The Diocese and Prince-bishopric of Schwerin was a Catholicdiocese in Schwerin, Mecklenburg, in Germany. The first registered bishop was ordained in the diocese in 1053, and the diocese ceased to exist in 1994.
The bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Schwerin (German: Bistum Schwerin), a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bremen, were simultaneously secular (political) rulers of princely rank (prince-bishop) in the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin (Hochstift Schwerin); established 1180 and secularised in 1648), an imperially immediatestate of the Holy Roman Empire. Schwerin was the seat of the chapter, Schwerin Cathedral and residence of the bishops until 1239. In 1180 a prince-episcopal residence was established in Bützow, which became the main residence in 1239.
Titulature of the Schwerin bishops
Not all incumbents of the Schwerin see were imperially invested with princely temporal power as Prince-Bishops and not all were papally confirmed as bishops. In 1180 part of the Schwerin diocesan territory was disentangled from the Duchy of Saxony and became an own territory of imperial immediacy called Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin, an imperially immediate feudal member state of the Holy Roman Empire like many prince-prelatures.
The prince-bishopric was an elective monarchy, with the ruling prince being the respective bishop usually elected by the Cathedral chapter, and confirmed by the Holy See, or exceptionally only appointed by the Holy See. Papally confirmed bishops were then invested by the emperor with the princely regalia, thus the title prince-bishop. However, sometimes the respective incumbent of the see never gained a papal confirmation, but was still invested the princely regalia. Also the opposite occurred with a papally confirmed bishop, never invested as prince. A number of incumbents, elected by the chapter, neither achieved papal confirmation nor imperial investiture, but as a matter of fact nevertheless de facto held the princely power. From 1532 to 1648 all incumbents were Lutherans.
The respective incumbents of the see bore the following titles:
Prince-Bishop of Schwerin from 1181 to 1516, except o the years of 1474 to 1479 and 1506 to 1508
Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Schwerin 1474 to 1479, 1506 to 1508, and again 1516 to 1648. Either simply de facto replacing the Prince-Bishop or lacking canon-law prerequisites the incumbent of the see would officially only hold the title administrator (but nevertheless colloquially referred to as Prince-Bishop).
Catholic bishops of Mecklenburg and Schwerin (1053–1181)
Catholic Bishops of Mecklenburg and Schwerin (1053–1181)
bishop elect since 1516, due to minority only officiating since 1532 as administrator, due to lack of papal confirmation, Magnus introduced the Reformation in 1533
After a century and a half of abandonment, the Catholics on the territory were merely taken care of as missionary, part of the vast Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern Missions of Northern Germany, the first post-Reformatory parish having been established in 1709 (St. Anna, Schwerin).
However, Mecklenburg Soviet occupation zone, whereas Osnabrück was in the British occupation zone (i.e. in the other half of partitioned Germany, and of the political world during the Cold War), so the Bishop of Osnabrück appointed an episcopal commissary. Since 1959, the Osnabrück diocese posted an auxiliary bishop in Schwerin, responsible for Mecklenburg's Catholic parishes:
Bernhard Schräder, first 1946 – 1959 episcopal commissary for the episcopal commissariate of Schwerin, then 1959 – 1971 auxiliary bishop of Osnabrück diocese for the episcopal commissariate in Schwerin.
1971 – 1973 (see below): Heinrich Theissing, coadjutor of Osnabrück diocese for the episcopal commissariate in Schwerin
On July 23, 1974, the jurisdiction was restored as pre-diocesan 'permanent' Apostolic Administration of Schwerin, its territory being formally split off from the Diocese of Osnabrück. It got two episcopal incumbents:
Heinrich Theissing, Apostolic Administrator (July 23, 1973– retired December 5, 1987) with episcopal rights of a residing bishop for the episcopal office in Schwerin; Titular Bishop of Mina (March 13, 1963 – death November 11, 1988), first as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Berlin (March 13, 1963 – February 12, 1970), then as Coadjutor Bishop of Schwerin (February 12, 1970 – July 23, 1973), finally an emeritate
Theodor Hubrich, Apostolic Administrator (1987.11.23 – death 1992.03.26) with episcopal rights of a residing bishop for the episcopal office in Schwerin; previously Titular Bishop of Auca (1975.12.05 – 1987.11.23) as Auxiliary Bishop of Magdeburg (Germany) (1975.12.05 – 1987.11.23).
Since 1994: Norbert Werbs, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hamburg for the archiepiscopal office in Schwerin, also episcopal vicar for Mecklenburg
↑ Wollenberg, Klaus (2022). "The Danish Cistercian Houses in Northern Germany: A Master Plan or Planned Masterpieces? - ProQuest". Cistercian Studies Quarterly. 57 (2): 167–241.
