Gerhard Müller (10 May 1929 – 10 May 2024) was a German Lutheran theologian. He served as

Landesbischof A Landesbischof () is the head of some Protestant regional churches in Germany. Based on the principle of '' summus episcopus'' (), after the Reformation each Lutheran prince assumed the position of supreme governor of the state church in his ter ...

of the Lutheran Church in Brunswick between 1982 and 1994, during

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, when he also was the leading bishop of the United Lutheran Church of Germany. As a theologian, teaching in Erlangen and Göttingen, he focused on the history of the Reformation, and was editor of the ''

Theologische Realenzyklopädie The ' (''TRE'') is a German encyclopedia of theology and religious studies. It contains some 2000 articles in 36 volumes. The first installment was published in 1977, the last in 2004. Genesis and editors The ' is published by Walter de Gruyter ...

''. He received international recognition such as a membership of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

and 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 St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

Life and career

Müller was born in

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

on 10 May 1929. He studied Protestant theology at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

and the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. Müller was professor of

historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Alister McGrath defines historical theology as 'the branch of theological inquiry which aims to explore the historical development of Christian doctrines, and identify the fa ...

at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

for 15 years, from 1967 to 1982. He focused on church history, especially as a scholar of

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and the Reformation. He was editor of the ''

''. On 1 October 1982, he became

of the Lutheran Church in Brunswick, with its seat in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

, serving until 31 May 1994. He focused on the spiritual care of pastors and their families. Faced with rising numbers of people leaving the church, he supported projects seeking more intense contact with members such as the missionary "Neu anfangen". He contacted also influential people outside the church such as mayors, managers and scientists. After

, two parishes, Blankenburg and

Calvörde Calvörde () is a municipality in the Börde district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Flechtingen. Geography Calvörde is situated approximately northwest of Haldensleben and northwe ...

, were returned into the Brunswick Church in 1992. Müller had visited Blankenburg immediately when the border was opened, to establish contact. During his tenure as bishop, he taught church history at the Göttingen University. From 1990 to 1993, Müller also served as Leading Bishop (German: ''Leitender Bischof'') of the United Lutheran Church of Germany, after three years as vice bishop. Müller was elected a foreign member of the

in 1979. He was a member of the

Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur The Academy of Sciences and Literature () is a scientific academy in Mainz, Germany. It was established in 1949 on an initiative of Alfred Döblin. The academy's goal is to support science and literature, and in doing so to help preserve and pr ...

. Müller received an

from the

in 1980. Müller died in

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

on 10 May 2024, his 95th birthday, after a long illness.

Publications

* ''Einsichten Martin Luthers – damals und jetzt. Analyse und Kritik'', Martin-Luther-Verlag, Erlangen 2015, . * with Hägglund, Bengt: ''Kirche in der Schule Luthers. Festschrift für D. Joachim Heubach'', Martin-Luther-Verlag, Erlangen 1995, . * ''Zwischen Reformation und Gegenwart.'' ** vol. 1: ''Vorträge, Aufsätze, Predigten.'' Lutherisches Verlags-Haus, Hannover 1983, . ** vol. 2: ''Vorträge und Aufsätze.'' Lutherisches Verlags-Haus, Hannover 1988, . * ''Die Rechtfertigungslehre. Geschichte und Probleme.'' Gütersloher Verlagshaus Mohn, Gütersloh 1977, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Gerhard 1929 births 2024 deaths 20th-century German Lutheran bishops 20th-century German Protestant theologians German Lutheran theologians Historians of Christianity Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Marburg University of Marburg alumni University of Göttingen alumni University of Tübingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Academic staff of the University of Göttingen