Michael Helding (1506 – 30 September 1561) was a Roman Catholic bishop, scholar, writer and humanist.
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved August 5, 2016 He is also known by his pen-name of Sidonius.

Life

Helding was born in

Langenenslingen Langenenslingen (; Swabian: ''Ẽslenga'') is a municipality in the district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It has a population close to 3,500. Geography Location Langenenslingen is located on the northern edge of Upper Swabia ...

bei

Riedlingen Riedlingen () is a town in the district (''Kreis'') of Biberach, Baden-Württemberg, in the south-west of Germany. It is one of the destinations of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Riedlingen has approximately 10,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen (district), Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowne ...

, a miller's son. In autumn 1525 he matriculated at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

. At Pentecost in 1527 he graduated BA and at Christmas 1528 as MA. He became a lecturer in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, where he became rector of the Domschule (cathedral school) in 1531. There he began his lifelong close contact with humanism. After being ordained as a priest, he worked under cardinal

Albrecht von Brandenburg Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg (german: Albrecht von Brandenburg; 28 June 149024 September 1545) was a German cardinal, elector, Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545. Biography Early career Bor ...

Mainz Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , iso regi ...

from 1533 onwards. On 18 October 1537 he was selected to become auxiliary bishop of

and was ordained to that role on 4 August the following year. He was also appointed

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Sidon. In 1543 he graduated as doctor of theology. He served as a Roman Catholic delegate at both the 1540-1541

Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 (german: Reichstag zu Worms ) was an imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City of Worms. Martin Luther was summoned to t ...

and in 1546 at the

Diet of Regensburg Diet of Regensburg may refer any of the sessions of the Imperial Diet, Imperial States, or the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire which took place in the Imperial City of Regensburg (Ratisbon), now in Germany. An incomplete lists of Diets o ...

. He also attended the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

. At the 'armoured'

Diet of Augsburg The Diet of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in the German city of Augsburg. Both an Imperial City and the residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, the town had hosted the Estates in many such sess ...

of 1547-48 he became the co-author of the

Augsburg Interim The Augsburg Interim (full formal title: ''Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council'') was an imperial decree ordered on 15 May 1548 at the 1548 Diet ...

, drawing harsh polemics from

Matthias Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; hr, Matija Vlačić Ilirik) or Francovich ( hr, Franković) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting strong ...

and other Protestants. In December 1550 he became the successor to the Protestant

George III, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau George III, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau ( Dessau, 15 August 1507 – Dessau, 17 October 1553), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau, and also a Protestant Reformer. After 1544 he became th ...

as the last Catholic

bishop of Merseburg The Bishopric of Merseburg was an episcopal see on the eastern border of the medieval Duchy of Saxony with its centre in Merseburg, where Merseburg Cathedral was constructed. The see was founded in 967 by Emperor Otto I at the same time in the same ...

. He was present at the Council of Augsburg in 1555 and in autumn 1557 at the Colloquy of Worms, where his questions caused internal conflict between Lutheran theologians. In 1561, less than a year before Helding's death, Ferdinand I appointed him head of the Imperial Council in Vienna. He died in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, aged about 55. Helding is considered one of the most important proponents of Catholic Reform of his time, who tried to use his speeches and writings to maintain Christian unity and to contribute actively towards what he saw as a necessary reform of the Roman Catholic church. He remained true to Catholicism, but was still friendly to reform and tolerant towards the Protestant denominations and other faiths.

Bibliography

*Paul Tschackert
Helding, Michael.
In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 34, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1892, S. 164–166. *Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: HELDING, Michael. In:

Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon The ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (''BBKL'') is a German biographical encyclopedia covering persons related to the history of the church, philosophy and literature, founded 1975 by Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz Friedrich Wilhelm B ...

(BBKL). Band 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, , Sp. 696–698.

External links

Digitalised works on CAMENA
* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) {{DEFAULTSORT:Helding, Michael Roman Catholic bishops of Merseburg 1506 births 1561 deaths People from Biberach (district)