Johann Christoph von Wöllner (19 May 1732, Döberitz,

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

– 10 September 1800, Grossriez near

Beeskow Beeskow ( dsb, Bezkow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, and capital of the Oder-Spree district. It is situated on the river Spree, 30 km southwest of Frankfurt an der Oder. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Beeskow.pdf, Developme ...

) was a Prussian pastor and politician under King Frederick William II. He was inclined to

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and joined the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and the

Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (Orden des Gold- und Rosenkreutz, also the ''Fraternity of the Golden and Rosy Cross'') was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fictuld. Candidates were exp ...

. Wöllner, whom

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

had described as a "treacherous and intriguing priest," had started life as a poor tutor in the family of General August Frederick von Itzenplitz, a noble of the

. After the general's death and to the scandal of king and nobility, he married the general's daughter, and with his mother-in-law's assistance settled down on a small estate. By his practical experiments and writings he gained a considerable reputation as an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

; but his ambition was not content with this, and he sought to extend his influence by joining first the

and afterwards the Rosicrucians. Wöllner, with his impressive personality and easy if superficial eloquence, was just the man to lead a movement of this kind. Under his influence the order spread rapidly, and he soon found himself the supreme director (Oberhauptdirektor) of several circles, which included in their membership princes, officers and high officials. As a Rosicrucian Wöllner dabbled in

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

and other mystic arts, but he was also zealous for

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

as well as the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

concept of religion as an important factor in maintaining public order. A few months before Frederick II's death, Wöllner wrote to his friend the Rosicrucian Johann Rudolph von Bischoffswerder (1741–1803) that his highest ambition was to be placed at the head of the religious department of the state as an unworthy instrument in the hand of Ormesus (the prince of Prussia's Rosicrucian name) "for the purpose of saving millions of souls from perdition and bringing back the whole country to the faith of Jesus Christ." Despite this statement, king

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...

, with Christoph von Wöllner as Minister of Justice and head of the Office for the Worship, instituted the ''Königliche Examinations-Commission in geistlichen Sachen'' with the declared public purpose of managing and controlling any religious or spiritual activity in all the nation, and of applying the relative decree of 9 July 1788. The Commission had also the legal power of

confiscation Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, o ...

on money and properties. Among the most famous victims of this censorship, Immanuel Kant, with his 1793 first published script, titled

Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason ''Religion within the Bounds of Bare Reason'' (german: Die Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft) is a 1793 book by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Although its purpose and original intent has become a matter of some dispute, ...

. The theologian

Karl Friedrich Bahrdt Karl Friedrich Bahrdt (; 25 August 1741 – 23 April 1792), also spelled Carl Friedrich Bahrdt, was an unorthodox German Protestant biblical scholar, theologian, and polemicist. Controversial during his day, he is sometimes considered an ...

saw himself forced to lay down his magisterium because of the new regulations.

Bibliography

* Uta Wiggermann: ''Woellner und das Religionsedikt,'' Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010. * Dirk Kemper: Obskurantismus als Mittel der Politik. Johann Christoph von Wöllners Politik der Gegenaufklärung am Vorabend der Französischen Revolution, in: ''Von „Obscuranten“ und „Eudämonisten“. Gegenaufklärerische, konservative und antirevolutionäre Publizisten im späten 18. Jahrhundert,'' ed. by Christoph Weiß, St. Ingbert 1997, pp. 193–220. * Reinhard Markner: Woellner, Johann Christoph (1732–1800), in: ''Le Monde maçonnique au XVIIIe siècle,'' ed. by

Charles Porset Charles Porset (15 April 1944 – 25 May 2011, aged 67) was a French writer and historian. He wrote numerous books, articles and papers on the "Fait Masonic" in the eighteenth century. Biography Charles Porset taught philosophy in high school ...

(†) and

Cécile Révauger Cécile Révauger (1955, Bordeaux) is a French historian and historiographer in the fields of freemasonry and the Lumières. A freemason, she was initiated in 1982 at the Grande Loge féminine de France. She left this grand lodge to join the Grand ...

, Paris 2013, vol. 3, pp. 2820–2824
(German version)

References

1732 births 1800 deaths 18th-century alchemists German alchemists People from Havelland People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Education ministers of Prussia Justice ministers of Prussia Rosicrucians German Freemasons {{Germany-politician-stub