988) *Grand Officer of the ''Légion d'honneur''

References

External links

*
Detailed biography of Pastor Boegner in the Virtual Museum of ProtestantismBiographical note on the website of the Académie française
– his activity to save Jews' lives during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, at

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Boegner, Marc 1881 births 1970 deaths People from Épinal French Calvinist and Reformed theologians Members of the National Council of Vichy France Calvinist pacifists French male essayists 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 20th-century French theologians 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French male writers Lycée Lakanal alumni Members of the Académie Française Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques French Resistance members Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Order of the Francisque recipients French Righteous Among the Nations Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery