Events in Religion and Philosophy
in German, Austrian and Swiss History
June
© 2000 by Paul A. Schons
June 1, 1035 Death of St. Simeon von Trier ( ? - 1035)
Simeon was born in Greece. He was educated in Constantinople. As a youth he lived and worked in the Holy Land. He lived for a number of years in monasteries in Bethlehem and in the Sinai preparing himself for the life of a hermit. He then moved to Trier (modern Germany, at that time the Holy Roman Empire a.k.a. the German Empire). In Trier there still stood (and stands yet today) the massive North Gate of the defensive wall of the Romans, the Porta Nigra, from the period when Trier had been an important city in the Roman Empire. For the purpose of leading a life of total prayer and meditation, Simeon moved into a small area of the stone gate and had the area walled in with only a small opening through which food and drink could be passed. He lived in the darkness of his chamber in prayer from 1030 until his death in 1035 without seeing nor speaking to another human. He died on June 1, 1035. He was canonized later in 1035 by Pope Benedict IX. In 1041 the gate where Simeon had lived was converted into a church and a monastery was attached to it. Both were named after St. Simeon. Later under Napoleon the church structure was removed from its stone skeleton, the Roman gate, was revealed once again. The Porta Nigra stands today as the Roman gate of the 1st century with the buildings of the monastery attached. His feast day is celebrated on June 1 in the diocese of Trier.
June 1, 1503
Birth of Wilhelm von Grumbach near Wuerzburg. Grumbach envied the power and land of the Bishop of Wuerzburg and at one point attacked and plundered the city ofWuerzburg.
June 1, 1848
The "Neue Rheinische Zeitung" begins publication under the direction of Karl Marx. Friedrich Engels is the publisher. Other noted communists working with the paper are, Ernst Dronke, Georg Werth, Wilhelm Wolff and Ferdinand Wolff.
June 3, 1817
Pauline Mallinckrodt was born in Minden, Germany on June 3, 1817. She directed the institution for the blind in Paderborn, Germany. She founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Christian Charity on August 21, 1849. That order took charge of the school for the blind and established 20 additional houses in Germany. In 1873 sisters of the order came to the United States. Sr. Mallinckrodt came to the United States in 1873 and organized a Mother House in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania. She died in 1881 in Paderborn, Germany. She was beatified in 1985.
June 4, 1697 Birth of Jocob Israel Emden in Altona, Germany.
Emden was a Talmudic scholar whose disagreements with Rabbi Jonathan Eybesch split European Jewry.
June 5, 755
St. Boniface is martyred. St. Boniface (Wynfrith) was an English monk who was appointed by the Pope as Bishop in 722 and sent to christianize Germany. In 745 his diocese was established in Mainz. He was killed by a pagan mob on June 5, 754. June 5 is St. Boniface's feast day. Quicktime movie (in German)
June 5, 755
St. Adalar is martyred. St. Adalar was an associate of St. Boniface. He was born in England and came to Germany to assist in the missionary effort. He was with St. Boniface on the morning of June 5, 754 and was killed by Friesian pagans along with St. Boniface. He is said to have been the first Bishop of Erfurt, a diocese founded in 741. His feast day is June 5. He is entombed in the cathedral in Erfurt.
June 5, 1772
Death of Johann Kuhnau in Leipzig, Germany. Kuhnau was a composer and the cantor at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig from 1701 to 1722. He was succeeded in his position by Johann Sebastian Bach.
June 5, 1906
Death of Eduard von Hartmann in Gross Lichterfelde, Germany. Hartmann was a philosopher noted for his concern with the human will and uncontrolled unconscious drives. His most noted work was "Die Philosophie des Unbewussten" (1870). He was influenced by Schopenhauer but rose above Shopenhauer's pessimism as did his contemporary, Friedrich Nietzsche.
June 6, 1134
Death of St. Norbert von Xanten (ca. 1080 - 1134) St. Norbert was born in about 1080 in Xanten, Germany. Norbert led his early life as a wealthy nobleman in energetic pursuit of worldly delights. After a riding accident, however, he was sufficiently shaken to abandon his worldly life and to spend the remainder of his days engaged in spiritual pursuits. He was ordained a priest when he was 35. He gave away all his many properties and dedicated his life to God. In 1119 at the direction of Pope Calixtus II, Norbert founded a religious order at Prémontré (modern France). After success there, Norbert returned to Germany and founded abbeys in Westphalia. The order of St. Norbert grew quickly. In 1125 he traveled to Rome to obtain reconfirmation of his order from the new Pope, Honorius II. The confirmation of the order is dated February 27, 1126. Soon thereafter he would be made the Archbishop of Magdeburg. In that capacity he undertook the cleansing of corruption among the clergy and nobles of the area. (Three attempts to assassinate him followed as a result.) He involved himself in the opposition to the anti-pope Pietro di Leoni and the seating of Pope Innocent II. He died in 1134 and was entombed in the Norbertine Abbey in Magdeburg. Many miracles were reported at his toumb. In 1627 his remains were moved to Prague, since Magdeburg was in the hands of the Protestants at that time. (At that time Bohemia was a part of the Holy Roman Empire a.k.a. The German Empire. Today Prague is in the Czech Republic.) He was subsequently named the Patron and Protector of Bohemia. Norbert was said to have been canonized by Innocent II, but there was to record of the act and in 1582 he was canonized (or possibly recanonized) by Pope Gregory XIII.
June 6, 1522
Death of Johannes Reuchlin in Bad Liebenzell, Germany. Reuchlin was a scholar of ancient Greek and Latin who also developed a keen interest in Hebrew language and literature. In 1509 the Cologne Dominican, Johannes Pfefferkorn, persuaded the Emperor to order the destruction of Hebrew books because they were a danger to Christianity. Reuchlin's principles could not tolerate this and he actively protested the ruling. As a result he was brought before the inquisition. Due to an outcry by a wide segment of intellectuals of the day, however, he was acquitted of heresy. This experience did not drive Reuchlin from the church. When his nephew Philip Melanchthon joined with Martin Luther in the Reformation Reuchlin sided with the church against his nephew.
June 8, 1727
Death of August Hermann Francke in Halle, Germany. Francke was a Protestant religious leader who was an important promoter of German Pietism. He founded Pietist groups at the University of Halle. Francke taught theology and Oriental languages at the University.
June 8, 1815
Birth of Samuel Hirsch in Thalfang (near Trier), Germany. Hirsch was a leading advocate of radical reform Judaism. In 1866 he emigrated to Philadelphia.
June 9, 1978
A Gutenberg Bible was sold in London for $2, 400,000. (Johannes Gutenberg invented printing for the West in his workshop in Mainz, Germany.)
June 10, 1051
Death of St. Bardo in Paderborn, Germany. Bardo was a Benedictine monk in Fulda. He later became the abbot at the monasteries in Kaiserswerth and Hersfeld. In 1031 he became the Archbishop of Mainz. He was known for his piety and gentle nature. It was he who constructed the present Cathedral of Mainz. He died on a visit to Paderborn on June 10th, 1051. He was entombed in the cathedral in Mainz. His grave became a pilgrimage site and many miracles were attributed to him.
June 11, 1874 St. Bonifatius (Winfried) (ca. 672-754) is canonized by Pope Pius IX.
Winfried (church name, Bonifatius or Boniface) was probably born in England (though some think Ireland). He became a Benedictine monk and at age 30 was ordained a priest. He felt a calling to convert the heathens on the European continent. His first mission was to the Friesians in 716. That first effort lasted only a few months and he returned to England. In 718 he traveled to Rome to seek the pope's approval as a missionary to Germany. On May 15, 719 he received Pope Gregory II's approval to undertake the mission. For a time he worked, once again, among the Friesians with St. Willibrord. He then traveled to Trier, where a monastery had been established. From that base he continued eastwards to Thuringia and Hessia where he converted many. On November 30, 722 the pope made him a bishop. In his missionary work in Hessia he is said to have cut down an oak tree thought to be sacred to the pagan god Thor and to have built a church using the wood, thus demonstrating the superiority of the Christian God over Thor. Boniface founded the bishoprics of Passau, Regensburg, Freising, Würzburg and Erfurt. On May 1, 748 Pope Zachary appointed Bonifatius Archbishop of Mainz and Primate of Germany. Boniface was murdered by pagans in 754 while on a missionary trip, thus becoming a martyr of the Church. His remains were taken to the Monastery at Fulda which had been founded in 744 under his authority. Bonifatius had been revered as a saint for centuries before the formal canonization by Pope Pius IX on June 11, 1874. During his lifetime Boniface had had close ties to Charles Martell, Carloman and Pippin the Short. His work among the eastern tribes established a structure for the Christian empire which Karl der Große (Charlemagne) would develop in the area now known as Germany.
