Philipp Christoph von Sötern (11 December 1567 – 7 February 1652) was the Prince-Bishop of Speyer from 1610 to 1652 and the

Archbishop-Elector of Trier The elector of Trier was one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and, in his capacity as archbishop, administered the archdiocese of Trier. The territories of the electorate and the archdiocese were not, however, equivalent. History ...

from 1623 to 1652.

Biography

Philipp Christoph von Sötern was born in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...

. He was the son of a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mother and a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

father, and was initially baptized as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. He converted to Catholicism as a child. As an adolescent, he was educated at the Jesuit school in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. At age 17, he became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the

Cathedral of Trier The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier (german: Hohe Domkirche St. Peter zu Trier), or Trier Cathedral (german: Trierer Dom), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the oldest church in Germany and the l ...

; he later also acquired canonicates at

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 ...

and

Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...

. He was elected provost of Trier in 1604 and proved adept at handling legal and diplomatic disputes. On 30 May 1609, the cathedral chapter of Speyer Cathedral elected Sötern coadjutor bishop of Speyer, alongside Bishop Eberhard von Dienheim.

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

confirmed his appointment on 11 December 1609. Upon the death of Dienheim, Sötern succeeded as Bishop of Speyer on 10 October 1610. He was subsequently

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on 8 August 1612. He was consecrated as a

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 c ...

by Stephan Weber, Auxiliary Bishop of

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 joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, on 15 August 1612. In 1615, he ordered the fortification of the city of Udenheim, finalized by 1623 as

Philippsburg Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim". The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718. The town is named after ...

fortress. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, he started as supporter of the Catholic League but his growing tense with the Spanish Habsburgs led him on the side of France and in opposition to Emperor Ferdinand II. The cathedral chapter of the Cathedral of Trier elected Sötern

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Pope Urban VIII confirmed this appointment on 11 March 1624. As archbishop, Sötern pursued a rigid fiscal policy that made him unpopular with the people of the Archbishopric of Trier. He also alienated the people by appointing his family members to high office. In 1630, the people of Trier asked the spanish government in

Luxemburg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

for help which responded by sending troops to occupy Trier. With aide from French troops, Sötern retook the city in 1632. In exchange and to protect his Bishoprics from Swedish troops, Sötern allowed France to occupy the fortress of

Ehrenbreitstein Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. ...

. In 1634, Sötern supported the election of Cardinal Richelieu as coadjutor Archbishop of Trier, which would have given Richelieu control of a vote in an imperial election if Sötern had predeceased Richelieu. Spanish Habsburg troops under Christopher of East Frisia retook Trier by surprise in 1635, and Sötern was subsequently imprisoned in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

from 1635 to 1645. France used his imprisonment as pretext to declare war on Spain, starting the Franco-Spanish War. During his absence, the cathedral chapter took over administration of the archbishopric. Imperial troops dispelled the French garrison of Ehrenbreitstein in 1637 and occupied the place until the end of the war. The French diplomats in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

demanded the archbishop's release, to which Emperor Ferdinand III agreed in 1645 for Sötern acceding to the Peace of Prague and delivering Philippsburg to the Emperor. After his release, Sötern again entered into secret negotiations with France. He ordered

Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...

to capture the still Spanish occupied Trier and left Philippsburg to French troops against his agreement with the Emperor. After French troops took Trier in November 1645 and once more left a garrison, most of the cathedral chapter feared for their safety and fled to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. Sötern appointed new capitulars in their place. In 1649, Sötern made the newly appointed capitular Philipp Ludwig von Reiffenberg to his coadjutor. The exiled cathedral chapter protested and organised troops to take control of the Electorate and force Sötern to accept an election of the coadjutor. The troops headed by the capitular

Karl Kaspar von der Leyen Karl Kaspar von der Leyen (18 December 1618 – 1 June 1676) was Archbishop-Elector of Trier and a Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1652 to 1676. Life A member of the noble Leyen family, Charles Kaspar was made a coadjutor bishop ...

succeeded against the Elector's French auxiliary troops and the election determined Von der Leyen as coadjutor and designated successor of Sötern. The reluctant Elector finally gave up resistance and died mostly disempowered in

on 7 February 1652.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotern, Philipp Christoph von 1567 births 1652 deaths Archbishop-Electors of Trier

Biography

Further reading

References