Marc Boegner, commonly known as ''pasteur'' Boegner (; 21 February 1881 – 18 December 1970), was a theologian, pastor, essayist, notable member of the French Resistance and a notable voice in the

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

movement.

Biography

Marc Boegner was the nephew and disciple of the Lutheran pastor Tommy Fallot, who founded

Christian socialism Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...

in France. Born in Épinal, Vosges in 1881, Boegner was educated in Orléans, and later Paris, where he studied law. Poor eyesight was an obstacle to his pursuit of a career within the navy but after a spiritual conversion experience he entered the Faculty for Theology in Paris and in 1905 was ordained a pastor of the Reformed Church of France. After having been a Protestant pastor in a rural parish in Aouste-sur-Sye in Drôme, in 1911 he became professor of theology at the House of the Missions of Paris, and in 1918 went on to the Parish of Poissy-Annonciation where he remained until 1952. In 1928, he inaugurated the sermons of Protestant Lent on the radio, which contributed to his notoriety. There he preached on the unity of Christians. In 1929, he became the first president of the Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France''), a position he held until 1961. In 1938 he became the first president of the national council of the Reformed Church of France (''l'Église réformée de France''), a post he held until 1950. He was on two occasions the professor at the Academy of International Law at The Hague. Between 1938 and 1948 he was president of the administrative committee of the provisional World Council of Churches in formation. After the council had been formed he became one of its co-presidents, a post he held until 1954. In 1955 Marc Boegner presented a television show called

Présence protestante ''Présence protestante'' is a France 2 religious programme that presents Protestant Christianity. It has been produced since the 1950s broadcast every Sunday morning since October 9, 1955. History Présence protestante debuted on October 2, ...

Boegner actively worked, during the occupation, in an open way as well as clandestinely, to try to improve the lot of the Jews, and even defended and saved a number of them. His compassion extended also to many political refugees. He intervened with Pierre Laval, in vain, to ask him to give up including Jewish children younger than 16 years in the deportation convoys. In 1943, he condemned the forced sending of workers to Germany under the STO. Against violence and the armed struggle, he let his faith and conscience choose against joining the

Maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

in an early stage. His action to help the Jews during the war made him be awarded the Righteous among the Nations in Yad Vashem in 1988. Having met six times, in the middle of his resistance work, Marshal Philippe Pétain, he was decorated with the Order of the Francisque and was named a member of the National Council of Vichy. He remained, at the time of his questioning in the Allied lawsuit against the old leader, on 30 July 1945, to testify for the good intentions and the goodwill expressed by Pétain in the difficult circumstances of France - a lenient idea of Pétain's actions, today contradicted by authors and some historians. After the war, he continued his fight for unity while taking part in the ecumenical movement (''mouvement œcuménique''). He was also a Protestant observer during the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) during which he staged a public dialogue with

Cardinal Bea Augustin Bea, S.J. (28 May 1881 – 16 November 1968), was a German Jesuit priest, cardinal, and scholar at the Pontifical Gregorian University, specialising in biblical studies and biblical archaeology. He also served as the personal confessor ...

in Geneva. He also met Pope Paul VI. The ecumenical movement is the subject of his last book published in 1968 (''The Long Road to Unity'', Eng. trans. 1970). Boegner died in Paris.

Works

*''Les Catéchismes de Calvin, étude d'histoire et de catéchétique'', thèse de doctorat soutenue devant la faculté de théologie protestante en 1905 *''The Unity of the Church'' (1914) *''La Vie et la pensée de T. Fallot'', 2 vol. (1914–1926) *''L'Influence de la Réforme sur le développement du droit international'' (1926) *''Le Christianisme et le monde moderne'' (1928, recueil de prédications) *''Les Missions protestantes et le droit international'' (1929) *''Dieu, l'éternel tourment des hommes'' (1929, recueil de prédications) *''Jésus-Christ'' (1930, recueil de prédications) *''T. Fallot, l'homme et l'œuvre'' (1931) *''Qu'est-ce que l'Église ?'' (1931, recueil de prédications) *''L'Église et les questions du temps présent'' (1932) *''La Vie chrétienne'' (1933) *''Le Christ devant la souffrance et devant la joie'' (1935, recueil de prédications) *''L'Évangile et le racisme'' (1939) *''Le Problème de l'unité chrétienne'' (1947, recueil de prédications) *''La Prière de l'Église universelle'' (1951) *''La Vie triomphante'' (1953) *''Le Chrétien et la souffrance'' (1956) *''Les Sept paroles de la Croix'' (1957) *''Notre vocation à la sainteté'' (1958) *''Ténèbres et Lumières aux abords du Calvaire'' (1960, recueil de prédications) *''L'Exigence œcuménique des Églises. Souvenirs et perspectives'' (1968)

Memberships and decorations

Ecclesiastical

*President of the French Federation of Christian associations of students (1923–1935), *President of the Protestant Federation of France (1929–1961), *President of the national council of the reformed Church of France (1938–1950), *President of the Company of the evangelic missions of France (1945–1968), *President of the oecumenical Movement of the Christian Churches (1948–1954).

Other

*Member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques (1946) *Member of the ''Académie française'' (1962). To date, Marc Boegner remains the only Pastor to ever be elected in the ''Académie française''. * Righteous among the Nations (1988) *Grand Officer of the ''Légion d'honneur''

References

External links

*
Detailed biography of Pastor Boegner in the Virtual Museum of ProtestantismBiographical note on the website of the Académie française
– his activity to save Jews' lives during the Holocaust, at Yad Vashem website {{DEFAULTSORT:Boegner, Marc 1881 births 1970 deaths People from Épinal French Calvinist and Reformed theologians Calvinist pacifists Members of the Académie Française Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Lycée Lakanal alumni Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Order of the Francisque recipients French Righteous Among the Nations 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 20th-century French theologians French male essayists Huguenots 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French male writers French Resistance members