June 12, 1755
Immanuel Kant is granted the doctoral degree at the University of Königsberg. On the occasion Kant delivered an address, "On Easy and Thorough Instruction in Philosophy".
June 12, 1952
Death of Michael von Faulhaber in Munich, Germany. Faulhaber, the Roman Catholic Cardinal of Munich and Freising, was one of those who resisted Hitler and the Nazis. His opposition to the Nazis started already at the time of Hitler's attempted take over of Munich in 1923. When Hitler came to power and through the War Faulhaber visibly opposed the Nazis. There were two attempts at assassination, but he survived. His sermons were critical of the Nazis and opposed their antisemitism, executions and medical experiments. After the war Faulhaber worked with the American occupation forces.
June 13, 1965
Death of Martin Buber in Jerusalem (born in Vienna, Austria). Buber was a Jewish religious philosopher most noted for his interest in the relationships between beings, his book Ich und Du appeared in 1923. He earned his doctorate at the University of Vienna. Buber was influenced by Nicholas of Cusa, Jakob Boehme and Friedrich Nietzsche. From 1916 to 1924 he edited the intellectual monthly, Der Jude. In 1934 he became the head of Jewish adult education in Nazi Germany. When the Nazis forbade him to teach, he immigrated to Palestine.
Der juedische Religionsphilosoph Martin (Mordechai) Buber lebte vom 8.2.1878 (Wien) bis zum 13.6.1965 (Jerusalem). Buber lehrte von 1923-1933 juedische Religionswissenschaft und Ethik an der Universitaet Frankfurt/Main und arbeitete von 1925-1961 an einer neuen Uebersetzung des Alten Testaments ins Deutsche. 1938 ging Buber nach Palaestina, wo er bis 1951 Sozialphilosophie lehrte. Zu seinen wichtigsten Werken gehoeren "Ich und Du " (1923), "Die Legende des Baalschem" (1908) sowie "Begegnungen" (Autobiografie, 1961). Buber wurde 1952 mit dem Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels ausgezeichnet.
June 14, 1929
A concordat is signed between Prussia and the Vatican.
June 15, 1520
The Roman Pope, Leo X, threatens to ex-communicate Martin Luther.
June 18, 1152
Friedrich I (Barbarossa) is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Adrian IV in Rome.
Friedrich I, Beiname Barbarossa, wurde im Jahre 1123 geboren und starb am 10. Juni 1190. Er war Herzog von Schwaben, deutscher Koenig und Kaiser des Heiligen Roemischen Reiches. Friedrich I zweifelte die paepstliche Autoritaet an und versuchte, eine deutsche Vorherrschaft in Westeuropa zu errichten. Er war in einen langen Kampf mit norditalienischen Staedten verwickelt und schickte 6 Expeditionen gen Sueden. Barbarossa starb waehrend seines dritten Kreuzzuges ins Heilige Land.
June 19, 1843
Karl Marx marries Jenny von Westphalen.
Jenny von Westphalen wurde 1814 geboren und starb im Jahre 1881. Sie stammte aus einer aristokratischen Familie mit militaerischem Hintergrung. Im Jahre 1843 heiratete sie Karl Marx. Sie war attraktiv und intelligent sowie vier Jahre aelter als Marx. Jenny Marx brachte sieben Kinder zur Welt.
June 20, 981
Death of St. Adalbert von Magdeburg. St. Adalbert worked at the court of the Archbishop of Cologne. In 959 he left the service and became a monk at the monastery of St. Maximin in Trier. He was later made a bishop and was sent to establish Christianity in Russia in 961. The mission was at a request from princess Olga to the German Emperor Otto. When he returned to Germany he was made the Bishop of Magdeburg. From that position he continued his work in the East christianizing the Sorbs.
