This list records the incumbents of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim The Diocese of Hildesheim (Latin: ''Dioecesis Hildesiensis'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. Founded in 815 as a missionary diocese by King Louis the Pious, his son Louis the German appointed the famous former archbishop of Rhei ...

(german: link=no, Bistum Hildesheim). Between 1235 and 1803 the bishops simultaneously officiating as rulers of princely rank (prince-bishop) in the Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim (german: link=no,

Hochstift In the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church, the German term (plural: ) referred to the territory ruled by a bishop as a prince (i.e. prince-bishop), as opposed to his diocese, generally much larger and over which he exercised only s ...

Hildesheim), a state of

imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...

is the seat of the bishops and the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. ...

Titles of the incumbents of the Hildesheim See

Between 1235 and 1803 the elected and papally confirmed bishops of the Hildesheim See were additionally imperially invested princely power as prince-bishops. In 1235 part of the Hildesheim diocesan territory, the episcopal and capitular temporalities (

Stift The term (; nl, sticht) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenan ...

) were disentangled from the Duchy of Brunswick and Lunenburg and became an own territory of

called Prince-Bishopric of Brunswick and Lunenburg (german: link=no, Hochstift Hildesheim), a vassal of the

. The prince-bishopric was an

elective monarchy An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected monarch, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and t ...

, with the monarch being the respective bishop usually elected by the

Hildesheim Cathedral Hildesheim Cathedral (German: '), officially the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (German: ''Hohe Domkirche St. Mariä Himmelfahrt'') or simply St. Mary's Cathedral (German: ''Mariendom''), is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in the city cent ...

chapter and confirmed by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, or exceptionally only appointed by the Holy See. Papally confirmed bishops were then invested by the emperor with the princely

regalia Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereig ...

, thus the title prince-bishop. However, sometimes the respective incumbent of the see never gained a papal confirmation as bishop (lacking canonical qualification; e.g. Ferdinand of Bavaria and Frederick of Denmark), but was still invested the princely regalia. The respective incumbents of the see bore the following titles: The respective incumbents of the see bore the following titles: *

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of Hildesheim from 815 to 1235 * Prince-bishop of Hildesheim from 1235 to 1803 * Bishop of Hildesheim since 1803

Bishops of Hildesheim till 1235

Prince-bishops of Hildesheim between 1235 and 1803

Bishops of Hildesheim since 1803

Auxiliary bishops

* Johann Christiani von Schleppegrell, O.S.A. (7 Jun 1428 to 8 Oct 1468)"Bishop Johann Christiani von Schleppegrell, O.S.A."
''

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 21 March 2016 * Johann Anguli Wilkelmann, O.F.M. (28 November 1436) * Johannes Tideln, O.P. (7 Feb 1477 to 28 Jul 1501)"Bishop Johannes Tideln, O.P.
''

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 March 2016 * Ludwig von Siegen (bishop), O.F.M. (20 May 1502 to 13 Feb 1508)"Bishop Ludwig von Siegen, O.F.M."
''

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 March 2016 * Balthasar Fannemann (Waneman) (26 Aug 1540 to 8 Oct 1561) *

Nikolaus Arresdorf Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

, O.F.M. Conv. (23 Nov 1592 to 28 Mar 1620) *

Johannes Pelking Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as " John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' ...

(Pelcking), O.F.M. Conv. (16 Dec 1619 to 28 Dec 1642) * Adam Adami,

O.S.B. , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

(16 Dec 1652 to 19 Feb 1663) *

Johann Heinrich von Anethan Johann Heinrich von Anethan (1618–1693) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne (1680–1693), Auxiliary Bishop of Trier (1676–1680), and Auxiliary Bishop of Hildesheim (1665–1676). Biography Johann Heinr ...

(6 Jul 1665 to 13 Nov 1676) * Friedrich von Tietzen-Schlütter (12 Dec 1677 to 4 Nov 1696) *Maximilian Heinrich von Weichs zu Rösberg (1 Oct 1703 to 20 Sep 1723) *Ernst Friedrich von Twickel (27 Sep 1724 to 17 Jan 1734) *Johann Wilhelm von Twickel (27 Jun 1735 to 10 Sep 1757) *Ludwig Hatteisen,

O.S.B. , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

(2 Oct 1758 to 3 Apr 1771) *Johannes Bydolek (10 Sep 1949 to 18 Oct 1957) *Heinrich Pachowiak (27 May 1958 to 24 Aug 1992) *Adolf Kindermann (11 Jul 1966 to 23 Oct 1974) *Heinrich Machens (24 Mar 1976 to 11 Feb 1994) *Hans-Georg Koitz 24 Aug 1992 to 4 Dec 2010) *Nikolaus Schwerdtfeger (19 Jun 1995 -) *Heinz-Günter Bongartz (4 Dec 2010 -)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishops of Hildesheim

Lists of office-holders in Germany History of Hildesheim