Werner Leich (31 January 1927 – 17 December 2022) was a German Protestant theologian and pastor. From 1978 to 1992, he was the longest-serving

Landesbischof A Landesbischof () is the head of some Protestant regional churches in Germany. Based on the principle of '' summus episcopus'' (german: landesherrliches Kirchenregiment), after the Reformation each Lutheran prince assumed the position of supreme ...

of the Lutheran Church in Thuringia during the era of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and led the state church’s independence from the regime.

Early life and education

Leich was born in

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen. Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and bec ...

on 31 January 1927. His father was a jurist and the mayor of

Schalkau Schalkau is a town in the district of Sonneberg, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 13 km west of Sonneberg, and 15 km north of Coburg. The former municipality Bachfeld was merged into Schalkau in December 2019. Transportation S ...

, and his mother was a teacher; she died six months after he was born. Leich grew up living with his aunt and his grandmother in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, until his father married again and integrated him into the new family in Schalkau. In 1939, his father lost his position as mayor due to arguments with the Nazi party, and was assigned to a minor position in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. Leich was then educated at the Ernestine-Gymnasium there until 1942. In 1942, he left the school early to volunteer for the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

, and by 1945 had risen to the rank of

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establis ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he first trained to be a metalworker. He returned to his school, earning his

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 ...

in 1946. He met his future wife, Trautel Sickert, during a ball at a dancing school In 1947 he began studying

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 ...

at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

with

Rudolf Bultmann Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early-20th-century biblical studies. A prominent critic ...

. He completed his studies at the

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

from 1950 to 1951, studying with

Edmund Schlink Edmund Schlink (3 March 1903 – 20 May 1984) was a German-Lutheran pastor and theologian. Between 1946 and his retirement in 1971 he was a professor of dogmatic and ecumenical theology at Heidelberg University. Biography Schlink was born in ...

Professional career

In 1951, Leich entered his first post as a vicar in

Angelroda Angelroda is a village and a former municipality in the district Ilm-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe ...

. A year later, he and his wife married; they had two children. He became pastor in

Wurzbach Wurzbach () is a town in the Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in southern Thuringia, Germany. It is situated southeast of Saalfeld, and northwest of Hof. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), Wurzbach was part of the Principality of Reuss- ...

in 1954. From 1960 he was a member of the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the Lutheran Church in Thuringia, and the synod's vice-president from 1967 to 1978. From 1978 to 1992, he was bishop of the Lutheran Church in Thuringia, holding the position longer than anyone during the era of the

(GDR). In 1983 Leich, along with

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...

, reopened the

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...

castle after its restoration. He was also the leading bishop of the united Lutheran churches in the GDR from 1983 to 1986, and president of the conference of Protestant church leaderships (''Vorsitzender der '') in the GDR from 1986 to 1990. For much of his career, Leich defended worshipping God in an anti-religious

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

environment, saying of this, "a lot of times we did hide being Christians". Leich promoted

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

. He steered a firm course of independence of state and church. On 3 March 1988, he met with Honecker, demanding social reforms in the GDR. The Lutheran Church had offered an avenue for critics of the regime and people who wanted to leave the country to make their demands public, but its Berlin office was closed due to over-crowding. After the spring of 1989, he no longer used the slogan "Kirche im Sozialismus". He is remembered as a proponent of the

Peaceful Revolution The Peaceful Revolution (german: Friedliche Revolution), as a part of the Revolutions of 1989, was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the opening of East Germany's borders with the West, the end of the ruling of the Socialist Unity ...

. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1983-0421-427, Eisenach, Wiedereröffnung der Wartburg.jpg, Reopening of the

, Honecker (2nd from l.) and Leich, 1983 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-1123-036, Gera, Johanniskirche, Friedensgebet.jpg, Peace prayer in the in Gera; Joachim Urbig (l.), Leich

Personal life

Leich retired in 1992, and published an autobiography, ''Wechselnde Horizonte. Mein Leben in vier politischen Systemen'' (''Changing Horizons: My Life in Four Political Systems''). He took care of his wife until her death in 2021. Leich died at a hospital in Gotha after a short illness, on 17 December 2022 at age 95.

Awards

In 1984 he received the

Four Freedoms Award The Four Freedoms Award is an annual award presented to "those men and women whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to those principles which United States, US President of the United States, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaime ...

for the Freedom of Worship. In 2005, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Free State of Thuringia.

Autobiography

* 1992: ''Wechselnde Horizonte. Mein Leben in vier politischen Systemen.'' ()

References

External links

Vermächtnis: Altbischof Werner Leich / Das letzte Interview
(interview, in German) Meine Kirchenzeitung, 29 January 2017

(video, in German) MDR 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Leich, Werner 1927 births 2022 deaths 20th-century German Lutheran bishops People from Bezirk Erfurt Heidelberg University alumni Luftwaffe personnel of World War II People from Mühlhausen University of Marburg alumni