June 20, 1797
Blessed Maria Theresia Gerhardinger was born on this date in Regensburg, Germany. She became a teacher and taught in Regensburg until 1833. With the encouragement of the bishop she founded the order of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (Arme Schulschwester Unserer Lieben Frau). The order was dedicated to the education of girls. Gerhardinger was the director of the order until her death in 1879. In 1843 the mother house was moved to Munich with a donation of property by King Ludwig I. The order spread quickly through Europe and in 1847 was brought also to the U.S.A. The order then spread also to South America and Asia. Today there are over 5,000 members in the order. The headquarters is now in Rome. Maria Theresia Gerhardinger was beatified in 1985 by Pope John Paul II. The order's North American Web page is at http://www.ssnd.org/. The German Web page is at http://www.schulschwestern.de/index.html.
June 20, 1859
Birth of Christian Freiherr von Ehrenfels in Rodaun, Austria. Ehrenfels was a philosopher who introduced the term Gestalt into psychology.
June 21 ca. 406
June 21 is St. Alban's day. Legend more than historical certainty attests to the martyrdom of the priest, St. Alban in Mainz in about 406. He is said to have been martyred by an attack by the Vandals in Mainz in about 406. He is sometimes confused with another St. Alban of England of that period. The Church of St. Alban was destroyed by allied bombing during World War II. The ruins have been left standing at the site in the center of Cologne as a reminder of the horrors of war.
June 21, 1002
Birth of Pope Leo IX (original name Bruno von Egisheim und Dagsburg) in Egisheim, Germany. Bruno was the cousin of the Holy Roman Emperor, Heinrich III. Heinrich Appointed him Pope, but he refused to accept until elected in Rome. He became Pope on February 12, 1049. He immediately began a series of reforms including forbidding concubines for priests, the sale of ecclesiastic positions within the Church and the appointment of ecclesiastic positions by civil authorities. During his time as Pope he was able to elevate the position to a high level of authority.
June 21, 1788
Death of Johann Georg Hamann in Munich, Germany. Hamann was a friend of Immanuel Kant. He concluded, from his attempts to reconcile philosophy and Christianity, that a childlike faith in God is the only solution to the problems of philosophy.
June 22, 1767
Birth of Wilhelm von Humboldt in Potsdam, Germany. He was a key figure in founding the Friedrich Wilhelm University, now the Humboldt University, in Berlin.
Karl Wilhelm Baron Freiherr von Humboldt wurde am 22. Juni 1767 in Potsdam geboren und starb am 8. April 1835 in Tegel. Er war ein deutscher Sprachgelehrter, Philosoph, Diplomat und Bildungsreformer. Sein Beitrag zur Entwicklung der Sprachwissenschaft war besonders wertvoll im 20. Jahrhundert. Sprache war fuer ihn eine Aktivitaet, deren Charakter und Struktur Kultur und Individualitaet des Sprechers ausdruecken. In seiner Position als preussischer Bildungsminister wirkte er an der Gruendung der Friedrich Wilhelm Universitaet (heutige Humboldt Universitaet) mit und reformierte die preussische Grundausbildung. Als Botschafter in Wien war er einer der Unterzeichner des Vertrages von Paris im Jahre 1815.
June 22, 1936
Death of Moritz Schlick in Vienna, Germany. Schlick was a philosopher of the Positivist school. He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg, Switzerland and Berlin. His doctorate from Berlin was in physics. He became a professor of philosophy at the University of Vienna. In his work he attempted to bring the methods of the natural sciences to bear on philosophy. Among his books are, "Allgemeine Erkenntnislehre " (1918) "Raum und Zeit in der gegenwaertigen Physik " (1919), "Fragen der Ethik" (1930), and "Grundzuege der Naturphilosophie" (1948).
June 25, 1530
The 28 articles of the Lutheran churches are presented to the Emperor Charles V. (The Augsburg Confession).
June 25, 1917
Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (later to become Pope Pius XII) undertakes his first trip to Berlin as the ambassador of the Vatican, attempting to introduce a peace plan to end World War I.
