German Old Catholic Bishop Matthias Ring (2009)

Matthias Franz Johann Ring (born 22 February 1963 in Wallenfels, District of Kronach, Upper Franconia) is a German theologian and the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of the Old-Catholics in Germany. He attended elementary school in Wallenfels from 1969 to 1973 and secondary school ("Kaspar-Zeuss- Gymnasium") in the city of Kronach from 1977, from which he graduated in 1982 ("

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

"). After graduation from secondary school he read Roman Catholic theology at the University of Würzburg and at the

University of Bamberg The University of Bamberg (german: Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg) in Bamberg, Germany, specializes in the humanities, cultural studies, social sciences, economics, and applied computer science. Campus The university is mainly housed in ...

and graduated with a diploma in 1988. After reception into the Old Catholic Church he subsequently studied at the Department for Old Catholic Theology at the University of Bonn for a further two semesters and passed the supplementary examination required for ordination on 25 October 1991. Ring was

made Made or MADE may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''Made'' (1972 film), United Kingdom * ''Made'' (2001 film), United States Music * ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016 * ''Made'' (Hawk Nelson album), 2013 * ''Made'' (Scarface album), 2007 *'' M.A.D.E. ...

a deacon by Bishop

Sigisbert Kraft Sigebert (which means roughly "magnificent victory"), also spelled Sigibert, Sigobert, Sigeberht, or Siegeberht, is the name of: Frankish and Anglo-Saxon kings * Sigobert the Lame (died c. 509), a king of the Franks * Sigebert I, King of Austras ...

on 13 May 1989 to serve the Old Catholic communities of Würzburg and

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

. Some six months later (18 November 1989) he was ordained priest and installed as pastor of the Old Catholic parishes in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

and

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

on 1 October 1993. In order to pursue further academic studies and to earn a doctorate in theology, Ring left active parish ministry in 2001 and became a research associate at the Department of Old Catholic Theology at the University of Bonn and a graduate student at the Faculty of Old Catholic Theology at the University of Bern. Simultaneously, he served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the diocesan seminary of the Old Catholic Church in Bonn. He graduated ( "Dr. theol.") after finishing his dissertation titled "Catholic and German. The Old Catholic Church of Germany and National Socialism" in 2006. He had already returned as pastor to Regensburg the previous year. Ring as served as editor of the diocesan magazine ''Christen heute'' ("Christians Today"),''Christen heute'', German Old Catholic magazine
/ref> as president of the synod of the Bavarian parishes, and as chairman of the finance committee. At an extraordinary diocesan synod on 7 November 2009, in Mannheim, Ring was elected to succeed

Joachim Vobbe Joachim Gerhard Vobbe (5 January 1947
(Accessed 21 December 2016) – 26 July 2017) was a bishop of the

as the tenth Bishop of the Catholic Bishop of the Old Catholics in Germany; Ring was consecrated a bishop in Karlsruhe on 20 March 2010.
:de:Matthias Ring

/ref>

References

External links

Katholisches Bistum der Alt-Katholiken in Deutschland

Pictures of Electoral Synod

Pictures of Electoral Synod, day I

Pictures of Electoral Synod, day II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Matthias 1963 births Living people People from Kronach (district) German Old Catholics German Old Catholic bishops Former Roman Catholics University of Bonn alumni University of Würzburg alumni German Old Catholic theologians German male non-fiction writers 21st-century German theologians 21st-century German writers 20th-century German theologians 20th-century German writers