Johann Friedrich von Schulte (April 23, 1827 – December 19, 1914) was a German

legal historian Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and hist ...

and professor of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

who was born in

Winterberg Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle o ...

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 ...

. He was a leading authority on Catholic canon law. In 1854 he became a lecturer at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, and during the following year was appointed professor of German legal history and canon law at the University of Prague. In 1873 he returned to

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, where he was a professor of canon law until 1906. In 1881-82 he was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at the university. Schulte opposed the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

, and was architect of the basic templates regarding church law for organization of the German

Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...

. He was also author of the ''Synodal- und Gemeindeordnung'' (Synodal and Municipal Order) of 1874, the fundamental law of the Old Catholic Church in Germany. From 1871 to 1890 he was president of the Old Catholic Congress. From 1874 to 1879 he was a member of the German Reichstag ( National Liberal Party). He died in Obermais near

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

on December 19, 1914, at the age of 87.

Selected publications

* ''System des katholischen Kirchenrechts'' (The system of Catholic church law), 1855 * ''Die Lehre von den Quellen des katholischen Kirchenrechts'' (Theory of the sources of Catholic church law), 1860 * ''Die Rechtsfrage des Einflusses der Regierung bei den Bischofswahlen'' (The legal question of the influence of the government in the choice of bishops), 1869 * ''Die Stellung der Konzilien, Päpste und Bischöfe vom historischen und kanonistischen Standpunkte und die päpstliche Konstitution vom 18. Juli 1870'' (The Position of Councils, Popes and Bishops from the Historical and Canonical Standpoints and the Papal Constitution, July 18, 1870), 1871 * ''Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des Kanonischen Rechts von Gratian bis auf die Gegenwart'' (The History of Literature and Sources of Canon Law of

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...

up to the Present) (1875-1880, four volumes) * ''Lehrbuch des Katholischen und Evangelischen Kirchenrechts'' (Textbook of Catholic and

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Church Laws), 1886 * ''Der Alt-Katholizismus - Geschichte seiner Entwicklung, inneren Gestaltung und rechtlichen Stellung in Deutschland. Aus den Akten und anderen authentischen Quellen dargestellt'' (Old Catholicism - History of its Development, Interior Composition and Legal Position in Germany, according to Documents and other Authenticated Sources) * ''Lebenserinnerungen drei Bände'' (Memoirs in Three Volumes), 1908-1909)

References

* ''Portions of this article are based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulte, Johann Friedrich von 1827 births 1914 deaths People from Winterberg People from the Province of Westphalia category:German Old Catholics National Liberal Party (Germany) politicians Members of the 2nd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 3rd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 4th Reichstag of the German Empire Legal historians Academic staff of the University of Bonn Academic staff of Charles University