June 25, 1987
Pope John Paul II receives Austrian President, Kurt Waldheim although he has been accused of Nazi war crimes and bared from entering the U. S.
June 26, 1988 Death of Hans Urs von Balthasar
Hans Urs von Balthasar was born in Lucerne, Switzerland on August 12, 1905. He studied philosophy and German literature at the universities of Zurich, Vienna and Berlin. He became a Jesuit in 1929. He completed his theological studies with Henri de Lubac. He left the Jesuit order due to conflicts in views in 1950. Over time his work gained the admiration of such leaders in theology as Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Henri de Lubac and Bishop Karl Lehmann. In 1988 he was named a cardinal by Pope John Paul II but died two days before the ceremony (June 26, 1988). Important works by Balthasar include, Herrlichkeit (1961-1969), Cordula (1966), Theodramatik (1973-1983), Die antirömische Affekt (1974) and Theologik (1985). Von Balthasar died on June 26, 1988.
June 27, 1786 Death of Joseph Green
The merchant Joseph Green was Immanuel Kant's closest friend over many years. The two of them dined together very frequently and had long conversations. Some of the vocabulary of mercantilism used by Kant in his books originates with Green. Kant was in the habit of discussing new ideas with Green before other academics and asking Green to read and comment on his works prior to publication. His death was a powerful blow for Kant.
June 27, 1977 Joseph Ratzinger is named a cardinal.
Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951. He was an advisor to the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joseph Frings at the second Vatican Council. Pope Paul VI named him Archbishop of Munich and Freising on March 24, 1977. On June 27, 1977 he was made a cardinal. In 1981 Pope John-Paul II named him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and President of the International Theological Commission.
June 28, 1490
Birth of Albrecht von Brandenburg, Cardinal, Elector of the Holy Roman Empire and Archbishop of Mainz, against whom Luther struggled on the matter of the sale of indulgences.
Albrecht von Brandenburg, Kardinal und Kurfürst des Heiligen Roemischen Reiches, wurde am 28. Juni 1490 geboren und starb am 24. September 1545 im Alter von 55 Jahren. Er war Erzbischof von Magdeburg und Mainz sowie Verwalter von Halberstadt. Leo X vertraute die Indulgenz fuer den Bau des neuen St. Peters in Rom von Brandenburg zur Veroeffentlichung in Sachsen und Brandenburg an, woraufhin ein Streit mit Martin Luther begann. Spaeter als Fuerst fuehrte er Reformen in der Rechtsverwaltung, dem Polizeisystem und im Handel ein.
June 28, 1825
Heinrich Heine is baptized in the Protestant church. (He was a Jew.)
Heine became one of Germany's leading poets.
Heinrich Heine, der deutsche Dichter wurde am 13.12. 1797 geboren. Duesseldorf ist seine Geburtsstadt. Er stammte aus einer juedischen Kaufmannsfamilie. Seine Gedichte sind manchmal spielerisch, elegant und sogar oberflaechlich und geistreich-witzig. Aber manchmal sind sie wehmuetig, innerlich zerissen und sogar verzweifelend. Heine starb 1856 in Paris.
June 28, 1912
Birth of Carl Friedrich von Weizäcker in Kiel, Germany. Von Weizäcker was a philosopher of science.
Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizäcker wurde am 28.6. 1912 in Kiel geboren. Er war Professor fuer Philosophie in Hamburg von 1957-1969. Spaeter als Direktor des Max-Planck-Instituts erforschte er die Lebensbedingungen der wissenschaftlichen Technologie. Er leistete bedeutende Beitraege zur Geschichte und zu Gegenwartsproblemen der Physik, zur Naturphilosophie, zur Quantenlogik und zur wissenschaftlichen Theorie.
June 28, 1923
Pope Pius XI publishes a letter in "L'Osservatore Romano" condemning the harsh reparations demanded of Germany after World War I and criticizes French for the occupation of the Ruhr in January of 1923.
June 30, 1934 Night of the long knives.
Many Hitler political enemies are murdered, among them several leaders of Catholic organizations. Erich Klausner, the head of the Catholic action organization is murdered. Adalbert Probst, head of the German Catholic sports association is murdered. Fritz Gerlich, editor of the Catholic weekly "Der Gerade Weg" is murdered.