Sources and external links
Josef Traeger, Die Bischöfe des mittelalterlichen Bistums Schwerin, Leipzig: St.-Benno-Verlag, 1984. (in German)
1 until 1648.2 until 1701.3 from 1648.4 until 1731.5 until 1705.6 until 1596.7 from 1708.8 until 1773.9 until 1640.10 until 1695.11 from 1701.12 until 1734.
The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen — not to be confused with the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church that after its definitive secularization in 1648 became the hereditary Duchy of Bremen. The prince-archbishopric, which was under the secular rule of the archbishop, consisted of about a third of the diocesan territory. The city of Bremen was de facto and de jure not part of the prince-archbishopric. Most of the prince-archbishopric lay rather in the area to the north of the city of Bremen, between the Weser and Elbe rivers. Even more confusingly, parts of the prince-archbishopric belonged in religious respect to the neighbouring Diocese of Verden, making up 10% of its diocesan territory.
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Latin Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
A Diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic particular church.
The Diocese of Osnabrück is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. The diocese was originally founded circa 800. It should not be confused with the smaller Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück–an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire until 1803–over which the bishop, as prince-bishop, exercised both temporal and spiritual authority.
The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese from 804 until 1648. From 1180, the bishops or administrators of Halberstadt ruled a state within the Holy Roman Empire, the prince-bishopric of Halberstadt. The diocesan seat and secular capital was Halberstadt in present-day Saxony-Anhalt.
The Diocese of Stockholm is an exempt Latin Catholic ecclesiastical bishopric in Sweden and the only Catholic diocese established in Sweden since the Protestant Reformation. The diocese belongs to no ecclesiastical province but forms an episcopal conference with its Nordic neighbours. Its territory includes 44 parishes and covers the entire country of Sweden.
The Diocese of Ratzeburg is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected from the Diocese of Oldenburg c. 1050 and was suppressed in 1554. The diocese was originally a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg; in 1072 it became a suffragan of the merged entity — the "Archdiocese of Hamburg and the Diocese of Bremen". The territory of the diocese was located in what is today the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. The cathedral church of the diocese — dedicated to Ss. Mary and John — is still extant in the city of Ratzeburg. Following its suppression as part of the Protestant Reformation, the remaining Catholic adherents were only represented by the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Germany. The whole territory of the diocese is today included in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg.
The Vicariate Apostolic of Northern Germany, known for most of its existence as the Vicariate Apostolic of the NorthernMissions, was a Catholic missionary jurisdiction established on 28 April 1667. It belonged to a vicar apostolic in predominantly Protestant Northern Europe.
The Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1225 until 1803. It should not be confused with the Diocese of Osnabrück, which was larger and over which the prince-bishop exercised only the spiritual authority of an ordinary bishop. It was named after its capital, Osnabrück.
The Bishopric of Cammin was both a former Roman Catholic diocese in the Duchy of Pomerania from 1140 to 1544, and a secular territory of the Holy Roman Empire (Prince-Bishopric) in the Kołobrzeg area from 1248 to 1650.
The Diocese of Görlitz is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic church in Germany. The current ordinary is Wolfgang Ipolt
In the Holy Roman Empire, the German term Hochstift referred to the territory ruled by a bishop as a prince, as opposed to his diocese, generally much larger and over which he exercised only spiritual authority. The terms prince-bishopric and ecclesiastical principality are synonymous with Hochstift. Erzstift and Kurerzstift referred respectively to the territory (prince-archbishopric) ruled by a prince-archbishop and an elector-archbishop while Stift referred to the territory ruled by an imperial abbot or abbess, or a princely abbot or abbess. Stift was also often used to refer to any type of ecclesiastical principality.
Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg was a Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, then Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, then Prince-Bishop of Paderborn.
The Diocese of California, Diocese of the Californias or Diocese of Two Californias, is a former Latin Church residential episcopal see that existed during 1840–1849, covering the Californias. After the Mexican–American War, the American portion became the Diocese of Monterey in California, while the Mexican portion was eventually reorganized into the Diocese of Tijuana. In 1996, the title was revived as a titular see of the Catholic Church.
The Diocese of Verden was a diocese of the Catholic Church. It was founded around AD 768 as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mainz. It was suppressed in 1648 as part of the Peace of Westphalia. The diocese was centered on the city of Verden an der Aller in what is today the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. The cathedral church of the diocese was dedicated to Ss Mary and Cecilia in 1028 but the building was only completed in 1490. The Bishop of Verden was also, ex officio, the ruler of a principality of the Holy Roman Empire — the Prince-Bishopric of Verden. The territory of the diocese was not identical with that of the prince-bishopric; while the state was located within the boundaries of the diocese, it amounted to less than a quarter of the diocesan territory. Its last bishop was Franz Wilhelm, Count von Wartenberg. Following the Thirty Years' War, Verden, along with the neighbouring sees of Minden and Bremen, fell into the hands of Protestants. Wartenberg was only able to retain the See of Osnabrück.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
