Bernd Moeller (May 19, 1931 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

– October 29, 2020) was a

German 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 ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

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

church historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

. Bernd Moeller studied Protestant theology as well as history. In 1956 he received his doctorate from the Protestant theological department of the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

with the dissertation ''Die Anfechtung bei Johann Tauler'' (Religious scruples in the work of Johann Tauler). Two years later his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

followed on ''Johannes Zwick und die Reformation in Konstanz'' (John Zwick and the Reformation in Constance) at the

University of Heidelberg } 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, ...

. In 1964 he succeeded

Ernst Wolf Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

as the chair of church history with an emphasis on Reformation history at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, and he taught there until his retirement in 1999 . He was succeeded in turn by

Thomas Kaufmann Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

. Moeller is a specialist in general church history and the urban history in the

late medieval The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

and the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

era. He was chairman of the Society for Reformation Research. Moeller has taken part in the publication of nearly 40 books. His ''Geschichte des Christentums in Grundzügen'' (History of Christianity in Outline) has gone through ten editions. Of particular importance is ''Ökumenische Kirchengeschicht'' (Ecumenical Church History) a project jointly edited with

Raymond Kottje Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

which first appeared in 1970. This work showed from its first appearance that

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 ...

had entered a new era. In 1998 he received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

Works

* ''Geschichte des Christentums in Grundzügen'' (History of Christianity in Outline), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 10. völlig neu bearbeitete Auflage, Göttingen 2011, . * ''Deutschland im Zeitalter der Reformation'' (Germany in the Era of the Reformation), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1977 (Deutsche Geschichte, Bd. 4) * ''Reichsstadt und Reformation'', Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, Berlin 1987 ; Eng. trans.: ''Imperial cities and the Reformation: Three essays.'' ed. and trans. by H. C. Erik Midelfort and Mark U. Edwards, Jr. (1972) Philadelphia: Fortress press. * ''Die Reformation und das Mittelalter. Kirchenhistorische Aufsätze'' (The Reformation and the Middle Ages: Essays in Church History), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1991 * ''Luther-Rezeption. Kirchenhistorische Aufsätze zur Reformationsgeschichte'' (The Reception of Luther: Essays in the Church History of the Reformation), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2001 * ''Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie der Theologie und der Kirchen'' (German Biographical Encyclopedia of Theology and the Church) ed., Saur, München 2005 * ''Spätmittelalter (Die Kirche in ihrer Geschichte, Lfg. H1)'' (The Late Middle Ages, vol. H1 of The Church and its History), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1966

External links

*
Moeller's webpage at the University of Göttingen
2020 deaths 20th-century German Protestant theologians 21st-century German Protestant theologians Historians of Christianity Reformation historians German male non-fiction writers German historians of religion 1931 births {{christianity-historian-stub